1 *term.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2007 Feb 28
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 Terminal information *terminal-info*
9 Vim uses information about the terminal you are using to fill the screen and
10 recognize what keys you hit. If this information is not correct, the screen
11 may be messed up or keys may not be recognized. The actions which have to be
12 performed on the screen are accomplished by outputting a string of
13 characters. Special keys produce a string of characters. These strings are
14 stored in the terminal options, see |terminal-options|.
16 NOTE: Most of this is not used when running the |GUI|.
18 1. Startup |startup-terminal|
19 2. Terminal options |terminal-options|
20 3. Window size |window-size|
21 4. Slow and fast terminals |slow-fast-terminal|
22 5. Using the mouse |mouse-using|
24 ==============================================================================
25 1. Startup *startup-terminal*
27 When Vim is started a default terminal type is assumed. For the Amiga this is
28 a standard CLI window, for MS-DOS the pc terminal, for Unix an ansi terminal.
29 A few other terminal types are always available, see below |builtin-terms|.
31 You can give the terminal name with the '-T' Vim argument. If it is not given
32 Vim will try to get the name from the TERM environment variable.
34 *termcap* *terminfo* *E557* *E558* *E559*
35 On Unix the terminfo database or termcap file is used. This is referred to as
36 "termcap" in all the documentation. At compile time, when running configure,
37 the choice whether to use terminfo or termcap is done automatically. When
38 running Vim the output of ":version" will show |+terminfo| if terminfo is
39 used. Also see |xterm-screens|.
41 On non-Unix systems a termcap is only available if Vim was compiled with
44 *builtin-terms* *builtin_terms*
45 Which builtin terminals are available depends on a few defines in feature.h,
46 which need to be set at compile time:
47 define output of ":version" terminals builtin ~
48 NO_BUILTIN_TCAPS -builtin_terms none
49 SOME_BUILTIN_TCAPS +builtin_terms most common ones (default)
50 ALL_BUILTIN_TCAPS ++builtin_terms all available
52 You can see a list of available builtin terminals with ":set term=xxx" (when
53 not running the GUI). Also see |+builtin_terms|.
55 If the termcap code is included Vim will try to get the strings for the
56 terminal you are using from the termcap file and the builtin termcaps. Both
57 are always used, if an entry for the terminal you are using is present. Which
58 one is used first depends on the 'ttybuiltin' option:
60 'ttybuiltin' on 1: builtin termcap 2: external termcap
61 'ttybuiltin' off 1: external termcap 2: builtin termcap
63 If an option is missing in one of them, it will be obtained from the other
64 one. If an option is present in both, the one first encountered is used.
66 Which external termcap file is used varies from system to system and may
67 depend on the environment variables "TERMCAP" and "TERMPATH". See "man
70 Settings depending on terminal *term-dependent-settings*
72 If you want to set options or mappings, depending on the terminal name, you
73 can do this best in your .vimrc. Example: >
76 ... xterm maps and settings ...
77 elseif &term =~ "vt10."
78 ... vt100, vt102 maps and settings ...
82 For normal editing the terminal will be put into "raw" mode. The strings
83 defined with 't_ti' and 't_ks' will be sent to the terminal. Normally this
84 puts the terminal in a state where the termcap codes are valid and activates
85 the cursor and function keys. When Vim exits the terminal will be put back
86 into the mode it was before Vim started. The strings defined with 't_te' and
87 't_ke' will be sent to the terminal. On the Amiga, with commands that execute
88 an external command (e.g., "!!"), the terminal will be put into Normal mode
89 for a moment. This means that you can stop the output to the screen by
90 hitting a printing key. Output resumes when you hit <BS>.
93 Note: If the terminal settings are changed after running Vim, you might have
94 an illegal combination of settings. This has been reported on Solaris 2.5
95 with "stty cs8 parenb", which is restored as "stty cs7 parenb". Use
96 "stty cs8 -parenb -istrip" instead, this is restored correctly.
98 Some termcap entries are wrong in the sense that after sending 't_ks' the
99 cursor keys send codes different from the codes defined in the termcap. To
100 avoid this you can set 't_ks' (and 't_ke') to empty strings. This must be
101 done during initialization (see |initialization|), otherwise it's too late.
103 Some termcap entries assume that the highest bit is always reset. For
104 example: The cursor-up entry for the Amiga could be ":ku=\E[A:". But the
105 Amiga really sends "\233A". This works fine if the highest bit is reset,
106 e.g., when using an Amiga over a serial line. If the cursor keys don't work,
107 try the entry ":ku=\233A:".
109 Some termcap entries have the entry ":ku=\E[A:". But the Amiga really sends
110 "\233A". On output "\E[" and "\233" are often equivalent, on input they
111 aren't. You will have to change the termcap entry, or change the key code with
112 the :set command to fix this.
114 Many cursor key codes start with an <Esc>. Vim must find out if this is a
115 single hit of the <Esc> key or the start of a cursor key sequence. It waits
116 for a next character to arrive. If it does not arrive within one second a
117 single <Esc> is assumed. On very slow systems this may fail, causing cursor
118 keys not to work sometimes. If you discover this problem reset the 'timeout'
119 option. Vim will wait for the next character to arrive after an <Esc>. If
120 you want to enter a single <Esc> you must type it twice. Resetting the
121 'esckeys' option avoids this problem in Insert mode, but you lose the
122 possibility to use cursor and function keys in Insert mode.
124 On the Amiga the recognition of window resizing is activated only when the
125 terminal name is "amiga" or "builtin_amiga".
127 Some terminals have confusing codes for the cursor keys. The televideo 925 is
128 such a terminal. It sends a CTRL-H for cursor-left. This would make it
129 impossible to distinguish a backspace and cursor-left. To avoid this problem
130 CTRL-H is never recognized as cursor-left.
132 *vt100-cursor-keys* *xterm-cursor-keys*
133 Other terminals (e.g., vt100 and xterm) have cursor keys that send <Esc>OA,
134 <Esc>OB, etc. Unfortunately these are valid commands in insert mode: Stop
135 insert, Open a new line above the new one, start inserting 'A', 'B', etc.
136 Instead of performing these commands Vim will erroneously recognize this typed
137 key sequence as a cursor key movement. To avoid this and make Vim do what you
138 want in either case you could use these settings: >
139 :set notimeout " don't timeout on mappings
140 :set ttimeout " do timeout on terminal key codes
141 :set timeoutlen=100 " timeout after 100 msec
142 This requires the key-codes to be sent within 100msec in order to recognize
143 them as a cursor key. When you type you normally are not that fast, so they
144 are recognized as individual typed commands, even though Vim receives the same
147 *vt100-function-keys* *xterm-function-keys*
148 An xterm can send function keys F1 to F4 in two modes: vt100 compatible or
149 not. Because Vim may not know what the xterm is sending, both types of keys
150 are recognized. The same happens for the <Home> and <End> keys.
152 <F1> t_k1 <Esc>[11~ <xF1> <Esc>OP *<xF1>-xterm*
153 <F2> t_k2 <Esc>[12~ <xF2> <Esc>OQ *<xF2>-xterm*
154 <F3> t_k3 <Esc>[13~ <xF3> <Esc>OR *<xF3>-xterm*
155 <F4> t_k4 <Esc>[14~ <xF4> <Esc>OS *<xF4>-xterm*
156 <Home> t_kh <Esc>[7~ <xHome> <Esc>OH *<xHome>-xterm*
157 <End> t_@7 <Esc>[4~ <xEnd> <Esc>OF *<xEnd>-xterm*
159 When Vim starts, <xF1> is mapped to <F1>, <xF2> to <F2> etc. This means that
160 by default both codes do the same thing. If you make a mapping for <xF2>,
161 because your terminal does have two keys, the default mapping is overwritten,
162 thus you can use the <F2> and <xF2> keys for something different.
165 Newer versions of xterm support shifted function keys and special keys. Vim
166 recognizes most of them. Use ":set termcap" to check which are supported and
167 what the codes are. Mostly these are not in a termcap, they are only
168 supported by the builtin_xterm termcap.
170 *xterm-modifier-keys*
171 Newer versions of xterm support Alt and Ctrl for most function keys. To avoid
172 having to add all combinations of Alt, Ctrl and Shift for every key a special
173 sequence is recognized at the end of a termcap entry: ";*X". The "X" can be
174 any character, often '~' is used. The ";*" stands for an optional modifier
175 argument. ";2" is Shift, ";3" is Alt, ";5" is Ctrl and ";9" is Meta (when
176 it's different from Alt). They can be combined. Examples: >
179 Another speciality about these codes is that they are not overwritten by
180 another code. That is to avoid that the codes obtained from xterm directly
181 |t_RV| overwrite them.
182 *xterm-scroll-region*
183 The default termcap entry for xterm on Sun and other platforms does not
184 contain the entry for scroll regions. Add ":cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:" to the xterm
185 entry in /etc/termcap and everything should work.
187 *xterm-end-home-keys*
188 On some systems (at least on FreeBSD with XFree86 3.1.2) the codes that the
189 <End> and <Home> keys send contain a <Nul> character. To make these keys send
190 the proper key code, add these lines to your ~/.Xdefaults file:
192 *VT100.Translations: #override \n\
193 <Key>Home: string("0x1b") string("[7~") \n\
194 <Key>End: string("0x1b") string("[8~")
196 *xterm-8bit* *xterm-8-bit*
197 Xterm can be run in a mode where it uses 8-bit escape sequences. The CSI code
198 is used instead of <Esc>[. The advantage is that an <Esc> can quickly be
199 recognized in Insert mode, because it can't be confused with the start of a
201 For the builtin termcap entries, Vim checks if the 'term' option contains
202 "8bit" anywhere. It then uses 8-bit characters for the termcap entries, the
203 mouse and a few other things. You would normally set $TERM in your shell to
204 "xterm-8bit" and Vim picks this up and adjusts to the 8-bit setting
206 When Vim receives a response to the |t_RV| (request version) sequence and it
207 starts with CSI, it assumes that the terminal is in 8-bit mode and will
208 convert all key sequences to their 8-bit variants.
210 ==============================================================================
211 2. Terminal options *terminal-options* *termcap-options* *E436*
213 The terminal options can be set just like normal options. But they are not
214 shown with the ":set all" command. Instead use ":set termcap".
216 It is always possible to change individual strings by setting the
217 appropriate option. For example: >
218 :set t_ce=^V^[[K (CTRL-V, <Esc>, [, K)
220 {Vi: no terminal options. You have to exit Vi, edit the termcap entry and
223 The options are listed below. The associated termcap code is always equal to
224 the last two characters of the option name. Only one termcap code is
225 required: Cursor motion, 't_cm'.
227 The options 't_da', 't_db', 't_ms', 't_xs' represent flags in the termcap.
228 When the termcap flag is present, the option will be set to "y". But any
229 non-empty string means that the flag is set. An empty string means that the
230 flag is not set. 't_CS' works like this too, but it isn't a termcap flag.
235 t_AB set background color (ANSI) *t_AB* *'t_AB'*
236 t_AF set foreground color (ANSI) *t_AF* *'t_AF'*
237 t_AL add number of blank lines *t_AL* *'t_AL'*
238 t_al add new blank line *t_al* *'t_al'*
239 t_bc backspace character *t_bc* *'t_bc'*
240 t_cd clear to end of screen *t_cd* *'t_cd'*
241 t_ce clear to end of line *t_ce* *'t_ce'*
242 t_cl clear screen *t_cl* *'t_cl'*
243 t_cm cursor motion (required!) *E437* *t_cm* *'t_cm'*
244 t_Co number of colors *t_Co* *'t_Co'*
245 t_CS if non-empty, cursor relative to scroll region *t_CS* *'t_CS'*
246 t_cs define scrolling region *t_cs* *'t_cs'*
247 t_CV define vertical scrolling region *t_CV* *'t_CV'*
248 t_da if non-empty, lines from above scroll down *t_da* *'t_da'*
249 t_db if non-empty, lines from below scroll up *t_db* *'t_db'*
250 t_DL delete number of lines *t_DL* *'t_DL'*
251 t_dl delete line *t_dl* *'t_dl'*
252 t_fs set window title end (from status line) *t_fs* *'t_fs'*
253 t_ke exit "keypad transmit" mode *t_ke* *'t_ke'*
254 t_ks start "keypad transmit" mode *t_ks* *'t_ks'*
255 t_le move cursor one char left *t_le* *'t_le'*
256 t_mb blinking mode *t_mb* *'t_mb'*
257 t_md bold mode *t_md* *'t_md'*
258 t_me Normal mode (undoes t_mr, t_mb, t_md and color) *t_me* *'t_me'*
259 t_mr reverse (invert) mode *t_mr* *'t_mr'*
261 t_ms if non-empty, cursor can be moved in standout/inverse mode
262 t_nd non destructive space character *t_nd* *'t_nd'*
263 t_op reset to original color pair *t_op* *'t_op'*
264 t_RI cursor number of chars right *t_RI* *'t_RI'*
265 t_Sb set background color *t_Sb* *'t_Sb'*
266 t_Sf set foreground color *t_Sf* *'t_Sf'*
267 t_se standout end *t_se* *'t_se'*
268 t_so standout mode *t_so* *'t_so'*
269 t_sr scroll reverse (backward) *t_sr* *'t_sr'*
270 t_te out of "termcap" mode *t_te* *'t_te'*
271 t_ti put terminal in "termcap" mode *t_ti* *'t_ti'*
272 t_ts set window title start (to status line) *t_ts* *'t_ts'*
273 t_ue underline end *t_ue* *'t_ue'*
274 t_us underline mode *t_us* *'t_us'*
275 t_Ce undercurl end *t_Ce* *'t_Ce'*
276 t_Cs undercurl mode *t_Cs* *'t_Cs'*
277 t_ut clearing uses the current background color *t_ut* *'t_ut'*
278 t_vb visual bell *t_vb* *'t_vb'*
279 t_ve cursor visible *t_ve* *'t_ve'*
280 t_vi cursor invisible *t_vi* *'t_vi'*
281 t_vs cursor very visible *t_vs* *'t_vs'*
283 t_xs if non-empty, standout not erased by overwriting (hpterm)
284 t_ZH italics mode *t_ZH* *'t_ZH'*
285 t_ZR italics end *t_ZR* *'t_ZR'*
287 Added by Vim (there are no standard codes for these):
288 t_IS set icon text start *t_IS* *'t_IS'*
289 t_IE set icon text end *t_IE* *'t_IE'*
290 t_WP set window position (Y, X) in pixels *t_WP* *'t_WP'*
291 t_WS set window size (height, width) in characters *t_WS* *'t_WS'*
292 t_SI start insert mode (bar cursor shape) *t_SI* *'t_SI'*
293 t_EI end insert mode (block cursor shape) *t_EI* *'t_EI'*
294 |termcap-cursor-shape|
295 t_RV request terminal version string (for xterm) *t_RV* *'t_RV'*
296 |xterm-8bit| |v:termresponse| |'ttymouse'| |xterm-codes|
299 Note: Use the <> form if possible
301 option name meaning ~
303 t_ku <Up> arrow up *t_ku* *'t_ku'*
304 t_kd <Down> arrow down *t_kd* *'t_kd'*
305 t_kr <Right> arrow right *t_kr* *'t_kr'*
306 t_kl <Left> arrow left *t_kl* *'t_kl'*
307 <xUp> alternate arrow up *<xUp>*
308 <xDown> alternate arrow down *<xDown>*
309 <xRight> alternate arrow right *<xRight>*
310 <xLeft> alternate arrow left *<xLeft>*
311 <S-Up> shift arrow up
312 <S-Down> shift arrow down
313 t_%i <S-Right> shift arrow right *t_%i* *'t_%i'*
314 t_#4 <S-Left> shift arrow left *t_#4* *'t_#4'*
315 t_k1 <F1> function key 1 *t_k1* *'t_k1'*
316 <xF1> alternate F1 *<xF1>*
317 t_k2 <F2> function key 2 *<F2>* *t_k2* *'t_k2'*
318 <xF2> alternate F2 *<xF2>*
319 t_k3 <F3> function key 3 *<F3>* *t_k3* *'t_k3'*
320 <xF3> alternate F3 *<xF3>*
321 t_k4 <F4> function key 4 *<F4>* *t_k4* *'t_k4'*
322 <xF4> alternate F4 *<xF4>*
323 t_k5 <F5> function key 5 *<F5>* *t_k5* *'t_k5'*
324 t_k6 <F6> function key 6 *<F6>* *t_k6* *'t_k6'*
325 t_k7 <F7> function key 7 *<F7>* *t_k7* *'t_k7'*
326 t_k8 <F8> function key 8 *<F8>* *t_k8* *'t_k8'*
327 t_k9 <F9> function key 9 *<F9>* *t_k9* *'t_k9'*
328 t_k; <F10> function key 10 *<F10>* *t_k;* *'t_k;'*
329 t_F1 <F11> function key 11 *<F11>* *t_F1* *'t_F1'*
330 t_F2 <F12> function key 12 *<F12>* *t_F2* *'t_F2'*
331 t_F3 <F13> function key 13 *<F13>* *t_F3* *'t_F3'*
332 t_F4 <F14> function key 14 *<F14>* *t_F4* *'t_F4'*
333 t_F5 <F15> function key 15 *<F15>* *t_F5* *'t_F5'*
334 t_F6 <F16> function key 16 *<F16>* *t_F6* *'t_F6'*
335 t_F7 <F17> function key 17 *<F17>* *t_F7* *'t_F7'*
336 t_F8 <F18> function key 18 *<F18>* *t_F8* *'t_F8'*
337 t_F9 <F19> function key 19 *<F19>* *t_F9* *'t_F9'*
338 <S-F1> shifted function key 1
339 <S-xF1> alternate <S-F1> *<S-xF1>*
340 <S-F2> shifted function key 2 *<S-F2>*
341 <S-xF2> alternate <S-F2> *<S-xF2>*
342 <S-F3> shifted function key 3 *<S-F3>*
343 <S-xF3> alternate <S-F3> *<S-xF3>*
344 <S-F4> shifted function key 4 *<S-F4>*
345 <S-xF4> alternate <S-F4> *<S-xF4>*
346 <S-F5> shifted function key 5 *<S-F5>*
347 <S-F6> shifted function key 6 *<S-F6>*
348 <S-F7> shifted function key 7 *<S-F7>*
349 <S-F8> shifted function key 8 *<S-F8>*
350 <S-F9> shifted function key 9 *<S-F9>*
351 <S-F10> shifted function key 10 *<S-F10>*
352 <S-F11> shifted function key 11 *<S-F11>*
353 <S-F12> shifted function key 12 *<S-F12>*
354 t_%1 <Help> help key *t_%1* *'t_%1'*
355 t_&8 <Undo> undo key *t_&8* *'t_&8'*
356 t_kI <Insert> insert key *t_kI* *'t_kI'*
357 t_kD <Del> delete key *t_kD* *'t_kD'*
358 t_kb <BS> backspace key *t_kb* *'t_kb'*
359 t_kB <S-Tab> back-tab (shift-tab) *<S-Tab>* *t_kB* *'t_kB'*
360 t_kh <Home> home key *t_kh* *'t_kh'*
361 t_#2 <S-Home> shifted home key *<S-Home>* *t_#2* *'t_#2'*
362 <xHome> alternate home key *<xHome>*
363 t_@7 <End> end key *t_@7* *'t_@7'*
364 t_*7 <S-End> shifted end key *<S-End>* *t_star7* *'t_star7'*
365 <xEnd> alternate end key *<xEnd>*
366 t_kP <PageUp> page-up key *t_kP* *'t_kP'*
367 t_kN <PageDown> page-down key *t_kN* *'t_kN'*
368 t_K1 <kHome> keypad home key *t_K1* *'t_K1'*
369 t_K4 <kEnd> keypad end key *t_K4* *'t_K4'*
370 t_K3 <kPageUp> keypad page-up key *t_K3* *'t_K3'*
371 t_K5 <kPageDown> keypad page-down key *t_K5* *'t_K5'*
372 t_K6 <kPlus> keypad plus key *<kPlus>* *t_K6* *'t_K6'*
373 t_K7 <kMinus> keypad minus key *<kMinus>* *t_K7* *'t_K7'*
374 t_K8 <kDivide> keypad divide *<kDivide>* *t_K8* *'t_K8'*
375 t_K9 <kMultiply> keypad multiply *<kMultiply>* *t_K9* *'t_K9'*
376 t_KA <kEnter> keypad enter key *<kEnter>* *t_KA* *'t_KA'*
377 t_KB <kPoint> keypad decimal point *<kPoint>* *t_KB* *'t_KB'*
378 t_KC <k0> keypad 0 *<k0>* *t_KC* *'t_KC'*
379 t_KD <k1> keypad 1 *<k1>* *t_KD* *'t_KD'*
380 t_KE <k2> keypad 2 *<k2>* *t_KE* *'t_KE'*
381 t_KF <k3> keypad 3 *<k3>* *t_KF* *'t_KF'*
382 t_KG <k4> keypad 4 *<k4>* *t_KG* *'t_KG'*
383 t_KH <k5> keypad 5 *<k5>* *t_KH* *'t_KH'*
384 t_KI <k6> keypad 6 *<k6>* *t_KI* *'t_KI'*
385 t_KJ <k7> keypad 7 *<k7>* *t_KJ* *'t_KJ'*
386 t_KK <k8> keypad 8 *<k8>* *t_KK* *'t_KK'*
387 t_KL <k9> keypad 9 *<k9>* *t_KL* *'t_KL'*
388 <Mouse> leader of mouse code *<Mouse>*
390 Note about t_so and t_mr: When the termcap entry "so" is not present the
391 entry for "mr" is used. And vice versa. The same is done for "se" and "me".
392 If your terminal supports both inversion and standout mode, you can see two
393 different modes. If your terminal supports only one of the modes, both will
397 The keypad keys, when they are not mapped, behave like the equivalent normal
398 key. There is one exception: if you have a comma on the keypad instead of a
399 decimal point, Vim will use a dot anyway. Use these mappings to fix that: >
403 There is a special trick to obtain the key codes which currently only works
404 for xterm. When |t_RV| is defined and a response is received which indicates
405 an xterm with patchlevel 141 or higher, Vim uses special escape sequences to
406 request the key codes directly from the xterm. The responses are used to
407 adjust the various t_ codes. This avoids the problem that the xterm can
408 produce different codes, depending on the mode it is in (8-bit, VT102,
409 VT220, etc.). The result is that codes like <xF1> are no longer needed.
410 Note: This is only done on startup. If the xterm options are changed after
411 Vim has started, the escape sequences may not be recognized any more.
414 Note about colors: The 't_Co' option tells Vim the number of colors available.
415 When it is non-zero, the 't_AB' and 't_AF' options are used to set the color.
416 If one of these is not available, 't_Sb' and 't_Sf' are used. 't_me' is used
417 to reset to the default colors.
419 *termcap-cursor-shape* *termcap-cursor-color*
420 When Vim enters Insert mode the 't_SI' escape sequence is sent. When leaving
421 Insert mode 't_EI' is used. But only if both are defined. This can be used
422 to change the shape or color of the cursor in Insert mode. These are not
423 standard termcap/terminfo entries, you need to set them yourself.
424 Example for an xterm, this changes the color of the cursor: >
426 let &t_SI = "\<Esc>]12;purple\x7"
427 let &t_EI = "\<Esc>]12;blue\x7"
429 NOTE: When Vim exits the shape for Normal mode will remain. The shape from
430 before Vim started will not be restored.
431 {not available when compiled without the +cursorshape feature}
434 The 't_ts' and 't_fs' options are used to set the window title if the terminal
435 allows title setting via sending strings. They are sent before and after the
436 title string, respectively. Similar 't_IS' and 't_IE' are used to set the
437 icon text. These are Vim-internal extensions of the Unix termcap, so they
438 cannot be obtained from an external termcap. However, the builtin termcap
439 contains suitable entries for xterm and iris-ansi, so you don't need to set
442 If inversion or other highlighting does not work correctly, try setting the
443 't_xs' option to a non-empty string. This makes the 't_ce' code be used to
444 remove highlighting from a line. This is required for "hpterm". Setting the
445 'weirdinvert' option has the same effect as making 't_xs' non-empty, and vice
449 Some termcaps do not include an entry for 'cs' (scroll region), although the
450 terminal does support it. For example: xterm on a Sun. You can use the
451 builtin_xterm or define t_cs yourself. For example: >
452 :set t_cs=^V^[[%i%d;%dr
453 Where ^V is CTRL-V and ^[ is <Esc>.
455 The vertical scroll region t_CV is not a standard termcap code. Vim uses it
456 internally in the GUI. But it can also be defined for a terminal, if you can
457 find one that supports it. The two arguments are the left and right column of
458 the region which to restrict the scrolling to. Just like t_cs defines the top
459 and bottom lines. Defining t_CV will make scrolling in vertically split
460 windows a lot faster. Don't set t_CV when t_da or t_db is set (text isn't
461 cleared when scrolling).
463 Unfortunately it is not possible to deduce from the termcap how cursor
464 positioning should be done when using a scrolling region: Relative to the
465 beginning of the screen or relative to the beginning of the scrolling region.
466 Most terminals use the first method. A known exception is the MS-DOS console
467 (pcterm). The 't_CS' option should be set to any string when cursor
468 positioning is relative to the start of the scrolling region. It should be
469 set to an empty string otherwise. It defaults to "yes" when 'term' is
472 Note for xterm users: The shifted cursor keys normally don't work. You can
473 make them work with the xmodmap command and some mappings in Vim.
475 Give these commands in the xterm:
476 xmodmap -e "keysym Up = Up F13"
477 xmodmap -e "keysym Down = Down F16"
478 xmodmap -e "keysym Left = Left F18"
479 xmodmap -e "keysym Right = Right F19"
481 And use these mappings in Vim:
485 :map! <t_F6> <S-Down>
487 :map! <t_F8> <S-Left>
488 :map <t_F9> <S-Right>
489 :map! <t_F9> <S-Right>
491 Instead of, say, <S-Up> you can use any other command that you want to use the
492 shift-cursor-up key for. (Note: To help people that have a Sun keyboard with
493 left side keys F14 is not used because it is confused with the undo key; F15
494 is not used, because it does a window-to-front; F17 is not used, because it
495 closes the window. On other systems you can probably use them.)
497 ==============================================================================
498 3. Window size *window-size*
500 [This is about the size of the whole window Vim is using, not a window that is
501 created with the ":split" command.]
503 If you are running Vim on an Amiga and the terminal name is "amiga" or
504 "builtin_amiga", the amiga-specific window resizing will be enabled. On Unix
505 systems three methods are tried to get the window size:
507 - an ioctl call (TIOCGSIZE or TIOCGWINSZ, depends on your system)
508 - the environment variables "LINES" and "COLUMNS"
509 - from the termcap entries "li" and "co"
511 If everything fails a default size of 24 lines and 80 columns is assumed. If
512 a window-resize signal is received the size will be set again. If the window
513 size is wrong you can use the 'lines' and 'columns' options to set the
516 One command can be used to set the screen size:
518 *:mod* *:mode* *E359* *E362*
521 Without argument this only detects the screen size and redraws the screen.
522 With MS-DOS it is possible to switch screen mode. [mode] can be one of these
524 "bw40" 40 columns black&white
525 "c40" 40 columns color
526 "bw80" 80 columns black&white
527 "c80" 80 columns color (most people use this)
528 "mono" 80 columns monochrome
529 "c4350" 43 or 50 lines EGA/VGA mode
530 number mode number to use, depends on your video card
532 ==============================================================================
533 4. Slow and fast terminals *slow-fast-terminal*
536 If you have a fast terminal you may like to set the 'ruler' option. The
537 cursor position is shown in the status line. If you are using horizontal
538 scrolling ('wrap' option off) consider setting 'sidescroll' to a small
541 If you have a slow terminal you may want to reset the 'showcmd' option.
542 The command characters will not be shown in the status line. If the terminal
543 scrolls very slowly, set the 'scrolljump' to 5 or so. If the cursor is moved
544 off the screen (e.g., with "j") Vim will scroll 5 lines at a time. Another
545 possibility is to reduce the number of lines that Vim uses with the command
548 If the characters from the terminal are arriving with more than 1 second
549 between them you might want to set the 'timeout' and/or 'ttimeout' option.
550 See the "Options" chapter |options|.
552 If your terminal does not support a scrolling region, but it does support
553 insert/delete line commands, scrolling with multiple windows may make the
554 lines jump up and down. If you don't want this set the 'ttyfast' option.
555 This will redraw the window instead of scroll it.
557 If your terminal scrolls very slowly, but redrawing is not slow, set the
558 'ttyscroll' option to a small number, e.g., 3. This will make Vim redraw the
559 screen instead of scrolling, when there are more than 3 lines to be scrolled.
561 If you are using a color terminal that is slow, use this command: >
562 hi NonText cterm=NONE ctermfg=NONE
563 This avoids that spaces are sent when they have different attributes. On most
564 terminals you can't see this anyway.
566 If you are using Vim over a slow serial line, you might want to try running
567 Vim inside the "screen" program. Screen will optimize the terminal I/O quite
570 If you are testing termcap options, but you cannot see what is happening,
571 you might want to set the 'writedelay' option. When non-zero, one character
572 is sent to the terminal at a time (does not work for MS-DOS). This makes the
573 screen updating a lot slower, making it possible to see what is happening.
575 ==============================================================================
576 5. Using the mouse *mouse-using*
578 This section is about using the mouse on a terminal or a terminal window. How
579 to use the mouse in a GUI window is explained in |gui-mouse|. For scrolling
580 with a mouse wheel see |scroll-mouse-wheel|.
582 Don't forget to enable the mouse with this commands: >
584 Otherwise Vim won't recognize the mouse in all modes (See 'mouse').
586 Currently the mouse is supported for Unix in an xterm window, in a Linux
587 console (with GPM |gpm-mouse|), for MS-DOS and in a Windows console.
588 Mouse clicks can be used to position the cursor, select an area and paste.
590 These characters in the 'mouse' option tell in which situations the mouse will
596 h all previous modes when in a help file
598 r for |hit-enter| prompt
600 The default for 'mouse' is empty, the mouse is not used. Normally you would
603 to start using the mouse (this is equivalent to setting 'mouse' to "nvich").
604 If you only want to use the mouse in a few modes or also want to use it for
605 the two questions you will have to concatenate the letters for those modes.
608 Will make the mouse work in Normal mode and Visual mode. >
610 Will make the mouse work in help files only (so you can use "g<LeftMouse>" to
613 Whether the selection that is started with the mouse is in Visual mode or
614 Select mode depends on whether "mouse" is included in the 'selectmode'
617 In an xterm, with the currently active mode included in the 'mouse' option,
618 normal mouse clicks are used by Vim, mouse clicks with the shift or ctrl key
619 pressed go to the xterm. With the currently active mode not included in
620 'mouse' all mouse clicks go to the xterm.
623 In the Athena and Motif GUI versions, when running in a terminal and there is
624 access to the X-server (DISPLAY is set), the copy and paste will behave like
625 in the GUI. If not, the middle mouse button will insert the unnamed register.
626 In that case, here is how you copy and paste a piece of text:
628 Copy/paste with the mouse and Visual mode ('mouse' option must be set, see
630 1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last
631 letter of the text and release the button. This will start Visual mode and
632 highlight the selected area.
633 2. Press "y" to yank the Visual text in the unnamed register.
634 3. Click the left mouse button at the insert position.
635 4. Click the middle mouse button.
637 Shortcut: If the insert position is on the screen at the same time as the
638 Visual text, you can do 2, 3 and 4 all in one: Click the middle mouse button
639 at the insert position.
641 Note: When the |-X| command line argument is used, Vim will not connect to the
642 X server and copy/paste to the X clipboard (selection) will not work. Use the
643 shift key with the mouse buttons to let the xterm do the selection.
645 *xterm-command-server*
646 When the X-server clipboard is available, the command server described in
647 |x11-clientserver| can be enabled with the --servername command line argument.
650 NOTE: In some (older) xterms, it's not possible to move the cursor past column
651 95. This is an xterm problem, not Vim's. Get a newer xterm |color-xterm|.
653 Copy/paste in xterm with (current mode NOT included in 'mouse'):
654 1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last
655 letter of the text and release the button.
656 2. Use normal Vim commands to put the cursor at the insert position.
657 3. Press "a" to start Insert mode.
658 4. Click the middle mouse button.
659 5. Press ESC to end Insert mode.
660 (The same can be done with anything in 'mouse' if you keep the shift key
661 pressed while using the mouse.)
663 Note: if you lose the 8th bit when pasting (special characters are translated
664 into other characters), you may have to do "stty cs8 -istrip -parenb" in your
665 shell before starting Vim.
667 Thus in an xterm the shift and ctrl keys cannot be used with the mouse. Mouse
668 commands requiring the CTRL modifier can be simulated by typing the "g" key
669 before using the mouse:
670 "g<LeftMouse>" is "<C-LeftMouse> (jump to tag under mouse click)
671 "g<RightMouse>" is "<C-RightMouse> ("CTRL-T")
673 *mouse-mode-table* *mouse-overview*
674 A short overview of what the mouse buttons do, when 'mousemodel' is "extend":
677 event position selection change action ~
679 <LeftMouse> yes end yes
680 <C-LeftMouse> yes end yes "CTRL-]" (2)
681 <S-LeftMouse> yes no change yes "*" (2) *<S-LeftMouse>*
682 <LeftDrag> yes start or extend (1) no *<LeftDrag>*
683 <LeftRelease> yes start or extend (1) no
684 <MiddleMouse> yes if not active no put
685 <MiddleMouse> yes if active no yank and put
686 <RightMouse> yes start or extend yes
687 <A-RightMouse> yes start or extend blockw. yes *<A-RightMouse>*
688 <S-RightMouse> yes no change yes "#" (2) *<S-RightMouse>*
689 <C-RightMouse> no no change no "CTRL-T"
690 <RightDrag> yes extend no *<RightDrag>*
691 <RightRelease> yes extend no *<RightRelease>*
693 Insert or Replace Mode:
694 event position selection change action ~
696 <LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes
697 <C-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O^]" (2)
698 <S-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O*" (2)
699 <LeftDrag> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1)
700 <LeftRelease> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1)
701 <MiddleMouse> no (cannot be active) no put register
702 <RightMouse> yes start or extend yes like CTRL-O
703 <A-RightMouse> yes start or extend blockw. yes
704 <S-RightMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O#" (2)
705 <C-RightMouse> no (cannot be active) no "CTRL-O CTRL-T"
708 event position selection change action ~
710 <2-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) no "^]" (jump to help tag)
712 When 'mousemodel' is "popup", these are different:
715 event position selection change action ~
717 <S-LeftMouse> yes start or extend (1) no
718 <A-LeftMouse> yes start or extend blockw. no *<A-LeftMouse>*
719 <RightMouse> no popup menu no
721 Insert or Replace Mode:
722 event position selection change action ~
724 <S-LeftMouse> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1)
725 <A-LeftMouse> yes start or extend blockw. no
726 <RightMouse> no popup menu no
728 (1) only if mouse pointer moved since press
729 (2) only if click is in same buffer
731 Clicking the left mouse button causes the cursor to be positioned. If the
732 click is in another window that window is made the active window. When
733 editing the command-line the cursor can only be positioned on the
734 command-line. When in Insert mode Vim remains in Insert mode. If 'scrolloff'
735 is set, and the cursor is positioned within 'scrolloff' lines from the window
736 border, the text is scrolled.
738 A selection can be started by pressing the left mouse button on the first
739 character, moving the mouse to the last character, then releasing the mouse
740 button. You will not always see the selection until you release the button,
741 only in some versions (GUI, MS-DOS, WIN32) will the dragging be shown
742 immediately. Note that you can make the text scroll by moving the mouse at
743 least one character in the first/last line in the window when 'scrolloff' is
746 In Normal, Visual and Select mode clicking the right mouse button causes the
747 Visual area to be extended. When 'mousemodel' is "popup", the left button has
748 to be used while keeping the shift key pressed. When clicking in a window
749 which is editing another buffer, the Visual or Select mode is stopped.
751 In Normal, Visual and Select mode clicking the right mouse button with the alt
752 key pressed causes the Visual area to become blockwise. When 'mousemodel' is
753 "popup" the left button has to be used with the alt key. Note that this won't
754 work on systems where the window manager consumes the mouse events when the
755 alt key is pressed (it may move the window).
758 Double, triple and quadruple clicks are supported when the GUI is active,
759 for MS-DOS and Win32, and for an xterm (if the gettimeofday() function is
760 available). For selecting text, extra clicks extend the selection:
762 double word or % match *<2-LeftMouse>*
763 triple line *<3-LeftMouse>*
764 quadruple rectangular block *<4-LeftMouse>*
765 Exception: In a Help window a double click jumps to help for the word that is
767 A double click on a word selects that word. 'iskeyword' is used to specify
768 which characters are included in a word. A double click on a character
769 that has a match selects until that match (like using "v%"). If the match is
770 an #if/#else/#endif block, the selection becomes linewise.
771 For MS-DOS and xterm the time for double clicking can be set with the
772 'mousetime' option. For the other systems this time is defined outside of
774 An example, for using a double click to jump to the tag under the cursor: >
775 :map <2-LeftMouse> :exe "tag ". expand("<cword>")<CR>
777 Dragging the mouse with a double click (button-down, button-up, button-down
778 and then drag) will result in whole words to be selected. This continues
779 until the button is released, at which point the selection is per character
783 The GPM mouse is only supported when the |+mouse_gpm| feature was enabled at
784 compile time. The GPM mouse driver (Linux console) does not support quadruple
787 In Insert mode, when a selection is started, Vim goes into Normal mode
788 temporarily. When Visual or Select mode ends, it returns to Insert mode.
789 This is like using CTRL-O in Insert mode. Select mode is used when the
790 'selectmode' option contains "mouse".
793 When working with several windows, the size of the windows can be changed by
794 dragging the status line with the mouse. Point the mouse at a status line,
795 press the left button, move the mouse to the new position of the status line,
796 release the button. Just clicking the mouse in a status line makes that window
797 the current window, without moving the cursor. If by selecting a window it
798 will change position or size, the dragging of the status line will look
799 confusing, but it will work (just try it).
801 *<MiddleRelease>* *<MiddleDrag>*
802 Mouse clicks can be mapped. The codes for mouse clicks are:
803 code mouse button normal action ~
804 <LeftMouse> left pressed set cursor position
805 <LeftDrag> left moved while pressed extend selection
806 <LeftRelease> left released set selection end
807 <MiddleMouse> middle pressed paste text at cursor position
808 <MiddleDrag> middle moved while pressed -
809 <MiddleRelease> middle released -
810 <RightMouse> right pressed extend selection
811 <RightDrag> right moved while pressed extend selection
812 <RightRelease> right released set selection end
813 <X1Mouse> X1 button pressed - *X1Mouse*
814 <X1Drag> X1 moved while pressed - *X1Drag*
815 <X1Release> X1 button release - *X1Release*
816 <X2Mouse> X2 button pressed - *X2Mouse*
817 <X2Drag> X2 moved while pressed - *X2Drag*
818 <X2Release> X2 button release - *X2Release*
820 The X1 and X2 buttons refer to the extra buttons found on some mice. The
821 'Microsoft Explorer' mouse has these buttons available to the right thumb.
822 Currently X1 and X2 only work on Win32 environments.
825 :noremap <MiddleMouse> <LeftMouse><MiddleMouse>
826 Paste at the position of the middle mouse button click (otherwise the paste
827 would be done at the cursor position). >
829 :noremap <LeftRelease> <LeftRelease>y
830 Immediately yank the selection, when using Visual mode.
832 Note the use of ":noremap" instead of "map" to avoid a recursive mapping.
836 Map the X1 and X2 buttons to go forwards and backwards in the jump list, see
837 |CTRL-O| and |CTRL-I|.
840 To swap the meaning of the left and right mouse buttons: >
841 :noremap <LeftMouse> <RightMouse>
842 :noremap <LeftDrag> <RightDrag>
843 :noremap <LeftRelease> <RightRelease>
844 :noremap <RightMouse> <LeftMouse>
845 :noremap <RightDrag> <LeftDrag>
846 :noremap <RightRelease> <LeftRelease>
847 :noremap g<LeftMouse> <C-RightMouse>
848 :noremap g<RightMouse> <C-LeftMouse>
849 :noremap! <LeftMouse> <RightMouse>
850 :noremap! <LeftDrag> <RightDrag>
851 :noremap! <LeftRelease> <RightRelease>
852 :noremap! <RightMouse> <LeftMouse>
853 :noremap! <RightDrag> <LeftDrag>
854 :noremap! <RightRelease> <LeftRelease>
856 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: