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1 *options.txt* For Vim version 7.2. Last change: 2010 Jan 06
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 Options *options*
9 1. Setting options |set-option|
10 2. Automatically setting options |auto-setting|
11 3. Options summary |option-summary|
13 For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.
15 Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
16 achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
17 boolean can only be on or off *boolean* *toggle*
18 number has a numeric value
19 string has a string value
21 ==============================================================================
22 1. Setting options *set-option* *E764*
24 *:se* *:set*
25 :se[t] Show all options that differ from their default value.
27 :se[t] all Show all but terminal options.
29 :se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
30 key codes are not shown, because they are generated
31 internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
32 codes in the GUI is not useful either...
34 *E518* *E519*
35 :se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
37 :se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
38 Number option: show value.
39 String option: show value.
41 :se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
43 :se[t] {option}! or
44 :se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
46 *:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
47 :se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
48 current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
49 :se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
50 :se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
52 :se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
53 default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
54 'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
56 *:set-args* *E487* *E521*
57 :se[t] {option}={value} or
58 :se[t] {option}:{value}
59 Set string or number option to {value}.
60 For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
61 hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
62 (hex and octal are only available for machines which
63 have the strtol() function).
64 The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
65 default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
66 set). See |cmdline-completion|.
67 White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
68 will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
69 is not allowed.
70 See |option-backslash| for using white space and
71 backslashes in {value}.
73 :se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
74 Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
75 {value} to a string option. When the option is a
76 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
77 value was empty.
78 If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
79 are removed. When adding a flag that was already
80 present the option value doesn't change.
81 Also see |:set-args| above.
82 {not in Vi}
84 :se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
85 Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
86 the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
87 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
88 value was empty.
89 Also see |:set-args| above.
90 {not in Vi}
92 :se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
93 Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
94 the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
95 If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
96 is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
97 separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
98 becomes empty.
99 When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
100 exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
101 one by one to avoid problems.
102 Also see |:set-args| above.
103 {not in Vi}
105 The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example: >
106 :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
107 If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
108 and the following arguments will be ignored.
110 *:set-verbose*
111 When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
112 was last set. Example: >
113 :verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
114 < shiftwidth=4 ~
115 Last set from modeline ~
116 cindent ~
117 Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim ~
118 This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":verbose
119 set all" or ":verbose set" without an argument.
120 When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message.
121 When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
122 autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
123 Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting
124 'compatible'.
125 A few special texts:
126 Last set from modeline ~
127 Option was set in a |modeline|.
128 Last set from --cmd argument ~
129 Option was set with command line argument |--cmd| or +.
130 Last set from -c argument ~
131 Option was set with command line argument |-c|, +, |-S| or
132 |-q|.
133 Last set from environment variable ~
134 Option was set from an environment variable, $VIMINIT,
135 $GVIMINIT or $EXINIT.
136 Last set from error handler ~
137 Option was cleared when evaluating it resulted in an error.
139 {not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
141 *:set-termcap* *E522*
142 For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a terminal option. This will
143 override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
144 the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form: >
145 :set <t_#4>=^[Ot
146 This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
147 example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this: >
148 :set <M-b>=^[b
149 (the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
150 The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
152 The t_xx options cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
153 security reasons.
155 The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
156 at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
157 "set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
158 |more-prompt|.
160 *option-backslash*
161 To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
162 backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
163 means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
164 down).
165 A few examples: >
166 :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags"
167 :set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags\,file"
168 :set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags\ file"
170 The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
171 include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
172 'titlestring' option to "hi|there": >
173 :set titlestring=hi\|there
174 This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there": >
175 :set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
177 Similarly, the double quote character starts a comment. To include the '"' in
178 the option value, use '\"' instead. This example sets the 'titlestring'
179 option to 'hi "there"': >
180 :set titlestring=hi\ \"there\"
182 For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More
183 precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment
184 variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not
185 removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma,
186 etc.) is used like explained above.
187 There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\": >
188 :set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
189 :set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
190 :set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
191 For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
192 are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
193 halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
194 result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
196 *add-option-flags* *remove-option-flags*
197 *E539* *E550* *E551* *E552*
198 Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
199 option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this: >
200 :set guioptions+=a
201 Remove a flag from an option like this: >
202 :set guioptions-=a
203 This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
204 Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
205 the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
206 doesn't appear.
208 *:set_env* *expand-env* *expand-environment-var*
209 Environment variables in specific string options will be expanded. If the
210 environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
211 name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
212 are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
213 follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
214 appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples: >
215 :set term=$TERM.new
216 :set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
217 When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
218 opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
221 Handling of local options *local-options*
223 Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
224 has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This
225 allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
226 'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
228 The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
229 situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
230 the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
231 expects is a bit complicated...
233 When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
234 right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
236 When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
237 the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
238 these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
239 global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
240 global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
241 thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
243 When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window
244 options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the
245 values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where
246 the buffer was edited last are used.
248 It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
249 When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
250 using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
251 local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
252 has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
253 global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do: >
254 :e one
255 :set list
256 :e two
257 Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
258 command you have also set the global value. >
259 :set nolist
260 :e one
261 :setlocal list
262 :e two
263 Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
264 value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
265 global value. Note that if you do this next: >
266 :e one
267 You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited
268 "one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
270 *:setl* *:setlocal*
271 :setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
272 current buffer or window. Not all options have a
273 local value. If the option does not have a local
274 value the global value is set.
275 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
276 local values.
277 Without argument: Display all local option's local
278 values which are different from the default.
279 When displaying a specific local option, show the
280 local value. For a global/local boolean option, when
281 the global value is being used, "--" is displayed
282 before the option name.
283 For a global option the global value is
284 shown (but that might change in the future).
285 {not in Vi}
287 :setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
288 copying the value.
289 {not in Vi}
291 :se[t] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
292 making it empty. Only makes sense for |global-local|
293 options.
294 {not in Vi}
296 *:setg* *:setglobal*
297 :setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
298 option without changing the local value.
299 When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
300 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
301 global values.
302 Without argument: display all local option's global
303 values which are different from the default.
304 {not in Vi}
306 For buffer-local and window-local options:
307 Command global value local value ~
308 :set option=value set set
309 :setlocal option=value - set
310 :setglobal option=value set -
311 :set option? - display
312 :setlocal option? - display
313 :setglobal option? display -
316 Global options with a local value *global-local*
318 Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers and windows.
319 For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value.
320 You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer or window will then
321 use the local value, while other buffers and windows continue using the global
322 value.
324 For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
325 'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows: >
326 :set makeprg=gmake
327 then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
328 the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
329 However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
330 another 'makeprg' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
331 files. You use this command: >
332 :setlocal makeprg=perlmake
333 You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty: >
334 :setlocal makeprg=
335 This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the
336 "<" flag, like this: >
337 :setlocal autoread<
338 Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the
339 local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters
340 when the global value changes later). You can also use: >
341 :set path<
342 This will make the local value of 'path' empty, so that the global value is
343 used. Thus it does the same as: >
344 :setlocal path=
345 Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
346 ":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
349 Setting the filetype
351 :setf[iletype] {filetype} *:setf* *:setfiletype*
352 Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
353 not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
354 This is short for: >
355 :if !did_filetype()
356 : setlocal filetype={filetype}
357 :endif
358 < This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
359 setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
360 settings and syntax files to be loaded.
361 {not in Vi}
363 :bro[wse] se[t] *:set-browse* *:browse-set* *:opt* *:options*
364 :opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
365 Options are grouped by function.
366 Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
367 short help to open a help window with more help for
368 the option.
369 Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
370 "set" line to set the new value. For window and
371 buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
372 used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
373 window, in which case the window below help window is
374 used (skipping the option-window).
375 {not available when compiled without the |+eval| or
376 |+autocmd| features}
378 *$HOME*
379 Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
380 option and after a space or comma.
382 On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
383 of user "user". Example: >
384 :set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
386 On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
387 contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
388 "gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
390 NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set"
391 command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
394 Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
395 the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
397 *:fix* *:fixdel*
398 :fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
399 't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes ~
400 CTRL-? CTRL-H
401 not CTRL-? CTRL-?
403 (CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi}
405 If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
406 code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
407 your .vimrc: >
408 :fixdel
409 < This works no matter what the actual code for
410 backspace is.
412 If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
413 use this: >
414 :if &term == "termname"
415 : set t_kb=^V<BS>
416 : fixdel
417 :endif
418 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
419 (don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
420 with your terminal name.
422 If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
423 CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use: >
424 :if &term == "termname"
425 : set t_kD=^V<Delete>
426 :endif
427 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
428 (don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
429 with your terminal name.
431 *Linux-backspace*
432 Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
433 produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
434 putting this line in your rc.local: >
435 echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
436 <
437 *NetBSD-backspace*
438 Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
439 the right code, try this: >
440 xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
441 < If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file: >
442 keysym 22 = BackSpace
443 < You need to restart for this to take effect.
445 ==============================================================================
446 2. Automatically setting options *auto-setting*
448 Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
449 to set options automatically for one or more files:
451 1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
452 |initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
453 and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
454 You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and
455 |:mksession|.
456 2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
457 This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
458 many other things. See |autocommand|.
459 3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
460 number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
461 modelines. This is explained here.
463 *modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:* *E520*
464 There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
465 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
467 [text] any text or empty
468 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
469 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
470 [white] optional white space
471 {options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
472 where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
473 command (can be empty)
475 Example:
476 vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6 ~
478 The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
480 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
482 [text] any text or empty
483 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
484 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
485 [white] optional white space
486 se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space)
487 {options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
488 argument for a ":set" command
489 : a colon
490 [text] any text or empty
492 Example:
493 /* vim: set ai tw=75: */ ~
495 The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
496 that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
497 "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
498 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
499 short for "example:").
501 *modeline-local*
502 The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
503 buffer and window that contain the file. Although it's possible to set global
504 options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and
505 the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result
506 depends on which one was opened last.
508 When editing a file that was already loaded, only the window-local options
509 from the modeline are used. Thus if you manually changed a buffer-local
510 option after opening the file, it won't be changed if you edit the same buffer
511 in another window. But window-local options will be set.
513 *modeline-version*
514 If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
515 number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
516 vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
517 vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
518 vim={vers}: version {vers}
519 vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
520 {vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
521 For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
522 /* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */ ~
523 To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
524 /* vim<570: set sw=4: */ ~
525 There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
528 The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
529 If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
531 Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
532 like:
533 /* vi:ts=4: */ ~
534 will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
535 /* vi:set ts=4: */ ~
537 If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
539 If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
540 backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
541 /* vi:set dir=c\:\tmp: */ ~
542 This sets the 'dir' option to "c:\tmp". Only a single backslash before the
543 ':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
545 No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
546 might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines). And not all options
547 can be set. For some options a flag is set, so that when it's used the
548 |sandbox| is effective. Still, there is always a small risk that a modeline
549 causes trouble. E.g., when some joker sets 'textwidth' to 5 all your lines
550 are wrapped unexpectedly. So disable modelines before editing untrusted text.
551 The mail ftplugin does this, for example.
553 Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
554 define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
555 example: >
556 au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
557 And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
558 "VAR".
560 ==============================================================================
561 3. Options summary *option-summary*
563 In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
564 an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
566 In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
567 is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
569 For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
570 used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
571 'compatible' is set.
573 Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
574 are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
575 different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
576 one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
577 at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
578 file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
579 the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
580 program.
582 global one option for all buffers and windows
583 local to window each window has its own copy of this option
584 local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
586 When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
587 are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
588 buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
589 'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for
590 buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
591 first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
592 is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
593 present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
594 buffer is created.
596 Hidden options *hidden-options*
598 Not all options are supported in all versions. This depends on the supported
599 features and sometimes on the system. A remark about this is in curly braces
600 below. When an option is not supported it may still be set without getting an
601 error, this is called a hidden option. You can't get the value of a hidden
602 option though, it is not stored.
604 To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use something like this: >
605 if exists('&foo')
606 This also returns true for a hidden option. To test if option "foo" is really
607 supported use something like this: >
608 if exists('+foo')
609 <
610 *E355*
611 A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
613 *'aleph'* *'al'* *aleph* *Aleph*
614 'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
615 global
616 {not in Vi}
617 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
618 feature}
619 The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
620 routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
621 (when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
622 outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
623 aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
624 See |rileft.txt|.
626 *'allowrevins'* *'ari'* *'noallowrevins'* *'noari'*
627 'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
628 global
629 {not in Vi}
630 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
631 feature}
632 Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
633 avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
634 into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
635 'revins'.
636 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
638 *'altkeymap'* *'akm'* *'noaltkeymap'* *'noakm'*
639 'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
640 global
641 {not in Vi}
642 {only available when compiled with the |+farsi|
643 feature}
644 When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles
645 the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
647 When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This
648 is useful to start the Vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right
649 mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left
650 mode). See |farsi.txt|.
652 *'ambiwidth'* *'ambw'*
653 'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
654 global
655 {not in Vi}
656 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
657 feature}
658 Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding.
659 Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class
660 Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek
661 letters, Cyrillic letters).
663 There are currently two possible values:
664 "single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
665 expected by most users.
666 "double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
668 There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for
669 those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in
670 legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro,
671 Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets,
672 therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also
673 true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text
674 file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or
675 Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font
676 (or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.),
677 this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived
678 by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has
679 to be set to "double" under CJK Windows 9x/ME or Windows 2k/XP
680 when the system locale is set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode
681 Standard Annex #11 (http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11).
683 *'antialias'* *'anti'* *'noantialias'* *'noanti'*
684 'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default off, on for MacVim)
685 global
686 {not in Vi}
687 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled on
688 Mac OS X}
689 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
690 v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts,
691 which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
693 Setting this option in the Carbon version can sometimes cause problems
694 if 'guifont' is set to its default (empty string).
696 Support for this option is not flawless in MacVim. In particular,
697 Monaco always seems to render not antialiased for point sizes up
698 to 10. The ATSUI renderer has better antialias support.
700 *'autochdir'* *'acd'* *'noautochdir'* *'noacd'*
701 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
702 global
703 {not in Vi}
704 {only available when compiled with the
705 |+netbeans_intg| or |+sun_workshop| feature}
706 When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
707 open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
708 It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
709 or selected.
710 This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
711 released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
712 Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
714 *'arabic'* *'arab'* *'noarabic'* *'noarab'*
715 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
716 local to window
717 {not in Vi}
718 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
719 feature}
720 This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
721 Setting this option will:
722 - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
723 - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
724 - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
725 between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
726 - Set the 'delcombine' option
727 Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
729 Resetting this option will:
730 - Reset the 'rightleft' option.
731 - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
732 Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
733 option.
734 Also see |arabic.txt|.
736 *'arabicshape'* *'arshape'*
737 *'noarabicshape'* *'noarshape'*
738 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
739 global
740 {not in Vi}
741 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
742 feature}
743 When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
744 corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
745 take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
746 one which encompasses:
747 a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
748 within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
749 b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
750 c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
751 When disabled the display shows each character's true stand-alone
752 form.
753 Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
754 further details see |arabic.txt|.
756 *'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
757 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
758 local to buffer
759 Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
760 in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
761 type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
762 <Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
763 to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
764 in 'cpoptions'.
765 When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
766 reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
767 line.
768 When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
769 a different way.
770 The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
771 {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
772 <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
773 deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
775 *'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
776 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
777 global or local to buffer |global-local|
778 {not in Vi}
779 When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
780 it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
781 When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
782 If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
783 using the global value: >
784 :set autoread<
785 <
786 *'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
787 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
788 global
789 Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
790 :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
791 :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
792 '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
793 Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
794 'autowriteall' for that.
796 *'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
797 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
798 global
799 {not in Vi}
800 Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
801 ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
802 Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
803 been set.
805 *'background'* *'bg'*
806 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
807 global
808 {not in Vi}
809 When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
810 dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
811 look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
812 Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
813 This will not always be correct.
814 Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
815 what the background color looks like. For changing the background
816 color, see |:hi-normal|.
818 When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
819 the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
820 change. *g:colors_name*
821 When a color scheme is loaded (the "g:colors_name" variable is set)
822 setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
823 the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
824 However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
825 be undone. First delete the "g:colors_name" variable when needed.
827 When setting 'background' to the default value with: >
828 :set background&
829 < Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
830 in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
832 When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
833 "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
834 that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
835 "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
836 (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
837 color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
838 putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
839 of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
840 Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
841 depending on the terminal name. Example: >
842 :if &term == "pcterm"
843 : set background=dark
844 :endif
845 < When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
846 will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
847 the setting of the 'background' option.
848 This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
849 to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
850 option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
851 done with ":syntax on".
853 *'backspace'* *'bs'*
854 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
855 global
856 {not in Vi}
857 Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
858 mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
859 a way to backspace over something:
860 value effect ~
861 indent allow backspacing over autoindent
862 eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
863 start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
864 stop once at the start of insert.
866 When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
868 For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
869 value effect ~
870 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
871 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
872 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
874 See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
875 NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
877 *'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
878 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
879 global
880 {not in Vi}
881 Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
882 file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
883 backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
884 written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
885 the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
886 options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
887 |backup-table| for more explanations.
888 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
889 When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
890 oldest version of a file.
891 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
893 *'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
894 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
895 global
896 {not in Vi}
897 When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
898 done. This is a comma separated list of words.
900 The main values are:
901 "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
902 "no" rename the file and write a new one
903 "auto" one of the previous, what works best
905 Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
906 "breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
907 "breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
909 Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
910 - Takes extra time to copy the file.
911 + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
912 has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
913 - When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
914 not of the real file.
916 Renaming the file and writing a new one:
917 + It's fast.
918 - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
919 file.
920 - When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
922 The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
923 is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
924 the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a
925 copy will be made.
927 The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
928 combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
929 force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
930 exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
931 become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
932 useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
933 hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
934 be propagated back to the original source.
935 *crontab*
936 One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
937 that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
938 the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
939 backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
940 example.
942 When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
943 with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
944 symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
945 however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
946 group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
947 fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
948 others.
950 When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
951 the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
952 is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
953 link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
954 rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
955 written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
956 the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
957 again not rename the file.
959 *'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
960 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
961 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
962 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
963 global
964 {not in Vi}
965 List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
966 - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
967 where this is possible. The directory must exist, Vim will not
968 create it for you.
969 - Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
970 impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
971 - A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
972 as the edited file.
973 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
974 put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
975 leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
976 ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
977 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
978 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
979 name, precede it with a backslash.
980 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
981 - A directory name may end in an '/'.
982 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
983 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
984 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
985 :set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
986 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
987 of the option is removed.
988 See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
989 If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value: >
990 :set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
991 < You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
992 home directory for this to work properly.
993 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
994 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
995 uses another default.
996 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
997 security reasons.
999 *'backupext'* *'bex'* *E589*
1000 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
1001 global
1002 {not in Vi}
1003 String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
1004 backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
1005 accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
1006 prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
1007 ".bak" that you want to keep.
1008 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
1010 If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
1011 autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
1012 include a timestamp. >
1013 :au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' . strftime("%Y%b%d%X") . '~'
1014 < Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
1016 *'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
1017 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
1018 global
1019 {not in Vi}
1020 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
1021 feature}
1022 A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
1023 name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
1024 the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
1025 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
1026 Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
1027 When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
1028 default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
1030 Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
1031 $HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.: >
1032 :let backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') . '/tmp/*'
1034 < Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
1035 backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
1036 the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and |crontab|.
1038 *'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
1039 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
1040 global
1041 {not in Vi}
1042 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1043 feature}
1044 Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
1046 *'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
1047 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
1048 global
1049 {not in Vi}
1050 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1051 feature}
1052 Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
1054 *'balloonexpr'* *'bexpr'*
1055 'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
1056 global or local to buffer |global-local|
1057 {not in Vi}
1058 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1059 feature}
1060 Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
1061 when 'ballooneval' is on. These variables can be used:
1063 v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
1064 v:beval_winnr number of the window
1065 v:beval_lnum line number
1066 v:beval_col column number (byte index)
1067 v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
1069 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
1070 Example: >
1071 function! MyBalloonExpr()
1072 return 'Cursor is at line ' . v:beval_lnum .
1073 \', column ' . v:beval_col .
1074 \ ' of file ' . bufname(v:beval_bufnr) .
1075 \ ' on word "' . v:beval_text . '"'
1076 endfunction
1077 set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
1078 set ballooneval
1079 <
1080 NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
1081 character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
1082 Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
1083 or Sun Workshop).
1085 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
1086 |sandbox-option|.
1088 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
1089 evaluating 'balloonexpr' |textlock|.
1091 To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check: >
1092 if has("balloon_multiline")
1093 < When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
1094 expression evaluates to a |List| this is equal to using each List item
1095 as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
1097 *'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
1098 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
1099 local to buffer
1100 {not in Vi}
1101 This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
1102 use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
1103 options will be changed (also when it already was on):
1104 'textwidth' will be set to 0
1105 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
1106 'modeline' will be off
1107 'expandtab' will be off
1108 Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
1109 file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
1110 separates lines).
1111 The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
1112 file is read without conversion.
1113 NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
1114 on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
1115 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
1116 'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
1117 The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
1118 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
1119 saved option values.
1120 To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the |++bin| argument.
1121 This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
1122 files you edit.
1123 When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
1124 there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
1125 the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
1126 the 'endofline' option.
1128 *'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
1129 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
1130 global
1131 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1132 When on the BIOS is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
1133 better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
1134 terminal over a serial port reset this option.
1135 Also see |'conskey'|.
1137 *'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
1138 'bomb' boolean (default off)
1139 local to buffer
1140 {not in Vi}
1141 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1142 feature}
1143 When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
1144 Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
1145 - this option is on
1146 - the 'binary' option is off
1147 - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
1148 endian variants.
1149 Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
1150 Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
1151 causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
1152 appear halfway the resulting file. Gcc doesn't accept a BOM.
1153 When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
1154 check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
1155 Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
1156 don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
1157 will be restored when writing the file.
1159 *'breakat'* *'brk'*
1160 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
1161 global
1162 {not in Vi}
1163 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1164 feature}
1165 This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
1166 break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
1167 characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
1169 *'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
1170 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
1171 global
1172 {not in Vi} {only for Motif, Athena, GTK, Mac and
1173 Win32 GUI}
1174 Which directory to use for the file browser:
1175 last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
1176 file was opened or saved.
1177 buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
1178 current Use the current directory.
1179 {path} Use the specified directory
1181 *'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
1182 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
1183 local to buffer
1184 {not in Vi}
1185 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1186 feature}
1187 This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
1188 displayed in a window:
1189 <empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
1190 hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
1191 is not set
1192 unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
1193 |:hide|
1194 delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1195 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1196 |:bdelete|
1197 wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1198 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1199 |:bwipeout|
1201 CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
1202 are lost without a warning.
1203 This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
1204 special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1206 *'buflisted'* *'bl'* *'nobuflisted'* *'nobl'* *E85*
1207 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
1208 local to buffer
1209 {not in Vi}
1210 When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
1211 it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
1212 This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
1213 a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
1214 But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
1216 *'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
1217 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
1218 local to buffer
1219 {not in Vi}
1220 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1221 feature}
1222 The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
1223 <empty> normal buffer
1224 nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
1225 written
1226 nowrite buffer which will not be written
1227 acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
1228 autocommands. {not available when compiled without the
1229 |+autocmd| feature}
1230 quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
1231 or list of locations |:lwindow|
1232 help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
1233 manually)
1235 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
1236 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1238 Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
1240 A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
1241 list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| and |:lwindow| commands and
1242 you are not supposed to change it.
1244 "nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
1245 both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
1246 work (":w filename" does work though).
1247 both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
1248 There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
1249 example when you quit Vim.
1250 both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
1251 (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
1252 file).
1253 nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
1254 file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
1255 command.
1256 *E676*
1257 "acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
1258 "nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
1259 "nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
1260 without saving. For writing there must be matching |BufWriteCmd|,
1261 |FileWriteCmd| or |FileAppendCmd| autocommands.
1263 *'casemap'* *'cmp'*
1264 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
1265 global
1266 {not in Vi}
1267 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1268 feature}
1269 Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
1270 these words, separated by a comma:
1271 internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
1272 locale does not change the case mapping. This only
1273 matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
1274 "latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
1275 omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
1276 functions are used when available.
1277 keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
1278 case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
1279 This probably only matters for Turkish.
1281 *'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
1282 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
1283 global
1284 {not in Vi}
1285 {not available when compiled without the
1286 |+file_in_path| feature}
1287 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
1288 |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
1289 for has a relative path, not an absolute part starting with "/", "./"
1290 or "../", the 'cdpath' option is not used then.
1291 The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
1292 |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
1293 The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
1294 in the current directory first.
1295 If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
1296 a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
1297 override it: >
1298 :let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
1299 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1300 security reasons.
1301 (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
1303 *'cedit'*
1304 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
1305 global
1306 {not in Vi}
1307 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1308 feature}
1309 The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
1310 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
1311 Only non-printable keys are allowed.
1312 The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
1313 type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples: >
1314 :set cedit=<C-Y>
1315 :set cedit=<Esc>
1316 < |Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
1317 See |cmdwin|.
1319 *'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214* *E513*
1320 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
1321 global
1322 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1323 feature and the |+eval| feature}
1324 {not in Vi}
1325 An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
1326 evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
1327 different encoding from what is desired.
1328 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
1329 supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
1330 preferred, because it is much faster.
1331 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
1332 file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
1333 The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
1334 non-zero for failure.
1335 The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
1336 Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
1337 used.
1338 Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
1339 is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
1340 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
1341 flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
1342 Example: >
1343 set charconvert=CharConvert()
1344 fun CharConvert()
1345 system("recode "
1346 \ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
1347 \ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
1348 return v:shell_error
1349 endfun
1350 < The related Vim variables are:
1351 v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
1352 v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
1353 v:fname_in name of the input file
1354 v:fname_out name of the output file
1355 Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
1356 Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
1357 from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
1358 Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
1359 to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
1360 of this.
1361 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1362 security reasons.
1364 *'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
1365 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
1366 local to buffer
1367 {not in Vi}
1368 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1369 feature}
1370 Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
1371 that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
1372 preferred indent style.
1373 If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
1374 If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
1375 the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
1376 external program.
1377 See |C-indenting|.
1378 When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
1379 option or 'indentexpr'.
1380 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
1381 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1383 *'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
1384 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
1385 local to buffer
1386 {not in Vi}
1387 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1388 feature}
1389 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
1390 the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
1391 empty.
1392 For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
1393 See |C-indenting|.
1395 *'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
1396 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
1397 local to buffer
1398 {not in Vi}
1399 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1400 feature}
1401 The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
1402 program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
1403 |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
1406 *'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
1407 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
1408 local to buffer
1409 {not in Vi}
1410 {not available when compiled without both the
1411 |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
1412 These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
1413 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
1414 an appropriate place (inside {}).
1415 Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
1416 matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
1417 "if,If,IF".
1419 *'clipboard'* *'cb'*
1420 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
1421 for X-windows, "" otherwise)
1422 global
1423 {not in Vi}
1424 {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
1425 feature is included}
1426 This option is a list of comma separated names.
1427 These names are recognized:
1429 unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
1430 for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
1431 would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
1432 register is explicitly specified, it will always be
1433 used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
1434 or not. The clipboard register can always be
1435 explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
1436 |gui-clipboard|.
1438 autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
1439 then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
1440 area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
1441 windowing system's global selection or put the
1442 selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
1443 register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
1444 details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
1445 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
1446 "autoselect" flag is used.
1447 Also applies to the modeless selection.
1449 autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
1450 only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
1452 html When the clipboard contains HTML, use this when
1453 pasting. When putting text on the clipboard, mark it
1454 as HTML. This works to copy rendered HTML from
1455 Firefox, paste it as raw HTML in Vim, select the HTML
1456 in Vim and paste it in a rich edit box in Firefox.
1457 Only supported for GTK version 2 and later.
1458 Only available with the |+multi_byte| feature.
1460 exclude:{pattern}
1461 Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
1462 the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
1463 connection will be made to the X server. This is
1464 useful in this situation:
1465 - Running Vim in a console.
1466 - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
1467 display.
1468 - You do not want to connect to the X server in the
1469 console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
1470 To never connect to the X server use: >
1471 exclude:.*
1472 < This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
1473 Note that when there is no connection to the X server
1474 the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
1475 cannot be accessed.
1476 The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
1477 interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
1478 The rest of the option value will be used for
1479 {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
1481 *'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
1482 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
1483 global
1484 {not in Vi}
1485 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
1486 |hit-enter| prompts.
1487 The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
1488 page can have a different value.
1490 *'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
1491 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
1492 global
1493 {not in Vi}
1494 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1495 feature}
1496 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
1498 *'columns'* *'co'* *E594*
1499 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
1500 global
1501 {not in Vi}
1502 Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
1503 initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
1504 |posix-screen-size|.
1505 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
1506 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
1507 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
1508 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
1509 number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
1510 the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
1511 what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
1512 window possible: >
1513 :set columns=9999
1514 < Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
1516 *'comments'* *'com'* *E524* *E525*
1517 'comments' 'com' string (default
1518 "s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
1519 local to buffer
1520 {not in Vi}
1521 {not available when compiled without the |+comments|
1522 feature}
1523 A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
1524 |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
1525 insert a space.
1527 *'commentstring'* *'cms'* *E537*
1528 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
1529 local to buffer
1530 {not in Vi}
1531 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
1532 feature}
1533 A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
1534 comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
1535 |fold-marker|.
1537 *'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
1538 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc|
1539 file is found)
1540 global
1541 {not in Vi}
1542 This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
1543 make Vim behave in a more useful way.
1544 This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
1545 other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
1546 resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
1547 are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
1548 set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
1549 very start.
1550 By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
1551 options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
1552 just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
1553 option.
1554 When a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file is found while Vim is starting up,
1555 this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
1556 modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
1557 that when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file exists, Vim will use the Vim
1558 defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
1559 happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
1560 with the |-u| argument). Also see |compatible-default| and
1561 |posix-compliance|.
1562 You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
1563 "-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
1564 Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
1565 that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
1566 marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
1567 At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
1568 or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
1569 below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
1570 editing.
1571 See also 'cpoptions'.
1573 option + set value effect ~
1575 'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
1576 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
1577 others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
1578 'backspace' "" normal backspace
1579 'backup' off no backup file
1580 'cindent' off no C code indentation
1581 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
1582 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
1583 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
1584 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
1585 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
1586 'digraph' off no digraphs
1587 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
1588 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
1589 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
1590 "dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
1591 'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
1592 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
1593 'history' + 0 no commandline history
1594 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
1595 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
1596 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
1597 'incsearch' off no incremental searching
1598 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
1599 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
1600 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
1601 characters and '_'
1602 'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
1603 'modeline' + off no modelines
1604 'more' + off no pauses in listings
1605 'revins' off no reverse insert
1606 'ruler' off no ruler
1607 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
1608 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
1609 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
1610 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
1611 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
1612 'showmode' + off current mode not shown
1613 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
1614 'smartindent' off no smart indentation
1615 'smarttab' off no smart tab size
1616 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
1617 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
1618 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
1619 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
1620 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
1621 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
1622 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
1623 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
1624 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
1625 use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
1626 'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
1628 *'complete'* *'cpt'* *E535*
1629 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
1630 local to buffer
1631 {not in Vi}
1632 This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
1633 when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
1634 completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
1635 and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
1636 . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
1637 w scan buffers from other windows
1638 b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1639 u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1640 U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
1641 k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
1642 kspell use the currently active spell checking |spell|
1643 k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
1644 patterns are valid too. For example: >
1645 :set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
1646 < s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
1647 s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
1648 are valid too.
1649 i scan current and included files
1650 d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
1651 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
1652 ] tag completion
1653 t same as "]"
1655 Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
1656 not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
1657 (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
1658 whole-line completion.
1660 The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1661 1. the current buffer
1662 2. buffers in other windows
1663 3. other loaded buffers
1664 4. unloaded buffers
1665 5. tags
1666 6. included files
1668 As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
1669 based expansion (e.g., dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
1670 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions).
1672 *'completefunc'* *'cfu'*
1673 'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
1674 local to buffer
1675 {not in Vi}
1676 {not available when compiled without the +eval
1677 or +insert_expand feature}
1678 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
1679 with CTRL-X CTRL-U. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
1680 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
1681 invoked and what it should return.
1684 *'completeopt'* *'cot'*
1685 'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
1686 global
1687 {not available when compiled without the
1688 |+insert_expand| feature}
1689 {not in Vi}
1690 A comma separated list of options for Insert mode completion
1691 |ins-completion|. The supported values are:
1693 menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
1694 menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
1695 sufficient colors are available. |ins-completion-menu|
1697 menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
1698 Useful when there is additional information about the
1699 match, e.g., what file it comes from.
1701 longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
1702 the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
1703 characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
1704 of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
1705 used.
1707 preview Show extra information about the currently selected
1708 completion in the preview window. Only works in
1709 combination with "menu" or "menuone".
1712 *'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
1713 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
1714 global
1715 {not in Vi}
1716 When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
1717 fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
1718 instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
1719 file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
1720 If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
1721 command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
1722 command.
1723 Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
1725 *'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
1726 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
1727 global
1728 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1729 When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
1730 This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
1731 three methods of console input are available:
1732 'conskey' 'bioskey' action ~
1733 on on or off direct console input
1734 off on BIOS
1735 off off STDIN
1737 *'copyindent'* *'ci'* *'nocopyindent'* *'noci'*
1738 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
1739 local to buffer
1740 {not in Vi}
1741 Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
1742 new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
1743 tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled,
1744 in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
1745 new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
1746 existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
1747 remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
1748 line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
1749 NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1750 Also see 'preserveindent'.
1752 *'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
1753 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
1754 Vi default: all flags)
1755 global
1756 {not in Vi}
1757 A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
1758 this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
1759 not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
1760 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
1761 Commas can be added for readability.
1762 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
1763 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
1764 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
1765 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
1766 NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
1767 the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
1768 variable exists |posix|. This means Vim tries to behave like the
1769 POSIX specification.
1771 contains behavior ~
1772 *cpo-a*
1773 a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1774 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1775 current window.
1776 *cpo-A*
1777 A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1778 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1779 current window.
1780 *cpo-b*
1781 b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
1782 the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
1783 the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
1784 command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
1785 include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
1786 mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
1787 See also |map_bar|.
1788 *cpo-B*
1789 B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
1790 abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
1791 Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
1792 CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
1793 results in X being mapped to:
1794 'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
1795 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
1796 ('<' excluded in both cases)
1797 *cpo-c*
1798 c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
1799 cursor position, but not further than the start of the
1800 next line. When not present searching continues
1801 one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
1802 "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
1803 "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
1804 *cpo-C*
1805 C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
1806 backslash. See |line-continuation|.
1807 *cpo-d*
1808 d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
1809 the tags file relative to the current file, but the
1810 tags file in the current directory.
1811 *cpo-D*
1812 D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
1813 commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
1814 |t|.
1815 *cpo-e*
1816 e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
1817 <CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
1818 linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
1819 is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
1820 <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
1821 and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
1822 *cpo-E*
1823 E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
1824 "gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
1825 at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
1826 This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
1827 *cpo-f*
1828 f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1829 argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
1830 if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
1831 *cpo-F*
1832 F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1833 argument will set the file name for the current
1834 buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
1835 yet. Also see |cpo-P|.
1836 *cpo-g*
1837 g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
1838 *cpo-H*
1839 H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
1840 before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
1841 the last blank.
1842 *cpo-i*
1843 i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
1844 leave it modified.
1845 *cpo-I*
1846 I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
1847 indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
1848 *cpo-j*
1849 j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
1850 not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
1851 *cpo-J*
1852 J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
1853 the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
1854 white space.
1855 *cpo-k*
1856 k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
1857 mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
1858 commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
1859 is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
1860 being mapped to:
1861 'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
1862 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
1863 Also see the '<' flag below.
1864 *cpo-K*
1865 K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
1866 halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
1867 only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
1868 enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
1869 *cpo-l*
1870 l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
1871 literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
1872 See |/[]|
1873 'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
1874 'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
1875 Also see |cpo-\|.
1876 *cpo-L*
1877 L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
1878 'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
1879 (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
1880 the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
1881 *cpo-m*
1882 m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
1883 second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
1884 a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
1885 *cpo-M*
1886 M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
1887 account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
1888 parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
1889 backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
1890 *cpo-n*
1891 n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
1892 be used for text of wrapped lines.
1893 *cpo-o*
1894 o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
1895 next search.
1896 *cpo-O*
1897 O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
1898 when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
1899 protection against a file unexpectedly created by
1900 someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
1901 *cpo-p*
1902 p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
1903 slightly better algorithm is used.
1904 *cpo-P*
1905 P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
1906 file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
1907 the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
1908 the 'F' flag is also included |cpo-F|.
1909 *cpo-q*
1910 q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
1911 position where it would be when joining two lines.
1912 *cpo-r*
1913 r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
1914 command, instead of the actually used search string.
1915 *cpo-R*
1916 R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
1917 marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
1918 *cpo-s*
1919 s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
1920 first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
1921 And it is the default. If not present the options are
1922 set when the buffer is created.
1923 *cpo-S*
1924 S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
1925 (except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
1926 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
1927 The options are set to the values in the current
1928 buffer. When you change an option and go to another
1929 buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
1930 buffer options global to all buffers.
1932 's' 'S' copy buffer options
1933 no no when buffer created
1934 yes no when buffer first entered (default)
1935 X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
1936 *cpo-t*
1937 t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
1938 "n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
1939 the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
1940 last used search pattern.
1941 *cpo-u*
1942 u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
1943 *cpo-v*
1944 v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
1945 Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
1946 erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
1947 screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
1948 characters.
1949 *cpo-w*
1950 w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
1951 character and not all blanks until the start of the
1952 next word.
1953 *cpo-W*
1954 W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
1955 overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
1956 *cpo-x*
1957 x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
1958 The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
1959 because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
1960 *cpo-X*
1961 X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
1962 deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
1963 and a count.
1964 *cpo-y*
1965 y A yank command can be redone with ".".
1966 *cpo-Z*
1967 Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
1968 don't reset 'readonly'.
1969 *cpo-!*
1970 ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
1971 external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
1972 used -filter- command is used.
1973 *cpo-$*
1974 $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
1975 line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
1976 The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
1977 new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
1978 command that moves the cursor from the insertion
1979 point.
1980 *cpo-%*
1981 % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
1982 Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
1983 Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
1984 Parens inside single and double quotes are also
1985 counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
1986 disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
1987 "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
1988 match the last one. When this flag is not included,
1989 parens inside single and double quotes are treated
1990 specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
1991 everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
1992 paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
1993 there is one). This works very well for C programs.
1994 This flag is also used for other features, such as
1995 C-indenting.
1996 *cpo--*
1997 - When included, a vertical movement command fails when
1998 it would go above the first line or below the last
1999 line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
2000 last line, unless it already was in that line.
2001 Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
2002 CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
2003 *cpo-+*
2004 + When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
2005 'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
2006 itself may still be different from its file.
2007 *cpo-star*
2008 * Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
2009 ":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
2010 *cpo-<*
2011 < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
2012 form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
2013 menu commands. For example, the command
2014 ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
2015 '<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
2016 '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
2017 Also see the 'k' flag above.
2018 *cpo->*
2019 > When appending to a register, put a line break before
2020 the appended text.
2022 POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
2023 when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. |posix|
2025 contains behavior ~
2026 *cpo-#*
2027 # A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
2028 *cpo-&*
2029 & When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
2030 exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
2031 This flag is tested when exiting.
2032 *cpo-\*
2033 \ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
2034 literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
2035 '\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
2036 '\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
2037 Also see |cpo-l|.
2038 *cpo-/*
2039 / When "%" is used as the replacement string in a |:s|
2040 command, use the previous replacement string. |:s%|
2041 *cpo-{*
2042 { The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
2043 at the start of a line.
2044 *cpo-.*
2045 . The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
2046 buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
2047 need this, since it remembers the full path of an
2048 opened file.
2049 *cpo-bar*
2050 | The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
2051 variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
2052 with system specific functions.
2055 *'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
2056 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
2057 global
2058 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2059 feature}
2060 {not in Vi}
2061 Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
2062 See |cscopepathcomp|.
2064 *'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
2065 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
2066 global
2067 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2068 feature}
2069 {not in Vi}
2070 Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
2071 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2072 security reasons.
2074 *'cscopequickfix'* *'csqf'*
2075 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
2076 global
2077 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2078 or |+quickfix| features}
2079 {not in Vi}
2080 Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
2081 See |cscopequickfix|.
2083 *'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
2084 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
2085 global
2086 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2087 feature}
2088 {not in Vi}
2089 Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
2090 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2092 *'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
2093 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
2094 global
2095 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2096 feature}
2097 {not in Vi}
2098 Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
2099 |cscopetagorder|.
2100 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
2102 *'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
2103 *'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
2104 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
2105 global
2106 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2107 feature}
2108 {not in Vi}
2109 Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
2110 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2113 *'cursorcolumn'* *'cuc'* *'nocursorcolumn'* *'nocuc'*
2114 'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
2115 local to window
2116 {not in Vi}
2117 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2118 feature}
2119 Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
2120 |hl-CursorColumn|. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
2121 slower.
2122 If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
2123 these autocommands: >
2124 au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
2125 au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
2126 <
2128 *'cursorline'* *'cul'* *'nocursorline'* *'nocul'*
2129 'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
2130 local to window
2131 {not in Vi}
2132 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2133 feature}
2134 Highlight the screen line of the cursor with CursorLine
2135 |hl-CursorLine|. Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen
2136 redrawing slower.
2137 When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
2138 easier to see the selected text.
2141 *'debug'*
2142 'debug' string (default "")
2143 global
2144 {not in Vi}
2145 These values can be used:
2146 msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2147 anyway.
2148 throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2149 anyway and also throw an exception and set |v:errmsg|.
2150 beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
2151 produced.
2152 The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
2153 "msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
2154 'indentexpr'.
2156 *'define'* *'def'*
2157 'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
2158 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2159 {not in Vi}
2160 Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
2161 pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
2162 commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
2163 used to recognize the defined name after the match:
2164 {match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
2165 See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
2166 or backslash.
2167 The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
2168 useful, to include const type declarations: >
2169 ^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
2170 < When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
2172 *'delcombine'* *'deco'* *'nodelcombine'* *'nodeco'*
2173 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
2174 global
2175 {not in Vi}
2176 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2177 feature}
2178 If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
2179 "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
2180 default) the character along with its combining characters are
2181 deleted.
2182 Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
2184 This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
2185 may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
2186 to remove only the combining ones.
2188 *'dictionary'* *'dict'*
2189 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
2190 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2191 {not in Vi}
2192 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
2193 for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
2194 contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
2195 words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
2196 preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
2197 When this option is empty, or an entry "spell" is present, spell
2198 checking is enabled the currently active spelling is used. |spell|
2199 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
2200 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
2201 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
2202 This has nothing to do with the |Dictionary| variable type.
2203 Where to find a list of words?
2204 - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
2205 - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
2206 - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
2207 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2208 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2209 uses another default.
2210 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
2212 *'diff'* *'nodiff'*
2213 'diff' boolean (default off)
2214 local to window
2215 {not in Vi}
2216 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2217 feature}
2218 Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
2219 between files. See |vimdiff|.
2221 *'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
2222 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
2223 global
2224 {not in Vi}
2225 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2226 feature}
2227 Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
2228 versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
2229 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2230 security reasons.
2232 *'dip'* *'diffopt'*
2233 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
2234 global
2235 {not in Vi}
2236 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2237 feature}
2238 Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
2239 All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
2241 filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
2242 synchronized with a window that has inserted
2243 lines at the same position. Mostly useful
2244 when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
2245 is set.
2247 context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
2248 and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
2249 When omitted a context of six lines is used.
2250 See |fold-diff|.
2252 icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
2253 are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
2254 to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
2256 iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
2257 the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
2258 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
2259 of the "diff" command for what this does
2260 exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
2261 white space, but not leading white space.
2263 horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
2264 explicitly specified otherwise).
2266 vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
2267 explicitly specified otherwise).
2269 foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
2270 starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
2272 Examples: >
2274 :set diffopt=filler,context:4
2275 :set diffopt=
2276 :set diffopt=filler,foldcolumn:3
2277 <
2278 *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
2279 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
2280 global
2281 {not in Vi}
2282 {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
2283 feature}
2284 Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
2285 {char2}. See |digraphs|.
2286 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2288 *'directory'* *'dir'*
2289 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
2290 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
2291 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
2292 global
2293 List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
2294 - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
2295 possible.
2296 - Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
2297 impossible!).
2298 - A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
2299 the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
2300 it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
2301 attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
2302 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
2303 put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
2304 "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
2305 - For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//"
2306 or "\\", the swap file name will be built from the complete path to
2307 the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs.
2308 This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
2309 On Win32, when a separating comma is following, you must use "//",
2310 since "\\" will include the comma in the file name.
2311 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
2312 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
2313 name, precede it with a backslash.
2314 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
2315 - A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
2316 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2317 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
2318 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
2319 :set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
2320 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
2321 of the option is removed.
2322 Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
2323 the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
2324 discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
2325 "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
2326 choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
2327 files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
2328 home directory is tried first.
2329 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2330 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2331 uses another default.
2332 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2333 security reasons.
2334 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
2336 *'display'* *'dy'*
2337 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
2338 global
2339 {not in Vi}
2340 Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
2341 flags:
2342 lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
2343 in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
2344 last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
2345 uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
2346 instead of using ^C and ~C.
2348 *'eadirection'* *'ead'*
2349 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
2350 global
2351 {not in Vi}
2352 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
2353 feature}
2354 Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
2355 ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
2356 hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
2357 both width and height of windows is affected
2359 *'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
2360 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
2361 global
2362 Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
2363 toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
2364 also 'gdefault' option.
2365 Switching this option on is discouraged!
2367 *'encoding'* *'enc'* *E543*
2368 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
2369 global
2370 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2371 feature}
2372 {not in Vi}
2373 Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
2374 the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
2375 viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
2376 with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
2378 NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
2379 existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
2380 It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
2381 starts up. See |multibyte|. To reload the menus see |:menutrans|.
2383 NOTE: For MacVim and GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding'
2384 to "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
2385 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
2386 avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
2387 the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
2388 versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
2389 without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
2391 The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
2392 This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
2393 iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
2395 If you need to know whether 'encoding' is a multi-byte encoding, you
2396 can use: >
2397 if has("multi_byte_encoding")
2398 <
2399 Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
2400 be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
2401 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
2402 set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
2404 When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
2405 event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
2407 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2408 you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
2409 to '-' signs.
2410 When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
2411 For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
2412 "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
2414 Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
2415 This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
2416 actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
2417 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
2418 utf-8.
2420 When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
2421 You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
2422 |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
2423 setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
2424 effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
2426 When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
2427 not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
2429 *'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
2430 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
2431 local to buffer
2432 {not in Vi}
2433 When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
2434 is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
2435 option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
2436 the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
2437 which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
2438 option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
2439 file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
2440 <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
2441 the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
2442 it if you want to.
2444 *'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
2445 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
2446 global
2447 {not in Vi}
2448 When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
2449 splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
2450 option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
2451 size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
2452 closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
2453 (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
2454 When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
2455 is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
2456 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
2457 Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
2458 'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
2459 If a window size is specified when creating a new window sizes are
2460 currently not equalized (it's complicated, but may be implemented in
2461 the future).
2463 *'equalprg'* *'ep'*
2464 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
2465 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2466 {not in Vi}
2467 External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
2468 the internal formatting functions are used; either 'lisp', 'cindent'
2469 or 'indentexpr'. When Vim was compiled without internal formatting,
2470 the "indent" program is used.
2471 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
2472 about including spaces and backslashes.
2473 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2474 security reasons.
2476 *'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
2477 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
2478 global
2479 Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
2480 makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
2481 for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
2482 mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
2483 screen flash or do nothing.
2485 *'errorfile'* *'ef'*
2486 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
2487 others: "errors.err")
2488 global
2489 {not in Vi}
2490 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2491 feature}
2492 Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
2493 When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
2494 following argument. See |-q|.
2495 NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
2496 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2497 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
2498 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2499 security reasons.
2501 *'errorformat'* *'efm'*
2502 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
2503 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2504 {not in Vi}
2505 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2506 feature}
2507 Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
2508 (see |errorformat|).
2510 *'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
2511 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
2512 global
2513 {not in Vi}
2514 Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
2515 mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
2516 used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
2517 this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
2518 after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
2519 try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
2520 when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
2521 won't work by default.
2522 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2523 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2525 *'eventignore'* *'ei'*
2526 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
2527 global
2528 {not in Vi}
2529 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2530 feature}
2531 A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
2532 When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
2533 events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
2534 Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example: >
2535 :set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
2536 <
2537 *'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
2538 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
2539 local to buffer
2540 {not in Vi}
2541 In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
2542 <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
2543 when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
2544 on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
2545 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2547 *'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
2548 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
2549 global
2550 {not in Vi}
2551 Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
2552 directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
2553 setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
2554 .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
2555 also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
2556 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2557 security reasons.
2559 *'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
2560 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
2561 local to buffer
2562 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2563 feature}
2564 {not in Vi}
2565 Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
2566 When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
2567 done when writing the file. For reading see below.
2568 When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
2569 used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
2570 Conversion will also be done when 'encoding' and 'fileencoding' are
2571 both a Unicode encoding and 'fileencoding' is not utf-8. That's
2572 because internally Unicode is always stored as utf-8.
2573 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2574 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding, conversion
2575 is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion
2576 results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some
2577 characters may be lost!
2578 See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
2579 specified that can be handled by the converter, see
2580 |mbyte-conversion|.
2581 When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
2582 To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
2583 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. One exception: when
2584 'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2585 For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2586 Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
2587 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2588 you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
2589 replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
2590 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
2591 "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
2592 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2593 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2594 If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to
2595 avoid this.
2596 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2598 *'fe'*
2599 NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
2600 whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
2601 old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
2603 *'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
2604 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
2605 "ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
2606 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
2607 global
2608 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2609 feature}
2610 {not in Vi}
2611 This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
2612 an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
2613 mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
2614 in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
2615 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
2616 an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
2617 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2618 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
2619 conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
2620 conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
2621 "utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
2622 the |++bad| argument to specify what is done with characters
2623 that can't be converted.
2624 For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
2625 will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
2626 "ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
2627 another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
2628 preferred encoding is to be used. Example: >
2629 au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
2630 \ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
2631 < This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
2632 non-blank characters.
2633 When the |++enc| argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
2634 not used.
2635 Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
2636 of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with: >
2637 :setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
2638 < This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
2639 an empty file.
2640 The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
2641 (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
2642 by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
2643 An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
2644 because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
2645 accepted.
2646 The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
2647 environment. This is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful
2648 when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a
2649 non-latin1 encoding, such as Russian.
2650 When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
2651 sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the |8g8|
2652 command to find the illegal byte sequence.
2653 WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
2654 latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
2655 utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
2656 file
2657 cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
2658 If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
2659 See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
2660 Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
2661 is read.
2663 *'fileformat'* *'ff'*
2664 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
2665 Unix default: "unix",
2666 Macintosh default: "mac")
2667 local to buffer
2668 {not in Vi}
2669 This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
2670 reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
2671 dos <CR> <NL>
2672 unix <NL>
2673 mac <CR>
2674 When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
2675 See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
2676 For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
2677 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
2678 works like it was set to "unix'.
2679 This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
2680 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
2681 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2682 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2683 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2684 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
2685 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
2687 *'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
2688 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
2689 Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
2690 Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
2691 Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
2692 Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
2693 Vi others: "")
2694 global
2695 {not in Vi}
2696 This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
2697 starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
2698 buffer:
2699 - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
2700 always. It is not set automatically.
2701 - When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
2702 is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
2703 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
2704 buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
2705 - When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
2706 <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
2707 edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
2708 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
2709 'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2710 2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
2711 is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
2712 preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
2713 3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2714 This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
2715 or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
2716 present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
2717 Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
2718 the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
2719 the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2720 4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
2721 'fileformats' is used.
2722 When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
2723 this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
2724 file only, the option is not changed.
2725 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
2727 For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
2728 are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
2729 done:
2730 - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
2731 format will be used.
2732 - When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
2733 is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
2734 <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
2735 used.
2736 Also see |file-formats|.
2737 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
2738 string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
2739 otherwise 'textauto' is set.
2740 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2741 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2743 *'filetype'* *'ft'*
2744 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
2745 local to buffer
2746 {not in Vi}
2747 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2748 feature}
2749 When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
2750 All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
2751 executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
2752 name.
2753 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
2754 This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
2755 this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
2756 Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
2757 for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
2758 Example, for in an IDL file:
2759 /* vim: set filetype=idl : */ ~
2760 |FileType| |filetypes|
2761 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
2762 names. Example:
2763 /* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */ ~
2764 This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
2765 This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
2766 one dot may appear.
2767 Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
2768 type that is actually stored with the file.
2769 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
2770 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
2771 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
2773 *'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
2774 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-")
2775 global
2776 {not in Vi}
2777 {not available when compiled without the |+windows|
2778 and |+folding| features}
2779 Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
2780 It is a comma separated list of items:
2782 item default Used for ~
2783 stl:c ' ' or '^' statusline of the current window
2784 stlnc:c ' ' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
2785 vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
2786 fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
2787 diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
2789 Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
2790 "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
2791 otherwise.
2793 Example: >
2794 :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
2795 < This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
2796 be used when there is highlighting.
2798 for "stl" and "stlnc" only single-byte values are supported.
2800 The highlighting used for these items:
2801 item highlight group ~
2802 stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
2803 stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
2804 vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
2805 fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
2806 diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
2808 *'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
2809 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
2810 global
2811 {not in Vi}
2812 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
2813 feature}
2814 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
2815 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
2816 toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
2818 *'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
2819 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
2820 global
2821 {not in Vi}
2822 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2823 feature}
2824 When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
2825 its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
2826 automatically close when moving out of them.
2828 *'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
2829 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
2830 local to window
2831 {not in Vi}
2832 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2833 feature}
2834 When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
2835 of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
2836 value is 12.
2837 See |folding|.
2839 *'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
2840 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
2841 local to window
2842 {not in Vi}
2843 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2844 feature}
2845 When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
2846 switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
2847 folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
2848 with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
2849 'foldenable' is off.
2850 This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
2851 See |folding|.
2853 *'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
2854 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
2855 local to window
2856 {not in Vi}
2857 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2858 or |+eval| feature}
2859 The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
2860 for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|.
2862 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2863 |sandbox-option|.
2864 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
2865 on.
2867 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2868 evaluating 'foldexpr' |textlock|.
2870 *'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
2871 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
2872 local to window
2873 {not in Vi}
2874 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2875 feature}
2876 Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
2877 characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
2878 lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
2879 The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
2881 *'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
2882 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
2883 local to window
2884 {not in Vi}
2885 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2886 feature}
2887 Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
2888 Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
2889 close fewer folds.
2890 This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
2891 See |fold-foldlevel|.
2893 *'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
2894 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
2895 global
2896 {not in Vi}
2897 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2898 feature}
2899 Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
2900 Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
2901 some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
2902 This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
2903 overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
2904 ignores this option and closes all folds.
2905 It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
2906 overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
2907 When the value is negative, it is not used.
2909 *'foldmarker'* *'fmr'* *E536*
2910 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
2911 local to window
2912 {not in Vi}
2913 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2914 feature}
2915 The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
2916 must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
2917 marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
2918 See |fold-marker|.
2920 *'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
2921 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
2922 local to window
2923 {not in Vi}
2924 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2925 feature}
2926 The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
2927 |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
2928 |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
2929 |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
2930 |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
2931 |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
2932 |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
2934 *'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
2935 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
2936 local to window
2937 {not in Vi}
2938 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2939 feature}
2940 Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
2941 closed. Also for manually closed folds.
2942 Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
2943 "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
2944 than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
2946 *'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
2947 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
2948 local to window
2949 {not in Vi}
2950 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2951 feature}
2952 Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
2953 methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
2954 than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
2956 *'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
2957 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
2958 search,tag,undo")
2959 global
2960 {not in Vi}
2961 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2962 feature}
2963 Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
2964 command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
2965 list of items.
2966 item commands ~
2967 all any
2968 block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
2969 hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
2970 insert any command in Insert mode
2971 jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
2972 mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
2973 percent "%"
2974 quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
2975 search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
2976 (not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
2977 Also for |[s| and |]s|.
2978 tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
2979 undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
2980 When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
2981 the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
2982 When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
2983 this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
2984 whole closed fold.
2985 Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
2986 very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
2987 In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
2988 when text is inserted.
2989 To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
2990 set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
2992 *'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
2993 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
2994 local to window
2995 {not in Vi}
2996 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2997 feature}
2998 An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
2999 fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
3001 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3002 |sandbox-option|.
3004 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3005 evaluating 'foldtext' |textlock|.
3007 *'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
3008 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
3009 local to buffer
3010 {not in Vi}
3011 This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
3012 formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
3013 on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
3014 be inserted for readability.
3015 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3016 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3017 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3018 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3020 *'formatlistpat'* *'flp'*
3021 'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
3022 local to buffer
3023 {not in Vi}
3024 A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
3025 the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
3026 The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
3027 the line below it. You can use |/\ze| to mark the end of the match
3028 while still checking more characters. There must be a character
3029 following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
3030 like there is no match.
3031 The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
3032 character and white space.
3034 *'formatprg'* *'fp'*
3035 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
3036 global
3037 {not in Vi}
3038 The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
3039 selected with the |gq| operator. The program must take the input on
3040 stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
3041 such a program.
3042 If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
3043 Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
3044 format function will be used |C-indenting|.
3045 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
3046 about including spaces and backslashes.
3047 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3048 |sandbox-option|.
3050 *'formatexpr'* *'fex'*
3051 'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
3052 local to buffer
3053 {not in Vi}
3054 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
3055 feature}
3056 Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the |gq|
3057 operator. When this option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
3059 The |v:lnum| variable holds the first line to be formatted.
3060 The |v:count| variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
3061 The |v:char| variable holds the character that is going to be
3062 inserted. This can be empty. Don't insert it yet!
3064 Example: >
3065 :set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
3066 < This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
3067 autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. |autoload|
3069 The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
3070 text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
3071 when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
3072 same spot relative to the text then! The |mode()| function will
3073 return "i" or "R" in this situation. When the function returns
3074 non-zero Vim will fall back to using the internal format mechanism.
3076 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3077 |sandbox-option|.
3079 *'fsync'* *'fs'* *'nofsync'* *'nofs'*
3080 'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
3081 global
3082 {not in Vi}
3083 When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
3084 file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
3085 written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
3086 will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
3087 mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
3088 turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
3089 systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
3090 off.
3091 Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
3093 *'fullscreen'* *'fu'* *'nofullscreen'* *'nofu'*
3094 'fullscreen' 'fu' boolean (default off)
3095 global
3096 {not in Vi}
3097 {only in MacVim GUI}
3098 When this option is set, the whole screen is covered by Vim. Screen
3099 decorations drawn by the operating system (such as the dock or the
3100 menu bar) are hidden. Most of Vim's window chrome is hidden as well
3101 (e.g. toolbar, title bar). The tab bar and scroll bars remain visible.
3102 Updates to the window position are ignored in fullscreen mode.
3104 See 'fuoptions' for how Vim resizes and colors the background when
3105 entering and leaving fullscreen mode.
3107 Note: Setting 'fullscreen' usually changes the size of the Vim
3108 control. However, for technical reasons, 'lines' and 'columns' will
3109 currently only be updated when Vim runs its event loop. As a
3110 consequence, if you set 'fullscreen' and 'lines' or 'columns' in a
3111 Vim script file, you should always set 'fullscreen' after setting
3112 'lines' and 'columns', else 'lines' and 'columns' will be overwritten
3113 with the values 'fullscreen' sets after the script has been executed
3114 and the event loop is ran again.
3116 XXX: Add fuenter/fuleave autocommands? You might want to display
3117 a NERDTree or a Tlist only in fullscreen for example. Then again, this
3118 could probably be in a sizechanged autocommand that triggers if the
3119 size is above a certain threshold.
3120 XXX: Think about how 'fullscreen' and 'transparency' should interact.
3122 *'fuoptions'* *'fuopt'*
3123 'fuoptions' 'fuopt' string (default "maxvert")
3124 global
3125 {not in Vi}
3126 {only in MacVim GUI}
3127 In fullscreen mode, most of the screen is black, only a part of the
3128 screen is covered by the actual Vim control. The control is centered.
3129 This option controls the size of the Vim control as well as the color
3130 of the unused screen area.
3131 value effect ~
3132 maxvert When entering fullscreen, 'lines' is set to the maximum number
3133 of lines fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. When
3134 leaving fullscreen, if 'lines' is still equal to the maximized
3135 number of lines, it is restored to the value it had before
3136 entering fullscreen.
3137 maxhorz When entering fullscreen, 'columns' is set to the maximum number
3138 of columns fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. When
3139 leaving fullscreen, if 'columns' is still equal to the maximized
3140 number of columns, it is restored to the value it had before
3141 entering fullscreen.
3142 background:color
3143 When entering fullscreen, 'color' defines the color of the part
3144 of the screen that is not occupied by the Vim control. If
3145 'color' is an 8-digit hexadecimal number preceded by '#',
3146 it is interpreted as an explicit color value '#aarrggbb', with
3147 one byte each for the alpha, red, green, and blue values.
3148 Otherwise, 'color' is interpreted as a highlight group name,
3149 and the fullscreen background is filled with that highlight
3150 group's background color, as defined by the current color
3151 scheme.
3153 Examples:
3154 Don't change size of Vim when entering fullscreen: >
3155 :set fuoptions=
3156 < Maximize Vim when entering fullscreen: >
3157 :set fuoptions=maxvert,maxhorz
3158 < Maximize Vim only vertically when entering fullscreen, and color the
3159 background dark blue: >
3160 :set fuoptions=maxvert,background:#FF003042
3161 < Don't change the size of Vim when entering fullscreen, and color the
3162 background like the current text background: >
3163 :set fuoptions=background:Normal
3164 <
3165 XXX: what if the font size is changed? you probably never want to
3166 restore the old 'lines' or 'columns' in that case.
3167 XXX: Each time the Vim window resizes (for example due to font size
3168 changes, re-maximize Vim to fullscreen?)
3169 XXX: The approach doesn't restore vertical Vim size if fu is entered
3170 without tabs and leaves with tabs (or the other way round).
3174 *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
3175 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
3176 global
3177 {not in Vi}
3178 When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
3179 all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
3180 is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
3181 of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
3183 command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off ~
3184 :s/// subst. all subst. one
3185 :s///g subst. one subst. all
3186 :s///gg subst. all subst. one
3188 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3190 *'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
3191 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
3192 global
3193 {not in Vi}
3194 Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
3195 This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
3196 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
3198 *'grepprg'* *'gp'*
3199 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
3200 Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
3201 Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
3202 VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
3203 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3204 {not in Vi}
3205 Program to use for the |:grep| command. This option may contain '%'
3206 and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
3207 line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
3208 will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
3209 |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3210 When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
3211 also work well with a single file: >
3212 :set grepprg=grep\ -nH
3213 < Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the |:grep| command
3214 works like |:vimgrep|, |:lgrep| like |:lvimgrep|, |:grepadd| like
3215 |:vimgrepadd| and |:lgrepadd| like |:lvimgrepadd|.
3216 See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
3217 apply equally to 'grepprg'.
3218 For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
3219 otherwise it's "grep -n".
3220 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3221 security reasons.
3223 *'guicursor'* *'gcr'* *E545* *E546* *E548* *E549*
3224 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
3225 ve:ver35-Cursor,
3226 o:hor50-Cursor,
3227 i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
3228 r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
3229 sm:block-Cursor
3230 -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
3231 for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
3232 "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
3233 r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
3234 global
3235 {not in Vi}
3236 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
3237 for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
3238 This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
3239 modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only
3240 the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by
3241 specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or
3242 horizontal cursor.
3243 For a console the 't_SI' and 't_EI' escape sequences are used.
3245 The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
3246 mode-list and an argument-list:
3247 mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
3248 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
3249 n Normal mode
3250 v Visual mode
3251 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
3252 if not specified)
3253 o Operator-pending mode
3254 i Insert mode
3255 r Replace mode
3256 c Command-line Normal (append) mode
3257 ci Command-line Insert mode
3258 cr Command-line Replace mode
3259 sm showmatch in Insert mode
3260 a all modes
3261 The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
3262 hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
3263 ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
3264 block block cursor, fills the whole character
3265 [only one of the above three should be present]
3266 blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
3267 blinkon{N}
3268 blinkoff{N}
3269 blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
3270 the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
3271 the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
3272 cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
3273 of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
3274 default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
3275 These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
3276 means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
3277 blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
3278 blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
3279 executing a command.
3280 To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
3281 |xterm-blink|.
3282 {group-name}
3283 a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
3284 for the cursor
3285 {group-name}/{group-name}
3286 Two highlight group names, the first is used when
3287 no language mappings are used, the other when they
3288 are. |language-mapping|
3290 Examples of parts:
3291 n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
3292 block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
3293 highlight group
3294 i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
3295 In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
3296 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
3297 "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
3298 faster.
3300 The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
3301 all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
3302 to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
3303 blinking: "a:blinkon0"
3305 Examples of cursor highlighting: >
3306 :highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
3307 :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
3308 <
3309 *'guifont'* *'gfn'*
3310 *E235* *E596* *E610* *E611*
3311 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
3312 global
3313 {not in Vi}
3314 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3315 This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
3316 In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
3317 the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
3318 font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
3319 The first valid font is used.
3321 On systems where 'guifontset' is supported (X11) and 'guifontset' is
3322 not empty, then 'guifont' is not used.
3324 Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
3325 precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
3326 backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
3327 |option-backslash|. For example: >
3328 :set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
3329 < will make Vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
3330 will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
3332 If none of the fonts can be loaded, Vim will keep the current setting.
3333 If an empty font list is given, Vim will try using other resource
3334 settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
3335 will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
3336 the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
3337 will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
3339 For Win32, GTK, Motif, Mac OS and Photon: >
3340 :set guifont=*
3341 < will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
3342 In MacVim ":set guifont=*" calls: >
3343 :macaction orderFrontFontPanel:
3344 < which is the same as choosing "Show Fonts..." from the main menu.
3346 The font name depends on the GUI used. See |setting-guifont| for a
3347 way to set 'guifont' for various systems.
3349 For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this: >
3350 :set guifont=Andale\ Mono\ 11
3351 < That's all. XLFDs are not used. For Chinese this is reported to work
3352 well: >
3353 if has("gui_gtk2")
3354 set guifont=Bitstream\ Vera\ Sans\ Mono\ 12,Fixed\ 12
3355 set guifontwide=Microsoft\ Yahei\ 12,WenQuanYi\ Zen\ Hei\ 12
3356 endif
3357 <
3358 For Mac OSX you can use something like this: >
3359 :set guifont=Monaco:h10
3360 < Also see 'macatsui', it can help fix display problems {not in MacVim}.
3361 In MacVim, fonts with spaces are set like this: >
3362 :set guifont=DejaVu\ Sans\ Mono:h13
3363 <
3364 *E236*
3365 Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
3366 width). An exception is MacVim and GTK 2: all fonts are accepted, but
3367 mono-spaced fonts look best.
3369 To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
3370 program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
3372 For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
3373 - takes these options in the font name:
3374 hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3375 wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3376 b - bold
3377 i - italic
3378 u - underline
3379 s - strikeout
3380 cXX - character set XX. Valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
3381 BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
3382 HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
3383 SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
3384 Normally you would use "cDEFAULT".
3386 Use a ':' to separate the options.
3387 - A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
3388 backslashes to escape the spaces.
3389 - Examples: >
3390 :set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
3391 :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
3392 < See also |font-sizes|.
3394 *'guifontset'* *'gfs'*
3395 *E250* *E252* *E234* *E597* *E598*
3396 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
3397 global
3398 {not in Vi}
3399 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3400 with the |+xfontset| feature}
3401 {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
3402 When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
3403 one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
3404 |xfontset|.
3405 Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
3406 a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
3407 |:highlight| command.
3408 The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
3409 character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
3410 'guifontset' will fail.
3411 Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
3412 the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
3413 used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
3414 including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
3415 fontset names.
3416 This example works on many X11 systems: >
3417 :set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
3418 <
3419 *'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231* *E533* *E534*
3420 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
3421 global
3422 {not in Vi}
3423 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3424 When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
3425 for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
3426 used.
3427 Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
3428 specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
3430 All GUI versions but MacVim and GTK+ 2:
3432 'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and
3433 'guifontset' is empty or invalid.
3434 When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
3435 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
3436 double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
3438 MacVim only: *guifontwide_macvim*
3440 MacVim performs automatic font substitution. If 'guifontwide' is set,
3441 that font will be used for all wide fonts. However, if a glyph is
3442 not available in the wide font, then font substitution is still used.
3444 GTK+ 2 GUI only: *guifontwide_gtk2*
3446 If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width
3447 characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8".
3448 Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide'
3449 automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the
3450 font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need
3451 to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice
3452 made by Pango/Xft.
3454 *'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
3455 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
3456 global
3457 {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
3458 The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
3459 the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
3460 e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
3461 be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
3462 lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
3463 screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
3464 screen.
3466 *'guioptions'* *'go'*
3467 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
3468 "agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena))
3469 global
3470 {not in Vi}
3471 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3472 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
3473 sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
3474 GUI should be used.
3475 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3476 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3478 Valid letters are as follows:
3479 *guioptions_a* *'go-a'*
3480 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
3481 or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
3482 the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
3483 Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
3484 applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
3485 ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
3486 application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
3487 is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
3488 Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
3489 applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
3490 If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
3491 windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
3492 by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
3493 The same applies to the modeless selection.
3494 *'go-A'*
3495 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
3496 applies to the modeless selection.
3498 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless ~
3499 "" - -
3500 "a" yes yes
3501 "A" - yes
3502 "aA" yes yes
3504 *'go-c'*
3505 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
3506 choices.
3507 *'go-e'*
3508 'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
3509 'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
3510 When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
3511 The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
3512 GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X and MS-Windows.
3513 *'go-f'*
3514 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
3515 where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
3516 editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
3517 can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
3518 foreground. |gui-fork|
3519 Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
3520 happened already when the |gvimrc| file is read.
3521 MacVim does not support this flag due to limitations with
3522 forking on Mac OS X.
3523 *'go-i'*
3524 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
3525 corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
3526 limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
3527 *'go-m'*
3528 'm' Menu bar is present.
3529 *'go-M'*
3530 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
3531 that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
3532 switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the |gvimrc|
3533 file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
3534 ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
3535 *'go-g'*
3536 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
3537 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
3538 Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
3539 *'go-t'*
3540 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
3541 GTK+, MacVim, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
3542 *'go-T'*
3543 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, Photon
3544 and Athena GUIs.
3545 *'go-r'*
3546 'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
3547 *'go-R'*
3548 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3549 split window.
3550 *'go-l'*
3551 'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
3552 *'go-L'*
3553 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3554 split window.
3555 *'go-b'*
3556 'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
3557 the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
3558 flag is included. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3559 *'go-h'*
3560 'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
3561 line. Reduces computations. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3563 And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
3564 you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
3566 *'go-v'*
3567 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
3568 a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
3569 vertical layout is used anyway.
3570 *'go-p'*
3571 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
3572 window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
3573 the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
3574 before starting the GUI. Set it in your |gvimrc|. Adding or
3575 removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
3576 *'go-F'*
3577 'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
3580 *'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
3581 'guipty' boolean (default on)
3582 global
3583 {not in Vi}
3584 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3585 Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
3586 I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
3588 *'guitablabel'* *'gtl'*
3589 'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
3590 global
3591 {not in Vi}
3592 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3593 with the +windows feature}
3594 When nonempty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
3595 pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
3596 default label. See |setting-guitablabel| for more info.
3598 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
3599 'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
3601 Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
3602 present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
3603 used.
3605 *'guitabtooltip'* *'gtt'*
3606 'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
3607 global
3608 {not in Vi}
3609 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3610 with the +windows feature}
3611 When nonempty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
3612 pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
3613 This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
3614 You can include a line break. Simplest method is to use |:let|: >
3615 :let &guitabtooltip = "line one\nline two"
3616 <
3618 *'helpfile'* *'hf'*
3619 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
3620 (others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
3621 global
3622 {not in Vi}
3623 Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
3624 placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
3625 in 'runtimepath' will be used.
3626 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
3627 "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
3628 tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including
3629 spaces and backslashes.
3630 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3631 security reasons.
3633 *'helpheight'* *'hh'*
3634 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
3635 global
3636 {not in Vi}
3637 {not available when compiled without the +windows
3638 feature}
3639 Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
3640 ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
3641 current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
3642 windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
3643 set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
3645 *'helplang'* *'hlg'*
3646 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
3647 global
3648 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang|
3649 feature}
3650 {not in Vi}
3651 Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
3652 for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
3653 be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
3654 another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
3655 language and not in the English help.
3656 Example: >
3657 :set helplang=de,it
3658 < This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
3659 files.
3660 When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
3661 try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
3662 See |help-translated|.
3664 *'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
3665 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
3666 global
3667 {not in Vi}
3668 When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
3669 buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
3670 displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
3671 The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
3672 hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
3673 modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
3674 flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
3675 To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
3676 This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
3677 WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
3678 Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
3680 *'highlight'* *'hl'*
3681 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
3682 "8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
3683 e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
3684 M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
3685 s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,
3686 t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
3687 f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,
3688 C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,T:DiffText,
3689 >:SignColumn,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,
3690 R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,
3691 +:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
3692 x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb")
3693 global
3694 {not in Vi}
3695 This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
3696 occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
3697 first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
3698 use for that occasion. The occasions are:
3699 |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
3700 |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
3701 characters from 'showbreak'
3702 |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
3703 things in listings
3704 |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
3705 h (obsolete, ignored)
3706 |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
3707 |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
3708 |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
3709 |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3710 |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
3711 |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3712 |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
3713 |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
3714 |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3715 |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
3716 |hl-Visual| v Visual mode
3717 |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
3718 Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
3719 |xterm-clipboard|.
3720 |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
3721 |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
3722 |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
3723 |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
3724 |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode
3725 |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode
3726 |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode
3727 |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode
3728 |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs|
3729 |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell|
3730 |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital|spell|
3731 |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell|
3732 |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell|
3733 |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line
3734 |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu normal line
3735 |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar
3736 |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb
3738 The display modes are:
3739 r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
3740 i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
3741 b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
3742 s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
3743 u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
3744 c undercurl (termcap entry "Cs" and "Ce")
3745 n no highlighting
3746 - no highlighting
3747 : use a highlight group
3748 The default is used for occasions that are not included.
3749 If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
3750 for an example.
3751 When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
3752 a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
3753 of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
3754 define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
3755 See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
3757 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
3758 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
3759 global
3760 {not in Vi}
3761 {not available when compiled without the
3762 |+extra_search| feature}
3763 When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
3764 The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
3765 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
3766 default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
3767 are not applied.
3768 See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
3769 When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
3770 off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
3771 highlighting comes back.
3772 'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
3773 When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
3774 highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
3775 search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
3776 line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
3777 drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
3778 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3780 *'history'* *'hi'*
3781 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
3782 global
3783 {not in Vi}
3784 A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
3785 are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
3786 each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
3787 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3788 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3790 *'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
3791 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
3792 global
3793 {not in Vi}
3794 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3795 feature}
3796 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
3797 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
3798 toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
3799 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3801 *'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
3802 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
3803 global
3804 {not in Vi}
3805 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3806 feature}
3807 When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
3808 This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
3809 See |rileft.txt|.
3810 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3812 *'icon'* *'noicon'*
3813 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
3814 global
3815 {not in Vi}
3816 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3817 feature}
3818 When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
3819 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
3820 currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
3821 Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
3822 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
3823 only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
3824 Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
3825 builtin termcap).
3826 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3827 restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
3828 X11.
3830 *'iconstring'*
3831 'iconstring' string (default "")
3832 global
3833 {not in Vi}
3834 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3835 feature}
3836 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
3837 the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
3838 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
3839 (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
3840 Does not work for MS Windows.
3841 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3842 restored if possible |X11|.
3843 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
3844 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
3845 'titlestring' for example settings.
3846 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
3848 *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
3849 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
3850 global
3851 Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
3852 file.
3853 Also see 'smartcase'.
3854 Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
3855 |/ignorecase|.
3857 *'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
3858 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
3859 global
3860 {not in Vi}
3861 {only available when compiled with |+xim| and
3862 |+GUI_GTK|}
3863 Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
3864 activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
3865 IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
3866 You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
3867 tells Vim what the key is.
3868 Format:
3869 [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
3871 These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
3872 S Shift key
3873 L Lock key
3874 C Control key
3875 1 Mod1 key
3876 2 Mod2 key
3877 3 Mod3 key
3878 4 Mod4 key
3879 5 Mod5 key
3880 Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
3881 both shift+ctrl+space.
3882 See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
3884 Example: >
3885 :set imactivatekey=S-space
3886 < "S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
3887 canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
3889 *'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
3890 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
3891 global
3892 {not in Vi}
3893 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3894 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3895 When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
3896 line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
3897 Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
3898 English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
3899 characters with dead keys.
3901 *'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'nodisable'* *'noimd'*
3902 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for SGI and MacVim)
3903 global
3904 {not in Vi}
3905 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3906 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature, always
3907 available in MacVim}
3908 When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
3909 the IM when it doesn't work properly.
3910 Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX. This may change
3911 in later releases.
3913 *'iminsert'* *'imi'*
3914 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3915 local to buffer
3916 {not in Vi}
3917 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
3918 Insert mode. Valid values:
3919 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3920 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3921 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3922 2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
3923 or |global-ime|.
3924 To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
3925 this can be used: >
3926 :inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
3927 < This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
3928 mode.
3929 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
3930 |i_CTRL-^|.
3931 The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
3932 It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
3933 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3934 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3936 *'imsearch'* *'ims'*
3937 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3938 local to buffer
3939 {not in Vi}
3940 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
3941 entering a search pattern. Valid values:
3942 -1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
3943 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
3944 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3945 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3946 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3947 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
3948 |c_CTRL-^|.
3949 The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
3950 option to a valid keymap name.
3951 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3952 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3954 *'include'* *'inc'*
3955 'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
3956 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3957 {not in Vi}
3958 {not available when compiled without the
3959 |+find_in_path| feature}
3960 Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
3961 pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
3962 value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
3963 "]I", "[d", etc.
3964 Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
3965 comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
3966 then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
3967 appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
3968 that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
3969 'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
3970 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3972 *'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
3973 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
3974 local to buffer
3975 {not in Vi}
3976 {not available when compiled without the
3977 |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
3978 Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
3979 option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java: >
3980 :set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
3981 < The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
3983 Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
3984 found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
3985 Also used for |<cfile>|.
3987 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3988 |sandbox-option|.
3990 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3991 evaluating 'includeexpr' |textlock|.
3993 *'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
3994 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
3995 global
3996 {not in Vi}
3997 {not available when compiled without the
3998 |+extra_search| feature}
3999 While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
4000 so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
4001 is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
4002 often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
4003 Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
4004 original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
4005 still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
4006 cursor to the match.
4007 When compiled with the |+reltime| feature Vim only searches for about
4008 half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
4009 match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
4010 are typing the pattern.
4011 The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
4012 See also: 'hlsearch'.
4013 CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
4014 to the command line.
4015 CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
4016 match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
4017 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
4019 *'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
4020 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
4021 local to buffer
4022 {not in Vi}
4023 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
4024 or |+eval| features}
4025 Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
4026 It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
4027 in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
4028 When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
4029 'smartindent' indenting.
4030 When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
4031 The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
4032 which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
4033 when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
4034 The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
4035 can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
4036 used for the indent).
4037 Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
4038 and |lispindent()|.
4039 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
4040 not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
4041 cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
4042 Normally this option would be set to call a function: >
4043 :set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
4044 < Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
4045 "msg".
4046 See |indent-expression|.
4047 NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
4049 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
4050 |sandbox-option|.
4052 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
4053 evaluating 'indentexpr' |textlock|.
4056 *'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
4057 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
4058 local to buffer
4059 {not in Vi}
4060 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
4061 feature}
4062 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
4063 the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
4064 The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
4065 See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
4067 *'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
4068 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
4069 local to buffer
4070 {not in Vi}
4071 When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
4072 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
4073 on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
4074 where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
4075 lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
4076 has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
4077 and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
4078 With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
4080 *'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
4081 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
4082 global
4083 {not in Vi}
4084 Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
4085 if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
4086 These Insert mode commands will be useful:
4087 - Use the cursor keys to move around.
4088 - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
4089 this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
4090 Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
4091 - Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
4092 <Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
4093 left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|
4095 These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
4096 - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
4097 - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
4098 - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
4099 - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
4100 - CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
4101 However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
4102 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
4103 mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
4104 When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
4106 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
4108 *'isfname'* *'isf'*
4109 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4110 "@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
4111 for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
4112 for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
4113 for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
4114 otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
4115 global
4116 {not in Vi}
4117 The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
4118 path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
4119 the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
4120 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4121 characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
4122 For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
4123 Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
4124 space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
4125 doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
4126 It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
4128 Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
4129 do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
4130 tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
4131 characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
4132 name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
4133 '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
4134 cmd.exe.
4136 The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
4137 Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
4138 character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
4139 decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
4140 not work for digits). Example:
4141 "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
4142 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
4143 If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
4144 will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
4145 to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
4146 included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
4147 option or the end of a range. Example:
4148 "^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
4149 If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
4150 are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
4151 plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
4152 "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
4153 case ASCII letters.
4154 "a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
4155 A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
4156 expected. Example:
4157 "48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
4158 A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
4159 " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
4160 comma, plus <Tab>.
4161 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4163 *'isident'* *'isi'*
4164 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4165 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4166 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
4167 global
4168 {not in Vi}
4169 The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
4170 Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
4171 match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
4172 |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
4173 option.
4174 Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
4175 environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
4176 expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
4178 *'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
4179 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
4180 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4181 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
4182 Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
4183 local to buffer
4184 {not in Vi}
4185 Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
4186 "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
4187 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
4188 programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
4189 For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
4190 '*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
4191 command).
4192 When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
4193 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4194 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4196 *'isprint'* *'isp'*
4197 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
4198 "@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
4199 global
4200 {not in Vi}
4201 The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
4202 screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
4203 space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
4204 even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
4205 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
4207 Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
4208 0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
4209 32 - 126 always single characters
4210 127 "^?"
4211 128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
4212 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
4213 255 "~?"
4214 When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
4215 displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
4216 When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
4217 displayed as <xx>.
4218 The SpecialKey highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
4219 |hl-SpecialKey|
4221 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4222 characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
4223 is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
4224 replacement character will be shown.
4225 Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
4226 There is no option to specify these characters.
4228 *'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
4229 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
4230 global
4231 {not in Vi}
4232 Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
4233 When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
4234 Otherwise only one space is inserted.
4235 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
4237 *'key'*
4238 'key' string (default "")
4239 local to buffer
4240 {not in Vi}
4241 The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
4242 See |encryption|.
4243 Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
4244 key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: >
4245 :set key=
4246 < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
4247 "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
4248 know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
4249 be careful not to make a typing error!
4251 *'keymap'* *'kmp'* *E544*
4252 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
4253 local to buffer
4254 {not in Vi}
4255 {only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
4256 feature}
4257 Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
4258 Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
4259 setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
4260 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
4261 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4263 *'keymodel'* *'km'*
4264 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
4265 global
4266 {not in Vi}
4267 List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
4268 can do. These values can be used:
4269 startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
4270 Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
4271 present in 'selectmode').
4272 stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
4273 Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
4274 <PageUp> and <PageDown>.
4275 The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4277 *'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
4278 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
4279 OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
4280 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4281 {not in Vi}
4282 Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
4283 expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
4284 help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
4285 value did this, which is now deprecated.)
4286 When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
4287 "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
4288 "-s" is removed when there is no count.
4289 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4290 Example: >
4291 :set keywordprg=man\ -s
4292 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4293 security reasons.
4295 *'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
4296 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
4297 global
4298 {not in Vi}
4299 {only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
4300 feature}
4301 This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
4302 mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
4303 inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
4304 care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
4305 of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
4306 be able to execute Normal mode commands.
4307 This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
4308 mapped in Insert mode.
4310 Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): *greek* >
4311 :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
4312 < Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands): >
4313 :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
4314 <
4315 The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
4316 part can be in one of two forms:
4317 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
4318 followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
4319 2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
4320 characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
4321 Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
4322 Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
4323 ";", ',' and backslash itself.
4325 This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
4326 back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
4327 be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
4328 langmap mappings) in the following cases:
4329 o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
4330 o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
4331 o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
4332 Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
4333 this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
4334 allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
4335 Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
4337 *'langmenu'* *'lm'*
4338 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
4339 global
4340 {not in Vi}
4341 {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
4342 |+multi_lang| features}
4343 Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
4344 from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath': >
4345 "lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
4346 < (without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
4347 matter what $LANG is set to: >
4348 :set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
4349 < When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
4350 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4351 If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
4352 the English menus: >
4353 :set langmenu=none
4354 < This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
4355 detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
4356 this option has no effect. But you could do this: >
4357 :source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
4358 :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
4359 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
4360 < Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
4362 *'laststatus'* *'ls'*
4363 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
4364 global
4365 {not in Vi}
4366 The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
4367 status line:
4368 0: never
4369 1: only if there are at least two windows
4370 2: always
4371 The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
4372 windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
4374 *'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
4375 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
4376 global
4377 {not in Vi}
4378 When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
4379 executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
4380 typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
4381 update use |:redraw|.
4383 *'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
4384 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
4385 local to window
4386 {not in Vi}
4387 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
4388 feature}
4389 If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
4390 than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
4391 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
4392 it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The
4393 value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines.
4394 This option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
4395 Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
4396 with the right amount of white space.
4398 *'lines'* *E593*
4399 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
4400 global
4401 Number of lines of the Vim window.
4402 Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
4403 terminal initialization code. Also see |posix-screen-size|.
4404 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
4405 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
4406 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
4407 Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
4408 use this command to get the tallest window possible: >
4409 :set lines=999
4410 < Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
4411 If you get less lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
4412 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
4413 number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
4415 *'linespace'* *'lsp'*
4416 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
4417 global
4418 {not in Vi}
4419 {only in the GUI}
4420 Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
4421 uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
4422 When non-zero there is room for underlining.
4423 With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
4424 space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
4425 'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
4426 though!
4428 *'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
4429 'lisp' boolean (default off)
4430 local to buffer
4431 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4432 feature}
4433 Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
4434 the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
4435 "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
4436 flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
4437 better. Also see 'lispwords'.
4438 The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
4439 "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
4440 calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
4441 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
4442 {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
4444 *'lispwords'* *'lw'*
4445 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
4446 global
4447 {not in Vi}
4448 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4449 feature}
4450 Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
4451 |'lisp'|
4453 *'list'* *'nolist'*
4454 'list' boolean (default off)
4455 local to window
4456 List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I is displayed, display $ after end of
4457 line. Useful to see the difference between tabs and spaces and for
4458 trailing blanks. Further changed by the 'listchars' option.
4460 The cursor is displayed at the start of the space a Tab character
4461 occupies, not at the end as usual in Normal mode. To get this cursor
4462 position while displaying Tabs with spaces, use: >
4463 :set list lcs=tab\ \
4464 <
4465 Note that list mode will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth'
4466 or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
4467 changing the way tabs are displayed.
4469 *'listchars'* *'lcs'*
4470 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
4471 global
4472 {not in Vi}
4473 Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
4474 settings.
4475 eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
4476 omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
4477 line.
4478 tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a tab. The first
4479 char is used once. The second char is repeated to
4480 fill the space that the tab normally occupies.
4481 "tab:>-" will show a tab that takes four spaces as
4482 ">---". When omitted, a tab is show as ^I.
4483 trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
4484 trailing spaces are blank.
4485 extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
4486 off and the line continues beyond the right of the
4487 screen.
4488 precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
4489 is off and there is text preceding the character
4490 visible in the first column.
4491 nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space (character
4492 0xA0, 160). Left blank when omitted.
4494 The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
4495 be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
4496 characters are allowed. All characters must be single width.
4498 Examples: >
4499 :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
4500 :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
4501 :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
4502 < The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
4503 "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "nbsp", "tab" and "trail".
4504 |hl-NonText| |hl-SpecialKey|
4506 *'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
4507 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
4508 global
4509 {not in Vi}
4510 When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
4511 This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
4512 of plugins.
4513 Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
4514 reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
4516 *'macatsui'* *'nomacatsui'*
4517 'macatsui' boolean (default on)
4518 global
4519 {only available in Mac Carbon GUI version}
4520 This is a workaround for when drawing doesn't work properly. When set
4521 and compiled with multi-byte support ATSUI text drawing is used. When
4522 not set ATSUI text drawing is not used. Switch this option off when
4523 you experience drawing problems. In a future version the problems may
4524 be solved and this option becomes obsolete. Therefore use this method
4525 to unset it: >
4526 if exists('&macatsui')
4527 set nomacatsui
4528 endif
4529 < Another option to check if you have drawing problems is
4530 'termencoding'.
4531 Note: MacVim does not use this option.
4533 *'macmeta'* *'mmta'* *'nomacmeta'* *'nommta'*
4534 'macmeta' boolean (default off)
4535 local to buffer
4536 {only available in MacVim GUI}
4537 Use option (alt) as meta key. When on, option-key presses are not
4538 interpreted, thus enabling bindings to <M-..>. When off, option-key
4539 presses are interpreted by the selected input method and inserted as
4540 text.
4541 Note: Some keys (e.g. <M-F1>, <M-Tab>, <M-Return>, <M-Left>) can be
4542 bound with the Meta flag even when this option is disabled, but this
4543 is not the case for the majority of keys (e.g. <M-a>, <M-`>).
4545 *'magic'* *'nomagic'*
4546 'magic' boolean (default on)
4547 global
4548 Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
4549 See |pattern|.
4550 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
4551 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
4552 old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
4553 'magic' is on. Include "\M" when you want to |/\M|.
4555 *'makeef'* *'mef'*
4556 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
4557 global
4558 {not in Vi}
4559 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
4560 feature}
4561 Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
4562 and the |:grep| command.
4563 When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
4564 When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
4565 unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
4566 existing file.
4567 NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
4568 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
4569 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4570 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4571 security reasons.
4573 *'makeprg'* *'mp'*
4574 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
4575 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4576 {not in Vi}
4577 Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|.
4578 This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded to
4579 the current and alternate file name. |:_%| |:_#|
4580 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
4581 about including spaces and backslashes.
4582 Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
4583 the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
4584 "myfilter" do it like this: >
4585 :set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
4586 < The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
4587 where the arguments will be included, for example: >
4588 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
4589 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4590 security reasons.
4592 *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
4593 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
4594 local to buffer
4595 {not in Vi}
4596 Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
4597 other. Currently only single byte character pairs are allowed, and
4598 they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon.
4599 The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
4600 '>' (HTML): >
4601 :set mps+=<:>
4603 < A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
4604 assignment, useful for languages like C and Java: >
4605 :au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
4607 < For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
4608 the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
4610 *'matchtime'* *'mat'*
4611 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
4612 global
4613 {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
4614 Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
4615 set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
4616 set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
4618 *'maxcombine'* *'mco'*
4619 'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
4620 global
4621 {not in Vi}
4622 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
4623 feature}
4624 The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
4625 Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
4626 The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
4627 Maximum value is 6.
4628 Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
4629 combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|.
4630 See |mbyte-combining|.
4632 *'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
4633 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
4634 global
4635 {not in Vi}
4636 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4637 feature}
4638 Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
4639 catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
4640 more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
4641 more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
4642 See also |:function|.
4644 *'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
4645 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
4646 global
4647 {not in Vi}
4648 Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
4649 character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
4650 ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
4651 because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
4652 |key-mapping|.
4654 *'maxmem'* *'mm'*
4655 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
4656 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4657 available)
4658 global
4659 {not in Vi}
4660 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
4661 limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
4662 other memory to be freed. The maximum usable value is about 2000000.
4663 Use this to work without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
4665 *'maxmempattern'* *'mmp'*
4666 'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
4667 global
4668 {not in Vi}
4669 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
4670 The maximum value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
4671 *E363*
4672 When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
4673 behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
4674 Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
4675 inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
4676 "\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
4677 Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit.
4679 *'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
4680 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
4681 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4682 available)
4683 global
4684 {not in Vi}
4685 Maximum amount of memory in Kbyte to use for all buffers together.
4686 The maximum usable value is about 2000000 (2 Gbyte). Use this to work
4687 without a limit. On 64 bit machines higher values might work. But
4688 hey, do you really need more than 2 Gbyte for text editing?
4689 Also see 'maxmem'.
4691 *'menuitems'* *'mis'*
4692 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
4693 global
4694 {not in Vi}
4695 {not available when compiled without the |+menu|
4696 feature}
4697 Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
4698 generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
4699 option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
4701 *'mkspellmem'* *'msm'*
4702 'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
4703 global
4704 {not in Vi}
4705 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
4706 feature}
4707 Parameters for |:mkspell|. This tunes when to start compressing the
4708 word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
4709 it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
4710 per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
4711 this tuning is complicated.
4713 There are three numbers, separated by commas:
4714 {start},{inc},{added}
4716 For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
4717 gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
4718 compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
4719 memory that is available to Vim.
4721 When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
4722 amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
4723 compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
4724 less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
4725 will be allocated.
4727 After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
4728 the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
4729 amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
4730 chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
4731 slower.
4733 The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
4734 Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
4735 you have 1 Gbyte you could use: >
4736 :set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
4737 < If you have less than 512 Mbyte |:mkspell| may fail for some
4738 languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
4740 *'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
4741 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
4742 Vi default: off)
4743 local to buffer
4744 *'modelines'* *'mls'*
4745 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
4746 global
4747 {not in Vi}
4748 If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
4749 checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
4750 no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
4751 NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4752 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4754 *'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
4755 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
4756 local to buffer
4757 {not in Vi} *E21*
4758 When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
4759 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
4760 Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
4762 *'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
4763 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
4764 local to buffer
4765 {not in Vi}
4766 When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
4767 when:
4768 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
4769 |undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
4770 option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
4771 buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
4772 when it was written.
4773 2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
4774 value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
4775 written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
4776 values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
4777 reset.
4778 When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
4779 will be ignored.
4781 *'more'* *'nomore'*
4782 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
4783 global
4784 {not in Vi}
4785 When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
4786 the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
4787 listing continues until finished.
4788 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4789 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4791 *'mouse'* *E538*
4792 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
4793 global
4794 {not in Vi}
4795 Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
4796 (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, QNX pterm, *BSD console with
4797 sysmouse and Linux console with gpm). For using the mouse in the
4798 GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
4799 The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
4800 n Normal mode
4801 v Visual mode
4802 i Insert mode
4803 c Command-line mode
4804 h all previous modes when editing a help file
4805 a all previous modes
4806 r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
4807 Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with: >
4808 :set mouse=a
4809 < When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
4810 modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
4812 See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
4814 Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
4815 "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
4816 the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
4817 Also see the 'clipboard' option.
4819 *'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
4820 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
4821 global
4822 {not in Vi}
4823 {only works in the GUI}
4824 The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
4825 When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
4826 mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
4827 default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
4828 a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
4830 *'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
4831 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
4832 global
4833 {not in Vi}
4834 {only works in the GUI}
4835 When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
4836 The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
4838 *'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
4839 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
4840 global
4841 {not in Vi}
4842 Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
4843 the right mouse button is used for:
4844 extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
4845 like in an xterm.
4846 popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
4847 mouse button extends a selection. This works like
4848 with Microsoft Windows.
4849 popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
4850 position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
4851 selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
4852 If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
4853 be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
4854 course, that right clicking outside a selection will
4855 end Visual mode.
4856 Overview of what button does what for each model:
4857 mouse extend popup(_setpos) ~
4858 left click place cursor place cursor
4859 left drag start selection start selection
4860 shift-left search word extend selection
4861 right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
4862 right drag extend selection -
4863 middle click paste paste
4865 In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
4866 You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
4868 Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
4869 See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
4870 selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
4872 The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4874 *'mouseshape'* *'mouses'* *E547*
4875 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
4876 m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
4877 global
4878 {not in Vi}
4879 {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape|
4880 feature}
4881 This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
4882 different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much
4883 like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
4884 and an argument-list:
4885 mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
4886 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
4887 In a normal window: ~
4888 n Normal mode
4889 v Visual mode
4890 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
4891 if not specified)
4892 o Operator-pending mode
4893 i Insert mode
4894 r Replace mode
4896 Others: ~
4897 c appending to the command-line
4898 ci inserting in the command-line
4899 cr replacing in the command-line
4900 m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
4901 ml idem, but cursor in the last line
4902 e any mode, pointer below last window
4903 s any mode, pointer on a status line
4904 sd any mode, while dragging a status line
4905 vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
4906 vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
4907 a everywhere
4909 The shape is one of the following:
4910 avail name looks like ~
4911 w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
4912 w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
4913 w x beam I-beam
4914 w x updown up-down sizing arrows
4915 w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
4916 w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
4917 w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
4918 x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
4919 x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
4920 x crosshair like a big thin +
4921 x hand1 black hand
4922 x hand2 white hand
4923 x pencil what you write with
4924 x question big ?
4925 x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
4926 w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
4927 x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
4929 The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
4930 x for X11.
4931 Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
4932 pointer.
4934 Example: >
4935 :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
4936 < will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
4937 indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
4938 clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
4940 *'mousetime'* *'mouset'*
4941 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
4942 global
4943 {not in Vi}
4944 Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
4945 time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
4946 recognized as a multi click.
4948 *'mzquantum'* *'mzq'*
4949 'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
4950 global
4951 {not in Vi}
4952 {not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme|
4953 feature}
4954 The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
4955 Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
4957 *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
4958 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
4959 local to buffer
4960 {not in Vi}
4961 This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
4962 CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
4963 respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
4964 alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
4965 incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
4966 letter index a), b), etc.
4967 octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
4968 to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
4969 hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
4970 considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
4971 "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
4972 Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
4973 considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
4974 recognized as octal or hex.
4976 *'number'* *'nu'* *'nonumber'* *'nonu'*
4977 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
4978 local to window
4979 Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
4980 excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
4981 line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
4982 The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
4983 number.
4984 When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
4985 characters are put before the number.
4986 See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
4988 *'numberwidth'* *'nuw'*
4989 'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
4990 local to window
4991 {not in Vi}
4992 {only available when compiled with the |+linebreak|
4993 feature}
4994 Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
4995 when the 'number' option is set or printing lines with a line number.
4996 Since one space is always between the number and the text, there is
4997 one less character for the number itself.
4998 The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
4999 fit the highest line number in the buffer. Thus with the Vim default
5000 of 4 there is room for a line number up to 999. When the buffer has
5001 1000 lines five columns will be used.
5002 The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 10.
5003 NOTE: 'numberwidth' is reset to 8 when 'compatible' is set.
5005 *'omnifunc'* *'ofu'*
5006 'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
5007 local to buffer
5008 {not in Vi}
5009 {not available when compiled without the +eval
5010 or +insert_expand feature}
5011 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
5012 completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
5013 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
5014 invoked and what it should return.
5015 This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
5016 |:filetype-plugin-on|
5019 *'opendevice'* *'odev'* *'noopendevice'* *'noodev'*
5020 'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
5021 global
5022 {not in Vi}
5023 {only for MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5024 Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
5025 device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
5026 it is off by default.
5027 Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
5028 result in editing a device.
5031 *'operatorfunc'* *'opfunc'*
5032 'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
5033 global
5034 {not in Vi}
5035 This option specifies a function to be called by the |g@| operator.
5036 See |:map-operator| for more info and an example.
5038 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5039 security reasons.
5042 *'osfiletype'* *'oft'* *E366*
5043 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
5044 others default: "")
5045 local to buffer
5046 {not in Vi}
5047 {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype|
5048 feature}
5049 Some operating systems store extra information about files besides
5050 name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra
5051 information, the nature of which will vary between systems.
5052 The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and
5053 is used to set the operating system file type when file is written.
5054 It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands.
5055 |autocmd-osfiletypes|
5057 *'paragraphs'* *'para'*
5058 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp")
5059 global
5060 Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
5061 of two letters (see |object-motions|).
5063 *'paste'* *'nopaste'*
5064 'paste' boolean (default off)
5065 global
5066 {not in Vi}
5067 Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
5068 some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
5069 unexpected effects.
5070 Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
5071 cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
5072 knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
5073 being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
5074 mouse clicks itself.
5075 This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
5076 your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
5077 'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
5078 will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
5079 When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
5080 - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
5081 - abbreviations are disabled
5082 - 'textwidth' is set to 0
5083 - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
5084 - 'autoindent' is reset
5085 - 'smartindent' is reset
5086 - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
5087 - 'revins' is reset
5088 - 'ruler' is reset
5089 - 'showmatch' is reset
5090 - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
5091 These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
5092 - 'lisp'
5093 - 'indentexpr'
5094 - 'cindent'
5095 NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
5096 on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
5097 settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
5098 set the 'paste' option again.
5099 When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
5100 the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
5101 Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
5102 Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
5103 the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
5105 *'pastetoggle'* *'pt'*
5106 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
5107 global
5108 {not in Vi}
5109 When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
5110 option. This is like specifying a mapping: >
5111 :map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
5112 < Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
5113 The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
5114 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
5115 Command-line mode.
5116 Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
5117 when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
5118 this: >
5119 :map <F10> :set paste<CR>
5120 :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
5121 :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
5122 :imap <F11> <nop>
5123 :set pastetoggle=<F11>
5124 < This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
5125 Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
5126 mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
5127 sequence.
5128 When the value has several bytes 'ttimeoutlen' applies.
5130 *'pex'* *'patchexpr'*
5131 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
5132 global
5133 {not in Vi}
5134 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
5135 feature}
5136 Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
5137 the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
5139 *'patchmode'* *'pm'* *E206*
5140 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
5141 global
5142 {not in Vi}
5143 When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
5144 to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
5145 source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
5146 copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
5147 name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
5148 appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
5149 ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The
5150 backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has
5151 been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a
5152 backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is
5153 created.
5154 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
5155 Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
5156 end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
5157 recognized as a compressed file.
5158 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
5160 *'path'* *'pa'* *E343* *E345* *E347*
5161 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
5162 on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,,"
5163 other systems: ".,,")
5164 global or local to buffer |global-local|
5165 {not in Vi}
5166 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
5167 |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find|, |:sfind|, |:tabfind| and other commands,
5168 provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not
5169 starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The directories in the 'path'
5170 option may be relative or absolute.
5171 - Use commas to separate directory names: >
5172 :set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
5173 < - Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
5174 compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
5175 name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space: >
5176 :set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
5177 < - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
5178 backslash: >
5179 :set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
5180 < - To search relative to the directory of the current file, use: >
5181 :set path=.
5182 < - To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
5183 commas: >
5184 :set path=,,
5185 < - A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
5186 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5187 - When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
5188 "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
5189 - Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree using "*", "**" and
5190 ";". See |file-searching| for info and syntax.
5191 {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
5192 - Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option: >
5193 :set path=.,c:\\include
5194 < Or just use '/' instead: >
5195 :set path=.,c:/include
5196 < Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
5197 the file!
5198 The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
5199 it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
5200 You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
5201 'path', see |:checkpath|.
5202 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
5203 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
5204 uses another default. To remove the current directory use: >
5205 :set path-=
5206 < To add the current directory use: >
5207 :set path+=
5208 < To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
5209 separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
5210 names are separated with a semi-colon: >
5211 :let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
5212 < Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
5213 this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
5215 *'preserveindent'* *'pi'* *'nopreserveindent'* *'nopi'*
5216 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
5217 local to buffer
5218 {not in Vi}
5219 When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
5220 indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
5221 series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is
5222 enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
5223 means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
5224 for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
5225 'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
5226 a Tab.
5227 NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
5228 tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
5229 NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5230 Also see 'copyindent'.
5231 Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
5233 *'previewheight'* *'pvh'*
5234 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
5235 global
5236 {not in Vi}
5237 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5238 |+quickfix| feature}
5239 Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated
5240 commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
5242 *'previewwindow'* *'nopreviewwindow'*
5243 *'pvw'* *'nopvw'* *E590*
5244 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
5245 local to window
5246 {not in Vi}
5247 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5248 |+quickfix| feature}
5249 Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
5250 set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
5251 |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
5253 *'printdevice'* *'pdev'*
5254 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
5255 global
5256 {not in Vi}
5257 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5258 feature}
5259 The name of the printer to be used for |:hardcopy|.
5260 See |pdev-option|.
5261 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5262 security reasons.
5264 *'printencoding'* *'penc'*
5265 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for some systems)
5266 global
5267 {not in Vi}
5268 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5269 and |+postscript| features}
5270 Sets the character encoding used when printing.
5271 See |penc-option|.
5273 *'printexpr'* *'pexpr'*
5274 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
5275 global
5276 {not in Vi}
5277 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5278 and |+postscript| features}
5279 Expression used to print the PostScript produced with |:hardcopy|.
5280 See |pexpr-option|.
5282 *'printfont'* *'pfn'*
5283 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
5284 global
5285 {not in Vi}
5286 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5287 feature}
5288 The name of the font that will be used for |:hardcopy|.
5289 See |pfn-option|.
5291 *'printheader'* *'pheader'*
5292 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
5293 global
5294 {not in Vi}
5295 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5296 feature}
5297 The format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output.
5298 See |pheader-option|.
5300 *'printmbcharset'* *'pmbcs'*
5301 'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
5302 global
5303 {not in Vi}
5304 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5305 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5306 The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5307 See |pmbcs-option|.
5309 *'printmbfont'* *'pmbfn'*
5310 'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
5311 global
5312 {not in Vi}
5313 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5314 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5315 List of font names to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5316 See |pmbfn-option|.
5318 *'printoptions'* *'popt'*
5319 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
5320 global
5321 {not in Vi}
5322 {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
5323 List of items that control the format of the output of |:hardcopy|.
5324 See |popt-option|.
5326 *'prompt'* *'noprompt'*
5327 'prompt' boolean (default on)
5328 global
5329 When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
5331 *'pumheight'* *'ph'*
5332 'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
5333 global
5334 {not available when compiled without the
5335 |+insert_expand| feature}
5336 {not in Vi}
5337 Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
5338 Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
5339 |ins-completion-menu|.
5342 *'quoteescape'* *'qe'*
5343 'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
5344 local to buffer
5345 {not in Vi}
5346 The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
5347 objects like a', a" and a` |a'|.
5348 When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
5349 the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
5350 text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
5352 *'readonly'* *'ro'* *'noreadonly'* *'noro'*
5353 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
5354 local to buffer
5355 If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
5356 accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
5357 in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
5358 When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
5359 buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
5360 {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is
5361 set for the newly edited buffer.
5363 *'redrawtime'* *'rdt'*
5364 'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
5365 global
5366 {not in Vi}
5367 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime|
5368 feature}
5369 The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
5370 searching for patterns for 'hlsearch' and |:match| highlighting.
5371 When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
5372 matches will be highlighted. This is used to avoid that Vim hangs
5373 when using a very complicated pattern.
5375 *'remap'* *'noremap'*
5376 'remap' boolean (default on)
5377 global
5378 Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
5379 a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
5380 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
5381 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
5382 old Vi scripts.
5384 *'report'*
5385 'report' number (default 2)
5386 global
5387 Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
5388 changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
5389 ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
5390 For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
5391 instead of the number of lines.
5393 *'restorescreen'* *'rs'* *'norestorescreen'* *'nors'*
5394 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
5395 global
5396 {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
5397 When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
5398 happens when executing external commands.
5400 For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
5401 options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
5402 set t_ti= t_te=
5403 To enable restoring (for an xterm):
5404 set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
5405 (Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
5407 *'revins'* *'ri'* *'norevins'* *'nori'*
5408 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
5409 global
5410 {not in Vi}
5411 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5412 feature}
5413 Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
5414 backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
5415 command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
5416 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
5418 *'rightleft'* *'rl'* *'norightleft'* *'norl'*
5419 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
5420 local to window
5421 {not in Vi}
5422 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5423 feature}
5424 When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
5425 that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
5426 Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
5427 are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
5428 This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
5429 simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
5430 useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
5431 and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
5432 in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
5434 *'rightleftcmd'* *'rlc'* *'norightleftcmd'* *'norlc'*
5435 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
5436 local to window
5437 {not in Vi}
5438 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5439 feature}
5440 Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
5441 right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
5443 search "/" and "?" commands
5445 This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
5446 The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
5448 *'ruler'* *'ru'* *'noruler'* *'noru'*
5449 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
5450 global
5451 {not in Vi}
5452 {not available when compiled without the
5453 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5454 Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
5455 comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
5456 text in the file is shown on the far right:
5457 Top first line is visible
5458 Bot last line is visible
5459 All first and last line are visible
5460 45% relative position in the file
5461 If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
5462 Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
5463 ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
5464 screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
5465 this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'
5466 If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
5467 bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both
5468 the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
5469 separated with a dash.
5470 For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
5471 For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
5472 This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5473 If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
5474 you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|.
5475 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5477 *'rulerformat'* *'ruf'*
5478 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
5479 global
5480 {not in Vi}
5481 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
5482 feature}
5483 When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
5484 string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
5485 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
5486 The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
5487 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
5488 Example: >
5489 :set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
5490 <
5491 *'runtimepath'* *'rtp'* *vimfiles*
5492 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
5493 Unix, Mac OS X: "$HOME/.vim,
5494 $VIM/vimfiles,
5495 $VIMRUNTIME,
5496 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5497 $HOME/.vim/after"
5498 Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
5499 $VIM/vimfiles,
5500 $VIMRUNTIME,
5501 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5502 home:vimfiles/after"
5503 PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
5504 $VIM/vimfiles,
5505 $VIMRUNTIME,
5506 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5507 $HOME/vimfiles/after"
5508 Macintosh (pre-OS X): "$VIM:vimfiles,
5509 $VIMRUNTIME,
5510 $VIM:vimfiles:after"
5511 RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
5512 $VIMRUNTIME,
5513 Choices:vimfiles/after"
5514 VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
5515 $VIM/vimfiles,
5516 $VIMRUNTIME,
5517 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5518 sys$login:vimfiles/after")
5519 global
5520 {not in Vi}
5521 This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
5522 files:
5523 filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype|
5524 scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts|
5525 autoload/ automatically loaded scripts |autoload-functions|
5526 colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme|
5527 compiler/ compiler files |:compiler|
5528 doc/ documentation |write-local-help|
5529 ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin|
5530 indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression|
5531 keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap|
5532 lang/ menu translations |:menutrans|
5533 menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim|
5534 plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin|
5535 print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding|
5536 spell/ spell checking files |spell|
5537 syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile|
5538 tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
5540 And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
5542 The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
5543 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
5544 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
5545 administrator.
5546 3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
5547 *after-directory*
5548 4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
5549 for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
5550 defaults (rarely needed)
5551 5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
5552 personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
5553 or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
5555 Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
5556 wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
5557 runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
5558 wildcards.
5559 See |:runtime|.
5560 Example: >
5561 :set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
5562 < This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
5563 personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
5564 group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
5565 files).
5566 You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
5567 distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
5568 to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
5569 a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
5570 runtime files.
5571 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5572 security reasons.
5574 *'scroll'* *'scr'*
5575 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
5576 local to window
5577 Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
5578 set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
5579 changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
5580 be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
5581 height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives
5582 the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference
5583 when lines wrap}
5585 *'scrollbind'* *'scb'* *'noscrollbind'* *'noscb'*
5586 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
5587 local to window
5588 {not in Vi}
5589 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5590 feature}
5591 See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current
5592 window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have
5593 this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the
5594 differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
5595 See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be
5596 interpreted.
5597 This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
5598 file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
5599 with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
5601 *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
5602 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
5603 global
5604 {not in Vi}
5605 Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
5606 screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
5607 CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
5608 When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
5609 percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
5610 height.
5611 NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
5613 *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
5614 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
5615 global
5616 {not in Vi}
5617 Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
5618 This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
5619 you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
5620 in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
5621 when long lines wrap).
5622 For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
5623 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5625 *'scrollopt'* *'sbo'*
5626 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
5627 global
5628 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5629 feature}
5630 {not in Vi}
5631 This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
5632 'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
5633 Options.
5634 The following words are available:
5635 ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5636 hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5637 jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
5638 scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
5639 displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
5640 around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
5641 reach a position before the start or after the end of
5642 the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
5643 moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
5644 to the desired position when possible.
5645 When now making that window the current one, two
5646 things can be done with the relative offset:
5647 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
5648 adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
5649 window. When going back to the other window, the
5650 new relative offset will be used.
5651 2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
5652 scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
5653 going back to the other window, it still uses the
5654 same relative offset.
5655 Also see |scroll-binding|.
5656 When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
5657 even when "ver" isn't there.
5659 *'sections'* *'sect'*
5660 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
5661 global
5662 Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
5663 two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start
5664 at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
5666 *'secure'* *'nosecure'* *E523*
5667 'secure' boolean (default off)
5668 global
5669 {not in Vi}
5670 When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
5671 ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
5672 displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
5673 problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
5674 only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
5675 dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
5676 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
5677 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5678 security reasons.
5680 *'selection'* *'sel'*
5681 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
5682 global
5683 {not in Vi}
5684 This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
5685 in Visual and Select mode.
5686 Possible values:
5687 value past line inclusive ~
5688 old no yes
5689 inclusive yes yes
5690 exclusive yes no
5691 "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
5692 character past the line.
5693 "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
5694 in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
5695 selection.
5696 Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
5697 backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
5698 starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
5700 The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5702 *'selectmode'* *'slm'*
5703 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
5704 global
5705 {not in Vi}
5706 This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start
5707 Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
5708 Possible values:
5709 mouse when using the mouse
5710 key when using shifted special keys
5711 cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
5712 See |Select-mode|.
5713 The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5715 *'sessionoptions'* *'ssop'*
5716 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
5717 help,options,tabpages,winsize")
5718 global
5719 {not in Vi}
5720 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
5721 feature}
5722 Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma
5723 separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
5724 something:
5725 word save and restore ~
5726 blank empty windows
5727 buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
5728 curdir the current directory
5729 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
5730 fold options
5731 globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
5732 and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
5733 String and Number types are stored.
5734 help the help window
5735 localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
5736 global values for local options)
5737 options all options and mappings (also global values for local
5738 options)
5739 resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
5740 sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
5741 will become the current directory (useful with
5742 projects accessed over a network from different
5743 systems)
5744 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
5745 slashes
5746 tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
5747 is restored, so that you can make a session for each
5748 tab page separately
5749 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
5750 on Windows or DOS
5751 winpos position of the whole Vim window
5752 winsize window sizes
5754 Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
5755 When neither "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored
5756 with absolute paths.
5757 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
5758 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
5759 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
5761 *'shell'* *'sh'* *E91*
5762 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
5763 MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or
5764 "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
5765 global
5766 Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
5767 value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
5768 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
5769 It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
5770 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
5771 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5772 If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose
5773 it in quotes. Example: >
5774 :set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
5775 < Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
5776 each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
5777 "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
5778 name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
5779 separators.
5780 For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment
5781 variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the
5782 libc.inf file of DJGPP.
5783 Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
5784 included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
5785 works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
5786 filtering).
5787 For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
5788 changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this: >
5789 :set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
5790 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5791 security reasons.
5793 *'shellcmdflag'* *'shcf'*
5794 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5795 does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
5796 global
5797 {not in Vi}
5798 Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
5799 "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like
5800 systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to
5801 reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for
5802 OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about
5803 including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|.
5804 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5805 security reasons.
5807 *'shellpipe'* *'sp'*
5808 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")
5809 global
5810 {not in Vi}
5811 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
5812 feature}
5813 String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
5814 error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about
5815 including spaces and backslashes.
5816 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5817 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5818 of this option).
5819 For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly
5820 saved in a file and not echoed to the screen.
5821 For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
5822 in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
5823 "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
5824 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes
5825 "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included.
5826 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5827 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5828 there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
5829 explicitly set before.
5830 When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
5831 ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
5832 that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
5833 want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
5834 Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
5835 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5836 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5837 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5838 security reasons.
5840 *'shellquote'* *'shq'*
5841 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5842 contains "sh" somewhere: "\"")
5843 global
5844 {not in Vi}
5845 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5846 the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
5847 quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
5848 probably not useful to set both options.
5849 This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
5850 third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell
5851 or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according
5852 the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the
5853 user. See |dos-shell|.
5854 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5855 security reasons.
5857 *'shellredir'* *'srr'*
5858 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
5859 global
5860 {not in Vi}
5861 String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
5862 file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
5863 and backslashes.
5864 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5865 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5866 of this option).
5867 The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh"
5868 or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
5869 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes
5870 ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included.
5871 For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked
5872 for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with
5873 ".exe" appended are checked for.
5874 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5875 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5876 there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
5877 explicitly set before.
5878 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5879 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5880 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5881 security reasons.
5883 *'shellslash'* *'ssl'* *'noshellslash'* *'nossl'*
5884 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
5885 global
5886 {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5887 When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
5888 useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or
5889 cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to
5890 forward slashes by Vim.
5891 Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
5892 existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
5893 any file for best results. This might change in the future.
5894 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
5895 separator. To test if this is so use: >
5896 if exists('+shellslash')
5897 <
5898 *'shelltemp'* *'stmp'* *'noshelltemp'* *'nostmp'*
5899 'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
5900 global
5901 {not in Vi}
5902 When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
5903 When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
5904 Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix. You can check it with: >
5905 :if has("filterpipe")
5906 < The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
5907 and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
5908 The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
5909 can be detected.
5910 The |FilterReadPre|, |FilterReadPost| and |FilterWritePre|,
5911 |FilterWritePost| autocommands event are not triggered when
5912 'shelltemp' is off.
5914 *'shelltype'* *'st'*
5915 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
5916 global
5917 {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
5918 On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
5919 which use a shell.
5920 0 and 1: always use the shell
5921 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
5922 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
5923 When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
5925 0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
5926 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
5928 *'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
5929 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
5930 for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
5931 somewhere: "\""
5932 for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
5933 global
5934 {not in Vi}
5935 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5936 the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
5937 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
5938 to set both options.
5939 This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for
5940 third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn
5941 Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted
5942 according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option
5943 by the user. See |dos-shell|.
5944 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5945 security reasons.
5947 *'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
5948 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
5949 global
5950 {not in Vi}
5951 Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
5952 commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
5953 a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
5954 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5956 *'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
5957 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
5958 local to buffer
5959 Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
5960 |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
5962 *'shortmess'* *'shm'*
5963 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "",
5964 POSIX default: "A")
5965 global
5966 {not in Vi}
5967 This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file
5968 messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
5969 It is a list of flags:
5970 flag meaning when present ~
5971 f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)"
5972 i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]"
5973 l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters"
5974 m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]"
5975 n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]"
5976 r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]"
5977 w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
5978 and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
5979 x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
5980 "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
5981 a all of the above abbreviations
5983 o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
5984 for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
5985 O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
5986 Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
5987 s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
5988 hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
5989 t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
5990 on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column.
5991 Ignored in Ex mode.
5992 T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
5993 fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.
5994 Ignored in Ex mode.
5995 W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file
5996 A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
5997 is found.
5998 I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
6000 This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
6001 requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
6002 possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
6003 would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
6004 Useful values:
6005 shm= No abbreviation of message.
6006 shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
6007 shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
6009 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6010 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6012 *'shortname'* *'sn'* *'noshortname'* *'nosn'*
6013 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
6014 local to buffer
6015 {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
6016 Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
6017 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
6018 option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
6019 adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available
6020 for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful
6021 when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
6022 or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this
6023 option is always on by default.
6025 *'showbreak'* *'sbr'* *E595*
6026 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
6027 global
6028 {not in Vi}
6029 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
6030 feature}
6031 String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
6032 values are "> " or "+++ ": >
6033 :set showbreak=>\
6034 < Note the backslash to escape the trailing space. It's easier like
6035 this: >
6036 :let &showbreak = '+++ '
6037 < Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
6038 comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
6039 part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
6040 The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
6041 'highlight'.
6042 Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
6043 If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
6044 "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
6046 *'showcmd'* *'sc'* *'noshowcmd'* *'nosc'*
6047 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
6048 off)
6049 global
6050 {not in Vi}
6051 {not available when compiled without the
6052 |+cmdline_info| feature}
6053 Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
6054 option off if your terminal is slow.
6055 In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
6056 - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
6057 - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
6058 - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters:
6059 {lines}x{columns}.
6060 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6061 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6063 *'showfulltag'* *'sft'* *'noshowfulltag'* *'nosft'*
6064 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
6065 global
6066 {not in Vi}
6067 When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the
6068 tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
6069 pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
6070 matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
6071 required (coding style permitting).
6072 Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
6073 'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
6074 match the typed text.
6076 *'showmatch'* *'sm'* *'noshowmatch'* *'nosm'*
6077 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
6078 global
6079 When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
6080 jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
6081 show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
6082 A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
6083 seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
6084 When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
6085 will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
6086 See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
6087 blinking when showing the match.
6088 The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
6089 matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
6090 matches.
6091 Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
6092 around |pi_paren.txt|.
6093 Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
6095 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
6096 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6097 global
6098 If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
6099 Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
6100 this message.
6101 When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
6102 doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
6103 not set.
6104 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6105 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6107 *'showtabline'* *'stal'*
6108 'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
6109 global
6110 {not in Vi}
6111 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6112 feature}
6113 The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
6114 will be displayed:
6115 0: never
6116 1: only if there are at least two tab pages
6117 2: always
6118 This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
6119 line.
6120 See |tab-page| for more information about tab pages.
6122 *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
6123 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
6124 global
6125 {not in Vi}
6126 The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
6127 the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
6128 When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
6129 When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
6130 a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
6131 commands.
6133 *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
6134 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
6135 global
6136 {not in Vi}
6137 The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
6138 right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
6139 value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero
6140 value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
6141 horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
6142 to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
6143 horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
6144 close to the beginning of the line.
6145 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6147 Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
6148 in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
6149 onto the "extends" character:
6151 :set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
6152 :set sidescrolloff=1
6155 *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
6156 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
6157 global
6158 {not in Vi}
6159 Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
6160 case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
6161 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
6162 ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After
6163 "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
6164 recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
6165 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6167 *'smartindent'* *'si'* *'nosmartindent'* *'nosi'*
6168 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
6169 local to buffer
6170 {not in Vi}
6171 {not available when compiled without the
6172 |+smartindent| feature}
6173 Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
6174 programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
6175 something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
6176 see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect.
6177 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative.
6178 Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
6179 An indent is automatically inserted:
6180 - After a line ending in '{'.
6181 - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
6182 - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
6183 When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
6184 given the same indent as the matching '{'.
6185 When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
6186 that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
6187 is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
6188 mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
6189 When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
6190 right.
6191 NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste'
6192 is set smart indenting is disabled.
6194 *'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
6195 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
6196 global
6197 {not in Vi}
6198 When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
6199 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
6200 <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
6201 line.
6202 When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
6203 'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
6204 right |shift-left-right|.
6205 What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
6206 option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
6207 number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6208 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6210 *'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
6211 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
6212 local to buffer
6213 {not in Vi}
6214 Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
6215 operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
6216 <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
6217 used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
6218 of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
6219 commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
6220 When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
6221 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
6222 See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
6223 spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6224 The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
6225 set.
6226 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6228 *'spell'* *'nospell'*
6229 'spell' boolean (default off)
6230 local to window
6231 {not in Vi}
6232 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6233 feature}
6234 When on spell checking will be done. See |spell|.
6235 The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
6237 *'spellcapcheck'* *'spc'*
6238 'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
6239 local to buffer
6240 {not in Vi}
6241 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6242 feature}
6243 Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
6244 checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
6245 with SpellCap |hl-SpellCap| (unless the word is also badly spelled).
6246 When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
6247 Only used when 'spell' is set.
6248 Be careful with special characters, see |option-backslash| about
6249 including spaces and backslashes.
6250 To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
6251 |set-spc-auto|.
6253 *'spellfile'* *'spf'*
6254 'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
6255 local to buffer
6256 {not in Vi}
6257 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6258 feature}
6259 Name of the word list file where words are added for the |zg| and |zw|
6260 commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
6261 path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
6262 *E765*
6263 It may also be a comma separated list of names. A count before the
6264 |zg| and |zw| commands can be used to access each. This allows using
6265 a personal word list file and a project word list file.
6266 When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
6267 you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
6268 there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
6269 name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
6270 ignoring the region.
6271 The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
6272 have to appear in 'spelllang'.
6273 Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
6274 name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
6275 'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
6276 without region name will be found.
6277 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6278 security reasons.
6280 *'spelllang'* *'spl'*
6281 'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
6282 local to buffer
6283 {not in Vi}
6284 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6285 feature}
6286 A comma separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
6287 on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example: >
6288 set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
6289 < This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
6290 that are not recognized will be highlighted.
6291 The word list name must not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
6292 recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
6293 specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
6294 A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
6295 the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
6296 region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
6297 English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
6298 Britain.
6299 *E757*
6300 As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
6301 first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
6302 (_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
6303 This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
6304 encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
6305 When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
6306 idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
6307 files twice.
6308 How the related spell files are found is explained here: |spell-load|.
6310 If the |spellfile.vim| plugin is active and you use a language name
6311 for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
6312 will ask you if you want to download the file.
6314 After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
6315 "spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
6316 up to the first comma, dot or underscore.
6317 Also see |set-spc-auto|.
6320 *'spellsuggest'* *'sps'*
6321 'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
6322 global
6323 {not in Vi}
6324 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6325 feature}
6326 Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the |z=| command and
6327 the |spellsuggest()| function. This is a comma-separated list of
6328 items:
6330 best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
6331 changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
6332 scoring to improve the ordering.
6334 double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
6335 results. The first method is "fast", the other method
6336 computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
6337 word. That only works when the language specifies
6338 sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
6339 better results.
6341 fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
6342 character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
6343 simple typing mistakes.
6345 {number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for |z=|.
6346 Not used for |spellsuggest()|. The number of
6347 suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
6348 minus two.
6350 file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
6351 separated by a slash. The first column contains the
6352 bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
6353 Example:
6354 theribal/terrible ~
6355 Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
6356 top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
6357 Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
6358 comments.
6359 The file is used for all languages.
6361 expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
6362 trouble with spaces. |v:val| holds the badly spelled
6363 word. The expression must evaluate to a List of
6364 Lists, each with a suggestion and a score.
6365 Example:
6366 [['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
6367 Set 'verbose' and use |z=| to see the scores that the
6368 internal methods use. A lower score is better.
6369 This may invoke |spellsuggest()| if you temporarily
6370 set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
6371 Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
6372 'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
6374 Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
6375 appear several times in any order. Example: >
6376 :set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
6377 <
6378 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6379 security reasons.
6382 *'splitbelow'* *'sb'* *'nosplitbelow'* *'nosb'*
6383 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
6384 global
6385 {not in Vi}
6386 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6387 feature}
6388 When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
6389 one. |:split|
6391 *'splitright'* *'spr'* *'nosplitright'* *'nospr'*
6392 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
6393 global
6394 {not in Vi}
6395 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
6396 feature}
6397 When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
6398 current one. |:vsplit|
6400 *'startofline'* *'sol'* *'nostartofline'* *'nosol'*
6401 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
6402 global
6403 {not in Vi}
6404 When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
6405 non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
6406 (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B,
6407 CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", gg, and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>"
6408 with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing
6409 commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that
6410 only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
6411 In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
6412 where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
6413 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
6415 *'statusline'* *'stl'* *E540* *E541* *E542*
6416 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
6417 global or local to window |global-local|
6418 {not in Vi}
6419 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
6420 feature}
6421 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line.
6422 Also see |status-line|.
6424 The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
6425 normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
6426 %-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
6427 All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can
6428 be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
6430 When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
6431 evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example: >
6432 :set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
6433 < The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
6435 When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
6436 empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
6438 Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
6439 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
6441 field meaning ~
6442 - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
6443 when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
6444 0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
6445 minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
6446 Value must be 50 or less.
6447 maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
6448 on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
6449 shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
6450 where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
6451 an exponential notation.
6452 item A one letter code as described below.
6454 Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
6455 second character in "item" is the type:
6456 N for number
6457 S for string
6458 F for flags as described below
6459 - not applicable
6461 item meaning ~
6462 f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
6463 directory.
6464 F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
6465 t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
6466 m F Modified flag, text is "[+]"; "[-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
6467 M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
6468 r F Readonly flag, text is "[RO]".
6469 R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
6470 h F Help buffer flag, text is "[help]".
6471 H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
6472 w F Preview window flag, text is "[Preview]".
6473 W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
6474 y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., "[vim]". See 'filetype'.
6475 Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
6476 {not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
6477 k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
6478 being used: "<keymap>"
6479 n N Buffer number.
6480 b N Value of byte under cursor.
6481 B N As above, in hexadecimal.
6482 o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
6483 Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
6484 {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
6485 O N As above, in hexadecimal.
6486 N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
6487 l N Line number.
6488 L N Number of lines in buffer.
6489 c N Column number.
6490 v N Virtual column number.
6491 V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
6492 p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|.
6493 P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
6494 percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
6495 a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
6496 Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
6497 { NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
6498 Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'.
6499 ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
6500 alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
6501 ) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
6502 T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
6503 label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6504 X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
6505 label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
6506 mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6507 < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
6508 No width fields allowed.
6509 = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
6510 No width fields allowed.
6511 # - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
6512 Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
6513 highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
6514 windows.
6515 * - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
6516 minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
6517 The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied
6518 to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
6519 The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
6521 When displaying a flag, Vim removes the leading comma, if any, when
6522 that flag comes right after plaintext. This will make a nice display
6523 when flags are used like in the examples below.
6525 When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
6526 not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
6527 become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
6528 completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set. >
6529 :set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
6530 <
6531 Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
6532 line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set
6533 temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
6534 currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
6535 The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the
6536 real current buffer.
6538 The 'statusline' option may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
6539 |sandbox-option|.
6541 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
6542 evaluating 'statusline' |textlock|.
6544 If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
6545 a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
6546 setting an option without changing its value. Example: >
6547 :let &ro = &ro
6549 < A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
6550 Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
6551 described above.
6553 Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
6554 If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
6555 edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
6557 Examples:
6558 Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set >
6559 :set statusline=%<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
6560 < Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga") >
6561 :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
6562 < Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red. >
6563 :set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
6564 :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
6565 < Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded >
6566 :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
6567 < In the |:autocmd|'s: >
6568 :let b:gzflag = 1
6569 < And: >
6570 :unlet b:gzflag
6571 < And define this function: >
6572 :function VarExists(var, val)
6573 : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
6574 :endfunction
6575 <
6576 *'suffixes'* *'su'*
6577 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
6578 global
6579 {not in Vi}
6580 Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
6581 match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the
6582 suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
6583 the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
6584 separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about
6585 including spaces and backslashes).
6586 See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
6587 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6588 suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6589 uses another default.
6591 *'suffixesadd'* *'sua'*
6592 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
6593 local to buffer
6594 {not in Vi}
6595 {not available when compiled without the
6596 |+file_in_path| feature}
6597 Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
6598 file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example: >
6599 :set suffixesadd=.java
6600 <
6601 *'swapfile'* *'swf'* *'noswapfile'* *'noswf'*
6602 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
6603 local to buffer
6604 {not in Vi}
6605 Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
6606 swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
6607 confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
6608 Careful: All text will be in memory:
6609 - Don't use this for big files.
6610 - Recovery will be impossible!
6611 A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and
6612 'swapfile' is set.
6613 When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
6614 immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
6615 non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
6616 Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
6618 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
6619 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
6621 *'swapsync'* *'sws'*
6622 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
6623 global
6624 {not in Vi}
6625 When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
6626 writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
6627 When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
6628 not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
6629 On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
6630 so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
6631 systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
6632 setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
6633 fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
6634 The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
6636 *'switchbuf'* *'swb'*
6637 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
6638 global
6639 {not in Vi}
6640 This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
6641 Possible values (comma separated list):
6642 useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
6643 contains the specified buffer (if there is one).
6644 Otherwise: Do not examine other windows.
6645 This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when
6646 jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is
6647 also used in all buffer related split commands, for
6648 example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
6649 usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
6650 pages.
6651 split If included, split the current window before loading
6652 a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window.
6653 Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
6654 newtab Like "split", but open a new tab page. Overrules
6655 "split" when both are present.
6657 *'synmaxcol'* *'smc'*
6658 'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
6659 local to buffer
6660 {not in Vi}
6661 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6662 feature}
6663 Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
6664 text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
6665 be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
6666 This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
6667 long line.
6668 Set to zero to remove the limit.
6670 *'syntax'* *'syn'*
6671 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
6672 local to buffer
6673 {not in Vi}
6674 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6675 feature}
6676 When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
6677 syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
6678 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
6679 b:current_syntax variable does).
6680 This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
6681 not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
6682 /* vim: set syntax=idl : */ ~
6683 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
6684 names. Example:
6685 /* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */ ~
6686 This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
6687 Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
6688 otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
6689 To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use: >
6690 :set syntax=OFF
6691 < To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
6692 'filetype' option: >
6693 :set syntax=ON
6694 < What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
6695 Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
6696 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
6697 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
6698 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
6700 *'tabline'* *'tal'*
6701 'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
6702 global
6703 {not in Vi}
6704 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6705 feature}
6706 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
6707 line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
6708 tab pages line. See |setting-tabline| for more info.
6710 The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
6711 option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
6712 'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
6713 instead.
6715 The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
6716 |tabpagenr()|, |tabpagewinnr()| and |tabpagebuflist()| to figure out
6717 the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
6718 the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
6720 Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
6721 are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
6724 *'tabpagemax'* *'tpm'*
6725 'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
6726 global
6727 {not in Vi}
6728 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6729 feature}
6730 Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the |-p| command line
6731 argument or the ":tab all" command. |tabpage|
6734 *'tabstop'* *'ts'*
6735 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
6736 local to buffer
6737 Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
6738 |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
6740 Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
6741 appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
6743 There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
6744 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
6745 (or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
6746 will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
6747 behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
6748 2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
6749 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
6750 formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
6751 3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
6752 |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
6753 works when using Vim to edit the file.
6754 4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
6755 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
6756 for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
6757 tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
6758 though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
6759 changed.
6761 *'tagbsearch'* *'tbs'* *'notagbsearch'* *'notbs'*
6762 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
6763 global
6764 {not in Vi}
6765 When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either
6766 use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
6767 searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
6768 will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
6769 Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
6770 they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
6771 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
6773 When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
6774 files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
6775 certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
6776 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
6778 Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
6779 at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted: >
6780 !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
6781 < [The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
6783 When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
6784 files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used
6785 instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
6786 Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
6787 be found in the retry.
6789 If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
6790 linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value
6791 of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be
6792 case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in
6793 the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version
6794 5.x or higher (at least 5.5) the --sort=foldcase switch can be used
6795 for this as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this
6796 to work.
6798 When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
6799 exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
6800 files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
6801 When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
6802 ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
6803 must be included in the tags file.
6804 This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
6805 command-line completion and ":help").
6806 {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
6808 *'taglength'* *'tl'*
6809 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
6810 global
6811 If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
6813 *'tagrelative'* *'tr'* *'notagrelative'* *'notr'*
6814 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6815 global
6816 {not in Vi}
6817 If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
6818 tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
6819 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6820 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6822 *'tags'* *'tag'* *E433*
6823 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
6824 |+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
6825 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6826 Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
6827 include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash
6828 (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes).
6829 When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
6830 of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
6831 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see
6832 |tags-option|.
6833 "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
6834 a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled
6835 without the |+path_extra| feature}
6836 The |tagfiles()| function can be used to get a list of the file names
6837 actually used.
6838 If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag
6839 files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
6840 default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
6841 differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags|
6842 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6843 file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6844 uses another default.
6845 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
6847 *'tagstack'* *'tgst'* *'notagstack'* *'notgst'*
6848 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
6849 global
6850 {not in all versions of Vi}
6851 When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
6852 ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
6853 tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
6854 any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
6855 tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
6856 Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
6857 mapping which should not change the tagstack.
6859 *'term'* *E529* *E530* *E531*
6860 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
6861 in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
6862 on Amiga: "amiga"
6863 on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
6864 on Mac: "mac-ansi"
6865 on MiNT: "vt52"
6866 on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
6867 on OS/2: "os2ansi"
6868 on Unix: "ansi"
6869 on VMS: "ansi"
6870 on Win 32: "win32")
6871 global
6872 Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
6873 characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
6874 For example: >
6875 :set term=$TERM
6876 < See |termcap|.
6878 *'termbidi'* *'tbidi'*
6879 *'notermbidi'* *'notbidi'*
6880 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
6881 global
6882 {not in Vi}
6883 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
6884 feature}
6885 The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
6886 by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
6887 that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
6888 Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
6889 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
6890 Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
6891 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
6892 This option is reset when the GUI is started.
6893 For further details see |arabic.txt|.
6895 *'termencoding'* *'tenc'*
6896 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""
6897 with GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs: "utf-8"
6898 with Macintosh (Carbon) GUI: "macroman")
6899 global
6900 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
6901 feature}
6902 {not in Vi}
6903 Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
6904 encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
6905 the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
6906 display). Except for the Mac when 'macatsui' is off, then
6907 'termencoding' should be "macroman" (for the Carbon GUI).
6908 In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage
6909 when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
6910 *E617*
6911 Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs. After the
6912 GUI has been successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set
6913 to "utf-8". Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected,
6914 and an error message is shown.
6915 For the Win32 GUI 'termencoding' is not used for typed characters,
6916 because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
6917 When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
6918 This is the normal value.
6919 Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
6920 |encoding-table|.
6921 The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
6922 iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
6923 will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
6924 Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
6925 want to edit a UTF-8 file: >
6926 :let &termencoding = &encoding
6927 :set encoding=utf-8
6928 < You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
6930 *'terse'* *'noterse'*
6931 'terse' boolean (default off)
6932 global
6933 When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
6934 for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
6935 displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
6936 shortens a lot of messages}
6938 *'textauto'* *'ta'* *'notextauto'* *'nota'*
6939 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6940 global
6941 {not in Vi}
6942 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
6943 For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
6944 set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
6945 reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
6946 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6947 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6949 *'textmode'* *'tx'* *'notextmode'* *'notx'*
6950 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
6951 others: default off)
6952 local to buffer
6953 {not in Vi}
6954 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
6955 For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
6956 set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
6957 "unix".
6959 *'textwidth'* *'tw'*
6960 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
6961 local to buffer
6962 {not in Vi}
6963 Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
6964 broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
6965 this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When
6966 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
6967 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|.
6968 When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
6969 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6971 *'thesaurus'* *'tsr'*
6972 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
6973 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6974 {not in Vi}
6975 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
6976 for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in
6977 the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by
6978 non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line
6979 length is 510 bytes.
6980 To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at
6981 http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk .
6982 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
6983 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
6984 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
6985 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6986 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6987 uses another default.
6988 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
6990 *'tildeop'* *'top'* *'notildeop'* *'notop'*
6991 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
6992 global
6993 {not in Vi}
6994 When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
6995 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6997 *'timeout'* *'to'* *'notimeout'* *'noto'*
6998 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
6999 global
7000 *'ttimeout'* *'nottimeout'*
7001 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
7002 global
7003 {not in Vi}
7004 These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
7005 mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
7007 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action ~
7008 off off do not time out
7009 on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
7010 off on time out on key codes
7012 If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
7013 mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
7014 is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
7015 example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
7016 character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
7017 When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
7018 the next character to arrive. After that the already received
7019 characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
7020 be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
7021 On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
7022 malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
7023 forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
7024 with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
7025 problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
7026 sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
7027 reset the 'timeout' option.
7029 NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
7031 *'timeoutlen'* *'tm'*
7032 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
7033 global
7034 {not in all versions of Vi}
7035 *'ttimeoutlen'* *'ttm'*
7036 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
7037 global
7038 {not in Vi}
7039 The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
7040 sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
7041 when part of a command has been typed.
7042 Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
7043 different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
7044 a non-negative number.
7046 ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay ~
7047 < 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
7048 >= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
7050 The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
7051 tell so. A useful setting would be >
7052 :set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
7053 < (time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
7054 a tenth of a second).
7056 *'title'* *'notitle'*
7057 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
7058 global
7059 {not in Vi}
7060 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7061 feature}
7062 When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
7063 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
7064 filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
7065 Where:
7066 filename the name of the file being edited
7067 - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
7068 + indicates the file was modified
7069 = indicates the file is read-only
7070 =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
7071 (path) is the path of the file being edited
7072 - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
7073 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
7074 (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
7075 terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
7076 iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
7077 *X11*
7078 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7079 be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
7080 when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
7081 works for the icon name |'icon'|.
7082 But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title
7083 will not work (except in the GUI).
7084 If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
7085 You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
7086 When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
7087 rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
7088 then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
7089 title of the window should change back to what it should be after
7090 exiting Vim.
7092 *'titlelen'*
7093 'titlelen' number (default 85)
7094 global
7095 {not in Vi}
7096 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7097 feature}
7098 Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
7099 title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
7100 shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
7101 Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
7102 it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
7103 available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
7104 bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
7105 values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
7106 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
7108 *'titleold'*
7109 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
7110 global
7111 {not in Vi}
7112 {only available when compiled with the |+title|
7113 feature}
7114 This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
7115 original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
7116 'titlestring' is not empty.
7117 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7118 security reasons.
7119 *'titlestring'*
7120 'titlestring' string (default "")
7121 global
7122 {not in Vi}
7123 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7124 feature}
7125 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
7126 window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
7127 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
7128 Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
7129 non-empty 't_ts' option).
7130 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7131 be restored if possible |X11|.
7132 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
7133 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'.
7134 Example: >
7135 :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p")
7136 :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
7137 < The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
7138 of the available space.
7139 Some people prefer to have the file name first: >
7140 :set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
7141 < Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
7142 without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
7143 separating space only when needed.
7144 NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
7145 to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
7146 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
7148 *'toolbar'* *'tb'*
7149 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
7150 global
7151 {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif|,
7152 |+GUI_Photon| and |gui_macvim|}
7153 The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
7154 possible values are:
7155 icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
7156 text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
7157 horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
7158 horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
7159 tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
7160 Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
7161 cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
7162 Note: Tooltips are always enabled in MacVim.
7164 If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
7165 following: >
7166 :set tb=icons,text
7167 < Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
7168 will show icons if both are requested.
7170 If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
7171 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
7172 the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example: >
7173 :set guioptions-=T
7174 < Also see |gui-toolbar|.
7176 *'toolbariconsize'* *'tbis'*
7177 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
7178 global
7179 {not in Vi}
7180 {only in the GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs}
7181 Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
7182 tiny Use tiny toolbar icons.
7183 small Use small toolbar icons (default).
7184 medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons.
7185 large Use large toolbar icons.
7186 The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
7187 the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24,
7188 small=20x20 and tiny=16x16. In MacVim, both tiny and small equal
7189 24x24, whereas medium and large equal 32x32.
7191 If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
7192 by user preferences or the current theme is used.
7194 *'transparency'* *'transp'*
7195 'transparency' 'transp' number (default 0)
7196 global
7197 {not in Vi}
7198 {only in MacVim GUI}
7199 Transparency of the window background as a percent, with 0 meaning
7200 opaque and 100 meaning completely transparent. Trying to set a value
7201 outside the range 0-100 results in an error.
7203 *'ttybuiltin'* *'tbi'* *'nottybuiltin'* *'notbi'*
7204 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
7205 global
7206 {not in Vi}
7207 When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
7208 When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
7209 When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
7210 the change to take effect, for example: >
7211 :set notbi term=$TERM
7212 < See also |termcap|.
7213 Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
7214 termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
7215 xterm entries...).
7217 *'ttyfast'* *'tf'* *'nottyfast'* *'notf'*
7218 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
7219 sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or
7220 iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in
7221 a DOS console)
7222 global
7223 {not in Vi}
7224 Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
7225 the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
7226 commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
7227 windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
7228 Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
7229 line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
7230 mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
7232 *'ttymouse'* *'ttym'*
7233 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
7234 global
7235 {not in Vi}
7236 {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
7237 available when compiled without |+mouse|}
7238 Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
7239 Currently these strings are valid:
7240 *xterm-mouse*
7241 xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
7242 "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
7243 "s" = button state
7244 "c" = column plus 33
7245 "r" = row plus 33
7246 This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec" for a
7247 solution.
7248 xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
7249 mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
7250 much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
7251 least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
7252 work. See below for how Vim detects this
7253 automatically.
7254 *netterm-mouse*
7255 netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
7256 "<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
7257 for the row and column.
7258 *dec-mouse*
7259 dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
7260 rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
7261 This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
7262 configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
7263 *jsbterm-mouse*
7264 jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
7265 *pterm-mouse*
7266 pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
7268 The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm|
7269 |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|.
7270 Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
7271 recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
7272 are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
7273 "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict).
7274 This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
7275 set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm"
7276 or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to
7277 "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can
7278 handle xterm mouse codes.
7279 The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
7280 95 or higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse|
7281 feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the
7282 xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly.
7283 If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set
7284 t_RV to an empty string: >
7285 :set t_RV=
7286 <
7287 *'ttyscroll'* *'tsl'*
7288 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
7289 global
7290 Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
7291 to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
7292 very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
7293 e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
7295 *'ttytype'* *'tty'*
7296 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
7297 global
7298 Alias for 'term', see above.
7300 *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
7301 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
7302 Win32 and OS/2)
7303 global
7304 {not in Vi}
7305 Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
7306 is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
7307 (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
7308 Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
7309 itself: >
7310 set ul=0
7311 < But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
7312 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
7313 Set to a negative number for no undo at all: >
7314 set ul=-1
7315 < This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
7316 Also see |undo-two-ways|.
7318 *'updatecount'* *'uc'*
7319 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
7320 global
7321 {not in Vi}
7322 After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
7323 disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
7324 recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
7325 Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly
7326 mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
7327 The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|.
7328 When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
7329 created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
7330 is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
7331 Also see |'swapsync'|.
7332 This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile"
7333 or "nowrite".
7335 *'updatetime'* *'ut'*
7336 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
7337 global
7338 {not in Vi}
7339 If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
7340 written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the
7341 |CursorHold| autocommand event.
7343 *'verbose'* *'vbs'*
7344 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
7345 global
7346 {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean
7347 verbose option}
7348 When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
7349 Currently, these messages are given:
7350 >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
7351 >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
7352 >= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
7353 >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
7354 >= 9 Every executed autocommand.
7355 >= 12 Every executed function.
7356 >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
7357 >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
7358 >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
7360 This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|.
7361 This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
7363 When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
7364 displayed.
7366 *'verbosefile'* *'vfile'*
7367 'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
7368 global
7369 {not in Vi}
7370 When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
7371 When the file exists messages are appended.
7372 Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
7373 empty.
7374 Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
7375 The difference with |:redir| is that verbose messages are not
7376 displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
7378 *'viewdir'* *'vdir'*
7379 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
7380 "$VIM/vimfiles/view",
7381 for Unix: "~/.vim/view",
7382 for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view"
7383 for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view"
7384 for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
7385 global
7386 {not in Vi}
7387 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7388 feature}
7389 Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|.
7390 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7391 security reasons.
7393 *'viewoptions'* *'vop'*
7394 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
7395 global
7396 {not in Vi}
7397 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7398 feature}
7399 Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated
7400 list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
7401 word save and restore ~
7402 cursor cursor position in file and in window
7403 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
7404 fold options
7405 options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
7406 global values for local options)
7407 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
7408 slashes
7409 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
7410 on Windows or DOS
7412 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files
7413 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
7414 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
7416 *'viminfo'* *'vi'* *E526* *E527* *E528*
7417 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
7418 Windows and OS/2: '100,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
7419 for Amiga: '100,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
7420 for others: '100,<50,s10,h)
7421 global
7422 {not in Vi}
7423 {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo|
7424 feature}
7425 When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
7426 when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma
7427 separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character
7428 identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string
7429 which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular
7430 character is left out, then the default value is used for that
7431 parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and
7432 the effect of their value.
7433 CHAR VALUE ~
7434 ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
7435 with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
7436 letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
7437 and "_K_L_M" are not. Only String and Number types are
7438 stored.
7439 " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
7440 the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
7441 backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
7442 start of a comment!
7443 % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
7444 started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
7445 restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
7446 buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers
7447 without a file name and buffers for help files are not written
7448 to the viminfo file.
7449 When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
7450 number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
7451 buffers are stored.
7452 ' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
7453 are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
7454 'viminfo' is non-empty.
7455 Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the
7456 |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
7457 / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
7458 saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
7459 patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
7460 'history' is used.
7461 : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
7462 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7463 < Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
7464 registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
7465 saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
7466 Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
7467 @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
7468 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7469 c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
7470 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
7471 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
7472 f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
7473 to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
7474 non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
7475 cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
7476 h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
7477 file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
7478 has been used since the last search command.
7479 n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
7480 the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was
7481 given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one
7482 given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded
7483 when opening the file, not when setting the option.
7484 r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
7485 ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
7486 specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
7487 stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you
7488 could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
7489 also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
7490 ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
7491 characters.
7492 s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
7493 not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
7494 "s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
7495 Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
7497 Example: >
7498 :set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
7499 <
7500 '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
7501 edited.
7502 <1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
7503 remembered.
7504 s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
7505 :0 Command-line history will not be saved.
7506 n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
7507 no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
7508 that is, save all of the search history, and also the
7509 previous search and substitute patterns.
7510 no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
7511 no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
7513 When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to
7514 load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
7516 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7517 security reasons.
7519 *'virtualedit'* *'ve'*
7520 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
7521 global
7522 {not in Vi}
7523 {not available when compiled without the
7524 |+virtualedit| feature}
7525 A comma separated list of these words:
7526 block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
7527 insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
7528 all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
7529 onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
7531 Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
7532 no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
7533 of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
7534 editing a table.
7535 "onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
7536 after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
7537 consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
7538 if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
7539 break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because |l| can move
7540 the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
7541 Using the |$| command will move to the last character in the line, not
7542 past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
7543 It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
7544 not get a warning for it.
7546 *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
7547 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
7548 global
7549 {not in Vi}
7550 Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
7551 visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
7552 use ":set vb t_vb=".
7553 Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
7554 might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|.
7555 In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
7556 for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
7557 where 40 is the time in msec.
7558 Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
7559 Also see 'errorbells'.
7561 *'warn'* *'nowarn'*
7562 'warn' boolean (default on)
7563 global
7564 Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
7565 has been changed.
7567 *'weirdinvert'* *'wiv'* *'noweirdinvert'* *'nowiv'*
7568 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
7569 global
7570 {not in Vi}
7571 This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
7572 It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
7573 Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
7574 vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
7576 *'whichwrap'* *'ww'*
7577 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
7578 global
7579 {not in Vi}
7580 Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
7581 previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
7582 the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
7583 char key mode ~
7584 b <BS> Normal and Visual
7585 s <Space> Normal and Visual
7586 h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7587 l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7588 < <Left> Normal and Visual
7589 > <Right> Normal and Visual
7590 ~ "~" Normal
7591 [ <Left> Insert and Replace
7592 ] <Right> Insert and Replace
7593 For example: >
7594 :set ww=<,>,[,]
7595 < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
7596 When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
7597 operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
7598 different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
7599 is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
7600 "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
7601 ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
7602 cursor.
7603 When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
7604 line then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl",
7605 "yl" etc. work normally.
7606 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7607 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7609 *'wildchar'* *'wc'*
7610 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
7611 global
7612 {not in Vi}
7613 Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
7614 command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
7615 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7616 The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
7617 'wildcharm' for that.
7618 Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key: >
7619 :set wc=<Esc>
7620 < NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7621 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7623 *'wildcharm'* *'wcm'*
7624 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
7625 global
7626 {not in Vi}
7627 'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
7628 recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
7629 keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally
7630 you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
7631 automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.: >
7632 :set wcm=<C-Z>
7633 :cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
7634 < Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
7636 *'wildignore'* *'wig'*
7637 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
7638 global
7639 {not in Vi}
7640 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7641 feature}
7642 A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
7643 patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names, and
7644 influences the result of |expand()|, |glob()| and |globpath()| unless
7645 a flag is passed to disable this.
7646 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
7647 Also see 'suffixes'.
7648 Example: >
7649 :set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
7650 < The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
7651 a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
7652 uses another default.
7654 *'wildmenu'* *'wmnu'* *'nowildmenu'* *'nowmnu'*
7655 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
7656 global
7657 {not in Vi}
7658 {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu|
7659 feature}
7660 When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
7661 mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
7662 the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the
7663 first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is
7664 one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
7665 CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
7666 When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
7667 specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
7668 If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
7669 the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
7670 as needed.
7671 The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
7672 for selecting a completion.
7673 While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special
7674 meanings:
7676 <Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
7677 <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
7678 subdirectory or submenu.
7679 <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
7680 dot: move into a submenu.
7681 <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
7682 parent directory or parent menu.
7684 This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
7686 If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
7687 of selecting a different match, use this: >
7688 :cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
7689 :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
7690 <
7691 The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
7692 |hl-WildMenu|.
7694 *'wildmode'* *'wim'*
7695 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
7696 global
7697 {not in Vi}
7698 Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
7699 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each
7700 part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
7701 first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
7702 The second part for the second use, etc.
7703 These are the possible values for each part:
7704 "" Complete only the first match.
7705 "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
7706 the original string is used and then the first match
7707 again.
7708 "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
7709 result in a longer string, use the next part.
7710 "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
7711 enabled.
7712 "list" When more than one match, list all matches.
7713 "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
7714 complete first match.
7715 "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
7716 complete till longest common string.
7717 When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
7719 Examples: >
7720 :set wildmode=full
7721 < Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default) >
7722 :set wildmode=longest,full
7723 < Complete longest common string, then each full match >
7724 :set wildmode=list:full
7725 < List all matches and complete each full match >
7726 :set wildmode=list,full
7727 < List all matches without completing, then each full match >
7728 :set wildmode=longest,list
7729 < Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
7730 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7732 *'wildoptions'* *'wop'*
7733 'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
7734 global
7735 {not in Vi}
7736 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7737 feature}
7738 A list of words that change how command line completion is done.
7739 Currently only one word is allowed:
7740 tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
7741 tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
7742 is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
7743 d #define
7744 f function
7745 Also see |cmdline-completion|.
7747 *'winaltkeys'* *'wak'*
7748 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
7749 global
7750 {not in Vi}
7751 {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
7752 Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
7753 key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
7754 menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
7755 entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
7756 no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
7757 mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
7758 done with the |:simalt| command.
7759 yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
7760 combinations cannot be mapped.
7761 menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
7762 shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
7763 keys can be mapped.
7764 If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
7765 key is never used for the menu.
7766 This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
7767 select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
7769 *'window'* *'wi'*
7770 'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
7771 global
7772 Window height. Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window,
7773 use 'lines' for that.
7774 Used for |CTRL-F| and |CTRL-B| when there is only one window and the
7775 value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen will scroll
7776 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
7777 When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
7778 in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
7779 When resizing the Vim window, the value is smaller than 1 or more than
7780 or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
7781 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines}
7783 *'winheight'* *'wh'* *E591*
7784 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
7785 global
7786 {not in Vi}
7787 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7788 feature}
7789 Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
7790 minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
7791 focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
7792 cost of the height of other windows.
7793 Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
7794 Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
7795 Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
7796 that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
7797 to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
7798 using the |VimEnter| event: >
7799 au VimEnter * set winheight=999
7800 < Minimum value is 1.
7801 The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
7802 height of the current window.
7803 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
7804 the minimal height for other windows.
7806 *'winfixheight'* *'wfh'* *'nowinfixheight'* *'nowfh'*
7807 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
7808 local to window
7809 {not in Vi}
7810 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7811 feature}
7812 Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
7813 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|. Set by default for the
7814 |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|.
7815 The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7817 *'winfixwidth'* *'wfw'* *'nowinfixwidth'* *'nowfw'*
7818 'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
7819 local to window
7820 {not in Vi}
7821 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7822 feature}
7823 Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
7824 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|.
7825 The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7827 *'winminheight'* *'wmh'*
7828 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
7829 global
7830 {not in Vi}
7831 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7832 feature}
7833 The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
7834 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7835 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
7836 status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
7837 they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
7838 Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
7839 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7840 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7841 windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
7843 *'winminwidth'* *'wmw'*
7844 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
7845 global
7846 {not in Vi}
7847 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7848 feature}
7849 The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
7850 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7851 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
7852 a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
7853 line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
7854 to go.)
7855 Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
7856 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7857 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7858 windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
7860 *'winwidth'* *'wiw'* *E592*
7861 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
7862 global
7863 {not in Vi}
7864 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7865 feature}
7866 Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
7867 minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
7868 the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
7869 the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
7870 always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
7871 The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
7872 width of the current window.
7873 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
7874 the minimal width for other windows.
7876 *'wrap'* *'nowrap'*
7877 'wrap' boolean (default on)
7878 local to window
7879 {not in Vi}
7880 This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
7881 in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
7882 When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
7883 displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
7884 and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
7885 moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
7886 horizontally.
7887 The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
7888 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
7889 To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this: >
7890 :set sidescroll=5
7891 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
7892 < See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
7893 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
7894 on.
7896 *'wrapmargin'* *'wm'*
7897 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
7898 local to buffer
7899 Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
7900 starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
7901 and inserting continues on the next line.
7902 Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
7903 the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
7904 When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
7905 See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently
7906 and less usefully}
7908 *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
7909 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) *E384* *E385*
7910 global
7911 Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to |]s| and
7912 |[s|, searching for spelling mistakes.
7914 *'write'* *'nowrite'*
7915 'write' boolean (default on)
7916 global
7917 {not in Vi}
7918 Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
7919 Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
7920 still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line
7921 argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
7922 writing a temporary file.
7924 *'writeany'* *'wa'* *'nowriteany'* *'nowa'*
7925 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
7926 global
7927 Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
7929 *'writebackup'* *'wb'* *'nowritebackup'* *'nowb'*
7930 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
7931 otherwise)
7932 global
7933 {not in Vi}
7934 Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
7935 the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
7936 also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See
7937 |backup-table| for another explanation.
7938 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
7939 NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
7940 set.
7942 *'writedelay'* *'wd'*
7943 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
7944 global
7945 {not in Vi}
7946 The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the
7947 screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
7948 one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.
7950 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: