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1 *options.txt* For Vim version 7.2. Last change: 2010 May 13
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 *:set-!* *:set-inv*
44 :se[t] {option}! or
45 :se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
47 *:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
48 :se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
49 current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
50 :se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
51 :se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
53 :se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
54 default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
55 'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
57 *:set-args* *E487* *E521*
58 :se[t] {option}={value} or
59 :se[t] {option}:{value}
60 Set string or number option to {value}.
61 For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
62 hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
63 (hex and octal are only available for machines which
64 have the strtol() function).
65 The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
66 default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
67 set). See |cmdline-completion|.
68 White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
69 will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
70 is not allowed.
71 See |option-backslash| for using white space and
72 backslashes in {value}.
74 :se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
75 Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
76 {value} to a string option. When the option is a
77 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
78 value was empty.
79 If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
80 are removed. When adding a flag that was already
81 present the option value doesn't change.
82 Also see |:set-args| above.
83 {not in Vi}
85 :se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
86 Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
87 the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
88 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
89 value was empty.
90 Also see |:set-args| above.
91 {not in Vi}
93 :se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
94 Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
95 the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
96 If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
97 is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
98 separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
99 becomes empty.
100 When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
101 exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
102 one by one to avoid problems.
103 Also see |:set-args| above.
104 {not in Vi}
106 The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example: >
107 :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
108 If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
109 and the following arguments will be ignored.
111 *:set-verbose*
112 When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
113 was last set. Example: >
114 :verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
115 < shiftwidth=4 ~
116 Last set from modeline ~
117 cindent ~
118 Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim ~
119 This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":verbose
120 set all" or ":verbose set" without an argument.
121 When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message.
122 When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
123 autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
124 Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting
125 'compatible'.
126 A few special texts:
127 Last set from modeline ~
128 Option was set in a |modeline|.
129 Last set from --cmd argument ~
130 Option was set with command line argument |--cmd| or +.
131 Last set from -c argument ~
132 Option was set with command line argument |-c|, +, |-S| or
133 |-q|.
134 Last set from environment variable ~
135 Option was set from an environment variable, $VIMINIT,
136 $GVIMINIT or $EXINIT.
137 Last set from error handler ~
138 Option was cleared when evaluating it resulted in an error.
140 {not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
142 *:set-termcap* *E522*
143 For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a terminal option. This will
144 override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
145 the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form: >
146 :set <t_#4>=^[Ot
147 This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
148 example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this: >
149 :set <M-b>=^[b
150 (the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
151 The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
153 The t_xx options cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
154 security reasons.
156 The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
157 at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
158 "set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
159 |more-prompt|.
161 *option-backslash*
162 To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
163 backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
164 means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
165 down).
166 A few examples: >
167 :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags"
168 :set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags\,file"
169 :set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags\ file"
171 The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
172 include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
173 'titlestring' option to "hi|there": >
174 :set titlestring=hi\|there
175 This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there": >
176 :set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
178 Similarly, the double quote character starts a comment. To include the '"' in
179 the option value, use '\"' instead. This example sets the 'titlestring'
180 option to 'hi "there"': >
181 :set titlestring=hi\ \"there\"
183 For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More
184 precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment
185 variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not
186 removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma,
187 etc.) is used like explained above.
188 There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\": >
189 :set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
190 :set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
191 :set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
192 For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
193 are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
194 halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
195 result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
197 *add-option-flags* *remove-option-flags*
198 *E539* *E550* *E551* *E552*
199 Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
200 option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this: >
201 :set guioptions+=a
202 Remove a flag from an option like this: >
203 :set guioptions-=a
204 This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
205 Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
206 the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
207 doesn't appear.
209 *:set_env* *expand-env* *expand-environment-var*
210 Environment variables in specific string options will be expanded. If the
211 environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
212 name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
213 are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
214 follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
215 appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples: >
216 :set term=$TERM.new
217 :set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
218 When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
219 opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
222 Handling of local options *local-options*
224 Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
225 has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This
226 allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
227 'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
229 The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
230 situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
231 the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
232 expects is a bit complicated...
234 When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
235 right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
237 When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
238 the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
239 these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
240 global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
241 global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
242 thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
244 When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window
245 options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the
246 values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where
247 the buffer was edited last are used.
249 It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
250 When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
251 using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
252 local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
253 has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
254 global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do: >
255 :e one
256 :set list
257 :e two
258 Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
259 command you have also set the global value. >
260 :set nolist
261 :e one
262 :setlocal list
263 :e two
264 Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
265 value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
266 global value. Note that if you do this next: >
267 :e one
268 You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited
269 "one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
271 *:setl* *:setlocal*
272 :setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
273 current buffer or window. Not all options have a
274 local value. If the option does not have a local
275 value the global value is set.
276 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
277 local values.
278 Without argument: Display all local option's local
279 values which are different from the default.
280 When displaying a specific local option, show the
281 local value. For a global/local boolean option, when
282 the global value is being used, "--" is displayed
283 before the option name.
284 For a global option the global value is
285 shown (but that might change in the future).
286 {not in Vi}
288 :setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
289 copying the value.
290 {not in Vi}
292 :se[t] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
293 making it empty. Only makes sense for |global-local|
294 options.
295 {not in Vi}
297 *:setg* *:setglobal*
298 :setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
299 option without changing the local value.
300 When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
301 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
302 global values.
303 Without argument: display all local option's global
304 values which are different from the default.
305 {not in Vi}
307 For buffer-local and window-local options:
308 Command global value local value ~
309 :set option=value set set
310 :setlocal option=value - set
311 :setglobal option=value set -
312 :set option? - display
313 :setlocal option? - display
314 :setglobal option? display -
317 Global options with a local value *global-local*
319 Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers and windows.
320 For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value.
321 You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer or window will then
322 use the local value, while other buffers and windows continue using the global
323 value.
325 For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
326 'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows: >
327 :set makeprg=gmake
328 then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
329 the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
330 However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
331 another 'makeprg' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
332 files. You use this command: >
333 :setlocal makeprg=perlmake
334 You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty: >
335 :setlocal makeprg=
336 This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the
337 "<" flag, like this: >
338 :setlocal autoread<
339 Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the
340 local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters
341 when the global value changes later). You can also use: >
342 :set path<
343 This will make the local value of 'path' empty, so that the global value is
344 used. Thus it does the same as: >
345 :setlocal path=
346 Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
347 ":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
350 Setting the filetype
352 :setf[iletype] {filetype} *:setf* *:setfiletype*
353 Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
354 not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
355 This is short for: >
356 :if !did_filetype()
357 : setlocal filetype={filetype}
358 :endif
359 < This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
360 setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
361 settings and syntax files to be loaded.
362 {not in Vi}
364 :bro[wse] se[t] *:set-browse* *:browse-set* *:opt* *:options*
365 :opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
366 Options are grouped by function.
367 Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
368 short help to open a help window with more help for
369 the option.
370 Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
371 "set" line to set the new value. For window and
372 buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
373 used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
374 window, in which case the window below help window is
375 used (skipping the option-window).
376 {not available when compiled without the |+eval| or
377 |+autocmd| features}
379 *$HOME*
380 Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
381 option and after a space or comma.
383 On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
384 of user "user". Example: >
385 :set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
387 On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
388 contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
389 "gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
391 NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set"
392 command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
395 Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
396 the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
398 *:fix* *:fixdel*
399 :fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
400 't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes ~
401 CTRL-? CTRL-H
402 not CTRL-? CTRL-?
404 (CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi}
406 If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
407 code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
408 your .vimrc: >
409 :fixdel
410 < This works no matter what the actual code for
411 backspace is.
413 If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
414 use this: >
415 :if &term == "termname"
416 : set t_kb=^V<BS>
417 : fixdel
418 :endif
419 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
420 (don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
421 with your terminal name.
423 If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
424 CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use: >
425 :if &term == "termname"
426 : set t_kD=^V<Delete>
427 :endif
428 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
429 (don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
430 with your terminal name.
432 *Linux-backspace*
433 Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
434 produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
435 putting this line in your rc.local: >
436 echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
437 <
438 *NetBSD-backspace*
439 Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
440 the right code, try this: >
441 xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
442 < If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file: >
443 keysym 22 = BackSpace
444 < You need to restart for this to take effect.
446 ==============================================================================
447 2. Automatically setting options *auto-setting*
449 Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
450 to set options automatically for one or more files:
452 1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
453 |initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
454 and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
455 You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and
456 |:mksession|.
457 2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
458 This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
459 many other things. See |autocommand|.
460 3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
461 number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
462 modelines. This is explained here.
464 *modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:* *E520*
465 There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
466 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
468 [text] any text or empty
469 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
470 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
471 [white] optional white space
472 {options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
473 where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
474 command (can be empty)
476 Example:
477 vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6 ~
479 The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
481 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
483 [text] any text or empty
484 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
485 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
486 [white] optional white space
487 se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space)
488 {options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
489 argument for a ":set" command
490 : a colon
491 [text] any text or empty
493 Example:
494 /* vim: set ai tw=75: */ ~
496 The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
497 that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
498 "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
499 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
500 short for "example:").
502 *modeline-local*
503 The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
504 buffer and window that contain the file. Although it's possible to set global
505 options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and
506 the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result
507 depends on which one was opened last.
509 When editing a file that was already loaded, only the window-local options
510 from the modeline are used. Thus if you manually changed a buffer-local
511 option after opening the file, it won't be changed if you edit the same buffer
512 in another window. But window-local options will be set.
514 *modeline-version*
515 If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
516 number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
517 vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
518 vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
519 vim={vers}: version {vers}
520 vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
521 {vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
522 For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
523 /* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */ ~
524 To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
525 /* vim<570: set sw=4: */ ~
526 There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
529 The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
530 If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
532 Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
533 like:
534 /* vi:ts=4: */ ~
535 will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
536 /* vi:set ts=4: */ ~
538 If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
540 If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
541 backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
542 /* vi:set dir=c\:\tmp: */ ~
543 This sets the 'dir' option to "c:\tmp". Only a single backslash before the
544 ':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
546 No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
547 might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines). And not all options
548 can be set. For some options a flag is set, so that when it's used the
549 |sandbox| is effective. Still, there is always a small risk that a modeline
550 causes trouble. E.g., when some joker sets 'textwidth' to 5 all your lines
551 are wrapped unexpectedly. So disable modelines before editing untrusted text.
552 The mail ftplugin does this, for example.
554 Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
555 define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
556 example: >
557 au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
558 And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
559 "VAR".
561 ==============================================================================
562 3. Options summary *option-summary*
564 In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
565 an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
567 In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
568 is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
570 For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
571 used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
572 'compatible' is set.
574 Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
575 are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
576 different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
577 one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
578 at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
579 file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
580 the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
581 program.
583 global one option for all buffers and windows
584 local to window each window has its own copy of this option
585 local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
587 When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
588 are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
589 buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
590 'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for
591 buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
592 first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
593 is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
594 present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
595 buffer is created.
597 Hidden options *hidden-options*
599 Not all options are supported in all versions. This depends on the supported
600 features and sometimes on the system. A remark about this is in curly braces
601 below. When an option is not supported it may still be set without getting an
602 error, this is called a hidden option. You can't get the value of a hidden
603 option though, it is not stored.
605 To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use something like this: >
606 if exists('&foo')
607 This also returns true for a hidden option. To test if option "foo" is really
608 supported use something like this: >
609 if exists('+foo')
610 <
611 *E355*
612 A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
614 *'aleph'* *'al'* *aleph* *Aleph*
615 'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
616 global
617 {not in Vi}
618 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
619 feature}
620 The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
621 routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
622 (when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
623 outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
624 aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
625 See |rileft.txt|.
627 *'allowrevins'* *'ari'* *'noallowrevins'* *'noari'*
628 'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
629 global
630 {not in Vi}
631 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
632 feature}
633 Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
634 avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
635 into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
636 'revins'.
637 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
639 *'altkeymap'* *'akm'* *'noaltkeymap'* *'noakm'*
640 'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
641 global
642 {not in Vi}
643 {only available when compiled with the |+farsi|
644 feature}
645 When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles
646 the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
648 When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This
649 is useful to start the Vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right
650 mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left
651 mode). See |farsi.txt|.
653 *'ambiwidth'* *'ambw'*
654 'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
655 global
656 {not in Vi}
657 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
658 feature}
659 Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding.
660 Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class
661 Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek
662 letters, Cyrillic letters).
664 There are currently two possible values:
665 "single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
666 expected by most users.
667 "double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
669 There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for
670 those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in
671 legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro,
672 Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets,
673 therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also
674 true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text
675 file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or
676 Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font
677 (or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.),
678 this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived
679 by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has
680 to be set to "double" under CJK Windows 9x/ME or Windows 2k/XP
681 when the system locale is set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode
682 Standard Annex #11 (http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11).
684 *'antialias'* *'anti'* *'noantialias'* *'noanti'*
685 'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default: off)
686 global
687 {not in Vi}
688 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled
689 on Mac OS X}
690 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
691 v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts,
692 which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
693 Setting this option can sometimes cause problems if 'guifont' is set
694 to its default (empty string).
696 *'autochdir'* *'acd'* *'noautochdir'* *'noacd'*
697 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
698 global
699 {not in Vi}
700 {only available when compiled with it, use
701 exists("+autochdir") to check}
702 When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
703 open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
704 It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
705 or selected.
706 This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
707 released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
708 Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
710 *'arabic'* *'arab'* *'noarabic'* *'noarab'*
711 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
712 local to window
713 {not in Vi}
714 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
715 feature}
716 This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
717 Setting this option will:
718 - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
719 - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
720 - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
721 between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
722 - Set the 'delcombine' option
723 Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
725 Resetting this option will:
726 - Reset the 'rightleft' option.
727 - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
728 Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
729 option.
730 Also see |arabic.txt|.
732 *'arabicshape'* *'arshape'*
733 *'noarabicshape'* *'noarshape'*
734 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
735 global
736 {not in Vi}
737 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
738 feature}
739 When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
740 corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
741 take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
742 one which encompasses:
743 a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
744 within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
745 b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
746 c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
747 When disabled the display shows each character's true stand-alone
748 form.
749 Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
750 further details see |arabic.txt|.
752 *'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
753 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
754 local to buffer
755 Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
756 in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
757 type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
758 <Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
759 to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
760 in 'cpoptions'.
761 When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
762 reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
763 line.
764 When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
765 a different way.
766 The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
767 {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
768 <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
769 deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
771 *'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
772 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
773 global or local to buffer |global-local|
774 {not in Vi}
775 When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
776 it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
777 When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
778 If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
779 using the global value: >
780 :set autoread<
781 <
782 *'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
783 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
784 global
785 Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
786 :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
787 :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
788 '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
789 Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
790 'autowriteall' for that.
792 *'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
793 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
794 global
795 {not in Vi}
796 Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
797 ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
798 Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
799 been set.
801 *'background'* *'bg'*
802 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
803 global
804 {not in Vi}
805 When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
806 dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
807 look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
808 Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
809 This will not always be correct.
810 Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
811 what the background color looks like. For changing the background
812 color, see |:hi-normal|.
814 When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
815 the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
816 change. *g:colors_name*
817 When a color scheme is loaded (the "g:colors_name" variable is set)
818 setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
819 the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
820 However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
821 be undone. First delete the "g:colors_name" variable when needed.
823 When setting 'background' to the default value with: >
824 :set background&
825 < Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
826 in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
828 When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
829 "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
830 that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
831 "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
832 (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
833 color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
834 putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
835 of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
836 Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
837 depending on the terminal name. Example: >
838 :if &term == "pcterm"
839 : set background=dark
840 :endif
841 < When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
842 will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
843 the setting of the 'background' option.
844 This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
845 to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
846 option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
847 done with ":syntax on".
849 *'backspace'* *'bs'*
850 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
851 global
852 {not in Vi}
853 Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
854 mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
855 a way to backspace over something:
856 value effect ~
857 indent allow backspacing over autoindent
858 eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
859 start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
860 stop once at the start of insert.
862 When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
864 For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
865 value effect ~
866 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
867 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
868 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
870 See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
871 NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
873 *'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
874 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
875 global
876 {not in Vi}
877 Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
878 file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
879 backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
880 written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
881 the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
882 options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
883 |backup-table| for more explanations.
884 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
885 When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
886 oldest version of a file.
887 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
889 *'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
890 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
891 global
892 {not in Vi}
893 When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
894 done. This is a comma separated list of words.
896 The main values are:
897 "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
898 "no" rename the file and write a new one
899 "auto" one of the previous, what works best
901 Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
902 "breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
903 "breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
905 Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
906 - Takes extra time to copy the file.
907 + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
908 has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
909 - When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
910 not of the real file.
912 Renaming the file and writing a new one:
913 + It's fast.
914 - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
915 file.
916 - When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
918 The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
919 is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
920 the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a
921 copy will be made.
923 The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
924 combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
925 force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
926 exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
927 become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
928 useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
929 hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
930 be propagated back to the original source.
931 *crontab*
932 One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
933 that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
934 the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
935 backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
936 example.
938 When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
939 with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
940 symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
941 however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
942 group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
943 fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
944 others.
946 When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
947 the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
948 is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
949 link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
950 rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
951 written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
952 the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
953 again not rename the file.
955 *'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
956 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
957 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
958 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
959 global
960 {not in Vi}
961 List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
962 - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
963 where this is possible. The directory must exist, Vim will not
964 create it for you.
965 - Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
966 impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
967 - A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
968 as the edited file.
969 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
970 put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
971 leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
972 ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
973 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
974 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
975 name, precede it with a backslash.
976 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
977 - A directory name may end in an '/'.
978 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
979 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
980 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
981 :set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
982 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
983 of the option is removed.
984 See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
985 If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value: >
986 :set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
987 < You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
988 home directory for this to work properly.
989 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
990 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
991 uses another default.
992 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
993 security reasons.
995 *'backupext'* *'bex'* *E589*
996 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
997 global
998 {not in Vi}
999 String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
1000 backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
1001 accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
1002 prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
1003 ".bak" that you want to keep.
1004 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
1006 If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
1007 autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
1008 include a timestamp. >
1009 :au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' . strftime("%Y%b%d%X") . '~'
1010 < Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
1012 *'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
1013 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
1014 global
1015 {not in Vi}
1016 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
1017 feature}
1018 A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
1019 name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
1020 the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
1021 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
1022 Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
1023 When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
1024 default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
1026 Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
1027 $HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.: >
1028 :let backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') . '/tmp/*'
1030 < Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
1031 backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
1032 the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and |crontab|.
1034 *'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
1035 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
1036 global
1037 {not in Vi}
1038 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1039 feature}
1040 Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
1042 *'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
1043 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
1044 global
1045 {not in Vi}
1046 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1047 feature}
1048 Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
1050 *'balloonexpr'* *'bexpr'*
1051 'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
1052 global or local to buffer |global-local|
1053 {not in Vi}
1054 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1055 feature}
1056 Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
1057 when 'ballooneval' is on. These variables can be used:
1059 v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
1060 v:beval_winnr number of the window
1061 v:beval_lnum line number
1062 v:beval_col column number (byte index)
1063 v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
1065 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
1066 Example: >
1067 function! MyBalloonExpr()
1068 return 'Cursor is at line ' . v:beval_lnum .
1069 \', column ' . v:beval_col .
1070 \ ' of file ' . bufname(v:beval_bufnr) .
1071 \ ' on word "' . v:beval_text . '"'
1072 endfunction
1073 set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
1074 set ballooneval
1075 <
1076 NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
1077 character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
1078 Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
1079 or Sun Workshop).
1081 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
1082 |sandbox-option|.
1084 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
1085 evaluating 'balloonexpr' |textlock|.
1087 To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check: >
1088 if has("balloon_multiline")
1089 < When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
1090 expression evaluates to a |List| this is equal to using each List item
1091 as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
1093 *'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
1094 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
1095 local to buffer
1096 {not in Vi}
1097 This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
1098 use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
1099 options will be changed (also when it already was on):
1100 'textwidth' will be set to 0
1101 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
1102 'modeline' will be off
1103 'expandtab' will be off
1104 Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
1105 file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
1106 separates lines).
1107 The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
1108 file is read without conversion.
1109 NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
1110 on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
1111 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
1112 'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
1113 The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
1114 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
1115 saved option values.
1116 To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the |++bin| argument.
1117 This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
1118 files you edit.
1119 When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
1120 there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
1121 the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
1122 the 'endofline' option.
1124 *'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
1125 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
1126 global
1127 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1128 When on the BIOS is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
1129 better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
1130 terminal over a serial port reset this option.
1131 Also see |'conskey'|.
1133 *'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
1134 'bomb' boolean (default off)
1135 local to buffer
1136 {not in Vi}
1137 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1138 feature}
1139 When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
1140 Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
1141 - this option is on
1142 - the 'binary' option is off
1143 - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
1144 endian variants.
1145 Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
1146 Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
1147 causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
1148 appear halfway the resulting file. Gcc doesn't accept a BOM.
1149 When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
1150 check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
1151 Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
1152 don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
1153 will be restored when writing the file.
1155 *'breakat'* *'brk'*
1156 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
1157 global
1158 {not in Vi}
1159 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1160 feature}
1161 This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
1162 break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
1163 characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
1166 *'breakindent'* *'bri'*
1167 'breakindent' 'bri' boolean (default off)
1168 local to window
1169 {not in Vi}
1170 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1171 feature}
1172 Every wrapped line will continue visually indented (same amount of
1173 space as the beginning of that line), thus preserving horizontal blocks
1174 of text.
1176 *'breakindentmin'* *'brimin'*
1177 'breakindentmin' 'brimin' number (default 20)
1178 local to window
1179 {not in Vi}
1180 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1181 feature}
1182 Minimum text width that will be kept after applying 'breakindent',
1183 even if the resulting text should normally be narrower. This prevents
1184 text indented almost to the right window border oocupying lot of
1185 vertical space when broken.
1187 *'breakindentshift'* *'brishift'*
1188 'breakindentshift' 'brishift' number (default 20)
1189 local to window
1190 {not in Vi}
1191 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1192 feature}
1193 After applying 'breakindent', wrapped line beginning will be shift by
1194 given number of characters. It permits dynamic French paragraph
1195 indentation (negative) or emphasizing the line continuation
1196 (positive).
1198 *'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
1199 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
1200 global
1201 {not in Vi} {only for Motif, Athena, GTK, Mac and
1202 Win32 GUI}
1203 Which directory to use for the file browser:
1204 last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
1205 file was opened or saved.
1206 buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
1207 current Use the current directory.
1208 {path} Use the specified directory
1210 *'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
1211 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
1212 local to buffer
1213 {not in Vi}
1214 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1215 feature}
1216 This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
1217 displayed in a window:
1218 <empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
1219 hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
1220 is not set
1221 unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
1222 |:hide|
1223 delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1224 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1225 |:bdelete|
1226 wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1227 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1228 |:bwipeout|
1230 CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
1231 are lost without a warning.
1232 This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
1233 special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1235 *'buflisted'* *'bl'* *'nobuflisted'* *'nobl'* *E85*
1236 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
1237 local to buffer
1238 {not in Vi}
1239 When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
1240 it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
1241 This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
1242 a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
1243 But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
1245 *'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
1246 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
1247 local to buffer
1248 {not in Vi}
1249 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1250 feature}
1251 The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
1252 <empty> normal buffer
1253 nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
1254 written
1255 nowrite buffer which will not be written
1256 acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
1257 autocommands. {not available when compiled without the
1258 |+autocmd| feature}
1259 quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
1260 or list of locations |:lwindow|
1261 help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
1262 manually)
1264 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
1265 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1267 Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
1269 A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
1270 list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| and |:lwindow| commands and
1271 you are not supposed to change it.
1273 "nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
1274 both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
1275 work (":w filename" does work though).
1276 both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
1277 There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
1278 example when you quit Vim.
1279 both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
1280 (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
1281 file).
1282 nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
1283 file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
1284 command.
1285 *E676*
1286 "acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
1287 "nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
1288 "nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
1289 without saving. For writing there must be matching |BufWriteCmd|,
1290 |FileWriteCmd| or |FileAppendCmd| autocommands.
1292 *'casemap'* *'cmp'*
1293 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
1294 global
1295 {not in Vi}
1296 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1297 feature}
1298 Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
1299 these words, separated by a comma:
1300 internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
1301 locale does not change the case mapping. This only
1302 matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
1303 "latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
1304 omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
1305 functions are used when available.
1306 keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
1307 case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
1308 This probably only matters for Turkish.
1310 *'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
1311 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
1312 global
1313 {not in Vi}
1314 {not available when compiled without the
1315 |+file_in_path| feature}
1316 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
1317 |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
1318 for has a relative path, not an absolute part starting with "/", "./"
1319 or "../", the 'cdpath' option is not used then.
1320 The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
1321 |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
1322 The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
1323 in the current directory first.
1324 If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
1325 a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
1326 override it: >
1327 :let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
1328 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1329 security reasons.
1330 (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
1332 *'cedit'*
1333 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
1334 global
1335 {not in Vi}
1336 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1337 feature}
1338 The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
1339 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
1340 Only non-printable keys are allowed.
1341 The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
1342 type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples: >
1343 :set cedit=<C-Y>
1344 :set cedit=<Esc>
1345 < |Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
1346 See |cmdwin|.
1348 *'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214* *E513*
1349 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
1350 global
1351 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1352 feature and the |+eval| feature}
1353 {not in Vi}
1354 An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
1355 evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
1356 different encoding from what is desired.
1357 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
1358 supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
1359 preferred, because it is much faster.
1360 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
1361 file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
1362 The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
1363 non-zero for failure.
1364 The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
1365 Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
1366 used.
1367 Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
1368 is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
1369 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
1370 flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
1371 Example: >
1372 set charconvert=CharConvert()
1373 fun CharConvert()
1374 system("recode "
1375 \ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
1376 \ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
1377 return v:shell_error
1378 endfun
1379 < The related Vim variables are:
1380 v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
1381 v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
1382 v:fname_in name of the input file
1383 v:fname_out name of the output file
1384 Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
1385 Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
1386 from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
1387 Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
1388 to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
1389 of this.
1390 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1391 security reasons.
1393 *'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
1394 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
1395 local to buffer
1396 {not in Vi}
1397 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1398 feature}
1399 Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
1400 that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
1401 preferred indent style.
1402 If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
1403 If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
1404 the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
1405 external program.
1406 See |C-indenting|.
1407 When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
1408 option or 'indentexpr'.
1409 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
1410 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1412 *'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
1413 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
1414 local to buffer
1415 {not in Vi}
1416 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1417 feature}
1418 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
1419 the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
1420 empty.
1421 For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
1422 See |C-indenting|.
1424 *'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
1425 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
1426 local to buffer
1427 {not in Vi}
1428 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1429 feature}
1430 The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
1431 program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
1432 |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
1435 *'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
1436 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
1437 local to buffer
1438 {not in Vi}
1439 {not available when compiled without both the
1440 |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
1441 These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
1442 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
1443 an appropriate place (inside {}).
1444 Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
1445 matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
1446 "if,If,IF".
1448 *'clipboard'* *'cb'*
1449 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
1450 for X-windows, "" otherwise)
1451 global
1452 {not in Vi}
1453 {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
1454 feature is included}
1455 This option is a list of comma separated names.
1456 These names are recognized:
1458 unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
1459 for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
1460 would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
1461 register is explicitly specified, it will always be
1462 used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
1463 or not. The clipboard register can always be
1464 explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
1465 |gui-clipboard|.
1467 autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
1468 then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
1469 area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
1470 windowing system's global selection or put the
1471 selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
1472 register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
1473 details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
1474 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
1475 "autoselect" flag is used.
1476 Also applies to the modeless selection.
1478 autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
1479 only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
1481 html When the clipboard contains HTML, use this when
1482 pasting. When putting text on the clipboard, mark it
1483 as HTML. This works to copy rendered HTML from
1484 Firefox, paste it as raw HTML in Vim, select the HTML
1485 in Vim and paste it in a rich edit box in Firefox.
1486 Only supported for GTK version 2 and later.
1487 Only available with the |+multi_byte| feature.
1489 exclude:{pattern}
1490 Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
1491 the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
1492 connection will be made to the X server. This is
1493 useful in this situation:
1494 - Running Vim in a console.
1495 - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
1496 display.
1497 - You do not want to connect to the X server in the
1498 console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
1499 To never connect to the X server use: >
1500 exclude:.*
1501 < This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
1502 Note that when there is no connection to the X server
1503 the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
1504 cannot be accessed.
1505 The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
1506 interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
1507 The rest of the option value will be used for
1508 {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
1510 *'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
1511 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
1512 global
1513 {not in Vi}
1514 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
1515 |hit-enter| prompts.
1516 The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
1517 page can have a different value.
1519 *'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
1520 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
1521 global
1522 {not in Vi}
1523 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1524 feature}
1525 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
1527 *'columns'* *'co'* *E594*
1528 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
1529 global
1530 {not in Vi}
1531 Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
1532 initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
1533 |posix-screen-size|.
1534 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
1535 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
1536 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
1537 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
1538 number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
1539 the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
1540 what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
1541 window possible: >
1542 :set columns=9999
1543 < Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
1545 *'comments'* *'com'* *E524* *E525*
1546 'comments' 'com' string (default
1547 "s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
1548 local to buffer
1549 {not in Vi}
1550 {not available when compiled without the |+comments|
1551 feature}
1552 A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
1553 |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
1554 insert a space.
1556 *'commentstring'* *'cms'* *E537*
1557 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
1558 local to buffer
1559 {not in Vi}
1560 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
1561 feature}
1562 A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
1563 comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
1564 |fold-marker|.
1566 *'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
1567 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc|
1568 file is found)
1569 global
1570 {not in Vi}
1571 This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
1572 make Vim behave in a more useful way.
1573 This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
1574 other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
1575 resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
1576 are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
1577 set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
1578 very start.
1579 By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
1580 options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
1581 just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
1582 option.
1583 When a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file is found while Vim is starting up,
1584 this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
1585 modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
1586 that when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file exists, Vim will use the Vim
1587 defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
1588 happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
1589 with the |-u| argument). Also see |compatible-default| and
1590 |posix-compliance|.
1591 You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
1592 "-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
1593 Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
1594 that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
1595 marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
1596 At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
1597 or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
1598 below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
1599 editing.
1600 See also 'cpoptions'.
1602 option + set value effect ~
1604 'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
1605 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
1606 others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
1607 'backspace' "" normal backspace
1608 'backup' off no backup file
1609 'cindent' off no C code indentation
1610 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
1611 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
1612 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
1613 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
1614 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
1615 'digraph' off no digraphs
1616 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
1617 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
1618 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
1619 "dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
1620 'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
1621 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
1622 'history' + 0 no commandline history
1623 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
1624 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
1625 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
1626 'incsearch' off no incremental searching
1627 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
1628 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
1629 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
1630 characters and '_'
1631 'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
1632 'modeline' + off no modelines
1633 'more' + off no pauses in listings
1634 'revins' off no reverse insert
1635 'ruler' off no ruler
1636 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
1637 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
1638 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
1639 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
1640 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
1641 'showmode' + off current mode not shown
1642 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
1643 'smartindent' off no smart indentation
1644 'smarttab' off no smart tab size
1645 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
1646 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
1647 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
1648 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
1649 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
1650 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
1651 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
1652 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
1653 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
1654 use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
1655 'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
1657 *'complete'* *'cpt'* *E535*
1658 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
1659 local to buffer
1660 {not in Vi}
1661 This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
1662 when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
1663 completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
1664 and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
1665 . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
1666 w scan buffers from other windows
1667 b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1668 u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1669 U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
1670 k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
1671 kspell use the currently active spell checking |spell|
1672 k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
1673 patterns are valid too. For example: >
1674 :set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
1675 < s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
1676 s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
1677 are valid too.
1678 i scan current and included files
1679 d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
1680 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
1681 ] tag completion
1682 t same as "]"
1684 Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
1685 not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
1686 (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
1687 whole-line completion.
1689 The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1690 1. the current buffer
1691 2. buffers in other windows
1692 3. other loaded buffers
1693 4. unloaded buffers
1694 5. tags
1695 6. included files
1697 As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
1698 based expansion (e.g., dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
1699 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions).
1701 *'completefunc'* *'cfu'*
1702 'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
1703 local to buffer
1704 {not in Vi}
1705 {not available when compiled without the +eval
1706 or +insert_expand feature}
1707 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
1708 with CTRL-X CTRL-U. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
1709 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
1710 invoked and what it should return.
1713 *'completeopt'* *'cot'*
1714 'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
1715 global
1716 {not available when compiled without the
1717 |+insert_expand| feature}
1718 {not in Vi}
1719 A comma separated list of options for Insert mode completion
1720 |ins-completion|. The supported values are:
1722 menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
1723 menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
1724 sufficient colors are available. |ins-completion-menu|
1726 menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
1727 Useful when there is additional information about the
1728 match, e.g., what file it comes from.
1730 longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
1731 the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
1732 characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
1733 of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
1734 used.
1736 preview Show extra information about the currently selected
1737 completion in the preview window. Only works in
1738 combination with "menu" or "menuone".
1741 *'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
1742 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
1743 global
1744 {not in Vi}
1745 When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
1746 fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
1747 instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
1748 file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
1749 If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
1750 command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
1751 command.
1752 Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
1754 *'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
1755 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
1756 global
1757 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1758 When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
1759 This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
1760 three methods of console input are available:
1761 'conskey' 'bioskey' action ~
1762 on on or off direct console input
1763 off on BIOS
1764 off off STDIN
1766 *'copyindent'* *'ci'* *'nocopyindent'* *'noci'*
1767 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
1768 local to buffer
1769 {not in Vi}
1770 Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
1771 new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
1772 tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled,
1773 in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
1774 new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
1775 existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
1776 remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
1777 line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
1778 NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1779 Also see 'preserveindent'.
1781 *'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
1782 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
1783 Vi default: all flags)
1784 global
1785 {not in Vi}
1786 A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
1787 this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
1788 not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
1789 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
1790 Commas can be added for readability.
1791 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
1792 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
1793 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
1794 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
1795 NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
1796 the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
1797 variable exists |posix|. This means Vim tries to behave like the
1798 POSIX specification.
1800 contains behavior ~
1801 *cpo-a*
1802 a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1803 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1804 current window.
1805 *cpo-A*
1806 A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1807 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1808 current window.
1809 *cpo-b*
1810 b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
1811 the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
1812 the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
1813 command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
1814 include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
1815 mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
1816 See also |map_bar|.
1817 *cpo-B*
1818 B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
1819 abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
1820 Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
1821 CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
1822 results in X being mapped to:
1823 'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
1824 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
1825 ('<' excluded in both cases)
1826 *cpo-c*
1827 c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
1828 cursor position, but not further than the start of the
1829 next line. When not present searching continues
1830 one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
1831 "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
1832 "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
1833 *cpo-C*
1834 C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
1835 backslash. See |line-continuation|.
1836 *cpo-d*
1837 d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
1838 the tags file relative to the current file, but the
1839 tags file in the current directory.
1840 *cpo-D*
1841 D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
1842 commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
1843 |t|.
1844 *cpo-e*
1845 e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
1846 <CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
1847 linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
1848 is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
1849 <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
1850 and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
1851 *cpo-E*
1852 E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
1853 "gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
1854 at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
1855 This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
1856 *cpo-f*
1857 f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1858 argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
1859 if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
1860 *cpo-F*
1861 F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1862 argument will set the file name for the current
1863 buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
1864 yet. Also see |cpo-P|.
1865 *cpo-g*
1866 g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
1867 *cpo-H*
1868 H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
1869 before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
1870 the last blank.
1871 *cpo-i*
1872 i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
1873 leave it modified.
1874 *cpo-I*
1875 I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
1876 indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
1877 *cpo-j*
1878 j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
1879 not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
1880 *cpo-J*
1881 J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
1882 the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
1883 white space.
1884 *cpo-k*
1885 k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
1886 mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
1887 commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
1888 is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
1889 being mapped to:
1890 'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
1891 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
1892 Also see the '<' flag below.
1893 *cpo-K*
1894 K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
1895 halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
1896 only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
1897 enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
1898 *cpo-l*
1899 l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
1900 literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
1901 See |/[]|
1902 'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
1903 'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
1904 Also see |cpo-\|.
1905 *cpo-L*
1906 L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
1907 'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
1908 (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
1909 the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
1910 *cpo-m*
1911 m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
1912 second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
1913 a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
1914 *cpo-M*
1915 M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
1916 account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
1917 parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
1918 backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
1919 *cpo-n*
1920 n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
1921 be used for text of wrapped lines.
1922 *cpo-o*
1923 o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
1924 next search.
1925 *cpo-O*
1926 O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
1927 when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
1928 protection against a file unexpectedly created by
1929 someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
1930 *cpo-p*
1931 p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
1932 slightly better algorithm is used.
1933 *cpo-P*
1934 P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
1935 file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
1936 the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
1937 the 'F' flag is also included |cpo-F|.
1938 *cpo-q*
1939 q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
1940 position where it would be when joining two lines.
1941 *cpo-r*
1942 r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
1943 command, instead of the actually used search string.
1944 *cpo-R*
1945 R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
1946 marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
1947 *cpo-s*
1948 s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
1949 first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
1950 And it is the default. If not present the options are
1951 set when the buffer is created.
1952 *cpo-S*
1953 S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
1954 (except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
1955 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
1956 The options are set to the values in the current
1957 buffer. When you change an option and go to another
1958 buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
1959 buffer options global to all buffers.
1961 's' 'S' copy buffer options
1962 no no when buffer created
1963 yes no when buffer first entered (default)
1964 X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
1965 *cpo-t*
1966 t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
1967 "n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
1968 the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
1969 last used search pattern.
1970 *cpo-u*
1971 u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
1972 *cpo-v*
1973 v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
1974 Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
1975 erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
1976 screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
1977 characters.
1978 *cpo-w*
1979 w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
1980 character and not all blanks until the start of the
1981 next word.
1982 *cpo-W*
1983 W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
1984 overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
1985 *cpo-x*
1986 x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
1987 The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
1988 because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
1989 *cpo-X*
1990 X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
1991 deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
1992 and a count.
1993 *cpo-y*
1994 y A yank command can be redone with ".".
1995 *cpo-Z*
1996 Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
1997 don't reset 'readonly'.
1998 *cpo-!*
1999 ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
2000 external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
2001 used -filter- command is used.
2002 *cpo-$*
2003 $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
2004 line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
2005 The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
2006 new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
2007 command that moves the cursor from the insertion
2008 point.
2009 *cpo-%*
2010 % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
2011 Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
2012 Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
2013 Parens inside single and double quotes are also
2014 counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
2015 disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
2016 "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
2017 match the last one. When this flag is not included,
2018 parens inside single and double quotes are treated
2019 specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
2020 everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
2021 paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
2022 there is one). This works very well for C programs.
2023 This flag is also used for other features, such as
2024 C-indenting.
2025 *cpo--*
2026 - When included, a vertical movement command fails when
2027 it would go above the first line or below the last
2028 line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
2029 last line, unless it already was in that line.
2030 Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
2031 CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
2032 *cpo-+*
2033 + When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
2034 'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
2035 itself may still be different from its file.
2036 *cpo-star*
2037 * Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
2038 ":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
2039 *cpo-<*
2040 < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
2041 form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
2042 menu commands. For example, the command
2043 ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
2044 '<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
2045 '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
2046 Also see the 'k' flag above.
2047 *cpo->*
2048 > When appending to a register, put a line break before
2049 the appended text.
2051 POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
2052 when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. |posix|
2054 contains behavior ~
2055 *cpo-#*
2056 # A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
2057 *cpo-&*
2058 & When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
2059 exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
2060 This flag is tested when exiting.
2061 *cpo-\*
2062 \ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
2063 literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
2064 '\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
2065 '\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
2066 Also see |cpo-l|.
2067 *cpo-/*
2068 / When "%" is used as the replacement string in a |:s|
2069 command, use the previous replacement string. |:s%|
2070 *cpo-{*
2071 { The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
2072 at the start of a line.
2073 *cpo-.*
2074 . The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
2075 buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
2076 need this, since it remembers the full path of an
2077 opened file.
2078 *cpo-bar*
2079 | The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
2080 variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
2081 with system specific functions.
2084 *'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
2085 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
2086 global
2087 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2088 feature}
2089 {not in Vi}
2090 Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
2091 See |cscopepathcomp|.
2093 *'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
2094 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
2095 global
2096 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2097 feature}
2098 {not in Vi}
2099 Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
2100 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2101 security reasons.
2103 *'cscopequickfix'* *'csqf'*
2104 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
2105 global
2106 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2107 or |+quickfix| features}
2108 {not in Vi}
2109 Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
2110 See |cscopequickfix|.
2112 *'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
2113 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
2114 global
2115 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2116 feature}
2117 {not in Vi}
2118 Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
2119 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2121 *'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
2122 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
2123 global
2124 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2125 feature}
2126 {not in Vi}
2127 Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
2128 |cscopetagorder|.
2129 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
2131 *'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
2132 *'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
2133 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
2134 global
2135 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2136 feature}
2137 {not in Vi}
2138 Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
2139 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2142 *'cursorcolumn'* *'cuc'* *'nocursorcolumn'* *'nocuc'*
2143 'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
2144 local to window
2145 {not in Vi}
2146 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2147 feature}
2148 Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
2149 |hl-CursorColumn|. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
2150 slower.
2151 If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
2152 these autocommands: >
2153 au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
2154 au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
2155 <
2157 *'cursorline'* *'cul'* *'nocursorline'* *'nocul'*
2158 'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
2159 local to window
2160 {not in Vi}
2161 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2162 feature}
2163 Highlight the screen line of the cursor with CursorLine
2164 |hl-CursorLine|. Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen
2165 redrawing slower.
2166 When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
2167 easier to see the selected text.
2170 *'debug'*
2171 'debug' string (default "")
2172 global
2173 {not in Vi}
2174 These values can be used:
2175 msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2176 anyway.
2177 throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2178 anyway and also throw an exception and set |v:errmsg|.
2179 beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
2180 produced.
2181 The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
2182 "msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
2183 'indentexpr'.
2185 *'define'* *'def'*
2186 'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
2187 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2188 {not in Vi}
2189 Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
2190 pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
2191 commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
2192 used to recognize the defined name after the match:
2193 {match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
2194 See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
2195 or backslash.
2196 The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
2197 useful, to include const type declarations: >
2198 ^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
2199 < When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
2201 *'delcombine'* *'deco'* *'nodelcombine'* *'nodeco'*
2202 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
2203 global
2204 {not in Vi}
2205 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2206 feature}
2207 If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
2208 "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
2209 default) the character along with its combining characters are
2210 deleted.
2211 Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
2213 This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
2214 may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
2215 to remove only the combining ones.
2217 *'dictionary'* *'dict'*
2218 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
2219 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2220 {not in Vi}
2221 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
2222 for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
2223 contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
2224 words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
2225 preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
2226 When this option is empty, or an entry "spell" is present, spell
2227 checking is enabled the currently active spelling is used. |spell|
2228 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
2229 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
2230 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
2231 This has nothing to do with the |Dictionary| variable type.
2232 Where to find a list of words?
2233 - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
2234 - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
2235 - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
2236 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2237 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2238 uses another default.
2239 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
2241 *'diff'* *'nodiff'*
2242 'diff' boolean (default off)
2243 local to window
2244 {not in Vi}
2245 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2246 feature}
2247 Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
2248 between files. See |vimdiff|.
2250 *'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
2251 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
2252 global
2253 {not in Vi}
2254 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2255 feature}
2256 Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
2257 versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
2258 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2259 security reasons.
2261 *'dip'* *'diffopt'*
2262 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
2263 global
2264 {not in Vi}
2265 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2266 feature}
2267 Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
2268 All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
2270 filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
2271 synchronized with a window that has inserted
2272 lines at the same position. Mostly useful
2273 when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
2274 is set.
2276 context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
2277 and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
2278 When omitted a context of six lines is used.
2279 See |fold-diff|.
2281 icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
2282 are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
2283 to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
2285 iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
2286 the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
2287 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
2288 of the "diff" command for what this does
2289 exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
2290 white space, but not leading white space.
2292 horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
2293 explicitly specified otherwise).
2295 vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
2296 explicitly specified otherwise).
2298 foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
2299 starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
2301 Examples: >
2303 :set diffopt=filler,context:4
2304 :set diffopt=
2305 :set diffopt=filler,foldcolumn:3
2306 <
2307 *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
2308 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
2309 global
2310 {not in Vi}
2311 {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
2312 feature}
2313 Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
2314 {char2}. See |digraphs|.
2315 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2317 *'directory'* *'dir'*
2318 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
2319 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
2320 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
2321 global
2322 List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
2323 - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
2324 possible.
2325 - Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
2326 impossible!).
2327 - A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
2328 the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
2329 it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
2330 attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
2331 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
2332 put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
2333 "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
2334 - For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//"
2335 or "\\", the swap file name will be built from the complete path to
2336 the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs.
2337 This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
2338 On Win32, when a separating comma is following, you must use "//",
2339 since "\\" will include the comma in the file name.
2340 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
2341 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
2342 name, precede it with a backslash.
2343 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
2344 - A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
2345 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2346 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
2347 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
2348 :set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
2349 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
2350 of the option is removed.
2351 Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
2352 the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
2353 discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
2354 "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
2355 choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
2356 files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
2357 home directory is tried first.
2358 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2359 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2360 uses another default.
2361 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2362 security reasons.
2363 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
2365 *'display'* *'dy'*
2366 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
2367 global
2368 {not in Vi}
2369 Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
2370 flags:
2371 lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
2372 in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
2373 last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
2374 uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
2375 instead of using ^C and ~C.
2377 *'eadirection'* *'ead'*
2378 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
2379 global
2380 {not in Vi}
2381 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
2382 feature}
2383 Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
2384 ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
2385 hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
2386 both width and height of windows is affected
2388 *'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
2389 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
2390 global
2391 Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
2392 toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
2393 also 'gdefault' option.
2394 Switching this option on is discouraged!
2396 *'encoding'* *'enc'* *E543*
2397 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
2398 global
2399 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2400 feature}
2401 {not in Vi}
2402 Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
2403 the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
2404 viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
2405 with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
2407 NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
2408 existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
2409 It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
2410 starts up. See |multibyte|. To reload the menus see |:menutrans|.
2412 NOTE: For GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding' to
2413 "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
2414 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
2415 avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
2416 the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
2417 versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
2418 without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
2420 The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
2421 This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
2422 iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
2424 If you need to know whether 'encoding' is a multi-byte encoding, you
2425 can use: >
2426 if has("multi_byte_encoding")
2427 <
2428 Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
2429 be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
2430 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
2431 set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
2433 When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
2434 event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
2436 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2437 you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
2438 to '-' signs.
2439 When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
2440 For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
2441 "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
2443 Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
2444 This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
2445 actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
2446 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
2447 utf-8.
2449 When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
2450 You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
2451 |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
2452 setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
2453 effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
2455 When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
2456 not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
2458 *'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
2459 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
2460 local to buffer
2461 {not in Vi}
2462 When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
2463 is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
2464 option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
2465 the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
2466 which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
2467 option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
2468 file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
2469 <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
2470 the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
2471 it if you want to.
2473 *'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
2474 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
2475 global
2476 {not in Vi}
2477 When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
2478 splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
2479 option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
2480 size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
2481 closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
2482 (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
2483 When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
2484 is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
2485 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
2486 Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
2487 'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
2488 If a window size is specified when creating a new window sizes are
2489 currently not equalized (it's complicated, but may be implemented in
2490 the future).
2492 *'equalprg'* *'ep'*
2493 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
2494 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2495 {not in Vi}
2496 External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
2497 the internal formatting functions are used; either 'lisp', 'cindent'
2498 or 'indentexpr'. When Vim was compiled without internal formatting,
2499 the "indent" program is used.
2500 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
2501 about including spaces and backslashes.
2502 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2503 security reasons.
2505 *'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
2506 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
2507 global
2508 Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
2509 makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
2510 for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
2511 mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
2512 screen flash or do nothing.
2514 *'errorfile'* *'ef'*
2515 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
2516 others: "errors.err")
2517 global
2518 {not in Vi}
2519 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2520 feature}
2521 Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
2522 When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
2523 following argument. See |-q|.
2524 NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
2525 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2526 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
2527 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2528 security reasons.
2530 *'errorformat'* *'efm'*
2531 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
2532 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2533 {not in Vi}
2534 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2535 feature}
2536 Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
2537 (see |errorformat|).
2539 *'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
2540 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
2541 global
2542 {not in Vi}
2543 Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
2544 mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
2545 used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
2546 this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
2547 after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
2548 try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
2549 when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
2550 won't work by default.
2551 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2552 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2554 *'eventignore'* *'ei'*
2555 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
2556 global
2557 {not in Vi}
2558 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2559 feature}
2560 A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
2561 When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
2562 events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
2563 Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example: >
2564 :set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
2565 <
2566 *'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
2567 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
2568 local to buffer
2569 {not in Vi}
2570 In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
2571 <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
2572 when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
2573 on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
2574 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2576 *'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
2577 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
2578 global
2579 {not in Vi}
2580 Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
2581 directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
2582 setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
2583 .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
2584 also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
2585 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2586 security reasons.
2588 *'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
2589 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
2590 local to buffer
2591 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2592 feature}
2593 {not in Vi}
2594 Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
2595 When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
2596 done when writing the file. For reading see below.
2597 When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
2598 used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
2599 Conversion will also be done when 'encoding' and 'fileencoding' are
2600 both a Unicode encoding and 'fileencoding' is not utf-8. That's
2601 because internally Unicode is always stored as utf-8.
2602 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2603 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding, conversion
2604 is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion
2605 results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some
2606 characters may be lost!
2607 See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
2608 specified that can be handled by the converter, see
2609 |mbyte-conversion|.
2610 When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
2611 To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
2612 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. One exception: when
2613 'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2614 For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2615 Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
2616 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2617 you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
2618 replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
2619 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
2620 "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
2621 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2622 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2623 If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to
2624 avoid this.
2625 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2627 *'fe'*
2628 NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
2629 whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
2630 old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
2632 *'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
2633 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
2634 "ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
2635 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
2636 global
2637 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2638 feature}
2639 {not in Vi}
2640 This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
2641 an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
2642 mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
2643 in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
2644 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
2645 an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
2646 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2647 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
2648 conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
2649 conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
2650 "utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
2651 the |++bad| argument to specify what is done with characters
2652 that can't be converted.
2653 For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
2654 will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
2655 "ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
2656 another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
2657 preferred encoding is to be used. Example: >
2658 au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
2659 \ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
2660 < This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
2661 non-blank characters.
2662 When the |++enc| argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
2663 not used.
2664 Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
2665 of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with: >
2666 :setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
2667 < This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
2668 an empty file.
2669 The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
2670 (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
2671 by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
2672 An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
2673 because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
2674 accepted.
2675 The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
2676 environment. This is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful
2677 when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a
2678 non-latin1 encoding, such as Russian.
2679 When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
2680 sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the |8g8|
2681 command to find the illegal byte sequence.
2682 WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
2683 latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
2684 utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
2685 file
2686 cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
2687 If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
2688 See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
2689 Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
2690 is read.
2692 *'fileformat'* *'ff'*
2693 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
2694 Unix default: "unix",
2695 Macintosh default: "mac")
2696 local to buffer
2697 {not in Vi}
2698 This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
2699 reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
2700 dos <CR> <NL>
2701 unix <NL>
2702 mac <CR>
2703 When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
2704 See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
2705 For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
2706 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
2707 works like it was set to "unix'.
2708 This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
2709 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
2710 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2711 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2712 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2713 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
2714 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
2716 *'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
2717 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
2718 Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
2719 Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
2720 Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
2721 Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
2722 Vi others: "")
2723 global
2724 {not in Vi}
2725 This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
2726 starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
2727 buffer:
2728 - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
2729 always. It is not set automatically.
2730 - When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
2731 is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
2732 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
2733 buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
2734 - When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
2735 <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
2736 edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
2737 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
2738 'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2739 2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
2740 is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
2741 preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
2742 3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2743 This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
2744 or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
2745 present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
2746 Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
2747 the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
2748 the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2749 4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
2750 'fileformats' is used.
2751 When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
2752 this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
2753 file only, the option is not changed.
2754 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
2756 For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
2757 are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
2758 done:
2759 - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
2760 format will be used.
2761 - When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
2762 is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
2763 <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
2764 used.
2765 Also see |file-formats|.
2766 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
2767 string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
2768 otherwise 'textauto' is set.
2769 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2770 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2772 *'filetype'* *'ft'*
2773 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
2774 local to buffer
2775 {not in Vi}
2776 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2777 feature}
2778 When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
2779 All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
2780 executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
2781 name.
2782 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
2783 This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
2784 this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
2785 Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
2786 for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
2787 Example, for in an IDL file:
2788 /* vim: set filetype=idl : */ ~
2789 |FileType| |filetypes|
2790 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
2791 names. Example:
2792 /* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */ ~
2793 This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
2794 This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
2795 one dot may appear.
2796 Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
2797 type that is actually stored with the file.
2798 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
2799 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
2800 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
2802 *'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
2803 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-")
2804 global
2805 {not in Vi}
2806 {not available when compiled without the |+windows|
2807 and |+folding| features}
2808 Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
2809 It is a comma separated list of items:
2811 item default Used for ~
2812 stl:c ' ' or '^' statusline of the current window
2813 stlnc:c ' ' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
2814 vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
2815 fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
2816 diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
2818 Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
2819 "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
2820 otherwise.
2822 Example: >
2823 :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
2824 < This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
2825 be used when there is highlighting.
2827 for "stl" and "stlnc" only single-byte values are supported.
2829 The highlighting used for these items:
2830 item highlight group ~
2831 stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
2832 stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
2833 vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
2834 fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
2835 diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
2837 *'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
2838 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
2839 global
2840 {not in Vi}
2841 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
2842 feature}
2843 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
2844 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
2845 toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
2847 *'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
2848 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
2849 global
2850 {not in Vi}
2851 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2852 feature}
2853 When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
2854 its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
2855 automatically close when moving out of them.
2857 *'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
2858 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
2859 local to window
2860 {not in Vi}
2861 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2862 feature}
2863 When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
2864 of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
2865 value is 12.
2866 See |folding|.
2868 *'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
2869 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
2870 local to window
2871 {not in Vi}
2872 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2873 feature}
2874 When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
2875 switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
2876 folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
2877 with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
2878 'foldenable' is off.
2879 This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
2880 See |folding|.
2882 *'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
2883 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
2884 local to window
2885 {not in Vi}
2886 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2887 or |+eval| feature}
2888 The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
2889 for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|.
2891 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2892 |sandbox-option|.
2893 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
2894 on.
2896 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2897 evaluating 'foldexpr' |textlock|.
2899 *'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
2900 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
2901 local to window
2902 {not in Vi}
2903 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2904 feature}
2905 Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
2906 characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
2907 lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
2908 The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
2910 *'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
2911 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
2912 local to window
2913 {not in Vi}
2914 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2915 feature}
2916 Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
2917 Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
2918 close fewer folds.
2919 This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
2920 See |fold-foldlevel|.
2922 *'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
2923 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
2924 global
2925 {not in Vi}
2926 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2927 feature}
2928 Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
2929 Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
2930 some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
2931 This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
2932 overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
2933 ignores this option and closes all folds.
2934 It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
2935 overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
2936 When the value is negative, it is not used.
2938 *'foldmarker'* *'fmr'* *E536*
2939 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
2940 local to window
2941 {not in Vi}
2942 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2943 feature}
2944 The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
2945 must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
2946 marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
2947 See |fold-marker|.
2949 *'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
2950 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
2951 local to window
2952 {not in Vi}
2953 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2954 feature}
2955 The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
2956 |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
2957 |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
2958 |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
2959 |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
2960 |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
2961 |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
2963 *'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
2964 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
2965 local to window
2966 {not in Vi}
2967 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2968 feature}
2969 Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
2970 closed. Also for manually closed folds.
2971 Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
2972 "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
2973 than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
2975 *'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
2976 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
2977 local to window
2978 {not in Vi}
2979 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2980 feature}
2981 Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
2982 methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
2983 than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
2985 *'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
2986 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
2987 search,tag,undo")
2988 global
2989 {not in Vi}
2990 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2991 feature}
2992 Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
2993 command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
2994 list of items.
2995 item commands ~
2996 all any
2997 block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
2998 hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
2999 insert any command in Insert mode
3000 jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
3001 mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
3002 percent "%"
3003 quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
3004 search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
3005 (not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
3006 Also for |[s| and |]s|.
3007 tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
3008 undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
3009 When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
3010 the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
3011 When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
3012 this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
3013 whole closed fold.
3014 Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
3015 very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
3016 In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
3017 when text is inserted.
3018 To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
3019 set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
3021 *'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
3022 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
3023 local to window
3024 {not in Vi}
3025 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
3026 feature}
3027 An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
3028 fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
3030 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3031 |sandbox-option|.
3033 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3034 evaluating 'foldtext' |textlock|.
3036 *'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
3037 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
3038 local to buffer
3039 {not in Vi}
3040 This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
3041 formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
3042 on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
3043 be inserted for readability.
3044 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3045 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3046 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3047 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3049 *'formatlistpat'* *'flp'*
3050 'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
3051 local to buffer
3052 {not in Vi}
3053 A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
3054 the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
3055 The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
3056 the line below it. You can use |/\ze| to mark the end of the match
3057 while still checking more characters. There must be a character
3058 following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
3059 like there is no match.
3060 The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
3061 character and white space.
3063 *'formatprg'* *'fp'*
3064 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
3065 global
3066 {not in Vi}
3067 The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
3068 selected with the |gq| operator. The program must take the input on
3069 stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
3070 such a program.
3071 If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
3072 Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
3073 format function will be used |C-indenting|.
3074 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
3075 about including spaces and backslashes.
3076 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3077 |sandbox-option|.
3079 *'formatexpr'* *'fex'*
3080 'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
3081 local to buffer
3082 {not in Vi}
3083 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
3084 feature}
3085 Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the |gq|
3086 operator. When this option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
3088 The |v:lnum| variable holds the first line to be formatted.
3089 The |v:count| variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
3090 The |v:char| variable holds the character that is going to be
3091 inserted. This can be empty. Don't insert it yet!
3093 Example: >
3094 :set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
3095 < This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
3096 autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. |autoload|
3098 The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
3099 text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
3100 when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
3101 same spot relative to the text then! The |mode()| function will
3102 return "i" or "R" in this situation. When the function returns
3103 non-zero Vim will fall back to using the internal format mechanism.
3105 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3106 |sandbox-option|.
3108 *'fsync'* *'fs'*
3109 'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
3110 global
3111 {not in Vi}
3112 When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
3113 file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
3114 written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
3115 will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
3116 mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
3117 turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
3118 systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
3119 off.
3120 Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
3122 *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
3123 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
3124 global
3125 {not in Vi}
3126 When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
3127 all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
3128 is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
3129 of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
3131 command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off ~
3132 :s/// subst. all subst. one
3133 :s///g subst. one subst. all
3134 :s///gg subst. all subst. one
3136 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3138 *'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
3139 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
3140 global
3141 {not in Vi}
3142 Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
3143 This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
3144 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
3146 *'grepprg'* *'gp'*
3147 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
3148 Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
3149 Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
3150 VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
3151 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3152 {not in Vi}
3153 Program to use for the |:grep| command. This option may contain '%'
3154 and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
3155 line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
3156 will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
3157 |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3158 When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
3159 also work well with a single file: >
3160 :set grepprg=grep\ -nH
3161 < Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the |:grep| command
3162 works like |:vimgrep|, |:lgrep| like |:lvimgrep|, |:grepadd| like
3163 |:vimgrepadd| and |:lgrepadd| like |:lvimgrepadd|.
3164 See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
3165 apply equally to 'grepprg'.
3166 For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
3167 otherwise it's "grep -n".
3168 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3169 security reasons.
3171 *'guicursor'* *'gcr'* *E545* *E546* *E548* *E549*
3172 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
3173 ve:ver35-Cursor,
3174 o:hor50-Cursor,
3175 i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
3176 r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
3177 sm:block-Cursor
3178 -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
3179 for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
3180 "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
3181 r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
3182 global
3183 {not in Vi}
3184 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
3185 for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
3186 This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
3187 modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only
3188 the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by
3189 specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or
3190 horizontal cursor.
3191 For a console the 't_SI' and 't_EI' escape sequences are used.
3193 The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
3194 mode-list and an argument-list:
3195 mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
3196 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
3197 n Normal mode
3198 v Visual mode
3199 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
3200 if not specified)
3201 o Operator-pending mode
3202 i Insert mode
3203 r Replace mode
3204 c Command-line Normal (append) mode
3205 ci Command-line Insert mode
3206 cr Command-line Replace mode
3207 sm showmatch in Insert mode
3208 a all modes
3209 The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
3210 hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
3211 ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
3212 block block cursor, fills the whole character
3213 [only one of the above three should be present]
3214 blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
3215 blinkon{N}
3216 blinkoff{N}
3217 blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
3218 the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
3219 the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
3220 cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
3221 of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
3222 default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
3223 These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
3224 means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
3225 blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
3226 blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
3227 executing a command.
3228 To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
3229 |xterm-blink|.
3230 {group-name}
3231 a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
3232 for the cursor
3233 {group-name}/{group-name}
3234 Two highlight group names, the first is used when
3235 no language mappings are used, the other when they
3236 are. |language-mapping|
3238 Examples of parts:
3239 n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
3240 block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
3241 highlight group
3242 i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
3243 In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
3244 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
3245 "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
3246 faster.
3248 The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
3249 all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
3250 to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
3251 blinking: "a:blinkon0"
3253 Examples of cursor highlighting: >
3254 :highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
3255 :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
3256 <
3257 *'guifont'* *'gfn'*
3258 *E235* *E596* *E610* *E611*
3259 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
3260 global
3261 {not in Vi}
3262 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3263 This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
3264 In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
3265 the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
3266 font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
3267 The first valid font is used.
3269 On systems where 'guifontset' is supported (X11) and 'guifontset' is
3270 not empty, then 'guifont' is not used.
3272 Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
3273 precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
3274 backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
3275 |option-backslash|. For example: >
3276 :set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
3277 < will make Vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
3278 will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
3280 If none of the fonts can be loaded, Vim will keep the current setting.
3281 If an empty font list is given, Vim will try using other resource
3282 settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
3283 will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
3284 the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
3285 will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
3287 For Win32, GTK, Motif, Mac OS and Photon: >
3288 :set guifont=*
3289 < will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
3291 The font name depends on the GUI used. See |setting-guifont| for a
3292 way to set 'guifont' for various systems.
3294 For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this: >
3295 :set guifont=Andale\ Mono\ 11
3296 < That's all. XLFDs are not used. For Chinese this is reported to work
3297 well: >
3298 if has("gui_gtk2")
3299 set guifont=Bitstream\ Vera\ Sans\ Mono\ 12,Fixed\ 12
3300 set guifontwide=Microsoft\ Yahei\ 12,WenQuanYi\ Zen\ Hei\ 12
3301 endif
3302 <
3303 For Mac OSX you can use something like this: >
3304 :set guifont=Monaco:h10
3305 < Also see 'macatsui', it can help fix display problems.
3306 *E236*
3307 Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
3308 width). An exception is GTK 2: all fonts are accepted, but
3309 mono-spaced fonts look best.
3311 To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
3312 program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
3314 For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
3315 - takes these options in the font name:
3316 hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3317 wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3318 b - bold
3319 i - italic
3320 u - underline
3321 s - strikeout
3322 cXX - character set XX. Valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
3323 BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
3324 HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
3325 SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
3326 Normally you would use "cDEFAULT".
3328 Use a ':' to separate the options.
3329 - A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
3330 backslashes to escape the spaces.
3331 - Examples: >
3332 :set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
3333 :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
3334 < See also |font-sizes|.
3336 *'guifontset'* *'gfs'*
3337 *E250* *E252* *E234* *E597* *E598*
3338 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
3339 global
3340 {not in Vi}
3341 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3342 with the |+xfontset| feature}
3343 {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
3344 When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
3345 one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
3346 |xfontset|.
3347 Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
3348 a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
3349 |:highlight| command.
3350 The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
3351 character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
3352 'guifontset' will fail.
3353 Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
3354 the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
3355 used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
3356 including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
3357 fontset names.
3358 This example works on many X11 systems: >
3359 :set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
3360 <
3361 *'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231* *E533* *E534*
3362 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
3363 global
3364 {not in Vi}
3365 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3366 When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
3367 for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
3368 used.
3369 Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
3370 specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
3372 All GUI versions but GTK+ 2:
3374 'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and
3375 'guifontset' is empty or invalid.
3376 When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
3377 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
3378 double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
3380 GTK+ 2 GUI only: *guifontwide_gtk2*
3382 If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width
3383 characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8".
3384 Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide'
3385 automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the
3386 font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need
3387 to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice
3388 made by Pango/Xft.
3390 *'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
3391 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
3392 global
3393 {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
3394 The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
3395 the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
3396 e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
3397 be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
3398 lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
3399 screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
3400 screen.
3402 *'guioptions'* *'go'*
3403 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
3404 "agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena))
3405 global
3406 {not in Vi}
3407 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3408 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
3409 sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
3410 GUI should be used.
3411 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3412 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3414 Valid letters are as follows:
3415 *guioptions_a* *'go-a'*
3416 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
3417 or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
3418 the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
3419 Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
3420 applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
3421 ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
3422 application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
3423 is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
3424 Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
3425 applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
3426 If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
3427 windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
3428 by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
3429 The same applies to the modeless selection.
3430 *'go-A'*
3431 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
3432 applies to the modeless selection.
3434 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless ~
3435 "" - -
3436 "a" yes yes
3437 "A" - yes
3438 "aA" yes yes
3440 *'go-c'*
3441 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
3442 choices.
3443 *'go-e'*
3444 'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
3445 'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
3446 When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
3447 The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
3448 GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X and MS-Windows.
3449 *'go-f'*
3450 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
3451 where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
3452 editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
3453 can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
3454 foreground. |gui-fork|
3455 Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
3456 happened already when the |gvimrc| file is read.
3457 *'go-i'*
3458 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
3459 corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
3460 limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
3461 *'go-m'*
3462 'm' Menu bar is present.
3463 *'go-M'*
3464 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
3465 that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
3466 switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the |gvimrc|
3467 file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
3468 ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
3469 *'go-g'*
3470 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
3471 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
3472 Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
3473 *'go-t'*
3474 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
3475 GTK+, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
3476 *'go-T'*
3477 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, Photon
3478 and Athena GUIs.
3479 *'go-r'*
3480 'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
3481 *'go-R'*
3482 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3483 split window.
3484 *'go-l'*
3485 'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
3486 *'go-L'*
3487 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3488 split window.
3489 *'go-b'*
3490 'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
3491 the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
3492 flag is included. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3493 *'go-h'*
3494 'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
3495 line. Reduces computations. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3497 And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
3498 you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
3500 *'go-v'*
3501 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
3502 a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
3503 vertical layout is used anyway.
3504 *'go-p'*
3505 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
3506 window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
3507 the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
3508 before starting the GUI. Set it in your |gvimrc|. Adding or
3509 removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
3510 *'go-F'*
3511 'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
3514 *'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
3515 'guipty' boolean (default on)
3516 global
3517 {not in Vi}
3518 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3519 Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
3520 I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
3522 *'guitablabel'* *'gtl'*
3523 'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
3524 global
3525 {not in Vi}
3526 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3527 with the +windows feature}
3528 When nonempty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
3529 pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
3530 default label. See |setting-guitablabel| for more info.
3532 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
3533 'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
3535 Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
3536 present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
3537 used.
3539 *'guitabtooltip'* *'gtt'*
3540 'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
3541 global
3542 {not in Vi}
3543 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3544 with the +windows feature}
3545 When nonempty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
3546 pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
3547 This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
3548 You can include a line break. Simplest method is to use |:let|: >
3549 :let &guitabtooltip = "line one\nline two"
3550 <
3552 *'helpfile'* *'hf'*
3553 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
3554 (others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
3555 global
3556 {not in Vi}
3557 Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
3558 placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
3559 in 'runtimepath' will be used.
3560 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
3561 "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
3562 tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including
3563 spaces and backslashes.
3564 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3565 security reasons.
3567 *'helpheight'* *'hh'*
3568 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
3569 global
3570 {not in Vi}
3571 {not available when compiled without the +windows
3572 feature}
3573 Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
3574 ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
3575 current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
3576 windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
3577 set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
3579 *'helplang'* *'hlg'*
3580 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
3581 global
3582 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang|
3583 feature}
3584 {not in Vi}
3585 Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
3586 for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
3587 be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
3588 another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
3589 language and not in the English help.
3590 Example: >
3591 :set helplang=de,it
3592 < This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
3593 files.
3594 When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
3595 try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
3596 See |help-translated|.
3598 *'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
3599 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
3600 global
3601 {not in Vi}
3602 When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
3603 buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
3604 displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
3605 The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
3606 hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
3607 modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
3608 flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
3609 To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
3610 This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
3611 WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
3612 Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
3614 *'highlight'* *'hl'*
3615 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
3616 "8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
3617 e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
3618 M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
3619 s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,
3620 t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
3621 f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,
3622 C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,T:DiffText,
3623 >:SignColumn,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,
3624 R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,
3625 +:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
3626 x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb")
3627 global
3628 {not in Vi}
3629 This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
3630 occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
3631 first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
3632 use for that occasion. The occasions are:
3633 |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
3634 |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
3635 characters from 'showbreak'
3636 |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
3637 things in listings
3638 |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
3639 h (obsolete, ignored)
3640 |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
3641 |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
3642 |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
3643 |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3644 |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
3645 |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3646 |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
3647 |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
3648 |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3649 |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
3650 |hl-Visual| v Visual mode
3651 |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
3652 Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
3653 |xterm-clipboard|.
3654 |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
3655 |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
3656 |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
3657 |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
3658 |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode
3659 |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode
3660 |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode
3661 |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode
3662 |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs|
3663 |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell|
3664 |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital|spell|
3665 |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell|
3666 |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell|
3667 |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line
3668 |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu normal line
3669 |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar
3670 |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb
3672 The display modes are:
3673 r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
3674 i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
3675 b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
3676 s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
3677 u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
3678 c undercurl (termcap entry "Cs" and "Ce")
3679 n no highlighting
3680 - no highlighting
3681 : use a highlight group
3682 The default is used for occasions that are not included.
3683 If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
3684 for an example.
3685 When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
3686 a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
3687 of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
3688 define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
3689 See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
3691 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
3692 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
3693 global
3694 {not in Vi}
3695 {not available when compiled without the
3696 |+extra_search| feature}
3697 When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
3698 The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
3699 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
3700 default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
3701 are not applied.
3702 See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
3703 When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
3704 off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
3705 highlighting comes back.
3706 'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
3707 When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
3708 highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
3709 search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
3710 line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
3711 drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
3712 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3714 *'history'* *'hi'*
3715 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
3716 global
3717 {not in Vi}
3718 A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
3719 are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
3720 each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
3721 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3722 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3724 *'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
3725 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
3726 global
3727 {not in Vi}
3728 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3729 feature}
3730 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
3731 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
3732 toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
3733 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3735 *'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
3736 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
3737 global
3738 {not in Vi}
3739 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3740 feature}
3741 When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
3742 This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
3743 See |rileft.txt|.
3744 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3746 *'icon'* *'noicon'*
3747 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
3748 global
3749 {not in Vi}
3750 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3751 feature}
3752 When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
3753 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
3754 currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
3755 Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
3756 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
3757 only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
3758 Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
3759 builtin termcap).
3760 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3761 restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
3762 X11.
3764 *'iconstring'*
3765 'iconstring' string (default "")
3766 global
3767 {not in Vi}
3768 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3769 feature}
3770 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
3771 the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
3772 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
3773 (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
3774 Does not work for MS Windows.
3775 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3776 restored if possible |X11|.
3777 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
3778 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
3779 'titlestring' for example settings.
3780 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
3782 *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
3783 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
3784 global
3785 Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
3786 file.
3787 Also see 'smartcase'.
3788 Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
3789 |/ignorecase|.
3791 *'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
3792 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
3793 global
3794 {not in Vi}
3795 {only available when compiled with |+xim| and
3796 |+GUI_GTK|}
3797 Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
3798 activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
3799 IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
3800 You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
3801 tells Vim what the key is.
3802 Format:
3803 [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
3805 These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
3806 S Shift key
3807 L Lock key
3808 C Control key
3809 1 Mod1 key
3810 2 Mod2 key
3811 3 Mod3 key
3812 4 Mod4 key
3813 5 Mod5 key
3814 Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
3815 both shift+ctrl+space.
3816 See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
3818 Example: >
3819 :set imactivatekey=S-space
3820 < "S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
3821 canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
3823 *'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
3824 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
3825 global
3826 {not in Vi}
3827 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3828 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3829 When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
3830 line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
3831 Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
3832 English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
3833 characters with dead keys.
3835 *'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'noimdisable'* *'noimd'*
3836 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
3837 global
3838 {not in Vi}
3839 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3840 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3841 When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
3842 the IM when it doesn't work properly.
3843 Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX machines. This
3844 may change in later releases.
3846 *'iminsert'* *'imi'*
3847 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3848 local to buffer
3849 {not in Vi}
3850 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
3851 Insert mode. Valid values:
3852 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3853 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3854 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3855 2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
3856 or |global-ime|.
3857 To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
3858 this can be used: >
3859 :inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
3860 < This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
3861 mode.
3862 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
3863 |i_CTRL-^|.
3864 The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
3865 It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
3866 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3867 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3869 *'imsearch'* *'ims'*
3870 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3871 local to buffer
3872 {not in Vi}
3873 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
3874 entering a search pattern. Valid values:
3875 -1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
3876 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
3877 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3878 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3879 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3880 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
3881 |c_CTRL-^|.
3882 The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
3883 option to a valid keymap name.
3884 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3885 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3887 *'include'* *'inc'*
3888 'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
3889 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3890 {not in Vi}
3891 {not available when compiled without the
3892 |+find_in_path| feature}
3893 Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
3894 pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
3895 value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
3896 "]I", "[d", etc.
3897 Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
3898 comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
3899 then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
3900 appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
3901 that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
3902 'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
3903 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3905 *'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
3906 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
3907 local to buffer
3908 {not in Vi}
3909 {not available when compiled without the
3910 |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
3911 Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
3912 option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java: >
3913 :set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
3914 < The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
3916 Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
3917 found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
3918 Also used for |<cfile>|.
3920 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3921 |sandbox-option|.
3923 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3924 evaluating 'includeexpr' |textlock|.
3926 *'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
3927 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
3928 global
3929 {not in Vi}
3930 {not available when compiled without the
3931 |+extra_search| feature}
3932 While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
3933 so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
3934 is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
3935 often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
3936 Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
3937 original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
3938 still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
3939 cursor to the match.
3940 When compiled with the |+reltime| feature Vim only searches for about
3941 half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
3942 match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
3943 are typing the pattern.
3944 The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
3945 See also: 'hlsearch'.
3946 CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
3947 to the command line.
3948 CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
3949 match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
3950 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3952 *'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
3953 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
3954 local to buffer
3955 {not in Vi}
3956 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3957 or |+eval| features}
3958 Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
3959 It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
3960 in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
3961 When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
3962 'smartindent' indenting.
3963 When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
3964 The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
3965 which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
3966 when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
3967 The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
3968 can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
3969 used for the indent).
3970 Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
3971 and |lispindent()|.
3972 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
3973 not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
3974 cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
3975 Normally this option would be set to call a function: >
3976 :set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
3977 < Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
3978 "msg".
3979 See |indent-expression|.
3980 NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
3982 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3983 |sandbox-option|.
3985 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3986 evaluating 'indentexpr' |textlock|.
3989 *'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
3990 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
3991 local to buffer
3992 {not in Vi}
3993 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3994 feature}
3995 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
3996 the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
3997 The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
3998 See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
4000 *'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
4001 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
4002 local to buffer
4003 {not in Vi}
4004 When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
4005 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
4006 on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
4007 where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
4008 lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
4009 has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
4010 and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
4011 With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
4013 *'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
4014 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
4015 global
4016 {not in Vi}
4017 Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
4018 if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
4019 These Insert mode commands will be useful:
4020 - Use the cursor keys to move around.
4021 - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
4022 this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
4023 Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
4024 - Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
4025 <Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
4026 left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|
4028 These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
4029 - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
4030 - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
4031 - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
4032 - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
4033 - CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
4034 However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
4035 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
4036 mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
4037 When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
4039 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
4041 *'isfname'* *'isf'*
4042 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4043 "@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
4044 for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
4045 for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
4046 for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
4047 otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
4048 global
4049 {not in Vi}
4050 The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
4051 path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
4052 the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
4053 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4054 characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
4055 For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
4056 Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
4057 space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
4058 doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
4059 It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
4061 Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
4062 do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
4063 tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
4064 characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
4065 name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
4066 '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
4067 cmd.exe.
4069 The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
4070 Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
4071 character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
4072 decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
4073 not work for digits). Example:
4074 "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
4075 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
4076 If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
4077 will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
4078 to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
4079 included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
4080 option or the end of a range. Example:
4081 "^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
4082 If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
4083 are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
4084 plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
4085 "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
4086 case ASCII letters.
4087 "a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
4088 A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
4089 expected. Example:
4090 "48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
4091 A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
4092 " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
4093 comma, plus <Tab>.
4094 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4096 *'isident'* *'isi'*
4097 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4098 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4099 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
4100 global
4101 {not in Vi}
4102 The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
4103 Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
4104 match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
4105 |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
4106 option.
4107 Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
4108 environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
4109 expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
4111 *'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
4112 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
4113 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4114 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
4115 Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
4116 local to buffer
4117 {not in Vi}
4118 Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
4119 "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
4120 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
4121 programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
4122 For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
4123 '*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
4124 command).
4125 When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
4126 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4127 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4129 *'isprint'* *'isp'*
4130 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
4131 "@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
4132 global
4133 {not in Vi}
4134 The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
4135 screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
4136 space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
4137 even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
4138 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
4140 Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
4141 0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
4142 32 - 126 always single characters
4143 127 "^?"
4144 128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
4145 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
4146 255 "~?"
4147 When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
4148 displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
4149 When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
4150 displayed as <xx>.
4151 The SpecialKey highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
4152 |hl-SpecialKey|
4154 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4155 characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
4156 is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
4157 replacement character will be shown.
4158 Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
4159 There is no option to specify these characters.
4161 *'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
4162 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
4163 global
4164 {not in Vi}
4165 Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
4166 When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
4167 Otherwise only one space is inserted.
4168 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
4170 *'key'*
4171 'key' string (default "")
4172 local to buffer
4173 {not in Vi}
4174 The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
4175 See |encryption|.
4176 Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
4177 key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: >
4178 :set key=
4179 < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
4180 "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
4181 know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
4182 be careful not to make a typing error!
4184 *'keymap'* *'kmp'* *E544*
4185 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
4186 local to buffer
4187 {not in Vi}
4188 {only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
4189 feature}
4190 Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
4191 Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
4192 setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
4193 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
4194 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4196 *'keymodel'* *'km'*
4197 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
4198 global
4199 {not in Vi}
4200 List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
4201 can do. These values can be used:
4202 startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
4203 Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
4204 present in 'selectmode').
4205 stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
4206 Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
4207 <PageUp> and <PageDown>.
4208 The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4210 *'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
4211 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
4212 OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
4213 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4214 {not in Vi}
4215 Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
4216 expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
4217 help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
4218 value did this, which is now deprecated.)
4219 When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
4220 "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
4221 "-s" is removed when there is no count.
4222 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4223 Example: >
4224 :set keywordprg=man\ -s
4225 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4226 security reasons.
4228 *'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
4229 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
4230 global
4231 {not in Vi}
4232 {only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
4233 feature}
4234 This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
4235 mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
4236 inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
4237 care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
4238 of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
4239 be able to execute Normal mode commands.
4240 This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
4241 mapped in Insert mode.
4243 Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): *greek* >
4244 :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
4245 < Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands): >
4246 :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
4247 <
4248 The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
4249 part can be in one of two forms:
4250 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
4251 followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
4252 2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
4253 characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
4254 Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
4255 Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
4256 ";", ',' and backslash itself.
4258 This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
4259 back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
4260 be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
4261 langmap mappings) in the following cases:
4262 o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
4263 o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
4264 o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
4265 Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
4266 this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
4267 allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
4268 Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
4270 *'langmenu'* *'lm'*
4271 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
4272 global
4273 {not in Vi}
4274 {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
4275 |+multi_lang| features}
4276 Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
4277 from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath': >
4278 "lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
4279 < (without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
4280 matter what $LANG is set to: >
4281 :set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
4282 < When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
4283 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4284 If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
4285 the English menus: >
4286 :set langmenu=none
4287 < This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
4288 detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
4289 this option has no effect. But you could do this: >
4290 :source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
4291 :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
4292 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
4293 < Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
4295 *'laststatus'* *'ls'*
4296 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
4297 global
4298 {not in Vi}
4299 The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
4300 status line:
4301 0: never
4302 1: only if there are at least two windows
4303 2: always
4304 The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
4305 windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
4307 *'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
4308 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
4309 global
4310 {not in Vi}
4311 When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
4312 executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
4313 typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
4314 update use |:redraw|.
4316 *'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
4317 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
4318 local to window
4319 {not in Vi}
4320 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
4321 feature}
4322 If on, Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
4323 than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
4324 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
4325 it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents.
4326 If 'breakindent' is set, line is visually indented. Then, the value
4327 of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines. This option
4328 is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
4329 Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
4330 with the right amount of white space.
4332 *'lines'* *E593*
4333 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
4334 global
4335 Number of lines of the Vim window.
4336 Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
4337 terminal initialization code. Also see |posix-screen-size|.
4338 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
4339 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
4340 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
4341 Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
4342 use this command to get the tallest window possible: >
4343 :set lines=999
4344 < Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
4345 If you get less lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
4346 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
4347 number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
4349 *'linespace'* *'lsp'*
4350 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
4351 global
4352 {not in Vi}
4353 {only in the GUI}
4354 Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
4355 uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
4356 When non-zero there is room for underlining.
4357 With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
4358 space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
4359 'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
4360 though!
4362 *'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
4363 'lisp' boolean (default off)
4364 local to buffer
4365 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4366 feature}
4367 Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
4368 the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
4369 "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
4370 flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
4371 better. Also see 'lispwords'.
4372 The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
4373 "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
4374 calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
4375 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
4376 {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
4378 *'lispwords'* *'lw'*
4379 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
4380 global
4381 {not in Vi}
4382 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4383 feature}
4384 Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
4385 |'lisp'|
4387 *'list'* *'nolist'*
4388 'list' boolean (default off)
4389 local to window
4390 List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I is displayed, display $ after end of
4391 line. Useful to see the difference between tabs and spaces and for
4392 trailing blanks. Further changed by the 'listchars' option.
4394 The cursor is displayed at the start of the space a Tab character
4395 occupies, not at the end as usual in Normal mode. To get this cursor
4396 position while displaying Tabs with spaces, use: >
4397 :set list lcs=tab\ \
4398 <
4399 Note that list mode will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth'
4400 or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
4401 changing the way tabs are displayed.
4403 *'listchars'* *'lcs'*
4404 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
4405 global
4406 {not in Vi}
4407 Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
4408 settings.
4409 eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
4410 omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
4411 line.
4412 tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a tab. The first
4413 char is used once. The second char is repeated to
4414 fill the space that the tab normally occupies.
4415 "tab:>-" will show a tab that takes four spaces as
4416 ">---". When omitted, a tab is show as ^I.
4417 trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
4418 trailing spaces are blank.
4419 extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
4420 off and the line continues beyond the right of the
4421 screen.
4422 precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
4423 is off and there is text preceding the character
4424 visible in the first column.
4425 nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space (character
4426 0xA0, 160). Left blank when omitted.
4428 The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
4429 be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
4430 characters are allowed. All characters must be single width.
4432 Examples: >
4433 :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
4434 :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
4435 :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
4436 < The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
4437 "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "nbsp", "tab" and "trail".
4438 |hl-NonText| |hl-SpecialKey|
4440 *'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
4441 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
4442 global
4443 {not in Vi}
4444 When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
4445 This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
4446 of plugins.
4447 Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
4448 reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
4450 *'macatsui'* *'nomacatsui'*
4451 'macatsui' boolean (default on)
4452 global
4453 {only available in Mac GUI version}
4454 This is a workaround for when drawing doesn't work properly. When set
4455 and compiled with multi-byte support ATSUI text drawing is used. When
4456 not set ATSUI text drawing is not used. Switch this option off when
4457 you experience drawing problems. In a future version the problems may
4458 be solved and this option becomes obsolete. Therefore use this method
4459 to unset it: >
4460 if exists('&macatsui')
4461 set nomacatsui
4462 endif
4463 < Another option to check if you have drawing problems is
4464 'termencoding'.
4466 *'magic'* *'nomagic'*
4467 'magic' boolean (default on)
4468 global
4469 Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
4470 See |pattern|.
4471 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
4472 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
4473 old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
4474 'magic' is on. Include "\M" when you want to |/\M|.
4476 *'makeef'* *'mef'*
4477 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
4478 global
4479 {not in Vi}
4480 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
4481 feature}
4482 Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
4483 and the |:grep| command.
4484 When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
4485 When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
4486 unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
4487 existing file.
4488 NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
4489 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
4490 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4491 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4492 security reasons.
4494 *'makeprg'* *'mp'*
4495 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
4496 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4497 {not in Vi}
4498 Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|.
4499 This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded to
4500 the current and alternate file name. |:_%| |:_#|
4501 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
4502 about including spaces and backslashes.
4503 Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
4504 the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
4505 "myfilter" do it like this: >
4506 :set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
4507 < The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
4508 where the arguments will be included, for example: >
4509 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
4510 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4511 security reasons.
4513 *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
4514 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
4515 local to buffer
4516 {not in Vi}
4517 Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
4518 other. Currently only single byte character pairs are allowed, and
4519 they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon.
4520 The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
4521 '>' (HTML): >
4522 :set mps+=<:>
4524 < A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
4525 assignment, useful for languages like C and Java: >
4526 :au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
4528 < For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
4529 the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
4531 *'matchtime'* *'mat'*
4532 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
4533 global
4534 {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
4535 Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
4536 set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
4537 set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
4539 *'maxcombine'* *'mco'*
4540 'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
4541 global
4542 {not in Vi}
4543 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
4544 feature}
4545 The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
4546 Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
4547 The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
4548 Maximum value is 6.
4549 Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
4550 combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|.
4551 See |mbyte-combining|.
4553 *'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
4554 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
4555 global
4556 {not in Vi}
4557 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4558 feature}
4559 Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
4560 catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
4561 more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
4562 more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
4563 See also |:function|.
4565 *'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
4566 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
4567 global
4568 {not in Vi}
4569 Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
4570 character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
4571 ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
4572 because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
4573 |key-mapping|.
4575 *'maxmem'* *'mm'*
4576 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
4577 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4578 available)
4579 global
4580 {not in Vi}
4581 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
4582 limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
4583 other memory to be freed. The maximum usable value is about 2000000.
4584 Use this to work without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
4586 *'maxmempattern'* *'mmp'*
4587 'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
4588 global
4589 {not in Vi}
4590 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
4591 The maximum value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
4592 *E363*
4593 When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
4594 behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
4595 Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
4596 inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
4597 "\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
4598 Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit.
4600 *'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
4601 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
4602 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4603 available)
4604 global
4605 {not in Vi}
4606 Maximum amount of memory in Kbyte to use for all buffers together.
4607 The maximum usable value is about 2000000 (2 Gbyte). Use this to work
4608 without a limit. On 64 bit machines higher values might work. But
4609 hey, do you really need more than 2 Gbyte for text editing?
4610 Also see 'maxmem'.
4612 *'menuitems'* *'mis'*
4613 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
4614 global
4615 {not in Vi}
4616 {not available when compiled without the |+menu|
4617 feature}
4618 Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
4619 generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
4620 option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
4622 *'mkspellmem'* *'msm'*
4623 'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
4624 global
4625 {not in Vi}
4626 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
4627 feature}
4628 Parameters for |:mkspell|. This tunes when to start compressing the
4629 word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
4630 it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
4631 per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
4632 this tuning is complicated.
4634 There are three numbers, separated by commas:
4635 {start},{inc},{added}
4637 For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
4638 gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
4639 compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
4640 memory that is available to Vim.
4642 When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
4643 amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
4644 compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
4645 less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
4646 will be allocated.
4648 After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
4649 the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
4650 amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
4651 chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
4652 slower.
4654 The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
4655 Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
4656 you have 1 Gbyte you could use: >
4657 :set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
4658 < If you have less than 512 Mbyte |:mkspell| may fail for some
4659 languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
4661 *'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
4662 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
4663 Vi default: off)
4664 local to buffer
4665 *'modelines'* *'mls'*
4666 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
4667 global
4668 {not in Vi}
4669 If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
4670 checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
4671 no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
4672 NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4673 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4675 *'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
4676 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
4677 local to buffer
4678 {not in Vi} *E21*
4679 When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
4680 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
4681 Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
4683 *'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
4684 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
4685 local to buffer
4686 {not in Vi}
4687 When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
4688 when:
4689 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
4690 |undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
4691 option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
4692 buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
4693 when it was written.
4694 2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
4695 value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
4696 written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
4697 values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
4698 reset.
4699 When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
4700 will be ignored.
4702 *'more'* *'nomore'*
4703 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
4704 global
4705 {not in Vi}
4706 When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
4707 the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
4708 listing continues until finished.
4709 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4710 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4712 *'mouse'* *E538*
4713 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
4714 global
4715 {not in Vi}
4716 Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
4717 (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, QNX pterm, *BSD console with
4718 sysmouse and Linux console with gpm). For using the mouse in the
4719 GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
4720 The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
4721 n Normal mode
4722 v Visual mode
4723 i Insert mode
4724 c Command-line mode
4725 h all previous modes when editing a help file
4726 a all previous modes
4727 r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
4728 Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with: >
4729 :set mouse=a
4730 < When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
4731 modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
4733 See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
4735 Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
4736 "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
4737 the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
4738 Also see the 'clipboard' option.
4740 *'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
4741 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
4742 global
4743 {not in Vi}
4744 {only works in the GUI}
4745 The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
4746 When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
4747 mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
4748 default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
4749 a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
4751 *'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
4752 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
4753 global
4754 {not in Vi}
4755 {only works in the GUI}
4756 When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
4757 The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
4759 *'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
4760 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
4761 global
4762 {not in Vi}
4763 Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
4764 the right mouse button is used for:
4765 extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
4766 like in an xterm.
4767 popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
4768 mouse button extends a selection. This works like
4769 with Microsoft Windows.
4770 popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
4771 position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
4772 selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
4773 If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
4774 be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
4775 course, that right clicking outside a selection will
4776 end Visual mode.
4777 Overview of what button does what for each model:
4778 mouse extend popup(_setpos) ~
4779 left click place cursor place cursor
4780 left drag start selection start selection
4781 shift-left search word extend selection
4782 right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
4783 right drag extend selection -
4784 middle click paste paste
4786 In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
4787 You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
4789 Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
4790 See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
4791 selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
4793 The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4795 *'mouseshape'* *'mouses'* *E547*
4796 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
4797 m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
4798 global
4799 {not in Vi}
4800 {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape|
4801 feature}
4802 This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
4803 different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much
4804 like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
4805 and an argument-list:
4806 mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
4807 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
4808 In a normal window: ~
4809 n Normal mode
4810 v Visual mode
4811 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
4812 if not specified)
4813 o Operator-pending mode
4814 i Insert mode
4815 r Replace mode
4817 Others: ~
4818 c appending to the command-line
4819 ci inserting in the command-line
4820 cr replacing in the command-line
4821 m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
4822 ml idem, but cursor in the last line
4823 e any mode, pointer below last window
4824 s any mode, pointer on a status line
4825 sd any mode, while dragging a status line
4826 vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
4827 vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
4828 a everywhere
4830 The shape is one of the following:
4831 avail name looks like ~
4832 w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
4833 w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
4834 w x beam I-beam
4835 w x updown up-down sizing arrows
4836 w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
4837 w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
4838 w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
4839 x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
4840 x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
4841 x crosshair like a big thin +
4842 x hand1 black hand
4843 x hand2 white hand
4844 x pencil what you write with
4845 x question big ?
4846 x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
4847 w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
4848 x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
4850 The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
4851 x for X11.
4852 Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
4853 pointer.
4855 Example: >
4856 :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
4857 < will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
4858 indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
4859 clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
4861 *'mousetime'* *'mouset'*
4862 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
4863 global
4864 {not in Vi}
4865 Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
4866 time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
4867 recognized as a multi click.
4869 *'mzquantum'* *'mzq'*
4870 'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
4871 global
4872 {not in Vi}
4873 {not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme|
4874 feature}
4875 The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
4876 Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
4878 *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
4879 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
4880 local to buffer
4881 {not in Vi}
4882 This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
4883 CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
4884 respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
4885 alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
4886 incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
4887 letter index a), b), etc.
4888 octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
4889 to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
4890 hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
4891 considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
4892 "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
4893 Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
4894 considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
4895 recognized as octal or hex.
4897 *'number'* *'nu'* *'nonumber'* *'nonu'*
4898 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
4899 local to window
4900 Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
4901 excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
4902 line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
4903 The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
4904 number.
4905 When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
4906 characters are put before the number.
4907 See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
4909 *'numberwidth'* *'nuw'*
4910 'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
4911 local to window
4912 {not in Vi}
4913 {only available when compiled with the |+linebreak|
4914 feature}
4915 Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
4916 when the 'number' option is set or printing lines with a line number.
4917 Since one space is always between the number and the text, there is
4918 one less character for the number itself.
4919 The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
4920 fit the highest line number in the buffer. Thus with the Vim default
4921 of 4 there is room for a line number up to 999. When the buffer has
4922 1000 lines five columns will be used.
4923 The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 10.
4924 NOTE: 'numberwidth' is reset to 8 when 'compatible' is set.
4926 *'omnifunc'* *'ofu'*
4927 'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
4928 local to buffer
4929 {not in Vi}
4930 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4931 or +insert_expand feature}
4932 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
4933 completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
4934 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
4935 invoked and what it should return.
4936 This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
4937 |:filetype-plugin-on|
4940 *'opendevice'* *'odev'* *'noopendevice'* *'noodev'*
4941 'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
4942 global
4943 {not in Vi}
4944 {only for MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
4945 Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
4946 device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
4947 it is off by default.
4948 Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
4949 result in editing a device.
4952 *'operatorfunc'* *'opfunc'*
4953 'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
4954 global
4955 {not in Vi}
4956 This option specifies a function to be called by the |g@| operator.
4957 See |:map-operator| for more info and an example.
4959 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4960 security reasons.
4963 *'osfiletype'* *'oft'* *E366*
4964 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
4965 others default: "")
4966 local to buffer
4967 {not in Vi}
4968 {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype|
4969 feature}
4970 Some operating systems store extra information about files besides
4971 name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra
4972 information, the nature of which will vary between systems.
4973 The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and
4974 is used to set the operating system file type when file is written.
4975 It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands.
4976 |autocmd-osfiletypes|
4978 *'paragraphs'* *'para'*
4979 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp")
4980 global
4981 Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
4982 of two letters (see |object-motions|).
4984 *'paste'* *'nopaste'*
4985 'paste' boolean (default off)
4986 global
4987 {not in Vi}
4988 Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
4989 some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
4990 unexpected effects.
4991 Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
4992 cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
4993 knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
4994 being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
4995 mouse clicks itself.
4996 This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
4997 your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
4998 'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
4999 will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
5000 When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
5001 - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
5002 - abbreviations are disabled
5003 - 'textwidth' is set to 0
5004 - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
5005 - 'autoindent' is reset
5006 - 'smartindent' is reset
5007 - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
5008 - 'revins' is reset
5009 - 'ruler' is reset
5010 - 'showmatch' is reset
5011 - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
5012 These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
5013 - 'lisp'
5014 - 'indentexpr'
5015 - 'cindent'
5016 NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
5017 on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
5018 settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
5019 set the 'paste' option again.
5020 When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
5021 the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
5022 Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
5023 Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
5024 the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
5026 *'pastetoggle'* *'pt'*
5027 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
5028 global
5029 {not in Vi}
5030 When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
5031 option. This is like specifying a mapping: >
5032 :map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
5033 < Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
5034 The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
5035 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
5036 Command-line mode.
5037 Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
5038 when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
5039 this: >
5040 :map <F10> :set paste<CR>
5041 :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
5042 :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
5043 :imap <F11> <nop>
5044 :set pastetoggle=<F11>
5045 < This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
5046 Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
5047 mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
5048 sequence.
5049 When the value has several bytes 'ttimeoutlen' applies.
5051 *'pex'* *'patchexpr'*
5052 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
5053 global
5054 {not in Vi}
5055 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
5056 feature}
5057 Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
5058 the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
5060 *'patchmode'* *'pm'* *E206*
5061 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
5062 global
5063 {not in Vi}
5064 When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
5065 to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
5066 source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
5067 copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
5068 name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
5069 appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
5070 ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The
5071 backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has
5072 been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a
5073 backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is
5074 created.
5075 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
5076 Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
5077 end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
5078 recognized as a compressed file.
5079 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
5081 *'path'* *'pa'* *E343* *E345* *E347*
5082 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
5083 on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,,"
5084 other systems: ".,,")
5085 global or local to buffer |global-local|
5086 {not in Vi}
5087 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
5088 |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find|, |:sfind|, |:tabfind| and other commands,
5089 provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not
5090 starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The directories in the 'path'
5091 option may be relative or absolute.
5092 - Use commas to separate directory names: >
5093 :set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
5094 < - Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
5095 compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
5096 name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space: >
5097 :set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
5098 < - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
5099 backslash: >
5100 :set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
5101 < - To search relative to the directory of the current file, use: >
5102 :set path=.
5103 < - To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
5104 commas: >
5105 :set path=,,
5106 < - A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
5107 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5108 - When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
5109 "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
5110 - Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree using "*", "**" and
5111 ";". See |file-searching| for info and syntax.
5112 {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
5113 - Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option: >
5114 :set path=.,c:\\include
5115 < Or just use '/' instead: >
5116 :set path=.,c:/include
5117 < Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
5118 the file!
5119 The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
5120 it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
5121 You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
5122 'path', see |:checkpath|.
5123 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
5124 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
5125 uses another default. To remove the current directory use: >
5126 :set path-=
5127 < To add the current directory use: >
5128 :set path+=
5129 < To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
5130 separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
5131 names are separated with a semi-colon: >
5132 :let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
5133 < Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
5134 this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
5136 *'preserveindent'* *'pi'* *'nopreserveindent'* *'nopi'*
5137 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
5138 local to buffer
5139 {not in Vi}
5140 When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
5141 indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
5142 series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is
5143 enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
5144 means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
5145 for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
5146 'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
5147 a Tab.
5148 NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
5149 tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
5150 NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5151 Also see 'copyindent'.
5152 Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
5154 *'previewheight'* *'pvh'*
5155 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
5156 global
5157 {not in Vi}
5158 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5159 |+quickfix| feature}
5160 Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated
5161 commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
5163 *'previewwindow'* *'nopreviewwindow'*
5164 *'pvw'* *'nopvw'* *E590*
5165 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
5166 local to window
5167 {not in Vi}
5168 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5169 |+quickfix| feature}
5170 Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
5171 set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
5172 |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
5174 *'printdevice'* *'pdev'*
5175 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
5176 global
5177 {not in Vi}
5178 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5179 feature}
5180 The name of the printer to be used for |:hardcopy|.
5181 See |pdev-option|.
5182 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5183 security reasons.
5185 *'printencoding'* *'penc'*
5186 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for some systems)
5187 global
5188 {not in Vi}
5189 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5190 and |+postscript| features}
5191 Sets the character encoding used when printing.
5192 See |penc-option|.
5194 *'printexpr'* *'pexpr'*
5195 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
5196 global
5197 {not in Vi}
5198 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5199 and |+postscript| features}
5200 Expression used to print the PostScript produced with |:hardcopy|.
5201 See |pexpr-option|.
5203 *'printfont'* *'pfn'*
5204 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
5205 global
5206 {not in Vi}
5207 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5208 feature}
5209 The name of the font that will be used for |:hardcopy|.
5210 See |pfn-option|.
5212 *'printheader'* *'pheader'*
5213 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
5214 global
5215 {not in Vi}
5216 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5217 feature}
5218 The format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output.
5219 See |pheader-option|.
5221 *'printmbcharset'* *'pmbcs'*
5222 'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
5223 global
5224 {not in Vi}
5225 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5226 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5227 The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5228 See |pmbcs-option|.
5230 *'printmbfont'* *'pmbfn'*
5231 'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
5232 global
5233 {not in Vi}
5234 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5235 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5236 List of font names to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5237 See |pmbfn-option|.
5239 *'printoptions'* *'popt'*
5240 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
5241 global
5242 {not in Vi}
5243 {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
5244 List of items that control the format of the output of |:hardcopy|.
5245 See |popt-option|.
5247 *'prompt'* *'noprompt'*
5248 'prompt' boolean (default on)
5249 global
5250 When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
5252 *'pumheight'* *'ph'*
5253 'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
5254 global
5255 {not available when compiled without the
5256 |+insert_expand| feature}
5257 {not in Vi}
5258 Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
5259 Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
5260 |ins-completion-menu|.
5263 *'quoteescape'* *'qe'*
5264 'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
5265 local to buffer
5266 {not in Vi}
5267 The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
5268 objects like a', a" and a` |a'|.
5269 When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
5270 the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
5271 text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
5273 *'readonly'* *'ro'* *'noreadonly'* *'noro'*
5274 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
5275 local to buffer
5276 If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
5277 accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
5278 in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
5279 When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
5280 buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
5281 {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is
5282 set for the newly edited buffer.
5284 *'redrawtime'* *'rdt'*
5285 'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
5286 global
5287 {not in Vi}
5288 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime|
5289 feature}
5290 The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
5291 searching for patterns for 'hlsearch' and |:match| highlighting.
5292 When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
5293 matches will be highlighted. This is used to avoid that Vim hangs
5294 when using a very complicated pattern.
5296 *'remap'* *'noremap'*
5297 'remap' boolean (default on)
5298 global
5299 Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
5300 a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
5301 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
5302 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
5303 old Vi scripts.
5305 *'report'*
5306 'report' number (default 2)
5307 global
5308 Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
5309 changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
5310 ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
5311 For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
5312 instead of the number of lines.
5314 *'restorescreen'* *'rs'* *'norestorescreen'* *'nors'*
5315 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
5316 global
5317 {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
5318 When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
5319 happens when executing external commands.
5321 For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
5322 options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
5323 set t_ti= t_te=
5324 To enable restoring (for an xterm):
5325 set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
5326 (Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
5328 *'revins'* *'ri'* *'norevins'* *'nori'*
5329 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
5330 global
5331 {not in Vi}
5332 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5333 feature}
5334 Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
5335 backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
5336 command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
5337 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
5339 *'rightleft'* *'rl'* *'norightleft'* *'norl'*
5340 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
5341 local to window
5342 {not in Vi}
5343 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5344 feature}
5345 When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
5346 that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
5347 Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
5348 are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
5349 This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
5350 simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
5351 useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
5352 and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
5353 in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
5355 *'rightleftcmd'* *'rlc'* *'norightleftcmd'* *'norlc'*
5356 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
5357 local to window
5358 {not in Vi}
5359 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5360 feature}
5361 Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
5362 right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
5364 search "/" and "?" commands
5366 This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
5367 The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
5369 *'ruler'* *'ru'* *'noruler'* *'noru'*
5370 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
5371 global
5372 {not in Vi}
5373 {not available when compiled without the
5374 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5375 Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
5376 comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
5377 text in the file is shown on the far right:
5378 Top first line is visible
5379 Bot last line is visible
5380 All first and last line are visible
5381 45% relative position in the file
5382 If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
5383 Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
5384 ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
5385 screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
5386 this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'
5387 If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
5388 bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both
5389 the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
5390 separated with a dash.
5391 For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
5392 For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
5393 This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5394 If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
5395 you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|.
5396 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5398 *'rulerformat'* *'ruf'*
5399 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
5400 global
5401 {not in Vi}
5402 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
5403 feature}
5404 When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
5405 string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
5406 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
5407 The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
5408 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
5409 Example: >
5410 :set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
5411 <
5412 *'runtimepath'* *'rtp'* *vimfiles*
5413 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
5414 Unix: "$HOME/.vim,
5415 $VIM/vimfiles,
5416 $VIMRUNTIME,
5417 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5418 $HOME/.vim/after"
5419 Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
5420 $VIM/vimfiles,
5421 $VIMRUNTIME,
5422 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5423 home:vimfiles/after"
5424 PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
5425 $VIM/vimfiles,
5426 $VIMRUNTIME,
5427 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5428 $HOME/vimfiles/after"
5429 Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles,
5430 $VIMRUNTIME,
5431 $VIM:vimfiles:after"
5432 RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
5433 $VIMRUNTIME,
5434 Choices:vimfiles/after"
5435 VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
5436 $VIM/vimfiles,
5437 $VIMRUNTIME,
5438 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5439 sys$login:vimfiles/after")
5440 global
5441 {not in Vi}
5442 This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
5443 files:
5444 filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype|
5445 scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts|
5446 autoload/ automatically loaded scripts |autoload-functions|
5447 colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme|
5448 compiler/ compiler files |:compiler|
5449 doc/ documentation |write-local-help|
5450 ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin|
5451 indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression|
5452 keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap|
5453 lang/ menu translations |:menutrans|
5454 menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim|
5455 plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin|
5456 print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding|
5457 spell/ spell checking files |spell|
5458 syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile|
5459 tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
5461 And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
5463 The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
5464 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
5465 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
5466 administrator.
5467 3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
5468 *after-directory*
5469 4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
5470 for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
5471 defaults (rarely needed)
5472 5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
5473 personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
5474 or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
5476 Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
5477 wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
5478 runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
5479 wildcards.
5480 See |:runtime|.
5481 Example: >
5482 :set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
5483 < This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
5484 personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
5485 group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
5486 files).
5487 You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
5488 distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
5489 to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
5490 a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
5491 runtime files.
5492 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5493 security reasons.
5495 *'scroll'* *'scr'*
5496 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
5497 local to window
5498 Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
5499 set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
5500 changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
5501 be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
5502 height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives
5503 the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference
5504 when lines wrap}
5506 *'scrollbind'* *'scb'* *'noscrollbind'* *'noscb'*
5507 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
5508 local to window
5509 {not in Vi}
5510 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5511 feature}
5512 See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current
5513 window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have
5514 this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the
5515 differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
5516 See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be
5517 interpreted.
5518 This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
5519 file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
5520 with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
5522 *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
5523 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
5524 global
5525 {not in Vi}
5526 Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
5527 screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
5528 CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
5529 When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
5530 percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
5531 height.
5532 NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
5534 *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
5535 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
5536 global
5537 {not in Vi}
5538 Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
5539 This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
5540 you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
5541 in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
5542 when long lines wrap).
5543 For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
5544 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5546 *'scrollopt'* *'sbo'*
5547 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
5548 global
5549 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5550 feature}
5551 {not in Vi}
5552 This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
5553 'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
5554 Options.
5555 The following words are available:
5556 ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5557 hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5558 jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
5559 scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
5560 displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
5561 around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
5562 reach a position before the start or after the end of
5563 the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
5564 moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
5565 to the desired position when possible.
5566 When now making that window the current one, two
5567 things can be done with the relative offset:
5568 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
5569 adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
5570 window. When going back to the other window, the
5571 new relative offset will be used.
5572 2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
5573 scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
5574 going back to the other window, it still uses the
5575 same relative offset.
5576 Also see |scroll-binding|.
5577 When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
5578 even when "ver" isn't there.
5580 *'sections'* *'sect'*
5581 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
5582 global
5583 Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
5584 two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start
5585 at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
5587 *'secure'* *'nosecure'* *E523*
5588 'secure' boolean (default off)
5589 global
5590 {not in Vi}
5591 When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
5592 ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
5593 displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
5594 problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
5595 only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
5596 dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
5597 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
5598 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5599 security reasons.
5601 *'selection'* *'sel'*
5602 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
5603 global
5604 {not in Vi}
5605 This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
5606 in Visual and Select mode.
5607 Possible values:
5608 value past line inclusive ~
5609 old no yes
5610 inclusive yes yes
5611 exclusive yes no
5612 "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
5613 character past the line.
5614 "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
5615 in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
5616 selection.
5617 Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
5618 backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
5619 starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
5621 The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5623 *'selectmode'* *'slm'*
5624 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
5625 global
5626 {not in Vi}
5627 This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start
5628 Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
5629 Possible values:
5630 mouse when using the mouse
5631 key when using shifted special keys
5632 cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
5633 See |Select-mode|.
5634 The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5636 *'sessionoptions'* *'ssop'*
5637 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
5638 help,options,tabpages,winsize")
5639 global
5640 {not in Vi}
5641 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
5642 feature}
5643 Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma
5644 separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
5645 something:
5646 word save and restore ~
5647 blank empty windows
5648 buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
5649 curdir the current directory
5650 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
5651 fold options
5652 globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
5653 and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
5654 String and Number types are stored.
5655 help the help window
5656 localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
5657 global values for local options)
5658 options all options and mappings (also global values for local
5659 options)
5660 resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
5661 sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
5662 will become the current directory (useful with
5663 projects accessed over a network from different
5664 systems)
5665 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
5666 slashes
5667 tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
5668 is restored, so that you can make a session for each
5669 tab page separately
5670 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
5671 on Windows or DOS
5672 winpos position of the whole Vim window
5673 winsize window sizes
5675 Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
5676 When neither "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored
5677 with absolute paths.
5678 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
5679 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
5680 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
5682 *'shell'* *'sh'* *E91*
5683 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
5684 MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or
5685 "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
5686 global
5687 Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
5688 value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
5689 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
5690 It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
5691 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
5692 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5693 If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose
5694 it in quotes. Example: >
5695 :set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
5696 < Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
5697 each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
5698 "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
5699 name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
5700 separators.
5701 For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment
5702 variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the
5703 libc.inf file of DJGPP.
5704 Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
5705 included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
5706 works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
5707 filtering).
5708 For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
5709 changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this: >
5710 :set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
5711 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5712 security reasons.
5714 *'shellcmdflag'* *'shcf'*
5715 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5716 does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
5717 global
5718 {not in Vi}
5719 Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
5720 "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like
5721 systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to
5722 reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for
5723 OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about
5724 including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|.
5725 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5726 security reasons.
5728 *'shellpipe'* *'sp'*
5729 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")
5730 global
5731 {not in Vi}
5732 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
5733 feature}
5734 String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
5735 error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about
5736 including spaces and backslashes.
5737 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5738 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5739 of this option).
5740 For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly
5741 saved in a file and not echoed to the screen.
5742 For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
5743 in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
5744 "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
5745 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes
5746 "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included. Before using
5747 the 'shell' option a path is removed, thus "/bin/sh" uses "sh".
5748 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5749 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5750 there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
5751 explicitly set before.
5752 When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
5753 ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
5754 that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
5755 want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
5756 Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
5757 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5758 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5759 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5760 security reasons.
5762 *'shellquote'* *'shq'*
5763 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5764 contains "sh" somewhere: "\"")
5765 global
5766 {not in Vi}
5767 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5768 the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
5769 quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
5770 probably not useful to set both options.
5771 This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
5772 third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell
5773 or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according
5774 the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the
5775 user. See |dos-shell|.
5776 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5777 security reasons.
5779 *'shellredir'* *'srr'*
5780 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
5781 global
5782 {not in Vi}
5783 String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
5784 file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
5785 and backslashes.
5786 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5787 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5788 of this option).
5789 The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh"
5790 or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
5791 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes
5792 ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included.
5793 For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked
5794 for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with
5795 ".exe" appended are checked for.
5796 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5797 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5798 there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
5799 explicitly set before.
5800 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5801 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5802 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5803 security reasons.
5805 *'shellslash'* *'ssl'* *'noshellslash'* *'nossl'*
5806 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
5807 global
5808 {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5809 When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
5810 useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or
5811 cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to
5812 forward slashes by Vim.
5813 Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
5814 existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
5815 any file for best results. This might change in the future.
5816 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
5817 separator. To test if this is so use: >
5818 if exists('+shellslash')
5819 <
5820 *'shelltemp'* *'stmp'* *'noshelltemp'* *'nostmp'*
5821 'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
5822 global
5823 {not in Vi}
5824 When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
5825 When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
5826 Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix. You can check it with: >
5827 :if has("filterpipe")
5828 < The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
5829 and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
5830 The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
5831 can be detected.
5832 The |FilterReadPre|, |FilterReadPost| and |FilterWritePre|,
5833 |FilterWritePost| autocommands event are not triggered when
5834 'shelltemp' is off.
5836 *'shelltype'* *'st'*
5837 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
5838 global
5839 {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
5840 On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
5841 which use a shell.
5842 0 and 1: always use the shell
5843 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
5844 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
5845 When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
5847 0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
5848 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
5850 *'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
5851 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
5852 for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
5853 somewhere: "\""
5854 for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
5855 global
5856 {not in Vi}
5857 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5858 the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
5859 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
5860 to set both options.
5861 This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for
5862 third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn
5863 Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted
5864 according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option
5865 by the user. See |dos-shell|.
5866 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5867 security reasons.
5869 *'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
5870 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
5871 global
5872 {not in Vi}
5873 Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
5874 commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
5875 a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
5876 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5878 *'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
5879 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
5880 local to buffer
5881 Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
5882 |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
5884 *'shortmess'* *'shm'*
5885 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "",
5886 POSIX default: "A")
5887 global
5888 {not in Vi}
5889 This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file
5890 messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
5891 It is a list of flags:
5892 flag meaning when present ~
5893 f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)"
5894 i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]"
5895 l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters"
5896 m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]"
5897 n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]"
5898 r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]"
5899 w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
5900 and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
5901 x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
5902 "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
5903 a all of the above abbreviations
5905 o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
5906 for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
5907 O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
5908 Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
5909 s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
5910 hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
5911 t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
5912 on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column.
5913 Ignored in Ex mode.
5914 T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
5915 fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.
5916 Ignored in Ex mode.
5917 W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file
5918 A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
5919 is found.
5920 I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
5922 This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
5923 requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
5924 possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
5925 would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
5926 Useful values:
5927 shm= No abbreviation of message.
5928 shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
5929 shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
5931 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5932 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5934 *'shortname'* *'sn'* *'noshortname'* *'nosn'*
5935 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
5936 local to buffer
5937 {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
5938 Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
5939 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
5940 option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
5941 adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available
5942 for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful
5943 when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
5944 or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this
5945 option is always on by default.
5947 *'showbreak'* *'sbr'* *E595*
5948 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
5949 global
5950 {not in Vi}
5951 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
5952 feature}
5953 String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
5954 values are "> " or "+++ ": >
5955 :set showbreak=>\
5956 < Note the backslash to escape the trailing space. It's easier like
5957 this: >
5958 :let &showbreak = '+++ '
5959 < Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
5960 comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
5961 part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
5962 The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
5963 'highlight'.
5964 Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
5965 If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
5966 "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
5968 *'showcmd'* *'sc'* *'noshowcmd'* *'nosc'*
5969 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
5970 off)
5971 global
5972 {not in Vi}
5973 {not available when compiled without the
5974 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5975 Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
5976 option off if your terminal is slow.
5977 In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
5978 - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
5979 - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
5980 - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters:
5981 {lines}x{columns}.
5982 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5983 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5985 *'showfulltag'* *'sft'* *'noshowfulltag'* *'nosft'*
5986 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
5987 global
5988 {not in Vi}
5989 When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the
5990 tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
5991 pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
5992 matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
5993 required (coding style permitting).
5994 Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
5995 'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
5996 match the typed text.
5998 *'showmatch'* *'sm'* *'noshowmatch'* *'nosm'*
5999 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
6000 global
6001 When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
6002 jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
6003 show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
6004 A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
6005 seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
6006 When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
6007 will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
6008 See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
6009 blinking when showing the match.
6010 The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
6011 matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
6012 matches.
6013 Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
6014 around |pi_paren.txt|.
6015 Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
6017 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
6018 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6019 global
6020 If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
6021 Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
6022 this message.
6023 When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
6024 doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
6025 not set.
6026 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6027 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6029 *'showtabline'* *'stal'*
6030 'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
6031 global
6032 {not in Vi}
6033 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6034 feature}
6035 The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
6036 will be displayed:
6037 0: never
6038 1: only if there are at least two tab pages
6039 2: always
6040 This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
6041 line.
6042 See |tab-page| for more information about tab pages.
6044 *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
6045 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
6046 global
6047 {not in Vi}
6048 The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
6049 the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
6050 When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
6051 When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
6052 a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
6053 commands.
6055 *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
6056 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
6057 global
6058 {not in Vi}
6059 The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
6060 right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
6061 value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero
6062 value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
6063 horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
6064 to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
6065 horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
6066 close to the beginning of the line.
6067 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6069 Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
6070 in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
6071 onto the "extends" character:
6073 :set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
6074 :set sidescrolloff=1
6077 *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
6078 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
6079 global
6080 {not in Vi}
6081 Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
6082 case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
6083 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
6084 ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After
6085 "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
6086 recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
6087 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6089 *'smartindent'* *'si'* *'nosmartindent'* *'nosi'*
6090 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
6091 local to buffer
6092 {not in Vi}
6093 {not available when compiled without the
6094 |+smartindent| feature}
6095 Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
6096 programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
6097 something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
6098 see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect.
6099 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative.
6100 Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
6101 An indent is automatically inserted:
6102 - After a line ending in '{'.
6103 - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
6104 - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
6105 When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
6106 given the same indent as the matching '{'.
6107 When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
6108 that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
6109 is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
6110 mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
6111 When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
6112 right.
6113 NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste'
6114 is set smart indenting is disabled.
6116 *'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
6117 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
6118 global
6119 {not in Vi}
6120 When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
6121 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
6122 <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
6123 line.
6124 When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
6125 'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
6126 right |shift-left-right|.
6127 What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
6128 option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
6129 number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6130 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6132 *'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
6133 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
6134 local to buffer
6135 {not in Vi}
6136 Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
6137 operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
6138 <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
6139 used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
6140 of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
6141 commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
6142 When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
6143 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
6144 See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
6145 spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6146 The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
6147 set.
6148 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6150 *'spell'* *'nospell'*
6151 'spell' boolean (default off)
6152 local to window
6153 {not in Vi}
6154 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6155 feature}
6156 When on spell checking will be done. See |spell|.
6157 The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
6159 *'spellcapcheck'* *'spc'*
6160 'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
6161 local to buffer
6162 {not in Vi}
6163 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6164 feature}
6165 Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
6166 checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
6167 with SpellCap |hl-SpellCap| (unless the word is also badly spelled).
6168 When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
6169 Only used when 'spell' is set.
6170 Be careful with special characters, see |option-backslash| about
6171 including spaces and backslashes.
6172 To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
6173 |set-spc-auto|.
6175 *'spellfile'* *'spf'*
6176 'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
6177 local to buffer
6178 {not in Vi}
6179 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6180 feature}
6181 Name of the word list file where words are added for the |zg| and |zw|
6182 commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
6183 path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
6184 *E765*
6185 It may also be a comma separated list of names. A count before the
6186 |zg| and |zw| commands can be used to access each. This allows using
6187 a personal word list file and a project word list file.
6188 When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
6189 you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
6190 there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
6191 name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
6192 ignoring the region.
6193 The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
6194 have to appear in 'spelllang'.
6195 Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
6196 name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
6197 'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
6198 without region name will be found.
6199 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6200 security reasons.
6202 *'spelllang'* *'spl'*
6203 'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
6204 local to buffer
6205 {not in Vi}
6206 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6207 feature}
6208 A comma separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
6209 on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example: >
6210 set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
6211 < This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
6212 that are not recognized will be highlighted.
6213 The word list name must not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
6214 recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
6215 specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
6216 A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
6217 the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
6218 region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
6219 English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
6220 Britain.
6221 *E757*
6222 As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
6223 first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
6224 (_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
6225 This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
6226 encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
6227 When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
6228 idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
6229 files twice.
6230 How the related spell files are found is explained here: |spell-load|.
6232 If the |spellfile.vim| plugin is active and you use a language name
6233 for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
6234 will ask you if you want to download the file.
6236 After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
6237 "spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
6238 up to the first comma, dot or underscore.
6239 Also see |set-spc-auto|.
6242 *'spellsuggest'* *'sps'*
6243 'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
6244 global
6245 {not in Vi}
6246 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6247 feature}
6248 Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the |z=| command and
6249 the |spellsuggest()| function. This is a comma-separated list of
6250 items:
6252 best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
6253 changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
6254 scoring to improve the ordering.
6256 double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
6257 results. The first method is "fast", the other method
6258 computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
6259 word. That only works when the language specifies
6260 sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
6261 better results.
6263 fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
6264 character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
6265 simple typing mistakes.
6267 {number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for |z=|.
6268 Not used for |spellsuggest()|. The number of
6269 suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
6270 minus two.
6272 file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
6273 separated by a slash. The first column contains the
6274 bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
6275 Example:
6276 theribal/terrible ~
6277 Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
6278 top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
6279 Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
6280 comments.
6281 The file is used for all languages.
6283 expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
6284 trouble with spaces. |v:val| holds the badly spelled
6285 word. The expression must evaluate to a List of
6286 Lists, each with a suggestion and a score.
6287 Example:
6288 [['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
6289 Set 'verbose' and use |z=| to see the scores that the
6290 internal methods use. A lower score is better.
6291 This may invoke |spellsuggest()| if you temporarily
6292 set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
6293 Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
6294 'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
6296 Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
6297 appear several times in any order. Example: >
6298 :set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
6299 <
6300 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6301 security reasons.
6304 *'splitbelow'* *'sb'* *'nosplitbelow'* *'nosb'*
6305 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
6306 global
6307 {not in Vi}
6308 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6309 feature}
6310 When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
6311 one. |:split|
6313 *'splitright'* *'spr'* *'nosplitright'* *'nospr'*
6314 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
6315 global
6316 {not in Vi}
6317 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
6318 feature}
6319 When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
6320 current one. |:vsplit|
6322 *'startofline'* *'sol'* *'nostartofline'* *'nosol'*
6323 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
6324 global
6325 {not in Vi}
6326 When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
6327 non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
6328 (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B,
6329 CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", gg, and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>"
6330 with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing
6331 commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that
6332 only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
6333 In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
6334 where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
6335 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
6337 *'statusline'* *'stl'* *E540* *E541* *E542*
6338 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
6339 global or local to window |global-local|
6340 {not in Vi}
6341 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
6342 feature}
6343 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line.
6344 Also see |status-line|.
6346 The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
6347 normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
6348 %-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
6349 All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can
6350 be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
6352 When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
6353 evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example: >
6354 :set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
6355 < The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
6357 When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
6358 empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
6360 Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
6361 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
6363 field meaning ~
6364 - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
6365 when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
6366 0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
6367 minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
6368 Value must be 50 or less.
6369 maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
6370 on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
6371 shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
6372 where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
6373 an exponential notation.
6374 item A one letter code as described below.
6376 Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
6377 second character in "item" is the type:
6378 N for number
6379 S for string
6380 F for flags as described below
6381 - not applicable
6383 item meaning ~
6384 f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
6385 directory.
6386 F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
6387 t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
6388 m F Modified flag, text is "[+]"; "[-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
6389 M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
6390 r F Readonly flag, text is "[RO]".
6391 R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
6392 h F Help buffer flag, text is "[help]".
6393 H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
6394 w F Preview window flag, text is "[Preview]".
6395 W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
6396 y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., "[vim]". See 'filetype'.
6397 Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
6398 {not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
6399 k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
6400 being used: "<keymap>"
6401 n N Buffer number.
6402 b N Value of byte under cursor.
6403 B N As above, in hexadecimal.
6404 o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
6405 Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
6406 {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
6407 O N As above, in hexadecimal.
6408 N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
6409 l N Line number.
6410 L N Number of lines in buffer.
6411 c N Column number.
6412 v N Virtual column number.
6413 V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
6414 p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|.
6415 P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
6416 percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
6417 a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
6418 Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
6419 { NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
6420 Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'.
6421 ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
6422 alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
6423 ) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
6424 T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
6425 label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6426 X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
6427 label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
6428 mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6429 < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
6430 No width fields allowed.
6431 = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
6432 No width fields allowed.
6433 # - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
6434 Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
6435 highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
6436 windows.
6437 * - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
6438 minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
6439 The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied
6440 to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
6441 The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
6443 When displaying a flag, Vim removes the leading comma, if any, when
6444 that flag comes right after plaintext. This will make a nice display
6445 when flags are used like in the examples below.
6447 When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
6448 not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
6449 become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
6450 completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set. >
6451 :set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
6452 <
6453 Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
6454 line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set
6455 temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
6456 currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
6457 The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the
6458 real current buffer.
6460 The 'statusline' option may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
6461 |sandbox-option|.
6463 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
6464 evaluating 'statusline' |textlock|.
6466 If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
6467 a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
6468 setting an option without changing its value. Example: >
6469 :let &ro = &ro
6471 < A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
6472 Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
6473 described above.
6475 Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
6476 If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
6477 edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
6479 Examples:
6480 Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set >
6481 :set statusline=%<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
6482 < Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga") >
6483 :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
6484 < Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red. >
6485 :set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
6486 :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
6487 < Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded >
6488 :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
6489 < In the |:autocmd|'s: >
6490 :let b:gzflag = 1
6491 < And: >
6492 :unlet b:gzflag
6493 < And define this function: >
6494 :function VarExists(var, val)
6495 : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
6496 :endfunction
6497 <
6498 *'suffixes'* *'su'*
6499 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
6500 global
6501 {not in Vi}
6502 Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
6503 match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the
6504 suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
6505 the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
6506 separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about
6507 including spaces and backslashes).
6508 See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
6509 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6510 suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6511 uses another default.
6513 *'suffixesadd'* *'sua'*
6514 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
6515 local to buffer
6516 {not in Vi}
6517 {not available when compiled without the
6518 |+file_in_path| feature}
6519 Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
6520 file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example: >
6521 :set suffixesadd=.java
6522 <
6523 *'swapfile'* *'swf'* *'noswapfile'* *'noswf'*
6524 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
6525 local to buffer
6526 {not in Vi}
6527 Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
6528 swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
6529 confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
6530 Careful: All text will be in memory:
6531 - Don't use this for big files.
6532 - Recovery will be impossible!
6533 A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and
6534 'swapfile' is set.
6535 When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
6536 immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
6537 non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
6538 Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
6540 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
6541 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
6543 *'swapsync'* *'sws'*
6544 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
6545 global
6546 {not in Vi}
6547 When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
6548 writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
6549 When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
6550 not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
6551 On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
6552 so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
6553 systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
6554 setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
6555 fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
6556 The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
6558 *'switchbuf'* *'swb'*
6559 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
6560 global
6561 {not in Vi}
6562 This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
6563 Possible values (comma separated list):
6564 useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
6565 contains the specified buffer (if there is one).
6566 Otherwise: Do not examine other windows.
6567 This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when
6568 jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is
6569 also used in all buffer related split commands, for
6570 example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
6571 usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
6572 pages.
6573 split If included, split the current window before loading
6574 a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window.
6575 Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
6576 newtab Like "split", but open a new tab page. Overrules
6577 "split" when both are present.
6579 *'synmaxcol'* *'smc'*
6580 'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
6581 local to buffer
6582 {not in Vi}
6583 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6584 feature}
6585 Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
6586 text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
6587 be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
6588 This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
6589 long line.
6590 Set to zero to remove the limit.
6592 *'syntax'* *'syn'*
6593 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
6594 local to buffer
6595 {not in Vi}
6596 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6597 feature}
6598 When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
6599 syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
6600 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
6601 b:current_syntax variable does).
6602 This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
6603 not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
6604 /* vim: set syntax=idl : */ ~
6605 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
6606 names. Example:
6607 /* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */ ~
6608 This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
6609 Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
6610 otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
6611 To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use: >
6612 :set syntax=OFF
6613 < To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
6614 'filetype' option: >
6615 :set syntax=ON
6616 < What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
6617 Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
6618 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
6619 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
6620 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
6622 *'tabline'* *'tal'*
6623 'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
6624 global
6625 {not in Vi}
6626 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6627 feature}
6628 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
6629 line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
6630 tab pages line. See |setting-tabline| for more info.
6632 The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
6633 option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
6634 'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
6635 instead.
6637 The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
6638 |tabpagenr()|, |tabpagewinnr()| and |tabpagebuflist()| to figure out
6639 the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
6640 the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
6642 Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
6643 are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
6646 *'tabpagemax'* *'tpm'*
6647 'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
6648 global
6649 {not in Vi}
6650 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6651 feature}
6652 Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the |-p| command line
6653 argument or the ":tab all" command. |tabpage|
6656 *'tabstop'* *'ts'*
6657 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
6658 local to buffer
6659 Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
6660 |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
6662 Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
6663 appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
6665 There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
6666 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
6667 (or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
6668 will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
6669 behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
6670 2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
6671 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
6672 formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
6673 3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
6674 |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
6675 works when using Vim to edit the file.
6676 4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
6677 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
6678 for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
6679 tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
6680 though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
6681 changed.
6683 *'tagbsearch'* *'tbs'* *'notagbsearch'* *'notbs'*
6684 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
6685 global
6686 {not in Vi}
6687 When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either
6688 use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
6689 searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
6690 will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
6691 Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
6692 they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
6693 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
6695 When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
6696 files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
6697 certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
6698 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
6700 Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
6701 at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted: >
6702 !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
6703 < [The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
6705 When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
6706 files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used
6707 instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
6708 Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
6709 be found in the retry.
6711 If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
6712 linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value
6713 of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be
6714 case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in
6715 the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version
6716 5.x or higher (at least 5.5) the --sort=foldcase switch can be used
6717 for this as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this
6718 to work.
6720 When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
6721 exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
6722 files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
6723 When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
6724 ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
6725 must be included in the tags file.
6726 This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
6727 command-line completion and ":help").
6728 {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
6730 *'taglength'* *'tl'*
6731 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
6732 global
6733 If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
6735 *'tagrelative'* *'tr'* *'notagrelative'* *'notr'*
6736 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6737 global
6738 {not in Vi}
6739 If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
6740 tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
6741 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6742 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6744 *'tags'* *'tag'* *E433*
6745 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
6746 |+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
6747 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6748 Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
6749 include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash
6750 (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes).
6751 When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
6752 of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
6753 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see
6754 |tags-option|.
6755 "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
6756 a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled
6757 without the |+path_extra| feature}
6758 The |tagfiles()| function can be used to get a list of the file names
6759 actually used.
6760 If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag
6761 files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
6762 default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
6763 differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags|
6764 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6765 file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6766 uses another default.
6767 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
6769 *'tagstack'* *'tgst'* *'notagstack'* *'notgst'*
6770 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
6771 global
6772 {not in all versions of Vi}
6773 When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
6774 ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
6775 tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
6776 any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
6777 tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
6778 Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
6779 mapping which should not change the tagstack.
6781 *'term'* *E529* *E530* *E531*
6782 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
6783 in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
6784 on Amiga: "amiga"
6785 on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
6786 on Mac: "mac-ansi"
6787 on MiNT: "vt52"
6788 on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
6789 on OS/2: "os2ansi"
6790 on Unix: "ansi"
6791 on VMS: "ansi"
6792 on Win 32: "win32")
6793 global
6794 Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
6795 characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
6796 For example: >
6797 :set term=$TERM
6798 < See |termcap|.
6800 *'termbidi'* *'tbidi'*
6801 *'notermbidi'* *'notbidi'*
6802 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
6803 global
6804 {not in Vi}
6805 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
6806 feature}
6807 The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
6808 by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
6809 that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
6810 Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
6811 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
6812 Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
6813 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
6814 This option is reset when the GUI is started.
6815 For further details see |arabic.txt|.
6817 *'termencoding'* *'tenc'*
6818 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""; with GTK+ 2 GUI: "utf-8"; with
6819 Macintosh GUI: "macroman")
6820 global
6821 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
6822 feature}
6823 {not in Vi}
6824 Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
6825 encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
6826 the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
6827 display). Except for the Mac when 'macatsui' is off, then
6828 'termencoding' should be "macroman".
6829 In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage
6830 when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
6831 *E617*
6832 Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 GUI. After the GUI has been
6833 successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set to "utf-8".
6834 Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected, and an error
6835 message is shown.
6836 For the Win32 GUI 'termencoding' is not used for typed characters,
6837 because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
6838 When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
6839 This is the normal value.
6840 Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
6841 |encoding-table|.
6842 The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
6843 iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
6844 will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
6845 Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
6846 want to edit a UTF-8 file: >
6847 :let &termencoding = &encoding
6848 :set encoding=utf-8
6849 < You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
6851 *'terse'* *'noterse'*
6852 'terse' boolean (default off)
6853 global
6854 When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
6855 for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
6856 displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
6857 shortens a lot of messages}
6859 *'textauto'* *'ta'* *'notextauto'* *'nota'*
6860 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6861 global
6862 {not in Vi}
6863 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
6864 For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
6865 set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
6866 reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
6867 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6868 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6870 *'textmode'* *'tx'* *'notextmode'* *'notx'*
6871 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
6872 others: default off)
6873 local to buffer
6874 {not in Vi}
6875 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
6876 For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
6877 set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
6878 "unix".
6880 *'textwidth'* *'tw'*
6881 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
6882 local to buffer
6883 {not in Vi}
6884 Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
6885 broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
6886 this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When
6887 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
6888 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|.
6889 When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
6890 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6892 *'thesaurus'* *'tsr'*
6893 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
6894 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6895 {not in Vi}
6896 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
6897 for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in
6898 the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by
6899 non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line
6900 length is 510 bytes.
6901 To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at
6902 http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk .
6903 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
6904 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
6905 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
6906 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6907 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6908 uses another default.
6909 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
6911 *'tildeop'* *'top'* *'notildeop'* *'notop'*
6912 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
6913 global
6914 {not in Vi}
6915 When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
6916 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6918 *'timeout'* *'to'* *'notimeout'* *'noto'*
6919 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
6920 global
6921 *'ttimeout'* *'nottimeout'*
6922 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
6923 global
6924 {not in Vi}
6925 These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
6926 mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
6928 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action ~
6929 off off do not time out
6930 on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
6931 off on time out on key codes
6933 If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
6934 mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
6935 is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
6936 example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
6937 character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
6938 When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
6939 the next character to arrive. After that the already received
6940 characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
6941 be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
6942 On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
6943 malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
6944 forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
6945 with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
6946 problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
6947 sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
6948 reset the 'timeout' option.
6950 NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6952 *'timeoutlen'* *'tm'*
6953 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
6954 global
6955 {not in all versions of Vi}
6956 *'ttimeoutlen'* *'ttm'*
6957 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
6958 global
6959 {not in Vi}
6960 The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
6961 sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
6962 when part of a command has been typed.
6963 Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
6964 different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
6965 a non-negative number.
6967 ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay ~
6968 < 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
6969 >= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
6971 The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
6972 tell so. A useful setting would be >
6973 :set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
6974 < (time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
6975 a tenth of a second).
6977 *'title'* *'notitle'*
6978 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
6979 global
6980 {not in Vi}
6981 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6982 feature}
6983 When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
6984 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
6985 filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
6986 Where:
6987 filename the name of the file being edited
6988 - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
6989 + indicates the file was modified
6990 = indicates the file is read-only
6991 =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
6992 (path) is the path of the file being edited
6993 - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
6994 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
6995 (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
6996 terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
6997 iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
6998 *X11*
6999 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7000 be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
7001 when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
7002 works for the icon name |'icon'|.
7003 But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title
7004 will not work (except in the GUI).
7005 If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
7006 You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
7007 When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
7008 rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
7009 then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
7010 title of the window should change back to what it should be after
7011 exiting Vim.
7013 *'titlelen'*
7014 'titlelen' number (default 85)
7015 global
7016 {not in Vi}
7017 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7018 feature}
7019 Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
7020 title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
7021 shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
7022 Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
7023 it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
7024 available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
7025 bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
7026 values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
7027 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
7029 *'titleold'*
7030 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
7031 global
7032 {not in Vi}
7033 {only available when compiled with the |+title|
7034 feature}
7035 This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
7036 original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
7037 'titlestring' is not empty.
7038 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7039 security reasons.
7040 *'titlestring'*
7041 'titlestring' string (default "")
7042 global
7043 {not in Vi}
7044 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7045 feature}
7046 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
7047 window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
7048 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
7049 Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
7050 non-empty 't_ts' option).
7051 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7052 be restored if possible |X11|.
7053 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
7054 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'.
7055 Example: >
7056 :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p")
7057 :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
7058 < The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
7059 of the available space.
7060 Some people prefer to have the file name first: >
7061 :set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
7062 < Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
7063 without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
7064 separating space only when needed.
7065 NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
7066 to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
7067 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
7069 *'toolbar'* *'tb'*
7070 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
7071 global
7072 {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif| and
7073 |+GUI_Photon|}
7074 The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
7075 possible values are:
7076 icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
7077 text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
7078 horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
7079 horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
7080 tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
7081 Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
7082 cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
7084 If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
7085 following: >
7086 :set tb=icons,text
7087 < Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
7088 will show icons if both are requested.
7090 If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
7091 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
7092 the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example: >
7093 :set guioptions-=T
7094 < Also see |gui-toolbar|.
7096 *'toolbariconsize'* *'tbis'*
7097 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
7098 global
7099 {not in Vi}
7100 {only in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
7101 Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
7102 tiny Use tiny toolbar icons.
7103 small Use small toolbar icons (default).
7104 medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons.
7105 large Use large toolbar icons.
7106 The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
7107 the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24,
7108 small=20x20 and tiny=16x16.
7110 If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
7111 by user preferences or the current theme is used.
7113 *'ttybuiltin'* *'tbi'* *'nottybuiltin'* *'notbi'*
7114 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
7115 global
7116 {not in Vi}
7117 When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
7118 When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
7119 When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
7120 the change to take effect, for example: >
7121 :set notbi term=$TERM
7122 < See also |termcap|.
7123 Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
7124 termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
7125 xterm entries...).
7127 *'ttyfast'* *'tf'* *'nottyfast'* *'notf'*
7128 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
7129 sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or
7130 iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in
7131 a DOS console)
7132 global
7133 {not in Vi}
7134 Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
7135 the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
7136 commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
7137 windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
7138 Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
7139 line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
7140 mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
7142 *'ttymouse'* *'ttym'*
7143 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
7144 global
7145 {not in Vi}
7146 {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
7147 available when compiled without |+mouse|}
7148 Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
7149 Currently these strings are valid:
7150 *xterm-mouse*
7151 xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
7152 "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
7153 "s" = button state
7154 "c" = column plus 33
7155 "r" = row plus 33
7156 This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec" for a
7157 solution.
7158 xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
7159 mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
7160 much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
7161 least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
7162 work. See below for how Vim detects this
7163 automatically.
7164 *netterm-mouse*
7165 netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
7166 "<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
7167 for the row and column.
7168 *dec-mouse*
7169 dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
7170 rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
7171 This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
7172 configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
7173 *jsbterm-mouse*
7174 jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
7175 *pterm-mouse*
7176 pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
7178 The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm|
7179 |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|.
7180 Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
7181 recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
7182 are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
7183 "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict).
7184 This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
7185 set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm"
7186 or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to
7187 "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can
7188 handle xterm mouse codes.
7189 The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
7190 95 or higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse|
7191 feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the
7192 xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly.
7193 If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set
7194 t_RV to an empty string: >
7195 :set t_RV=
7196 <
7197 *'ttyscroll'* *'tsl'*
7198 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
7199 global
7200 Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
7201 to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
7202 very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
7203 e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
7205 *'ttytype'* *'tty'*
7206 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
7207 global
7208 Alias for 'term', see above.
7210 *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
7211 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
7212 Win32 and OS/2)
7213 global
7214 {not in Vi}
7215 Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
7216 is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
7217 (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
7218 Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
7219 itself: >
7220 set ul=0
7221 < But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
7222 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
7223 Set to a negative number for no undo at all: >
7224 set ul=-1
7225 < This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
7226 Also see |undo-two-ways|.
7228 *'updatecount'* *'uc'*
7229 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
7230 global
7231 {not in Vi}
7232 After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
7233 disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
7234 recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
7235 Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly
7236 mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
7237 The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|.
7238 When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
7239 created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
7240 is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
7241 Also see |'swapsync'|.
7242 This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile"
7243 or "nowrite".
7245 *'updatetime'* *'ut'*
7246 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
7247 global
7248 {not in Vi}
7249 If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
7250 written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the
7251 |CursorHold| autocommand event.
7253 *'verbose'* *'vbs'*
7254 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
7255 global
7256 {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean
7257 verbose option}
7258 When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
7259 Currently, these messages are given:
7260 >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
7261 >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
7262 >= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
7263 >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
7264 >= 9 Every executed autocommand.
7265 >= 12 Every executed function.
7266 >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
7267 >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
7268 >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
7270 This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|.
7271 This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
7273 When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
7274 displayed.
7276 *'verbosefile'* *'vfile'*
7277 'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
7278 global
7279 {not in Vi}
7280 When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
7281 When the file exists messages are appended.
7282 Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
7283 empty.
7284 Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
7285 The difference with |:redir| is that verbose messages are not
7286 displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
7288 *'viewdir'* *'vdir'*
7289 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
7290 "$VIM/vimfiles/view",
7291 for Unix: "~/.vim/view",
7292 for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view"
7293 for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view"
7294 for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
7295 global
7296 {not in Vi}
7297 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7298 feature}
7299 Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|.
7300 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7301 security reasons.
7303 *'viewoptions'* *'vop'*
7304 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
7305 global
7306 {not in Vi}
7307 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7308 feature}
7309 Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated
7310 list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
7311 word save and restore ~
7312 cursor cursor position in file and in window
7313 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
7314 fold options
7315 options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
7316 global values for local options)
7317 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
7318 slashes
7319 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
7320 on Windows or DOS
7322 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files
7323 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
7324 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
7326 *'viminfo'* *'vi'* *E526* *E527* *E528*
7327 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
7328 Windows and OS/2: '100,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
7329 for Amiga: '100,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
7330 for others: '100,<50,s10,h)
7331 global
7332 {not in Vi}
7333 {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo|
7334 feature}
7335 When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
7336 when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma
7337 separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character
7338 identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string
7339 which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular
7340 character is left out, then the default value is used for that
7341 parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and
7342 the effect of their value.
7343 CHAR VALUE ~
7344 ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
7345 with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
7346 letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
7347 and "_K_L_M" are not. Only String and Number types are
7348 stored.
7349 " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
7350 the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
7351 backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
7352 start of a comment!
7353 % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
7354 started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
7355 restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
7356 buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers
7357 without a file name and buffers for help files are not written
7358 to the viminfo file.
7359 When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
7360 number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
7361 buffers are stored.
7362 ' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
7363 are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
7364 'viminfo' is non-empty.
7365 Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the
7366 |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
7367 / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
7368 saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
7369 patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
7370 'history' is used.
7371 : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
7372 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7373 < Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
7374 registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
7375 saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
7376 Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
7377 @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
7378 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7379 c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
7380 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
7381 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
7382 f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
7383 to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
7384 non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
7385 cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
7386 h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
7387 file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
7388 has been used since the last search command.
7389 n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
7390 the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was
7391 given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one
7392 given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded
7393 when opening the file, not when setting the option.
7394 r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
7395 ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
7396 specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
7397 stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you
7398 could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
7399 also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
7400 ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
7401 characters.
7402 s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
7403 not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
7404 "s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
7405 Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
7407 Example: >
7408 :set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
7409 <
7410 '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
7411 edited.
7412 <1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
7413 remembered.
7414 s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
7415 :0 Command-line history will not be saved.
7416 n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
7417 no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
7418 that is, save all of the search history, and also the
7419 previous search and substitute patterns.
7420 no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
7421 no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
7423 When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to
7424 load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
7426 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7427 security reasons.
7429 *'virtualedit'* *'ve'*
7430 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
7431 global
7432 {not in Vi}
7433 {not available when compiled without the
7434 |+virtualedit| feature}
7435 A comma separated list of these words:
7436 block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
7437 insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
7438 all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
7439 onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
7441 Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
7442 no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
7443 of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
7444 editing a table.
7445 "onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
7446 after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
7447 consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
7448 if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
7449 break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because |l| can move
7450 the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
7451 Using the |$| command will move to the last character in the line, not
7452 past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
7453 It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
7454 not get a warning for it.
7456 *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
7457 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
7458 global
7459 {not in Vi}
7460 Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
7461 visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
7462 use ":set vb t_vb=".
7463 Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
7464 might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|.
7465 In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
7466 for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
7467 where 40 is the time in msec.
7468 Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
7469 Also see 'errorbells'.
7471 *'warn'* *'nowarn'*
7472 'warn' boolean (default on)
7473 global
7474 Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
7475 has been changed.
7477 *'weirdinvert'* *'wiv'* *'noweirdinvert'* *'nowiv'*
7478 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
7479 global
7480 {not in Vi}
7481 This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
7482 It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
7483 Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
7484 vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
7486 *'whichwrap'* *'ww'*
7487 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
7488 global
7489 {not in Vi}
7490 Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
7491 previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
7492 the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
7493 char key mode ~
7494 b <BS> Normal and Visual
7495 s <Space> Normal and Visual
7496 h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7497 l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7498 < <Left> Normal and Visual
7499 > <Right> Normal and Visual
7500 ~ "~" Normal
7501 [ <Left> Insert and Replace
7502 ] <Right> Insert and Replace
7503 For example: >
7504 :set ww=<,>,[,]
7505 < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
7506 When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
7507 operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
7508 different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
7509 is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
7510 "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
7511 ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
7512 cursor.
7513 When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
7514 line then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl",
7515 "yl" etc. work normally.
7516 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7517 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7519 *'wildchar'* *'wc'*
7520 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
7521 global
7522 {not in Vi}
7523 Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
7524 command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
7525 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7526 The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
7527 'wildcharm' for that.
7528 Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key: >
7529 :set wc=<Esc>
7530 < NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7531 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7533 *'wildcharm'* *'wcm'*
7534 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
7535 global
7536 {not in Vi}
7537 'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
7538 recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
7539 keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally
7540 you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
7541 automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.: >
7542 :set wcm=<C-Z>
7543 :cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
7544 < Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
7546 *'wildignore'* *'wig'*
7547 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
7548 global
7549 {not in Vi}
7550 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7551 feature}
7552 A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
7553 patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names, and
7554 influences the result of |expand()|, |glob()| and |globpath()| unless
7555 a flag is passed to disable this.
7556 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
7557 Also see 'suffixes'.
7558 Example: >
7559 :set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
7560 < The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
7561 a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
7562 uses another default.
7564 *'wildmenu'* *'wmnu'* *'nowildmenu'* *'nowmnu'*
7565 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
7566 global
7567 {not in Vi}
7568 {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu|
7569 feature}
7570 When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
7571 mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
7572 the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the
7573 first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is
7574 one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
7575 CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
7576 When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
7577 specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
7578 If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
7579 the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
7580 as needed.
7581 The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
7582 for selecting a completion.
7583 While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special
7584 meanings:
7586 <Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
7587 <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
7588 subdirectory or submenu.
7589 <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
7590 dot: move into a submenu.
7591 <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
7592 parent directory or parent menu.
7594 This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
7596 If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
7597 of selecting a different match, use this: >
7598 :cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
7599 :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
7600 <
7601 The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
7602 |hl-WildMenu|.
7604 *'wildmode'* *'wim'*
7605 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
7606 global
7607 {not in Vi}
7608 Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
7609 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each
7610 part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
7611 first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
7612 The second part for the second use, etc.
7613 These are the possible values for each part:
7614 "" Complete only the first match.
7615 "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
7616 the original string is used and then the first match
7617 again.
7618 "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
7619 result in a longer string, use the next part.
7620 "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
7621 enabled.
7622 "list" When more than one match, list all matches.
7623 "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
7624 complete first match.
7625 "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
7626 complete till longest common string.
7627 When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
7629 Examples: >
7630 :set wildmode=full
7631 < Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default) >
7632 :set wildmode=longest,full
7633 < Complete longest common string, then each full match >
7634 :set wildmode=list:full
7635 < List all matches and complete each full match >
7636 :set wildmode=list,full
7637 < List all matches without completing, then each full match >
7638 :set wildmode=longest,list
7639 < Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
7640 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7642 *'wildoptions'* *'wop'*
7643 'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
7644 global
7645 {not in Vi}
7646 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7647 feature}
7648 A list of words that change how command line completion is done.
7649 Currently only one word is allowed:
7650 tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
7651 tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
7652 is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
7653 d #define
7654 f function
7655 Also see |cmdline-completion|.
7657 *'winaltkeys'* *'wak'*
7658 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
7659 global
7660 {not in Vi}
7661 {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
7662 Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
7663 key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
7664 menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
7665 entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
7666 no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
7667 mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
7668 done with the |:simalt| command.
7669 yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
7670 combinations cannot be mapped.
7671 menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
7672 shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
7673 keys can be mapped.
7674 If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
7675 key is never used for the menu.
7676 This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
7677 select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
7679 *'window'* *'wi'*
7680 'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
7681 global
7682 Window height. Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window,
7683 use 'lines' for that.
7684 Used for |CTRL-F| and |CTRL-B| when there is only one window and the
7685 value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen will scroll
7686 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
7687 When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
7688 in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
7689 When resizing the Vim window, the value is smaller than 1 or more than
7690 or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
7691 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines}
7693 *'winheight'* *'wh'* *E591*
7694 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
7695 global
7696 {not in Vi}
7697 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7698 feature}
7699 Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
7700 minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
7701 focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
7702 cost of the height of other windows.
7703 Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
7704 Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
7705 Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
7706 that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
7707 to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
7708 using the |VimEnter| event: >
7709 au VimEnter * set winheight=999
7710 < Minimum value is 1.
7711 The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
7712 height of the current window.
7713 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
7714 the minimal height for other windows.
7716 *'winfixheight'* *'wfh'* *'nowinfixheight'* *'nowfh'*
7717 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
7718 local to window
7719 {not in Vi}
7720 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7721 feature}
7722 Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
7723 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|. Set by default for the
7724 |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|.
7725 The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7727 *'winfixwidth'* *'wfw'* *'nowinfixwidth'* *'nowfw'*
7728 'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
7729 local to window
7730 {not in Vi}
7731 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7732 feature}
7733 Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
7734 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|.
7735 The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7737 *'winminheight'* *'wmh'*
7738 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
7739 global
7740 {not in Vi}
7741 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7742 feature}
7743 The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
7744 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7745 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
7746 status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
7747 they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
7748 Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
7749 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7750 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7751 windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
7753 *'winminwidth'* *'wmw'*
7754 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
7755 global
7756 {not in Vi}
7757 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7758 feature}
7759 The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
7760 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7761 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
7762 a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
7763 line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
7764 to go.)
7765 Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
7766 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7767 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7768 windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
7770 *'winwidth'* *'wiw'* *E592*
7771 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
7772 global
7773 {not in Vi}
7774 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7775 feature}
7776 Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
7777 minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
7778 the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
7779 the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
7780 always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
7781 The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
7782 width of the current window.
7783 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
7784 the minimal width for other windows.
7786 *'wrap'* *'nowrap'*
7787 'wrap' boolean (default on)
7788 local to window
7789 {not in Vi}
7790 This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
7791 in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
7792 When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
7793 displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
7794 and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
7795 moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
7796 horizontally.
7797 The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
7798 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
7799 To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this: >
7800 :set sidescroll=5
7801 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
7802 < See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
7803 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
7804 on.
7806 *'wrapmargin'* *'wm'*
7807 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
7808 local to buffer
7809 Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
7810 starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
7811 and inserting continues on the next line.
7812 Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
7813 the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
7814 When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
7815 See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently
7816 and less usefully}
7818 *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
7819 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) *E384* *E385*
7820 global
7821 Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to |]s| and
7822 |[s|, searching for spelling mistakes.
7824 *'write'* *'nowrite'*
7825 'write' boolean (default on)
7826 global
7827 {not in Vi}
7828 Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
7829 Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
7830 still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line
7831 argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
7832 writing a temporary file.
7834 *'writeany'* *'wa'* *'nowriteany'* *'nowa'*
7835 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
7836 global
7837 Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
7839 *'writebackup'* *'wb'* *'nowritebackup'* *'nowb'*
7840 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
7841 otherwise)
7842 global
7843 {not in Vi}
7844 Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
7845 the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
7846 also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See
7847 |backup-table| for another explanation.
7848 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
7849 NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
7850 set.
7852 *'writedelay'* *'wd'*
7853 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
7854 global
7855 {not in Vi}
7856 The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the
7857 screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
7858 one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.
7860 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: