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1 *options.txt* For Vim version 7.2. Last change: 2009 Oct 12
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 Options *options*
9 1. Setting options |set-option|
10 2. Automatically setting options |auto-setting|
11 3. Options summary |option-summary|
13 For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.
15 Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
16 achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
17 boolean can only be on or off *boolean* *toggle*
18 number has a numeric value
19 string has a string value
21 ==============================================================================
22 1. Setting options *set-option* *E764*
24 *:se* *:set*
25 :se[t] Show all options that differ from their default value.
27 :se[t] all Show all but terminal options.
29 :se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
30 key codes are not shown, because they are generated
31 internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
32 codes in the GUI is not useful either...
34 *E518* *E519*
35 :se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
37 :se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
38 Number option: show value.
39 String option: show value.
41 :se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
43 :se[t] {option}! or
44 :se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
46 *:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
47 :se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
48 current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
49 :se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
50 :se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
52 :se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
53 default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
54 'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
56 *:set-args* *E487* *E521*
57 :se[t] {option}={value} or
58 :se[t] {option}:{value}
59 Set string or number option to {value}.
60 For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
61 hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
62 (hex and octal are only available for machines which
63 have the strtol() function).
64 The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
65 default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
66 set). See |cmdline-completion|.
67 White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
68 will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
69 is not allowed.
70 See |option-backslash| for using white space and
71 backslashes in {value}.
73 :se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
74 Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
75 {value} to a string option. When the option is a
76 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
77 value was empty.
78 If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
79 are removed. When adding a flag that was already
80 present the option value doesn't change.
81 Also see |:set-args| above.
82 {not in Vi}
84 :se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
85 Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
86 the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
87 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
88 value was empty.
89 Also see |:set-args| above.
90 {not in Vi}
92 :se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
93 Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
94 the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
95 If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
96 is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
97 separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
98 becomes empty.
99 When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
100 exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
101 one by one to avoid problems.
102 Also see |:set-args| above.
103 {not in Vi}
105 The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example: >
106 :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
107 If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
108 and the following arguments will be ignored.
110 *:set-verbose*
111 When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
112 was last set. Example: >
113 :verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
114 < shiftwidth=4 ~
115 Last set from modeline ~
116 cindent ~
117 Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim ~
118 This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":verbose
119 set all" or ":verbose set" without an argument.
120 When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message.
121 When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
122 autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
123 Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting
124 'compatible'.
125 A few special texts:
126 Last set from modeline ~
127 Option was set in a |modeline|.
128 Last set from --cmd argument ~
129 Option was set with command line argument |--cmd| or +.
130 Last set from -c argument ~
131 Option was set with command line argument |-c|, +, |-S| or
132 |-q|.
133 Last set from environment variable ~
134 Option was set from an environment variable, $VIMINIT,
135 $GVIMINIT or $EXINIT.
136 Last set from error handler ~
137 Option was cleared when evaluating it resulted in an error.
139 {not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
141 *:set-termcap* *E522*
142 For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a terminal option. This will
143 override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
144 the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form: >
145 :set <t_#4>=^[Ot
146 This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
147 example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this: >
148 :set <M-b>=^[b
149 (the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
150 The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
152 The t_xx options cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
153 security reasons.
155 The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
156 at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
157 "set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
158 |more-prompt|.
160 *option-backslash*
161 To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
162 backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
163 means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
164 down).
165 A few examples: >
166 :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags"
167 :set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags\,file"
168 :set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags\ file"
170 The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
171 include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
172 'titlestring' option to "hi|there": >
173 :set titlestring=hi\|there
174 This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there": >
175 :set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
177 Similarly, the double quote character starts a comment. To include the '"' in
178 the option value, use '\"' instead. This example sets the 'titlestring'
179 option to 'hi "there"': >
180 :set titlestring=hi\ \"there\"
182 For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More
183 precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment
184 variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not
185 removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma,
186 etc.) is used like explained above.
187 There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\": >
188 :set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
189 :set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
190 :set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
191 For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
192 are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
193 halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
194 result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
196 *add-option-flags* *remove-option-flags*
197 *E539* *E550* *E551* *E552*
198 Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
199 option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this: >
200 :set guioptions+=a
201 Remove a flag from an option like this: >
202 :set guioptions-=a
203 This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
204 Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
205 the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
206 doesn't appear.
208 *:set_env* *expand-env* *expand-environment-var*
209 Environment variables in specific string options will be expanded. If the
210 environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
211 name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
212 are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
213 follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
214 appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples: >
215 :set term=$TERM.new
216 :set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
217 When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
218 opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
221 Handling of local options *local-options*
223 Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
224 has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This
225 allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
226 'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
228 The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
229 situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
230 the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
231 expects is a bit complicated...
233 When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
234 right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
236 When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
237 the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
238 these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
239 global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
240 global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
241 thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
243 When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window
244 options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the
245 values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where
246 the buffer was edited last are used.
248 It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
249 When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
250 using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
251 local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
252 has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
253 global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do: >
254 :e one
255 :set list
256 :e two
257 Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
258 command you have also set the global value. >
259 :set nolist
260 :e one
261 :setlocal list
262 :e two
263 Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
264 value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
265 global value. Note that if you do this next: >
266 :e one
267 You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited
268 "one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
270 *:setl* *:setlocal*
271 :setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
272 current buffer or window. Not all options have a
273 local value. If the option does not have a local
274 value the global value is set.
275 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
276 local values.
277 Without argument: Display all local option's local
278 values which are different from the default.
279 When displaying a specific local option, show the
280 local value. For a global/local boolean option, when
281 the global value is being used, "--" is displayed
282 before the option name.
283 For a global option the global value is
284 shown (but that might change in the future).
285 {not in Vi}
287 :setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
288 copying the value.
289 {not in Vi}
291 :se[t] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
292 making it empty. Only makes sense for |global-local|
293 options.
294 {not in Vi}
296 *:setg* *:setglobal*
297 :setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
298 option without changing the local value.
299 When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
300 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
301 global values.
302 Without argument: display all local option's global
303 values which are different from the default.
304 {not in Vi}
306 For buffer-local and window-local options:
307 Command global value local value ~
308 :set option=value set set
309 :setlocal option=value - set
310 :setglobal option=value set -
311 :set option? - display
312 :setlocal option? - display
313 :setglobal option? display -
316 Global options with a local value *global-local*
318 Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers and windows.
319 For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value.
320 You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer or window will then
321 use the local value, while other buffers and windows continue using the global
322 value.
324 For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
325 'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows: >
326 :set makeprg=gmake
327 then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
328 the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
329 However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
330 another 'makeprg' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
331 files. You use this command: >
332 :setlocal makeprg=perlmake
333 You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty: >
334 :setlocal makeprg=
335 This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the
336 "<" flag, like this: >
337 :setlocal autoread<
338 Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the
339 local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters
340 when the global value changes later). You can also use: >
341 :set path<
342 This will make the local value of 'path' empty, so that the global value is
343 used. Thus it does the same as: >
344 :setlocal path=
345 Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
346 ":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
349 Setting the filetype
351 :setf[iletype] {filetype} *:setf* *:setfiletype*
352 Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
353 not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
354 This is short for: >
355 :if !did_filetype()
356 : setlocal filetype={filetype}
357 :endif
358 < This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
359 setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
360 settings and syntax files to be loaded.
361 {not in Vi}
363 :bro[wse] se[t] *:set-browse* *:browse-set* *:opt* *:options*
364 :opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
365 Options are grouped by function.
366 Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
367 short help to open a help window with more help for
368 the option.
369 Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
370 "set" line to set the new value. For window and
371 buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
372 used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
373 window, in which case the window below help window is
374 used (skipping the option-window).
375 {not available when compiled without the |+eval| or
376 |+autocmd| features}
378 *$HOME*
379 Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
380 option and after a space or comma.
382 On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
383 of user "user". Example: >
384 :set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
386 On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
387 contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
388 "gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
390 NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set"
391 command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
394 Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
395 the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
397 *:fix* *:fixdel*
398 :fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
399 't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes ~
400 CTRL-? CTRL-H
401 not CTRL-? CTRL-?
403 (CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi}
405 If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
406 code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
407 your .vimrc: >
408 :fixdel
409 < This works no matter what the actual code for
410 backspace is.
412 If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
413 use this: >
414 :if &term == "termname"
415 : set t_kb=^V<BS>
416 : fixdel
417 :endif
418 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
419 (don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
420 with your terminal name.
422 If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
423 CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use: >
424 :if &term == "termname"
425 : set t_kD=^V<Delete>
426 :endif
427 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
428 (don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
429 with your terminal name.
431 *Linux-backspace*
432 Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
433 produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
434 putting this line in your rc.local: >
435 echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
436 <
437 *NetBSD-backspace*
438 Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
439 the right code, try this: >
440 xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
441 < If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file: >
442 keysym 22 = BackSpace
443 < You need to restart for this to take effect.
445 ==============================================================================
446 2. Automatically setting options *auto-setting*
448 Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
449 to set options automatically for one or more files:
451 1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
452 |initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
453 and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
454 You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and
455 |:mksession|.
456 2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
457 This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
458 many other things. See |autocommand|.
459 3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
460 number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
461 modelines. This is explained here.
463 *modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:* *E520*
464 There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
465 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
467 [text] any text or empty
468 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
469 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
470 [white] optional white space
471 {options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
472 where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
473 command (can be empty)
475 Example:
476 vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6 ~
478 The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
480 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
482 [text] any text or empty
483 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
484 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
485 [white] optional white space
486 se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space)
487 {options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
488 argument for a ":set" command
489 : a colon
490 [text] any text or empty
492 Example:
493 /* vim: set ai tw=75: */ ~
495 The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
496 that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
497 "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
498 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
499 short for "example:").
501 *modeline-local*
502 The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
503 buffer and window that contain the file. Although it's possible to set global
504 options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and
505 the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result
506 depends on which one was opened last.
508 When editing a file that was already loaded, only the window-local options
509 from the modeline are used. Thus if you manually changed a buffer-local
510 option after opening the file, it won't be changed if you edit the same buffer
511 in another window. But window-local options will be set.
513 *modeline-version*
514 If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
515 number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
516 vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
517 vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
518 vim={vers}: version {vers}
519 vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
520 {vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
521 For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
522 /* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */ ~
523 To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
524 /* vim<570: set sw=4: */ ~
525 There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
528 The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
529 If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
531 Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
532 like:
533 /* vi:ts=4: */ ~
534 will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
535 /* vi:set ts=4: */ ~
537 If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
539 If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
540 backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
541 /* vi:set dir=c\:\tmp: */ ~
542 This sets the 'dir' option to "c:\tmp". Only a single backslash before the
543 ':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
545 No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
546 might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines). And not all options
547 can be set. For some options a flag is set, so that when it's used the
548 |sandbox| is effective. Still, there is always a small risk that a modeline
549 causes trouble. E.g., when some joker sets 'textwidth' to 5 all your lines
550 are wrapped unexpectedly. So disable modelines before editing untrusted text.
551 The mail ftplugin does this, for example.
553 Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
554 define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
555 example: >
556 au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
557 And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
558 "VAR".
560 ==============================================================================
561 3. Options summary *option-summary*
563 In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
564 an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
566 In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
567 is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
569 For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
570 used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
571 'compatible' is set.
573 Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
574 are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
575 different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
576 one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
577 at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
578 file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
579 the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
580 program.
582 global one option for all buffers and windows
583 local to window each window has its own copy of this option
584 local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
586 When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
587 are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
588 buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
589 'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for
590 buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
591 first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
592 is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
593 present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
594 buffer is created.
596 Hidden options *hidden-options*
598 Not all options are supported in all versions. This depends on the supported
599 features and sometimes on the system. A remark about this is in curly braces
600 below. When an option is not supported it may still be set without getting an
601 error, this is called a hidden option. You can't get the value of a hidden
602 option though, it is not stored.
604 To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use something like this: >
605 if exists('&foo')
606 This also returns true for a hidden option. To test if option "foo" is really
607 supported use something like this: >
608 if exists('+foo')
609 <
610 *E355*
611 A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
613 *'aleph'* *'al'* *aleph* *Aleph*
614 'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
615 global
616 {not in Vi}
617 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
618 feature}
619 The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
620 routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
621 (when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
622 outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
623 aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
624 See |rileft.txt|.
626 *'allowrevins'* *'ari'* *'noallowrevins'* *'noari'*
627 'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
628 global
629 {not in Vi}
630 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
631 feature}
632 Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
633 avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
634 into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
635 'revins'.
636 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
638 *'altkeymap'* *'akm'* *'noaltkeymap'* *'noakm'*
639 'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
640 global
641 {not in Vi}
642 {only available when compiled with the |+farsi|
643 feature}
644 When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles
645 the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
647 When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This
648 is useful to start the Vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right
649 mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left
650 mode). See |farsi.txt|.
652 *'ambiwidth'* *'ambw'*
653 'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
654 global
655 {not in Vi}
656 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
657 feature}
658 Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding.
659 Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class
660 Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek
661 letters, Cyrillic letters).
663 There are currently two possible values:
664 "single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
665 expected by most users.
666 "double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
668 There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for
669 those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in
670 legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro,
671 Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets,
672 therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also
673 true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text
674 file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or
675 Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font
676 (or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.),
677 this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived
678 by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has
679 to be set to "double" under CJK Windows 9x/ME or Windows 2k/XP
680 when the system locale is set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode
681 Standard Annex #11 (http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11).
683 *'antialias'* *'anti'* *'noantialias'* *'noanti'*
684 'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default: off)
685 global
686 {not in Vi}
687 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled
688 on Mac OS X}
689 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
690 v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts,
691 which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
692 Setting this option can sometimes cause problems if 'guifont' is set
693 to its default (empty string).
695 *'autochdir'* *'acd'* *'noautochdir'* *'noacd'*
696 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
697 global
698 {not in Vi}
699 {only available when compiled with the
700 |+netbeans_intg| or |+sun_workshop| feature}
701 When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
702 open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
703 It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
704 or selected.
705 This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
706 released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
707 Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
709 *'arabic'* *'arab'* *'noarabic'* *'noarab'*
710 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
711 local to window
712 {not in Vi}
713 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
714 feature}
715 This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
716 Setting this option will:
717 - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
718 - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
719 - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
720 between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
721 - Set the 'delcombine' option
722 Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
724 Resetting this option will:
725 - Reset the 'rightleft' option.
726 - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
727 Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
728 option.
729 Also see |arabic.txt|.
731 *'arabicshape'* *'arshape'*
732 *'noarabicshape'* *'noarshape'*
733 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
734 global
735 {not in Vi}
736 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
737 feature}
738 When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
739 corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
740 take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
741 one which encompasses:
742 a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
743 within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
744 b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
745 c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
746 When disabled the display shows each character's true stand-alone
747 form.
748 Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
749 further details see |arabic.txt|.
751 *'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
752 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
753 local to buffer
754 Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
755 in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
756 type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
757 <Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
758 to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
759 in 'cpoptions'.
760 When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
761 reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
762 line.
763 When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
764 a different way.
765 The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
766 {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
767 <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
768 deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
770 *'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
771 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
772 global or local to buffer |global-local|
773 {not in Vi}
774 When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
775 it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
776 When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
777 If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
778 using the global value: >
779 :set autoread<
780 <
781 *'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
782 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
783 global
784 Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
785 :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
786 :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
787 '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
788 Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
789 'autowriteall' for that.
791 *'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
792 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
793 global
794 {not in Vi}
795 Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
796 ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
797 Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
798 been set.
800 *'background'* *'bg'*
801 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
802 global
803 {not in Vi}
804 When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
805 dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
806 look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
807 Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
808 This will not always be correct.
809 Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
810 what the background color looks like. For changing the background
811 color, see |:hi-normal|.
813 When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
814 the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
815 change. *g:colors_name*
816 When a color scheme is loaded (the "colors_name" variable is set)
817 setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
818 the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
819 However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
820 be undone. First delete the "colors_name" variable when needed.
822 When setting 'background' to the default value with: >
823 :set background&
824 < Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
825 in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
827 When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
828 "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
829 that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
830 "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
831 (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
832 color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
833 putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
834 of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
835 Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
836 depending on the terminal name. Example: >
837 :if &term == "pcterm"
838 : set background=dark
839 :endif
840 < When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
841 will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
842 the setting of the 'background' option.
843 This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
844 to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
845 option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
846 done with ":syntax on".
848 *'backspace'* *'bs'*
849 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
850 global
851 {not in Vi}
852 Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
853 mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
854 a way to backspace over something:
855 value effect ~
856 indent allow backspacing over autoindent
857 eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
858 start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
859 stop once at the start of insert.
861 When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
863 For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
864 value effect ~
865 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
866 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
867 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
869 See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
870 NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
872 *'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
873 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
874 global
875 {not in Vi}
876 Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
877 file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
878 backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
879 written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
880 the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
881 options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
882 |backup-table| for more explanations.
883 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
884 When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
885 oldest version of a file.
886 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
888 *'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
889 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
890 global
891 {not in Vi}
892 When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
893 done. This is a comma separated list of words.
895 The main values are:
896 "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
897 "no" rename the file and write a new one
898 "auto" one of the previous, what works best
900 Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
901 "breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
902 "breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
904 Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
905 - Takes extra time to copy the file.
906 + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
907 has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
908 - When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
909 not of the real file.
911 Renaming the file and writing a new one:
912 + It's fast.
913 - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
914 file.
915 - When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
917 The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
918 is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
919 the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a
920 copy will be made.
922 The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
923 combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
924 force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
925 exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
926 become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
927 useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
928 hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
929 be propagated back to the original source.
930 *crontab*
931 One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
932 that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
933 the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
934 backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
935 example.
937 When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
938 with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
939 symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
940 however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
941 group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
942 fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
943 others.
945 When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
946 the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
947 is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
948 link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
949 rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
950 written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
951 the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
952 again not rename the file.
954 *'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
955 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
956 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
957 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
958 global
959 {not in Vi}
960 List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
961 - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
962 where this is possible. The directory must exist, Vim will not
963 create it for you.
964 - Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
965 impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
966 - A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
967 as the edited file.
968 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
969 put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
970 leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
971 ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
972 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
973 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
974 name, precede it with a backslash.
975 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
976 - A directory name may end in an '/'.
977 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
978 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
979 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
980 :set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
981 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
982 of the option is removed.
983 See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
984 If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value: >
985 :set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
986 < You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
987 home directory for this to work properly.
988 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
989 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
990 uses another default.
991 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
992 security reasons.
994 *'backupext'* *'bex'* *E589*
995 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
996 global
997 {not in Vi}
998 String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
999 backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
1000 accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
1001 prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
1002 ".bak" that you want to keep.
1003 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
1005 If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
1006 autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
1007 include a timestamp. >
1008 :au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' . strftime("%Y%b%d%X") . '~'
1009 < Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
1011 *'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
1012 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
1013 global
1014 {not in Vi}
1015 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
1016 feature}
1017 A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
1018 name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
1019 the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
1020 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
1021 Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
1022 When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
1023 default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
1025 Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
1026 $HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.: >
1027 :let backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') . '/tmp/*'
1029 < Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
1030 backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
1031 the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and |crontab|.
1033 *'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
1034 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
1035 global
1036 {not in Vi}
1037 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1038 feature}
1039 Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
1041 *'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
1042 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
1043 global
1044 {not in Vi}
1045 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1046 feature}
1047 Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
1049 *'balloonexpr'* *'bexpr'*
1050 'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
1051 global or local to buffer |global-local|
1052 {not in Vi}
1053 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1054 feature}
1055 Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
1056 when 'ballooneval' is on. These variables can be used:
1058 v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
1059 v:beval_winnr number of the window
1060 v:beval_lnum line number
1061 v:beval_col column number (byte index)
1062 v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
1064 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
1065 Example: >
1066 function! MyBalloonExpr()
1067 return 'Cursor is at line ' . v:beval_lnum .
1068 \', column ' . v:beval_col .
1069 \ ' of file ' . bufname(v:beval_bufnr) .
1070 \ ' on word "' . v:beval_text . '"'
1071 endfunction
1072 set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
1073 set ballooneval
1074 <
1075 NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
1076 character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
1077 Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
1078 or Sun Workshop).
1080 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
1081 |sandbox-option|.
1083 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
1084 evaluating 'balloonexpr' |textlock|.
1086 To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check: >
1087 if has("balloon_multiline")
1088 < When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
1089 expression evaluates to a |List| this is equal to using each List item
1090 as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
1092 *'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
1093 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
1094 local to buffer
1095 {not in Vi}
1096 This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
1097 use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
1098 options will be changed (also when it already was on):
1099 'textwidth' will be set to 0
1100 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
1101 'modeline' will be off
1102 'expandtab' will be off
1103 Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
1104 file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
1105 separates lines).
1106 The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
1107 file is read without conversion.
1108 NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
1109 on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
1110 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
1111 'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
1112 The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
1113 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
1114 saved option values.
1115 To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the |++bin| argument.
1116 This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
1117 files you edit.
1118 When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
1119 there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
1120 the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
1121 the 'endofline' option.
1123 *'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
1124 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
1125 global
1126 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1127 When on the BIOS is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
1128 better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
1129 terminal over a serial port reset this option.
1130 Also see |'conskey'|.
1132 *'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
1133 'bomb' boolean (default off)
1134 local to buffer
1135 {not in Vi}
1136 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1137 feature}
1138 When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
1139 Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
1140 - this option is on
1141 - the 'binary' option is off
1142 - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
1143 endian variants.
1144 Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
1145 Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
1146 causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
1147 appear halfway the resulting file. Gcc doesn't accept a BOM.
1148 When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
1149 check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
1150 Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
1151 don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
1152 will be restored when writing the file.
1154 *'breakat'* *'brk'*
1155 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
1156 global
1157 {not in Vi}
1158 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1159 feature}
1160 This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
1161 break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
1162 characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
1164 *'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
1165 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
1166 global
1167 {not in Vi} {only for Motif, Athena, GTK, Mac and
1168 Win32 GUI}
1169 Which directory to use for the file browser:
1170 last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
1171 file was opened or saved.
1172 buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
1173 current Use the current directory.
1174 {path} Use the specified directory
1176 *'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
1177 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
1178 local to buffer
1179 {not in Vi}
1180 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1181 feature}
1182 This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
1183 displayed in a window:
1184 <empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
1185 hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
1186 is not set
1187 unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
1188 |:hide|
1189 delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1190 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1191 |:bdelete|
1192 wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1193 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1194 |:bwipeout|
1196 CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
1197 are lost without a warning.
1198 This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
1199 special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1201 *'buflisted'* *'bl'* *'nobuflisted'* *'nobl'* *E85*
1202 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
1203 local to buffer
1204 {not in Vi}
1205 When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
1206 it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
1207 This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
1208 a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
1209 But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
1211 *'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
1212 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
1213 local to buffer
1214 {not in Vi}
1215 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1216 feature}
1217 The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
1218 <empty> normal buffer
1219 nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
1220 written
1221 nowrite buffer which will not be written
1222 acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
1223 autocommands. {not available when compiled without the
1224 |+autocmd| feature}
1225 quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
1226 or list of locations |:lwindow|
1227 help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
1228 manually)
1230 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
1231 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1233 Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
1235 A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
1236 list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| and |:lwindow| commands and
1237 you are not supposed to change it.
1239 "nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
1240 both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
1241 work (":w filename" does work though).
1242 both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
1243 There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
1244 example when you quit Vim.
1245 both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
1246 (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
1247 file).
1248 nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
1249 file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
1250 command.
1251 *E676*
1252 "acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
1253 "nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
1254 "nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
1255 without saving. For writing there must be matching |BufWriteCmd|,
1256 |FileWriteCmd| or |FileAppendCmd| autocommands.
1258 *'casemap'* *'cmp'*
1259 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
1260 global
1261 {not in Vi}
1262 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1263 feature}
1264 Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
1265 these words, separated by a comma:
1266 internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
1267 locale does not change the case mapping. This only
1268 matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
1269 "latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
1270 omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
1271 functions are used when available.
1272 keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
1273 case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
1274 This probably only matters for Turkish.
1276 *'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
1277 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
1278 global
1279 {not in Vi}
1280 {not available when compiled without the
1281 |+file_in_path| feature}
1282 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
1283 |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
1284 for has a relative path, not an absolute part starting with "/", "./"
1285 or "../", the 'cdpath' option is not used then.
1286 The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
1287 |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
1288 The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
1289 in the current directory first.
1290 If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
1291 a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
1292 override it: >
1293 :let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
1294 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1295 security reasons.
1296 (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
1298 *'cedit'*
1299 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
1300 global
1301 {not in Vi}
1302 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1303 feature}
1304 The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
1305 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
1306 Only non-printable keys are allowed.
1307 The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
1308 type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples: >
1309 :set cedit=<C-Y>
1310 :set cedit=<Esc>
1311 < |Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
1312 See |cmdwin|.
1314 *'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214* *E513*
1315 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
1316 global
1317 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1318 feature and the |+eval| feature}
1319 {not in Vi}
1320 An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
1321 evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
1322 different encoding from what is desired.
1323 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
1324 supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
1325 preferred, because it is much faster.
1326 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
1327 file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
1328 The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
1329 non-zero for failure.
1330 The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
1331 Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
1332 used.
1333 Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
1334 is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
1335 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
1336 flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
1337 Example: >
1338 set charconvert=CharConvert()
1339 fun CharConvert()
1340 system("recode "
1341 \ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
1342 \ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
1343 return v:shell_error
1344 endfun
1345 < The related Vim variables are:
1346 v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
1347 v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
1348 v:fname_in name of the input file
1349 v:fname_out name of the output file
1350 Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
1351 Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
1352 from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
1353 Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
1354 to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
1355 of this.
1356 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1357 security reasons.
1359 *'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
1360 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
1361 local to buffer
1362 {not in Vi}
1363 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1364 feature}
1365 Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
1366 that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
1367 preferred indent style.
1368 If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
1369 If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
1370 the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
1371 external program.
1372 See |C-indenting|.
1373 When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
1374 option or 'indentexpr'.
1375 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
1376 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1378 *'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
1379 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
1380 local to buffer
1381 {not in Vi}
1382 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1383 feature}
1384 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
1385 the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
1386 empty.
1387 For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
1388 See |C-indenting|.
1390 *'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
1391 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
1392 local to buffer
1393 {not in Vi}
1394 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1395 feature}
1396 The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
1397 program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
1398 |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
1401 *'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
1402 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
1403 local to buffer
1404 {not in Vi}
1405 {not available when compiled without both the
1406 |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
1407 These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
1408 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
1409 an appropriate place (inside {}).
1410 Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
1411 matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
1412 "if,If,IF".
1414 *'clipboard'* *'cb'*
1415 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
1416 for X-windows, "" otherwise)
1417 global
1418 {not in Vi}
1419 {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
1420 feature is included}
1421 This option is a list of comma separated names.
1422 These names are recognized:
1424 unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
1425 for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
1426 would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
1427 register is explicitly specified, it will always be
1428 used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
1429 or not. The clipboard register can always be
1430 explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
1431 |gui-clipboard|.
1433 autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
1434 then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
1435 area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
1436 windowing system's global selection or put the
1437 selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
1438 register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
1439 details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
1440 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
1441 "autoselect" flag is used.
1442 Also applies to the modeless selection.
1444 autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
1445 only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
1447 html When the clipboard contains HTML, use this when
1448 pasting. When putting text on the clipboard, mark it
1449 as HTML. This works to copy rendered HTML from
1450 Firefox, paste it as raw HTML in Vim, select the HTML
1451 in Vim and paste it in a rich edit box in Firefox.
1452 Only supported for GTK version 2 and later.
1453 Only available with the |+multi_byte| feature.
1455 exclude:{pattern}
1456 Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
1457 the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
1458 connection will be made to the X server. This is
1459 useful in this situation:
1460 - Running Vim in a console.
1461 - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
1462 display.
1463 - You do not want to connect to the X server in the
1464 console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
1465 To never connect to the X server use: >
1466 exclude:.*
1467 < This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
1468 Note that when there is no connection to the X server
1469 the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
1470 cannot be accessed.
1471 The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
1472 interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
1473 The rest of the option value will be used for
1474 {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
1476 *'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
1477 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
1478 global
1479 {not in Vi}
1480 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
1481 |hit-enter| prompts.
1482 The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
1483 page can have a different value.
1485 *'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
1486 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
1487 global
1488 {not in Vi}
1489 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1490 feature}
1491 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
1493 *'columns'* *'co'* *E594*
1494 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
1495 global
1496 {not in Vi}
1497 Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
1498 initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
1499 |posix-screen-size|.
1500 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
1501 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
1502 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
1503 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
1504 number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
1505 the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
1506 what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
1507 window possible: >
1508 :set columns=9999
1509 < Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
1511 *'comments'* *'com'* *E524* *E525*
1512 'comments' 'com' string (default
1513 "s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
1514 local to buffer
1515 {not in Vi}
1516 {not available when compiled without the |+comments|
1517 feature}
1518 A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
1519 |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
1520 insert a space.
1522 *'commentstring'* *'cms'* *E537*
1523 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
1524 local to buffer
1525 {not in Vi}
1526 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
1527 feature}
1528 A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
1529 comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
1530 |fold-marker|.
1532 *'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
1533 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc|
1534 file is found)
1535 global
1536 {not in Vi}
1537 This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
1538 make Vim behave in a more useful way.
1539 This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
1540 other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
1541 resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
1542 are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
1543 set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
1544 very start.
1545 By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
1546 options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
1547 just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
1548 option.
1549 When a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file is found while Vim is starting up,
1550 this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
1551 modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
1552 that when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file exists, Vim will use the Vim
1553 defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
1554 happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
1555 with the |-u| argument). Also see |compatible-default| and
1556 |posix-compliance|.
1557 You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
1558 "-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
1559 Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
1560 that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
1561 marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
1562 At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
1563 or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
1564 below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
1565 editing.
1566 See also 'cpoptions'.
1568 option + set value effect ~
1570 'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
1571 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
1572 others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
1573 'backspace' "" normal backspace
1574 'backup' off no backup file
1575 'cindent' off no C code indentation
1576 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
1577 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
1578 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
1579 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
1580 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
1581 'digraph' off no digraphs
1582 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
1583 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
1584 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
1585 "dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
1586 'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
1587 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
1588 'history' + 0 no commandline history
1589 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
1590 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
1591 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
1592 'incsearch' off no incremental searching
1593 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
1594 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
1595 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
1596 characters and '_'
1597 'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
1598 'modeline' + off no modelines
1599 'more' + off no pauses in listings
1600 'revins' off no reverse insert
1601 'ruler' off no ruler
1602 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
1603 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
1604 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
1605 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
1606 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
1607 'showmode' + off current mode not shown
1608 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
1609 'smartindent' off no smart indentation
1610 'smarttab' off no smart tab size
1611 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
1612 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
1613 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
1614 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
1615 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
1616 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
1617 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
1618 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
1619 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
1620 use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
1621 'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
1623 *'complete'* *'cpt'* *E535*
1624 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
1625 local to buffer
1626 {not in Vi}
1627 This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
1628 when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
1629 completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
1630 and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
1631 . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
1632 w scan buffers from other windows
1633 b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1634 u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1635 U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
1636 k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
1637 kspell use the currently active spell checking |spell|
1638 k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
1639 patterns are valid too. For example: >
1640 :set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
1641 < s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
1642 s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
1643 are valid too.
1644 i scan current and included files
1645 d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
1646 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
1647 ] tag completion
1648 t same as "]"
1650 Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
1651 not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
1652 (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
1653 whole-line completion.
1655 The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1656 1. the current buffer
1657 2. buffers in other windows
1658 3. other loaded buffers
1659 4. unloaded buffers
1660 5. tags
1661 6. included files
1663 As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
1664 based expansion (e.g., dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
1665 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions).
1667 *'completefunc'* *'cfu'*
1668 'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
1669 local to buffer
1670 {not in Vi}
1671 {not available when compiled without the +eval
1672 or +insert_expand feature}
1673 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
1674 with CTRL-X CTRL-U. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
1675 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
1676 invoked and what it should return.
1679 *'completeopt'* *'cot'*
1680 'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
1681 global
1682 {not available when compiled without the
1683 |+insert_expand| feature}
1684 {not in Vi}
1685 A comma separated list of options for Insert mode completion
1686 |ins-completion|. The supported values are:
1688 menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
1689 menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
1690 sufficient colors are available. |ins-completion-menu|
1692 menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
1693 Useful when there is additional information about the
1694 match, e.g., what file it comes from.
1696 longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
1697 the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
1698 characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
1699 of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
1700 used.
1702 preview Show extra information about the currently selected
1703 completion in the preview window. Only works in
1704 combination with "menu" or "menuone".
1707 *'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
1708 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
1709 global
1710 {not in Vi}
1711 When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
1712 fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
1713 instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
1714 file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
1715 If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
1716 command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
1717 command.
1718 Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
1720 *'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
1721 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
1722 global
1723 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1724 When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
1725 This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
1726 three methods of console input are available:
1727 'conskey' 'bioskey' action ~
1728 on on or off direct console input
1729 off on BIOS
1730 off off STDIN
1732 *'copyindent'* *'ci'* *'nocopyindent'* *'noci'*
1733 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
1734 local to buffer
1735 {not in Vi}
1736 Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
1737 new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
1738 tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled,
1739 in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
1740 new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
1741 existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
1742 remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
1743 line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
1744 NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1745 Also see 'preserveindent'.
1747 *'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
1748 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
1749 Vi default: all flags)
1750 global
1751 {not in Vi}
1752 A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
1753 this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
1754 not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
1755 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
1756 Commas can be added for readability.
1757 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
1758 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
1759 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
1760 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
1761 NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
1762 the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
1763 variable exists |posix|. This means tries to behave like the POSIX
1764 specification.
1766 contains behavior ~
1767 *cpo-a*
1768 a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1769 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1770 current window.
1771 *cpo-A*
1772 A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1773 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1774 current window.
1775 *cpo-b*
1776 b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
1777 the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
1778 the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
1779 command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
1780 include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
1781 mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
1782 See also |map_bar|.
1783 *cpo-B*
1784 B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
1785 abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
1786 Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
1787 CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
1788 results in X being mapped to:
1789 'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
1790 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
1791 ('<' excluded in both cases)
1792 *cpo-c*
1793 c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
1794 cursor position, but not further than the start of the
1795 next line. When not present searching continues
1796 one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
1797 "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
1798 "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
1799 *cpo-C*
1800 C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
1801 backslash. See |line-continuation|.
1802 *cpo-d*
1803 d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
1804 the tags file relative to the current file, but the
1805 tags file in the current directory.
1806 *cpo-D*
1807 D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
1808 commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
1809 |t|.
1810 *cpo-e*
1811 e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
1812 <CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
1813 linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
1814 is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
1815 <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
1816 and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
1817 *cpo-E*
1818 E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
1819 "gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
1820 at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
1821 This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
1822 *cpo-f*
1823 f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1824 argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
1825 if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
1826 *cpo-F*
1827 F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1828 argument will set the file name for the current
1829 buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
1830 yet. Also see |cpo-P|.
1831 *cpo-g*
1832 g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
1833 *cpo-H*
1834 H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
1835 before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
1836 the last blank.
1837 *cpo-i*
1838 i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
1839 leave it modified.
1840 *cpo-I*
1841 I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
1842 indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
1843 *cpo-j*
1844 j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
1845 not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
1846 *cpo-J*
1847 J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
1848 the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
1849 white space.
1850 *cpo-k*
1851 k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
1852 mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
1853 commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
1854 is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
1855 being mapped to:
1856 'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
1857 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
1858 Also see the '<' flag below.
1859 *cpo-K*
1860 K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
1861 halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
1862 only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
1863 enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
1864 *cpo-l*
1865 l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
1866 literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
1867 See |/[]|
1868 'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
1869 'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
1870 Also see |cpo-\|.
1871 *cpo-L*
1872 L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
1873 'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
1874 (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
1875 the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
1876 *cpo-m*
1877 m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
1878 second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
1879 a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
1880 *cpo-M*
1881 M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
1882 account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
1883 parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
1884 backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
1885 *cpo-n*
1886 n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
1887 be used for text of wrapped lines.
1888 *cpo-o*
1889 o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
1890 next search.
1891 *cpo-O*
1892 O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
1893 when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
1894 protection against a file unexpectedly created by
1895 someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
1896 *cpo-p*
1897 p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
1898 slightly better algorithm is used.
1899 *cpo-P*
1900 P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
1901 file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
1902 the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
1903 the 'F' flag is also included |cpo-F|.
1904 *cpo-q*
1905 q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
1906 position where it would be when joining two lines.
1907 *cpo-r*
1908 r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
1909 command, instead of the actually used search string.
1910 *cpo-R*
1911 R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
1912 marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
1913 *cpo-s*
1914 s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
1915 first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
1916 And it is the default. If not present the options are
1917 set when the buffer is created.
1918 *cpo-S*
1919 S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
1920 (except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
1921 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
1922 The options are set to the values in the current
1923 buffer. When you change an option and go to another
1924 buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
1925 buffer options global to all buffers.
1927 's' 'S' copy buffer options
1928 no no when buffer created
1929 yes no when buffer first entered (default)
1930 X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
1931 *cpo-t*
1932 t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
1933 "n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
1934 the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
1935 last used search pattern.
1936 *cpo-u*
1937 u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
1938 *cpo-v*
1939 v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
1940 Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
1941 erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
1942 screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
1943 characters.
1944 *cpo-w*
1945 w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
1946 character and not all blanks until the start of the
1947 next word.
1948 *cpo-W*
1949 W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
1950 overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
1951 *cpo-x*
1952 x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
1953 The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
1954 because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
1955 *cpo-X*
1956 X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
1957 deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
1958 and a count.
1959 *cpo-y*
1960 y A yank command can be redone with ".".
1961 *cpo-Z*
1962 Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
1963 don't reset 'readonly'.
1964 *cpo-!*
1965 ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
1966 external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
1967 used -filter- command is used.
1968 *cpo-$*
1969 $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
1970 line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
1971 The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
1972 new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
1973 command that moves the cursor from the insertion
1974 point.
1975 *cpo-%*
1976 % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
1977 Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
1978 Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
1979 Parens inside single and double quotes are also
1980 counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
1981 disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
1982 "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
1983 match the last one. When this flag is not included,
1984 parens inside single and double quotes are treated
1985 specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
1986 everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
1987 paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
1988 there is one). This works very well for C programs.
1989 This flag is also used for other features, such as
1990 C-indenting.
1991 *cpo--*
1992 - When included, a vertical movement command fails when
1993 it would go above the first line or below the last
1994 line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
1995 last line, unless it already was in that line.
1996 Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
1997 CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
1998 *cpo-+*
1999 + When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
2000 'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
2001 itself may still be different from its file.
2002 *cpo-star*
2003 * Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
2004 ":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
2005 *cpo-<*
2006 < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
2007 form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
2008 menu commands. For example, the command
2009 ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
2010 '<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
2011 '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
2012 Also see the 'k' flag above.
2013 *cpo->*
2014 > When appending to a register, put a line break before
2015 the appended text.
2017 POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
2018 when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. |posix|
2020 contains behavior ~
2021 *cpo-#*
2022 # A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
2023 *cpo-&*
2024 & When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
2025 exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
2026 This flag is tested when exiting.
2027 *cpo-\*
2028 \ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
2029 literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
2030 '\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
2031 '\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
2032 Also see |cpo-l|.
2033 *cpo-/*
2034 / When "%" is used as the replacement string in a |:s|
2035 command, use the previous replacement string. |:s%|
2036 *cpo-{*
2037 { The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
2038 at the start of a line.
2039 *cpo-.*
2040 . The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
2041 buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
2042 need this, since it remembers the full path of an
2043 opened file.
2044 *cpo-bar*
2045 | The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
2046 variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
2047 with system specific functions.
2050 *'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
2051 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
2052 global
2053 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2054 feature}
2055 {not in Vi}
2056 Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
2057 See |cscopepathcomp|.
2059 *'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
2060 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
2061 global
2062 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2063 feature}
2064 {not in Vi}
2065 Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
2066 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2067 security reasons.
2069 *'cscopequickfix'* *'csqf'*
2070 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
2071 global
2072 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2073 or |+quickfix| features}
2074 {not in Vi}
2075 Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
2076 See |cscopequickfix|.
2078 *'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
2079 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
2080 global
2081 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2082 feature}
2083 {not in Vi}
2084 Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
2085 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2087 *'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
2088 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
2089 global
2090 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2091 feature}
2092 {not in Vi}
2093 Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
2094 |cscopetagorder|.
2095 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
2097 *'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
2098 *'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
2099 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
2100 global
2101 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2102 feature}
2103 {not in Vi}
2104 Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
2105 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2108 *'cursorcolumn'* *'cuc'* *'nocursorcolumn'* *'nocuc'*
2109 'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
2110 local to window
2111 {not in Vi}
2112 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2113 feature}
2114 Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
2115 |hl-CursorColumn|. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
2116 slower.
2117 If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
2118 these autocommands: >
2119 au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
2120 au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
2121 <
2123 *'cursorline'* *'cul'* *'nocursorline'* *'nocul'*
2124 'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
2125 local to window
2126 {not in Vi}
2127 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2128 feature}
2129 Highlight the screen line of the cursor with CursorLine
2130 |hl-CursorLine|. Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen
2131 redrawing slower.
2132 When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
2133 easier to see the selected text.
2136 *'debug'*
2137 'debug' string (default "")
2138 global
2139 {not in Vi}
2140 These values can be used:
2141 msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2142 anyway.
2143 throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2144 anyway and also throw an exception and set |v:errmsg|.
2145 beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
2146 produced.
2147 The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
2148 "msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
2149 'indentexpr'.
2151 *'define'* *'def'*
2152 'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
2153 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2154 {not in Vi}
2155 Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
2156 pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
2157 commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
2158 used to recognize the defined name after the match:
2159 {match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
2160 See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
2161 or backslash.
2162 The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
2163 useful, to include const type declarations: >
2164 ^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
2165 < When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
2167 *'delcombine'* *'deco'* *'nodelcombine'* *'nodeco'*
2168 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
2169 global
2170 {not in Vi}
2171 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2172 feature}
2173 If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
2174 "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
2175 default) the character along with its combining characters are
2176 deleted.
2177 Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
2179 This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
2180 may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
2181 to remove only the combining ones.
2183 *'dictionary'* *'dict'*
2184 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
2185 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2186 {not in Vi}
2187 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
2188 for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
2189 contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
2190 words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
2191 preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
2192 When this option is empty, or an entry "spell" is present, spell
2193 checking is enabled the currently active spelling is used. |spell|
2194 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
2195 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
2196 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
2197 This has nothing to do with the |Dictionary| variable type.
2198 Where to find a list of words?
2199 - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
2200 - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
2201 - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
2202 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2203 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2204 uses another default.
2205 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
2207 *'diff'* *'nodiff'*
2208 'diff' boolean (default off)
2209 local to window
2210 {not in Vi}
2211 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2212 feature}
2213 Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
2214 between files. See |vimdiff|.
2216 *'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
2217 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
2218 global
2219 {not in Vi}
2220 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2221 feature}
2222 Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
2223 versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
2224 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2225 security reasons.
2227 *'dip'* *'diffopt'*
2228 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
2229 global
2230 {not in Vi}
2231 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2232 feature}
2233 Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
2234 All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
2236 filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
2237 synchronized with a window that has inserted
2238 lines at the same position. Mostly useful
2239 when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
2240 is set.
2242 context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
2243 and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
2244 When omitted a context of six lines is used.
2245 See |fold-diff|.
2247 icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
2248 are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
2249 to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
2251 iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
2252 the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
2253 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
2254 of the "diff" command for what this does
2255 exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
2256 white space, but not leading white space.
2258 horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
2259 explicitly specified otherwise).
2261 vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
2262 explicitly specified otherwise).
2264 foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
2265 starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
2267 Examples: >
2269 :set diffopt=filler,context:4
2270 :set diffopt=
2271 :set diffopt=filler,foldcolumn:3
2272 <
2273 *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
2274 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
2275 global
2276 {not in Vi}
2277 {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
2278 feature}
2279 Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
2280 {char2}. See |digraphs|.
2281 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2283 *'directory'* *'dir'*
2284 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
2285 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
2286 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
2287 global
2288 List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
2289 - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
2290 possible.
2291 - Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
2292 impossible!).
2293 - A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
2294 the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
2295 it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
2296 attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
2297 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
2298 put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
2299 "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
2300 - For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//"
2301 or "\\", the swap file name will be built from the complete path to
2302 the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs.
2303 This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
2304 On Win32, when a separating comma is following, you must use "//",
2305 since "\\" will include the comma in the file name.
2306 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
2307 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
2308 name, precede it with a backslash.
2309 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
2310 - A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
2311 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2312 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
2313 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
2314 :set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
2315 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
2316 of the option is removed.
2317 Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
2318 the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
2319 discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
2320 "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
2321 choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
2322 files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
2323 home directory is tried first.
2324 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2325 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2326 uses another default.
2327 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2328 security reasons.
2329 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
2331 *'display'* *'dy'*
2332 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
2333 global
2334 {not in Vi}
2335 Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
2336 flags:
2337 lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
2338 in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
2339 last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
2340 uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
2341 instead of using ^C and ~C.
2343 *'eadirection'* *'ead'*
2344 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
2345 global
2346 {not in Vi}
2347 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
2348 feature}
2349 Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
2350 ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
2351 hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
2352 both width and height of windows is affected
2354 *'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
2355 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
2356 global
2357 Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
2358 toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
2359 also 'gdefault' option.
2360 Switching this option on is discouraged!
2362 *'encoding'* *'enc'* *E543*
2363 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
2364 global
2365 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2366 feature}
2367 {not in Vi}
2368 Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
2369 the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
2370 viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
2371 with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
2373 NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
2374 existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
2375 It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
2376 starts up. See |multibyte|. To reload the menus see |:menutrans|.
2378 NOTE: For GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding' to
2379 "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
2380 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
2381 avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
2382 the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
2383 versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
2384 without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
2386 The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
2387 This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
2388 iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
2390 If you need to know whether 'encoding' is a multi-byte encoding, you
2391 can use: >
2392 if has("multi_byte_encoding")
2393 <
2394 Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
2395 be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
2396 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
2397 set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
2399 When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
2400 event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
2402 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2403 you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
2404 to '-' signs.
2405 When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
2406 For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
2407 "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
2409 Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
2410 This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
2411 actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
2412 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
2413 utf-8.
2415 When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
2416 You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
2417 |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
2418 setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
2419 effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
2421 When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
2422 not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
2424 *'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
2425 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
2426 local to buffer
2427 {not in Vi}
2428 When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
2429 is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
2430 option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
2431 the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
2432 which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
2433 option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
2434 file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
2435 <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
2436 the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
2437 it if you want to.
2439 *'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
2440 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
2441 global
2442 {not in Vi}
2443 When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
2444 splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
2445 option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
2446 size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
2447 closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
2448 (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
2449 When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
2450 is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
2451 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
2452 Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
2453 'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
2455 *'equalprg'* *'ep'*
2456 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
2457 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2458 {not in Vi}
2459 External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
2460 the internal formatting functions are used; either 'lisp', 'cindent'
2461 or 'indentexpr'. When Vim was compiled without internal formatting,
2462 the "indent" program is used.
2463 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
2464 about including spaces and backslashes.
2465 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2466 security reasons.
2468 *'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
2469 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
2470 global
2471 Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
2472 makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
2473 for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
2474 mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
2475 screen flash or do nothing.
2477 *'errorfile'* *'ef'*
2478 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
2479 others: "errors.err")
2480 global
2481 {not in Vi}
2482 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2483 feature}
2484 Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
2485 When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
2486 following argument. See |-q|.
2487 NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
2488 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2489 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
2490 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2491 security reasons.
2493 *'errorformat'* *'efm'*
2494 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
2495 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2496 {not in Vi}
2497 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2498 feature}
2499 Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
2500 (see |errorformat|).
2502 *'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
2503 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
2504 global
2505 {not in Vi}
2506 Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
2507 mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
2508 used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
2509 this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
2510 after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
2511 try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
2512 when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
2513 won't work by default.
2514 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2515 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2517 *'eventignore'* *'ei'*
2518 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
2519 global
2520 {not in Vi}
2521 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2522 feature}
2523 A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
2524 When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
2525 events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
2526 Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example: >
2527 :set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
2528 <
2529 *'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
2530 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
2531 local to buffer
2532 {not in Vi}
2533 In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
2534 <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
2535 when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
2536 on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
2537 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2539 *'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
2540 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
2541 global
2542 {not in Vi}
2543 Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
2544 directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
2545 setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
2546 .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
2547 also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
2548 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2549 security reasons.
2551 *'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
2552 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
2553 local to buffer
2554 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2555 feature}
2556 {not in Vi}
2557 Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
2558 When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
2559 done when writing the file. For reading see below.
2560 When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
2561 used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
2562 Conversion will also be done when 'encoding' and 'fileencoding' are
2563 both a Unicode encoding and 'fileencoding' is not utf-8. That's
2564 because internally Unicode is always stored as utf-8.
2565 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2566 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding, conversion
2567 is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion
2568 results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some
2569 characters may be lost!
2570 See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
2571 specified that can be handled by the converter, see
2572 |mbyte-conversion|.
2573 When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
2574 To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
2575 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. One exception: when
2576 'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2577 For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2578 Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
2579 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2580 you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
2581 replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
2582 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
2583 "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
2584 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2585 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2586 If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to
2587 avoid this.
2588 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2590 *'fe'*
2591 NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
2592 whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
2593 old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
2595 *'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
2596 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
2597 "ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
2598 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
2599 global
2600 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2601 feature}
2602 {not in Vi}
2603 This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
2604 an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
2605 mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
2606 in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
2607 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
2608 an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
2609 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2610 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
2611 conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
2612 conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
2613 "utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
2614 the |++bad| argument to specify what is done with characters
2615 that can't be converted.
2616 For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
2617 will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
2618 "ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
2619 another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
2620 preferred encoding is to be used. Example: >
2621 au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
2622 \ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
2623 < This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
2624 non-blank characters.
2625 When the |++enc| argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
2626 not used.
2627 Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
2628 of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with: >
2629 :setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
2630 < This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
2631 an empty file.
2632 The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
2633 (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
2634 by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
2635 An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
2636 because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
2637 accepted.
2638 The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
2639 environment. This is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful
2640 when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a
2641 non-latin1 encoding, such as Russian.
2642 When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
2643 sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the |8g8|
2644 command to find the illegal byte sequence.
2645 WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
2646 latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
2647 utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
2648 file
2649 cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
2650 If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
2651 See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
2652 Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
2653 is read.
2655 *'fileformat'* *'ff'*
2656 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
2657 Unix default: "unix",
2658 Macintosh default: "mac")
2659 local to buffer
2660 {not in Vi}
2661 This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
2662 reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
2663 dos <CR> <NL>
2664 unix <NL>
2665 mac <CR>
2666 When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
2667 See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
2668 For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
2669 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
2670 works like it was set to "unix'.
2671 This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
2672 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
2673 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2674 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2675 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2676 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
2677 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
2679 *'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
2680 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
2681 Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
2682 Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
2683 Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
2684 Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
2685 Vi others: "")
2686 global
2687 {not in Vi}
2688 This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
2689 starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
2690 buffer:
2691 - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
2692 always. It is not set automatically.
2693 - When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
2694 is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
2695 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
2696 buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
2697 - When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
2698 <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
2699 edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
2700 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
2701 'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2702 2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
2703 is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
2704 preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
2705 3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2706 This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
2707 or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
2708 present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
2709 Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
2710 the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
2711 the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2712 4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
2713 'fileformats' is used.
2714 When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
2715 this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
2716 file only, the option is not changed.
2717 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
2719 For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
2720 are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
2721 done:
2722 - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
2723 format will be used.
2724 - When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
2725 is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
2726 <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
2727 used.
2728 Also see |file-formats|.
2729 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
2730 string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
2731 otherwise 'textauto' is set.
2732 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2733 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2735 *'filetype'* *'ft'*
2736 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
2737 local to buffer
2738 {not in Vi}
2739 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2740 feature}
2741 When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
2742 All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
2743 executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
2744 name.
2745 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
2746 This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
2747 this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
2748 Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
2749 for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
2750 Example, for in an IDL file:
2751 /* vim: set filetype=idl : */ ~
2752 |FileType| |filetypes|
2753 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
2754 names. Example:
2755 /* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */ ~
2756 This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
2757 This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
2758 one dot may appear.
2759 Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
2760 type that is actually stored with the file.
2761 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
2762 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
2763 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
2765 *'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
2766 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-")
2767 global
2768 {not in Vi}
2769 {not available when compiled without the |+windows|
2770 and |+folding| features}
2771 Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
2772 It is a comma separated list of items:
2774 item default Used for ~
2775 stl:c ' ' or '^' statusline of the current window
2776 stlnc:c ' ' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
2777 vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
2778 fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
2779 diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
2781 Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
2782 "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
2783 otherwise.
2785 Example: >
2786 :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
2787 < This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
2788 be used when there is highlighting.
2790 for "stl" and "stlnc" only single-byte values are supported.
2792 The highlighting used for these items:
2793 item highlight group ~
2794 stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
2795 stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
2796 vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
2797 fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
2798 diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
2800 *'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
2801 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
2802 global
2803 {not in Vi}
2804 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
2805 feature}
2806 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
2807 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
2808 toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
2810 *'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
2811 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
2812 global
2813 {not in Vi}
2814 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2815 feature}
2816 When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
2817 its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
2818 automatically close when moving out of them.
2820 *'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
2821 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
2822 local to window
2823 {not in Vi}
2824 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2825 feature}
2826 When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
2827 of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
2828 value is 12.
2829 See |folding|.
2831 *'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
2832 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
2833 local to window
2834 {not in Vi}
2835 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2836 feature}
2837 When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
2838 switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
2839 folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
2840 with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
2841 'foldenable' is off.
2842 This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
2843 See |folding|.
2845 *'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
2846 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
2847 local to window
2848 {not in Vi}
2849 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2850 or |+eval| feature}
2851 The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
2852 for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|.
2854 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2855 |sandbox-option|.
2856 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
2857 on.
2859 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2860 evaluating 'foldexpr' |textlock|.
2862 *'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
2863 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
2864 local to window
2865 {not in Vi}
2866 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2867 feature}
2868 Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
2869 characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
2870 lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
2871 The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
2873 *'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
2874 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
2875 local to window
2876 {not in Vi}
2877 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2878 feature}
2879 Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
2880 Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
2881 close fewer folds.
2882 This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
2883 See |fold-foldlevel|.
2885 *'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
2886 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
2887 global
2888 {not in Vi}
2889 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2890 feature}
2891 Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
2892 Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
2893 some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
2894 This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
2895 overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
2896 ignores this option and closes all folds.
2897 It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
2898 overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
2899 When the value is negative, it is not used.
2901 *'foldmarker'* *'fmr'* *E536*
2902 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
2903 local to window
2904 {not in Vi}
2905 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2906 feature}
2907 The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
2908 must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
2909 marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
2910 See |fold-marker|.
2912 *'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
2913 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
2914 local to window
2915 {not in Vi}
2916 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2917 feature}
2918 The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
2919 |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
2920 |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
2921 |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
2922 |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
2923 |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
2924 |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
2926 *'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
2927 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
2928 local to window
2929 {not in Vi}
2930 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2931 feature}
2932 Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
2933 closed. Also for manually closed folds.
2934 Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
2935 "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
2936 than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
2938 *'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
2939 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
2940 local to window
2941 {not in Vi}
2942 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2943 feature}
2944 Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
2945 methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
2946 than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
2948 *'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
2949 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
2950 search,tag,undo")
2951 global
2952 {not in Vi}
2953 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2954 feature}
2955 Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
2956 command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
2957 list of items.
2958 item commands ~
2959 all any
2960 block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
2961 hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
2962 insert any command in Insert mode
2963 jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
2964 mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
2965 percent "%"
2966 quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
2967 search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
2968 (not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
2969 Also for |[s| and |]s|.
2970 tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
2971 undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
2972 When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
2973 the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
2974 When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
2975 this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
2976 whole closed fold.
2977 Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
2978 very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
2979 In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
2980 when text is inserted.
2981 To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
2982 set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
2984 *'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
2985 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
2986 local to window
2987 {not in Vi}
2988 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2989 feature}
2990 An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
2991 fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
2993 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2994 |sandbox-option|.
2996 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2997 evaluating 'foldtext' |textlock|.
2999 *'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
3000 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
3001 local to buffer
3002 {not in Vi}
3003 This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
3004 formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
3005 on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
3006 be inserted for readability.
3007 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3008 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3009 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3010 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3012 *'formatlistpat'* *'flp'*
3013 'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
3014 local to buffer
3015 {not in Vi}
3016 A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
3017 the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
3018 The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
3019 the line below it. You can use |/\ze| to mark the end of the match
3020 while still checking more characters. There must be a character
3021 following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
3022 like there is no match.
3023 The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
3024 character and white space.
3026 *'formatprg'* *'fp'*
3027 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
3028 global
3029 {not in Vi}
3030 The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
3031 selected with the |gq| operator. The program must take the input on
3032 stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
3033 such a program.
3034 If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
3035 Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
3036 format function will be used |C-indenting|.
3037 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
3038 about including spaces and backslashes.
3039 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3040 |sandbox-option|.
3042 *'formatexpr'* *'fex'*
3043 'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
3044 local to buffer
3045 {not in Vi}
3046 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
3047 feature}
3048 Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the |gq|
3049 operator. When this option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
3051 The |v:lnum| variable holds the first line to be formatted.
3052 The |v:count| variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
3053 The |v:char| variable holds the character that is going to be
3054 inserted. This can be empty. Don't insert it yet!
3056 Example: >
3057 :set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
3058 < This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
3059 autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. |autoload|
3061 The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
3062 text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
3063 when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
3064 same spot relative to the text then! The |mode()| function will
3065 return "i" or "R" in this situation. When the function returns
3066 non-zero Vim will fall back to using the internal format mechanism.
3068 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3069 |sandbox-option|.
3071 *'fsync'* *'fs'*
3072 'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
3073 global
3074 {not in Vi}
3075 When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
3076 file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
3077 written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
3078 will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
3079 mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
3080 turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
3081 systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
3082 off.
3083 Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
3085 *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
3086 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
3087 global
3088 {not in Vi}
3089 When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
3090 all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
3091 is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
3092 of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
3094 command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off ~
3095 :s/// subst. all subst. one
3096 :s///g subst. one subst. all
3097 :s///gg subst. all subst. one
3099 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3101 *'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
3102 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
3103 global
3104 {not in Vi}
3105 Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
3106 This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
3107 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
3109 *'grepprg'* *'gp'*
3110 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
3111 Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
3112 Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
3113 VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
3114 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3115 {not in Vi}
3116 Program to use for the |:grep| command. This option may contain '%'
3117 and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
3118 line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
3119 will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
3120 |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3121 When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
3122 also work well with a single file: >
3123 :set grepprg=grep\ -nH
3124 < Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the |:grep| command
3125 works like |:vimgrep|, |:lgrep| like |:lvimgrep|, |:grepadd| like
3126 |:vimgrepadd| and |:lgrepadd| like |:lvimgrepadd|.
3127 See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
3128 apply equally to 'grepprg'.
3129 For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
3130 otherwise it's "grep -n".
3131 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3132 security reasons.
3134 *'guicursor'* *'gcr'* *E545* *E546* *E548* *E549*
3135 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
3136 ve:ver35-Cursor,
3137 o:hor50-Cursor,
3138 i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
3139 r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
3140 sm:block-Cursor
3141 -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
3142 for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
3143 "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
3144 r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
3145 global
3146 {not in Vi}
3147 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
3148 for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
3149 This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
3150 modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only
3151 the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by
3152 specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or
3153 horizontal cursor.
3154 For a console the 't_SI' and 't_EI' escape sequences are used.
3156 The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
3157 mode-list and an argument-list:
3158 mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
3159 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
3160 n Normal mode
3161 v Visual mode
3162 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
3163 if not specified)
3164 o Operator-pending mode
3165 i Insert mode
3166 r Replace mode
3167 c Command-line Normal (append) mode
3168 ci Command-line Insert mode
3169 cr Command-line Replace mode
3170 sm showmatch in Insert mode
3171 a all modes
3172 The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
3173 hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
3174 ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
3175 block block cursor, fills the whole character
3176 [only one of the above three should be present]
3177 blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
3178 blinkon{N}
3179 blinkoff{N}
3180 blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
3181 the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
3182 the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
3183 cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
3184 of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
3185 default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
3186 These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
3187 means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
3188 blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
3189 blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
3190 executing a command.
3191 To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
3192 |xterm-blink|.
3193 {group-name}
3194 a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
3195 for the cursor
3196 {group-name}/{group-name}
3197 Two highlight group names, the first is used when
3198 no language mappings are used, the other when they
3199 are. |language-mapping|
3201 Examples of parts:
3202 n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
3203 block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
3204 highlight group
3205 i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
3206 In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
3207 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
3208 "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
3209 faster.
3211 The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
3212 all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
3213 to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
3214 blinking: "a:blinkon0"
3216 Examples of cursor highlighting: >
3217 :highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
3218 :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
3219 <
3220 *'guifont'* *'gfn'*
3221 *E235* *E596* *E610* *E611*
3222 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
3223 global
3224 {not in Vi}
3225 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3226 This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
3227 In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
3228 the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
3229 font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
3230 The first valid font is used.
3232 On systems where 'guifontset' is supported (X11) and 'guifontset' is
3233 not empty, then 'guifont' is not used.
3235 Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
3236 precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
3237 backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
3238 |option-backslash|. For example: >
3239 :set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
3240 < will make Vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
3241 will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
3243 If none of the fonts can be loaded, Vim will keep the current setting.
3244 If an empty font list is given, Vim will try using other resource
3245 settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
3246 will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
3247 the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
3248 will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
3250 For Win32, GTK, Mac OS and Photon: >
3251 :set guifont=*
3252 < will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
3254 The font name depends on the GUI used. See |setting-guifont| for a
3255 way to set 'guifont' for various systems.
3257 For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this: >
3258 :set guifont=Andale\ Mono\ 11
3259 < That's all. XLFDs are not used. For Chinese this is reported to work
3260 well: >
3261 if has("gui_gtk2")
3262 set guifont=Bitstream\ Vera\ Sans\ Mono\ 12,Fixed\ 12
3263 set guifontwide=Microsoft\ Yahei\ 12,WenQuanYi\ Zen\ Hei\ 12
3264 endif
3265 <
3266 For Mac OSX you can use something like this: >
3267 :set guifont=Monaco:h10
3268 < Also see 'macatsui', it can help fix display problems.
3269 *E236*
3270 Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
3271 width). An exception is GTK 2: all fonts are accepted, but
3272 mono-spaced fonts look best.
3274 To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
3275 program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
3277 For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
3278 - takes these options in the font name:
3279 hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3280 wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3281 b - bold
3282 i - italic
3283 u - underline
3284 s - strikeout
3285 cXX - character set XX. Valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
3286 BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
3287 HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
3288 SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
3289 Normally you would use "cDEFAULT".
3291 Use a ':' to separate the options.
3292 - A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
3293 backslashes to escape the spaces.
3294 - Examples: >
3295 :set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
3296 :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
3297 < See also |font-sizes|.
3299 *'guifontset'* *'gfs'*
3300 *E250* *E252* *E234* *E597* *E598*
3301 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
3302 global
3303 {not in Vi}
3304 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3305 with the |+xfontset| feature}
3306 {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
3307 When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
3308 one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
3309 |xfontset|.
3310 Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
3311 a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
3312 |:highlight| command.
3313 The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
3314 character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
3315 'guifontset' will fail.
3316 Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
3317 the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
3318 used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
3319 including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
3320 fontset names.
3321 This example works on many X11 systems: >
3322 :set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
3323 <
3324 *'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231* *E533* *E534*
3325 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
3326 global
3327 {not in Vi}
3328 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3329 When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
3330 for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
3331 used.
3332 Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
3333 specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
3335 All GUI versions but GTK+ 2:
3337 'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and
3338 'guifontset' is empty or invalid.
3339 When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
3340 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
3341 double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
3343 GTK+ 2 GUI only: *guifontwide_gtk2*
3345 If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width
3346 characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8".
3347 Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide'
3348 automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the
3349 font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need
3350 to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice
3351 made by Pango/Xft.
3353 *'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
3354 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
3355 global
3356 {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
3357 The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
3358 the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
3359 e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
3360 be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
3361 lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
3362 screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
3363 screen.
3365 *'guioptions'* *'go'*
3366 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
3367 "agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena))
3368 global
3369 {not in Vi}
3370 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3371 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
3372 sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
3373 GUI should be used.
3374 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3375 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3377 Valid letters are as follows:
3378 *guioptions_a* *'go-a'*
3379 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
3380 or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
3381 the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
3382 Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
3383 applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
3384 ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
3385 application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
3386 is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
3387 Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
3388 applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
3389 If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
3390 windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
3391 by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
3392 The same applies to the modeless selection.
3393 *'go-A'*
3394 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
3395 applies to the modeless selection.
3397 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless ~
3398 "" - -
3399 "a" yes yes
3400 "A" - yes
3401 "aA" yes yes
3403 *'go-c'*
3404 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
3405 choices.
3406 *'go-e'*
3407 'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
3408 'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
3409 When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
3410 The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
3411 GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X and MS-Windows.
3412 *'go-f'*
3413 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
3414 where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
3415 editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
3416 can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
3417 foreground. |gui-fork|
3418 Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
3419 happened already when the |gvimrc| file is read.
3420 *'go-i'*
3421 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
3422 corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
3423 limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
3424 *'go-m'*
3425 'm' Menu bar is present.
3426 *'go-M'*
3427 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
3428 that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
3429 switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the |gvimrc|
3430 file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
3431 ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
3432 *'go-g'*
3433 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
3434 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
3435 Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
3436 *'go-t'*
3437 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
3438 GTK+, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
3439 *'go-T'*
3440 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, Photon
3441 and Athena GUIs.
3442 *'go-r'*
3443 'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
3444 *'go-R'*
3445 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3446 split window.
3447 *'go-l'*
3448 'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
3449 *'go-L'*
3450 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3451 split window.
3452 *'go-b'*
3453 'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
3454 the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
3455 flag is included. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3456 *'go-h'*
3457 'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
3458 line. Reduces computations. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3460 And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
3461 you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
3463 *'go-v'*
3464 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
3465 a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
3466 vertical layout is used anyway.
3467 *'go-p'*
3468 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
3469 window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
3470 the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
3471 before starting the GUI. Set it in your |gvimrc|. Adding or
3472 removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
3473 *'go-F'*
3474 'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
3477 *'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
3478 'guipty' boolean (default on)
3479 global
3480 {not in Vi}
3481 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3482 Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
3483 I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
3485 *'guitablabel'* *'gtl'*
3486 'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
3487 global
3488 {not in Vi}
3489 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3490 with the +windows feature}
3491 When nonempty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
3492 pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
3493 default label. See |setting-guitablabel| for more info.
3495 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
3496 'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
3498 Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
3499 present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
3500 used.
3502 *'guitabtooltip'* *'gtt'*
3503 'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
3504 global
3505 {not in Vi}
3506 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3507 with the +windows feature}
3508 When nonempty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
3509 pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
3510 This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
3511 You can include a line break. Simplest method is to use |:let|: >
3512 :let &guitabtooltip = "line one\nline two"
3513 <
3515 *'helpfile'* *'hf'*
3516 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
3517 (others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
3518 global
3519 {not in Vi}
3520 Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
3521 placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
3522 in 'runtimepath' will be used.
3523 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
3524 "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
3525 tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including
3526 spaces and backslashes.
3527 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3528 security reasons.
3530 *'helpheight'* *'hh'*
3531 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
3532 global
3533 {not in Vi}
3534 {not available when compiled without the +windows
3535 feature}
3536 Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
3537 ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
3538 current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
3539 windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
3540 set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
3542 *'helplang'* *'hlg'*
3543 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
3544 global
3545 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang|
3546 feature}
3547 {not in Vi}
3548 Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
3549 for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
3550 be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
3551 another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
3552 language and not in the English help.
3553 Example: >
3554 :set helplang=de,it
3555 < This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
3556 files.
3557 When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
3558 try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
3559 See |help-translated|.
3561 *'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
3562 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
3563 global
3564 {not in Vi}
3565 When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
3566 buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
3567 displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
3568 The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
3569 hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
3570 modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
3571 flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
3572 To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
3573 This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
3574 WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
3575 Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
3577 *'highlight'* *'hl'*
3578 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
3579 "8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
3580 e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
3581 M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
3582 s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,
3583 t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
3584 f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,
3585 C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,T:DiffText,
3586 >:SignColumn,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,
3587 R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,
3588 +:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
3589 x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb")
3590 global
3591 {not in Vi}
3592 This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
3593 occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
3594 first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
3595 use for that occasion. The occasions are:
3596 |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
3597 |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
3598 characters from 'showbreak'
3599 |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
3600 things in listings
3601 |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
3602 h (obsolete, ignored)
3603 |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
3604 |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
3605 |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
3606 |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3607 |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
3608 |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3609 |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
3610 |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
3611 |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3612 |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
3613 |hl-Visual| v Visual mode
3614 |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
3615 Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
3616 |xterm-clipboard|.
3617 |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
3618 |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
3619 |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
3620 |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
3621 |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode
3622 |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode
3623 |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode
3624 |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode
3625 |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs|
3626 |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell|
3627 |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital|spell|
3628 |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell|
3629 |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell|
3630 |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line
3631 |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu normal line
3632 |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar
3633 |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb
3635 The display modes are:
3636 r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
3637 i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
3638 b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
3639 s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
3640 u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
3641 c undercurl (termcap entry "Cs" and "Ce")
3642 n no highlighting
3643 - no highlighting
3644 : use a highlight group
3645 The default is used for occasions that are not included.
3646 If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
3647 for an example.
3648 When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
3649 a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
3650 of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
3651 define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
3652 See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
3654 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
3655 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
3656 global
3657 {not in Vi}
3658 {not available when compiled without the
3659 |+extra_search| feature}
3660 When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
3661 The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
3662 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
3663 default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
3664 are not applied.
3665 See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
3666 When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
3667 off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
3668 highlighting comes back.
3669 'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
3670 When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
3671 highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
3672 search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
3673 line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
3674 drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
3675 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3677 *'history'* *'hi'*
3678 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
3679 global
3680 {not in Vi}
3681 A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
3682 are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
3683 each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
3684 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3685 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3687 *'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
3688 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
3689 global
3690 {not in Vi}
3691 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3692 feature}
3693 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
3694 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
3695 toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
3696 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3698 *'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
3699 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
3700 global
3701 {not in Vi}
3702 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3703 feature}
3704 When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
3705 This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
3706 See |rileft.txt|.
3707 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3709 *'icon'* *'noicon'*
3710 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
3711 global
3712 {not in Vi}
3713 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3714 feature}
3715 When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
3716 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
3717 currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
3718 Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
3719 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
3720 only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
3721 Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
3722 builtin termcap).
3723 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3724 restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
3725 X11.
3727 *'iconstring'*
3728 'iconstring' string (default "")
3729 global
3730 {not in Vi}
3731 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3732 feature}
3733 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
3734 the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
3735 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
3736 (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
3737 Does not work for MS Windows.
3738 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3739 restored if possible |X11|.
3740 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
3741 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
3742 'titlestring' for example settings.
3743 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
3745 *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
3746 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
3747 global
3748 Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
3749 file.
3750 Also see 'smartcase'.
3751 Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
3752 |/ignorecase|.
3754 *'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
3755 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
3756 global
3757 {not in Vi}
3758 {only available when compiled with |+xim| and
3759 |+GUI_GTK|}
3760 Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
3761 activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
3762 IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
3763 You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
3764 tells Vim what the key is.
3765 Format:
3766 [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
3768 These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
3769 S Shift key
3770 L Lock key
3771 C Control key
3772 1 Mod1 key
3773 2 Mod2 key
3774 3 Mod3 key
3775 4 Mod4 key
3776 5 Mod5 key
3777 Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
3778 both shift+ctrl+space.
3779 See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
3781 Example: >
3782 :set imactivatekey=S-space
3783 < "S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
3784 canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
3786 *'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
3787 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
3788 global
3789 {not in Vi}
3790 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3791 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3792 When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
3793 line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
3794 Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
3795 English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
3796 characters with dead keys.
3798 *'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'noimdisable'* *'noimd'*
3799 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
3800 global
3801 {not in Vi}
3802 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3803 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3804 When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
3805 the IM when it doesn't work properly.
3806 Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX machines. This
3807 may change in later releases.
3809 *'iminsert'* *'imi'*
3810 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3811 local to buffer
3812 {not in Vi}
3813 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
3814 Insert mode. Valid values:
3815 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3816 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3817 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3818 2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
3819 or |global-ime|.
3820 To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
3821 this can be used: >
3822 :inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
3823 < This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
3824 mode.
3825 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
3826 |i_CTRL-^|.
3827 The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
3828 It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
3829 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3830 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3832 *'imsearch'* *'ims'*
3833 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3834 local to buffer
3835 {not in Vi}
3836 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
3837 entering a search pattern. Valid values:
3838 -1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
3839 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
3840 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3841 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3842 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3843 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
3844 |c_CTRL-^|.
3845 The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
3846 option to a valid keymap name.
3847 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3848 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3850 *'include'* *'inc'*
3851 'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
3852 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3853 {not in Vi}
3854 {not available when compiled without the
3855 |+find_in_path| feature}
3856 Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
3857 pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
3858 value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
3859 "]I", "[d", etc.
3860 Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
3861 comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
3862 then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
3863 appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
3864 that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
3865 'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
3866 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3868 *'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
3869 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
3870 local to buffer
3871 {not in Vi}
3872 {not available when compiled without the
3873 |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
3874 Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
3875 option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java: >
3876 :set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
3877 < The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
3879 Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
3880 found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
3881 Also used for |<cfile>|.
3883 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3884 |sandbox-option|.
3886 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3887 evaluating 'includeexpr' |textlock|.
3889 *'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
3890 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
3891 global
3892 {not in Vi}
3893 {not available when compiled without the
3894 |+extra_search| feature}
3895 While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
3896 so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
3897 is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
3898 often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
3899 Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
3900 original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
3901 still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
3902 cursor to the match.
3903 When compiled with the |+reltime| feature Vim only searches for about
3904 half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
3905 match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
3906 are typing the pattern.
3907 The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
3908 See also: 'hlsearch'.
3909 CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
3910 to the command line.
3911 CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
3912 match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
3913 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3915 *'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
3916 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
3917 local to buffer
3918 {not in Vi}
3919 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3920 or |+eval| features}
3921 Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
3922 It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
3923 in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
3924 When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
3925 'smartindent' indenting.
3926 When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
3927 The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
3928 which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
3929 when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
3930 The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
3931 can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
3932 used for the indent).
3933 Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
3934 and |lispindent()|.
3935 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
3936 not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
3937 cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
3938 Normally this option would be set to call a function: >
3939 :set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
3940 < Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
3941 "msg".
3942 See |indent-expression|.
3943 NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
3945 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3946 |sandbox-option|.
3948 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3949 evaluating 'indentexpr' |textlock|.
3952 *'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
3953 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
3954 local to buffer
3955 {not in Vi}
3956 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3957 feature}
3958 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
3959 the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
3960 The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
3961 See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
3963 *'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
3964 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
3965 local to buffer
3966 {not in Vi}
3967 When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
3968 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
3969 on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
3970 where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
3971 lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
3972 has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
3973 and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
3974 With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
3976 *'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
3977 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
3978 global
3979 {not in Vi}
3980 Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
3981 if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
3982 These Insert mode commands will be useful:
3983 - Use the cursor keys to move around.
3984 - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
3985 this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
3986 Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
3987 - Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
3988 <Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
3989 left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|
3991 These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
3992 - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
3993 - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
3994 - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
3995 - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
3996 - CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
3997 However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
3998 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
3999 mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
4000 When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
4002 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
4004 *'isfname'* *'isf'*
4005 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4006 "@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
4007 for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
4008 for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
4009 for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
4010 otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
4011 global
4012 {not in Vi}
4013 The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
4014 path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
4015 the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
4016 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4017 characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
4018 For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
4019 Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
4020 space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
4021 doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
4022 It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
4024 Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
4025 do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
4026 tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
4027 characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
4028 name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
4029 '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
4030 cmd.exe.
4032 The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
4033 Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
4034 character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
4035 decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
4036 not work for digits). Example:
4037 "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
4038 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
4039 If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
4040 will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
4041 to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
4042 included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
4043 option or the end of a range. Example:
4044 "^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
4045 If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
4046 are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
4047 plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
4048 "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
4049 case ASCII letters.
4050 "a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
4051 A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
4052 expected. Example:
4053 "48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
4054 A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
4055 " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
4056 comma, plus <Tab>.
4057 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4059 *'isident'* *'isi'*
4060 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4061 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4062 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
4063 global
4064 {not in Vi}
4065 The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
4066 Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
4067 match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
4068 |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
4069 option.
4070 Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
4071 environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
4072 expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
4074 *'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
4075 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
4076 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4077 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
4078 Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
4079 local to buffer
4080 {not in Vi}
4081 Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
4082 "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
4083 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
4084 programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
4085 For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
4086 '*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
4087 command).
4088 When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
4089 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4090 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4092 *'isprint'* *'isp'*
4093 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
4094 "@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
4095 global
4096 {not in Vi}
4097 The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
4098 screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
4099 space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
4100 even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
4101 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
4103 Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
4104 0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
4105 32 - 126 always single characters
4106 127 "^?"
4107 128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
4108 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
4109 255 "~?"
4110 When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
4111 displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
4112 When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
4113 displayed as <xx>.
4114 The SpecialKey highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
4115 |hl-SpecialKey|
4117 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4118 characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
4119 is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
4120 replacement character will be shown.
4121 Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
4122 There is no option to specify these characters.
4124 *'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
4125 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
4126 global
4127 {not in Vi}
4128 Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
4129 When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
4130 Otherwise only one space is inserted.
4131 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
4133 *'key'*
4134 'key' string (default "")
4135 local to buffer
4136 {not in Vi}
4137 The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
4138 See |encryption|.
4139 Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
4140 key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: >
4141 :set key=
4142 < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
4143 "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
4144 know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
4145 be careful not to make a typing error!
4147 *'keymap'* *'kmp'* *E544*
4148 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
4149 local to buffer
4150 {not in Vi}
4151 {only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
4152 feature}
4153 Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
4154 Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
4155 setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
4156 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
4157 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4159 *'keymodel'* *'km'*
4160 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
4161 global
4162 {not in Vi}
4163 List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
4164 can do. These values can be used:
4165 startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
4166 Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
4167 present in 'selectmode').
4168 stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
4169 Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
4170 <PageUp> and <PageDown>.
4171 The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4173 *'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
4174 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
4175 OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
4176 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4177 {not in Vi}
4178 Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
4179 expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
4180 help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
4181 value did this, which is now deprecated.)
4182 When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
4183 "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
4184 "-s" is removed when there is no count.
4185 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4186 Example: >
4187 :set keywordprg=man\ -s
4188 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4189 security reasons.
4191 *'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
4192 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
4193 global
4194 {not in Vi}
4195 {only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
4196 feature}
4197 This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
4198 mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
4199 inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
4200 care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
4201 of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
4202 be able to execute Normal mode commands.
4203 This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
4204 mapped in Insert mode.
4206 Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): *greek* >
4207 :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
4208 < Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands): >
4209 :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
4210 <
4211 The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
4212 part can be in one of two forms:
4213 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
4214 followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
4215 2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
4216 characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
4217 Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
4218 Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
4219 ";", ',' and backslash itself.
4221 This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
4222 back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
4223 be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
4224 langmap mappings) in the following cases:
4225 o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
4226 o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
4227 o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
4228 Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
4229 this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
4230 allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
4231 Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
4233 *'langmenu'* *'lm'*
4234 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
4235 global
4236 {not in Vi}
4237 {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
4238 |+multi_lang| features}
4239 Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
4240 from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath': >
4241 "lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
4242 < (without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
4243 matter what $LANG is set to: >
4244 :set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
4245 < When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
4246 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4247 If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
4248 the English menus: >
4249 :set langmenu=none
4250 < This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
4251 detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
4252 this option has no effect. But you could do this: >
4253 :source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
4254 :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
4255 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
4256 < Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
4258 *'laststatus'* *'ls'*
4259 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
4260 global
4261 {not in Vi}
4262 The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
4263 status line:
4264 0: never
4265 1: only if there are at least two windows
4266 2: always
4267 The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
4268 windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
4270 *'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
4271 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
4272 global
4273 {not in Vi}
4274 When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
4275 executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
4276 typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
4277 update use |:redraw|.
4279 *'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
4280 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
4281 local to window
4282 {not in Vi}
4283 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
4284 feature}
4285 If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
4286 than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
4287 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
4288 it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The
4289 value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines.
4290 This option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
4291 Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
4292 with the right amount of white space.
4294 *'lines'* *E593*
4295 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
4296 global
4297 Number of lines of the Vim window.
4298 Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
4299 terminal initialization code. Also see |posix-screen-size|.
4300 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
4301 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
4302 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
4303 Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
4304 use this command to get the tallest window possible: >
4305 :set lines=999
4306 < Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
4307 If you get less lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
4308 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
4309 number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
4311 *'linespace'* *'lsp'*
4312 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
4313 global
4314 {not in Vi}
4315 {only in the GUI}
4316 Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
4317 uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
4318 When non-zero there is room for underlining.
4319 With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
4320 space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
4321 'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
4322 though!
4324 *'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
4325 'lisp' boolean (default off)
4326 local to buffer
4327 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4328 feature}
4329 Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
4330 the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
4331 "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
4332 flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
4333 better. Also see 'lispwords'.
4334 The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
4335 "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
4336 calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
4337 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
4338 {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
4340 *'lispwords'* *'lw'*
4341 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
4342 global
4343 {not in Vi}
4344 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4345 feature}
4346 Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
4347 |'lisp'|
4349 *'list'* *'nolist'*
4350 'list' boolean (default off)
4351 local to window
4352 List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I is displayed, display $ after end of
4353 line. Useful to see the difference between tabs and spaces and for
4354 trailing blanks. Further changed by the 'listchars' option.
4356 The cursor is displayed at the start of the space a Tab character
4357 occupies, not at the end as usual in Normal mode. To get this cursor
4358 position while displaying Tabs with spaces, use: >
4359 :set list lcs=tab\ \
4360 <
4361 Note that list mode will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth'
4362 or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
4363 changing the way tabs are displayed.
4365 *'listchars'* *'lcs'*
4366 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
4367 global
4368 {not in Vi}
4369 Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
4370 settings.
4371 eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
4372 omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
4373 line.
4374 tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a tab. The first
4375 char is used once. The second char is repeated to
4376 fill the space that the tab normally occupies.
4377 "tab:>-" will show a tab that takes four spaces as
4378 ">---". When omitted, a tab is show as ^I.
4379 trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
4380 trailing spaces are blank.
4381 extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
4382 off and the line continues beyond the right of the
4383 screen.
4384 precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
4385 is off and there is text preceding the character
4386 visible in the first column.
4387 nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space (character
4388 0xA0, 160). Left blank when omitted.
4390 The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
4391 be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
4392 characters are allowed. All characters must be single width.
4394 Examples: >
4395 :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
4396 :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
4397 :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
4398 < The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
4399 "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "nbsp", "tab" and "trail".
4400 |hl-NonText| |hl-SpecialKey|
4402 *'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
4403 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
4404 global
4405 {not in Vi}
4406 When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
4407 This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
4408 of plugins.
4409 Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
4410 reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
4412 *'macatsui'* *'nomacatsui'*
4413 'macatsui' boolean (default on)
4414 global
4415 {only available in Mac GUI version}
4416 This is a workaround for when drawing doesn't work properly. When set
4417 and compiled with multi-byte support ATSUI text drawing is used. When
4418 not set ATSUI text drawing is not used. Switch this option off when
4419 you experience drawing problems. In a future version the problems may
4420 be solved and this option becomes obsolete. Therefore use this method
4421 to unset it: >
4422 if exists('&macatsui')
4423 set nomacatsui
4424 endif
4425 < Another option to check if you have drawing problems is
4426 'termencoding'.
4428 *'magic'* *'nomagic'*
4429 'magic' boolean (default on)
4430 global
4431 Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
4432 See |pattern|.
4433 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
4434 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
4435 old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
4436 'magic' is on. Include "\M" when you want to |/\M|.
4438 *'makeef'* *'mef'*
4439 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
4440 global
4441 {not in Vi}
4442 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
4443 feature}
4444 Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
4445 and the |:grep| command.
4446 When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
4447 When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
4448 unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
4449 existing file.
4450 NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
4451 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
4452 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4453 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4454 security reasons.
4456 *'makeprg'* *'mp'*
4457 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
4458 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4459 {not in Vi}
4460 Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|.
4461 This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded to
4462 the current and alternate file name. |:_%| |:_#|
4463 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
4464 about including spaces and backslashes.
4465 Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
4466 the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
4467 "myfilter" do it like this: >
4468 :set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
4469 < The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
4470 where the arguments will be included, for example: >
4471 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
4472 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4473 security reasons.
4475 *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
4476 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
4477 local to buffer
4478 {not in Vi}
4479 Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
4480 other. Currently only single byte character pairs are allowed, and
4481 they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon.
4482 The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
4483 '>' (HTML): >
4484 :set mps+=<:>
4486 < A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
4487 assignment, useful for languages like C and Java: >
4488 :au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
4490 < For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
4491 the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
4493 *'matchtime'* *'mat'*
4494 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
4495 global
4496 {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
4497 Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
4498 set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
4499 set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
4501 *'maxcombine'* *'mco'*
4502 'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
4503 global
4504 {not in Vi}
4505 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
4506 feature}
4507 The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
4508 Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
4509 The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
4510 Maximum value is 6.
4511 Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
4512 combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|.
4513 See |mbyte-combining|.
4515 *'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
4516 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
4517 global
4518 {not in Vi}
4519 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4520 feature}
4521 Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
4522 catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
4523 more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
4524 more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
4525 See also |:function|.
4527 *'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
4528 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
4529 global
4530 {not in Vi}
4531 Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
4532 character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
4533 ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
4534 because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
4535 |key-mapping|.
4537 *'maxmem'* *'mm'*
4538 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
4539 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4540 available)
4541 global
4542 {not in Vi}
4543 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
4544 limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
4545 other memory to be freed. The maximum usable value is about 2000000.
4546 Use this to work without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
4548 *'maxmempattern'* *'mmp'*
4549 'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
4550 global
4551 {not in Vi}
4552 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
4553 The maximum value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
4554 *E363*
4555 When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
4556 behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
4557 Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
4558 inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
4559 "\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
4560 Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit.
4562 *'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
4563 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
4564 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4565 available)
4566 global
4567 {not in Vi}
4568 Maximum amount of memory in Kbyte to use for all buffers together.
4569 The maximum usable value is about 2000000 (2 Gbyte). Use this to work
4570 without a limit. On 64 bit machines higher values might work. But
4571 hey, do you really need more than 2 Gbyte for text editing?
4572 Also see 'maxmem'.
4574 *'menuitems'* *'mis'*
4575 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
4576 global
4577 {not in Vi}
4578 {not available when compiled without the |+menu|
4579 feature}
4580 Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
4581 generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
4582 option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
4584 *'mkspellmem'* *'msm'*
4585 'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
4586 global
4587 {not in Vi}
4588 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
4589 feature}
4590 Parameters for |:mkspell|. This tunes when to start compressing the
4591 word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
4592 it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
4593 per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
4594 this tuning is complicated.
4596 There are three numbers, separated by commas:
4597 {start},{inc},{added}
4599 For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
4600 gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
4601 compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
4602 memory that is available to Vim.
4604 When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
4605 amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
4606 compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
4607 less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
4608 will be allocated.
4610 After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
4611 the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
4612 amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
4613 chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
4614 slower.
4616 The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
4617 Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
4618 you have 1 Gbyte you could use: >
4619 :set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
4620 < If you have less than 512 Mbyte |:mkspell| may fail for some
4621 languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
4623 *'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
4624 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
4625 Vi default: off)
4626 local to buffer
4627 *'modelines'* *'mls'*
4628 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
4629 global
4630 {not in Vi}
4631 If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
4632 checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
4633 no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
4634 NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4635 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4637 *'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
4638 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
4639 local to buffer
4640 {not in Vi} *E21*
4641 When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
4642 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
4643 Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
4645 *'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
4646 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
4647 local to buffer
4648 {not in Vi}
4649 When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
4650 when:
4651 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
4652 |undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
4653 option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
4654 buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
4655 when it was written.
4656 2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
4657 value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
4658 written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
4659 values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
4660 reset.
4661 When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
4662 will be ignored.
4664 *'more'* *'nomore'*
4665 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
4666 global
4667 {not in Vi}
4668 When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
4669 the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
4670 listing continues until finished.
4671 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4672 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4674 *'mouse'* *E538*
4675 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
4676 global
4677 {not in Vi}
4678 Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
4679 (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, QNX pterm, *BSD console with
4680 sysmouse and Linux console with gpm). For using the mouse in the
4681 GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
4682 The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
4683 n Normal mode
4684 v Visual mode
4685 i Insert mode
4686 c Command-line mode
4687 h all previous modes when editing a help file
4688 a all previous modes
4689 r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
4690 Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with: >
4691 :set mouse=a
4692 < When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
4693 modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
4695 See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
4697 Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
4698 "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
4699 the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
4700 Also see the 'clipboard' option.
4702 *'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
4703 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
4704 global
4705 {not in Vi}
4706 {only works in the GUI}
4707 The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
4708 When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
4709 mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
4710 default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
4711 a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
4713 *'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
4714 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
4715 global
4716 {not in Vi}
4717 {only works in the GUI}
4718 When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
4719 The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
4721 *'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
4722 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
4723 global
4724 {not in Vi}
4725 Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
4726 the right mouse button is used for:
4727 extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
4728 like in an xterm.
4729 popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
4730 mouse button extends a selection. This works like
4731 with Microsoft Windows.
4732 popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
4733 position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
4734 selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
4735 If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
4736 be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
4737 course, that right clicking outside a selection will
4738 end Visual mode.
4739 Overview of what button does what for each model:
4740 mouse extend popup(_setpos) ~
4741 left click place cursor place cursor
4742 left drag start selection start selection
4743 shift-left search word extend selection
4744 right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
4745 right drag extend selection -
4746 middle click paste paste
4748 In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
4749 You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
4751 Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
4752 See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
4753 selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
4755 The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4757 *'mouseshape'* *'mouses'* *E547*
4758 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
4759 m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
4760 global
4761 {not in Vi}
4762 {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape|
4763 feature}
4764 This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
4765 different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much
4766 like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
4767 and an argument-list:
4768 mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
4769 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
4770 In a normal window: ~
4771 n Normal mode
4772 v Visual mode
4773 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
4774 if not specified)
4775 o Operator-pending mode
4776 i Insert mode
4777 r Replace mode
4779 Others: ~
4780 c appending to the command-line
4781 ci inserting in the command-line
4782 cr replacing in the command-line
4783 m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
4784 ml idem, but cursor in the last line
4785 e any mode, pointer below last window
4786 s any mode, pointer on a status line
4787 sd any mode, while dragging a status line
4788 vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
4789 vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
4790 a everywhere
4792 The shape is one of the following:
4793 avail name looks like ~
4794 w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
4795 w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
4796 w x beam I-beam
4797 w x updown up-down sizing arrows
4798 w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
4799 w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
4800 w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
4801 x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
4802 x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
4803 x crosshair like a big thin +
4804 x hand1 black hand
4805 x hand2 white hand
4806 x pencil what you write with
4807 x question big ?
4808 x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
4809 w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
4810 x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
4812 The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
4813 x for X11.
4814 Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
4815 pointer.
4817 Example: >
4818 :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
4819 < will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
4820 indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
4821 clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
4823 *'mousetime'* *'mouset'*
4824 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
4825 global
4826 {not in Vi}
4827 Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
4828 time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
4829 recognized as a multi click.
4831 *'mzquantum'* *'mzq'*
4832 'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
4833 global
4834 {not in Vi}
4835 {not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme|
4836 feature}
4837 The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
4838 Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
4840 *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
4841 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
4842 local to buffer
4843 {not in Vi}
4844 This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
4845 CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
4846 respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
4847 alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
4848 incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
4849 letter index a), b), etc.
4850 octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
4851 to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
4852 hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
4853 considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
4854 "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
4855 Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
4856 considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
4857 recognized as octal or hex.
4859 *'number'* *'nu'* *'nonumber'* *'nonu'*
4860 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
4861 local to window
4862 Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
4863 excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
4864 line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
4865 The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
4866 number.
4867 When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
4868 characters are put before the number.
4869 See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
4871 *'numberwidth'* *'nuw'*
4872 'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
4873 local to window
4874 {not in Vi}
4875 {only available when compiled with the |+linebreak|
4876 feature}
4877 Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
4878 when the 'number' option is set or printing lines with a line number.
4879 Since one space is always between the number and the text, there is
4880 one less character for the number itself.
4881 The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
4882 fit the highest line number in the buffer. Thus with the Vim default
4883 of 4 there is room for a line number up to 999. When the buffer has
4884 1000 lines five columns will be used.
4885 The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 10.
4886 NOTE: 'numberwidth' is reset to 8 when 'compatible' is set.
4888 *'omnifunc'* *'ofu'*
4889 'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
4890 local to buffer
4891 {not in Vi}
4892 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4893 or +insert_expand feature}
4894 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
4895 completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
4896 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
4897 invoked and what it should return.
4898 This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
4899 |:filetype-plugin-on|
4902 *'opendevice'* *'odev'* *'noopendevice'* *'noodev'*
4903 'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
4904 global
4905 {not in Vi}
4906 {only for MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
4907 Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
4908 device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
4909 it is off by default.
4910 Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
4911 result in editing a device.
4914 *'operatorfunc'* *'opfunc'*
4915 'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
4916 global
4917 {not in Vi}
4918 This option specifies a function to be called by the |g@| operator.
4919 See |:map-operator| for more info and an example.
4921 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4922 security reasons.
4925 *'osfiletype'* *'oft'* *E366*
4926 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
4927 others default: "")
4928 local to buffer
4929 {not in Vi}
4930 {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype|
4931 feature}
4932 Some operating systems store extra information about files besides
4933 name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra
4934 information, the nature of which will vary between systems.
4935 The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and
4936 is used to set the operating system file type when file is written.
4937 It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands.
4938 |autocmd-osfiletypes|
4940 *'paragraphs'* *'para'*
4941 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp")
4942 global
4943 Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
4944 of two letters (see |object-motions|).
4946 *'paste'* *'nopaste'*
4947 'paste' boolean (default off)
4948 global
4949 {not in Vi}
4950 Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
4951 some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
4952 unexpected effects.
4953 Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
4954 cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
4955 knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
4956 being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
4957 mouse clicks itself.
4958 This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
4959 your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
4960 'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
4961 will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
4962 When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
4963 - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
4964 - abbreviations are disabled
4965 - 'textwidth' is set to 0
4966 - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
4967 - 'autoindent' is reset
4968 - 'smartindent' is reset
4969 - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
4970 - 'revins' is reset
4971 - 'ruler' is reset
4972 - 'showmatch' is reset
4973 - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
4974 These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
4975 - 'lisp'
4976 - 'indentexpr'
4977 - 'cindent'
4978 NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
4979 on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
4980 settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
4981 set the 'paste' option again.
4982 When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
4983 the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
4984 Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
4985 Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
4986 the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
4988 *'pastetoggle'* *'pt'*
4989 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
4990 global
4991 {not in Vi}
4992 When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
4993 option. This is like specifying a mapping: >
4994 :map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
4995 < Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
4996 The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
4997 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
4998 Command-line mode.
4999 Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
5000 when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
5001 this: >
5002 :map <F10> :set paste<CR>
5003 :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
5004 :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
5005 :imap <F11> <nop>
5006 :set pastetoggle=<F11>
5007 < This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
5008 Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
5009 mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
5010 sequence.
5011 When the value has several bytes 'ttimeoutlen' applies.
5013 *'pex'* *'patchexpr'*
5014 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
5015 global
5016 {not in Vi}
5017 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
5018 feature}
5019 Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
5020 the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
5022 *'patchmode'* *'pm'* *E206*
5023 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
5024 global
5025 {not in Vi}
5026 When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
5027 to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
5028 source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
5029 copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
5030 name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
5031 appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
5032 ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The
5033 backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has
5034 been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a
5035 backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is
5036 created.
5037 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
5038 Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
5039 end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
5040 recognized as a compressed file.
5041 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
5043 *'path'* *'pa'* *E343* *E345* *E347*
5044 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
5045 on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,,"
5046 other systems: ".,,")
5047 global or local to buffer |global-local|
5048 {not in Vi}
5049 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
5050 |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find|, |:sfind|, |:tabfind| and other commands,
5051 provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not
5052 starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The directories in the 'path'
5053 option may be relative or absolute.
5054 - Use commas to separate directory names: >
5055 :set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
5056 < - Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
5057 compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
5058 name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space: >
5059 :set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
5060 < - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
5061 backslash: >
5062 :set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
5063 < - To search relative to the directory of the current file, use: >
5064 :set path=.
5065 < - To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
5066 commas: >
5067 :set path=,,
5068 < - A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
5069 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5070 - When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
5071 "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
5072 - Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree using "*", "**" and
5073 ";". See |file-searching| for info and syntax.
5074 {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
5075 - Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option: >
5076 :set path=.,c:\\include
5077 < Or just use '/' instead: >
5078 :set path=.,c:/include
5079 < Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
5080 the file!
5081 The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
5082 it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
5083 You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
5084 'path', see |:checkpath|.
5085 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
5086 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
5087 uses another default. To remove the current directory use: >
5088 :set path-=
5089 < To add the current directory use: >
5090 :set path+=
5091 < To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
5092 separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
5093 names are separated with a semi-colon: >
5094 :let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
5095 < Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
5096 this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
5098 *'preserveindent'* *'pi'* *'nopreserveindent'* *'nopi'*
5099 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
5100 local to buffer
5101 {not in Vi}
5102 When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
5103 indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
5104 series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is
5105 enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
5106 means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
5107 for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
5108 'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
5109 a Tab.
5110 NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
5111 tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
5112 NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5113 Also see 'copyindent'.
5114 Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
5116 *'previewheight'* *'pvh'*
5117 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
5118 global
5119 {not in Vi}
5120 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5121 |+quickfix| feature}
5122 Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated
5123 commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
5125 *'previewwindow'* *'nopreviewwindow'*
5126 *'pvw'* *'nopvw'* *E590*
5127 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
5128 local to window
5129 {not in Vi}
5130 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5131 |+quickfix| feature}
5132 Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
5133 set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
5134 |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
5136 *'printdevice'* *'pdev'*
5137 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
5138 global
5139 {not in Vi}
5140 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5141 feature}
5142 The name of the printer to be used for |:hardcopy|.
5143 See |pdev-option|.
5144 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5145 security reasons.
5147 *'printencoding'* *'penc'*
5148 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for some systems)
5149 global
5150 {not in Vi}
5151 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5152 and |+postscript| features}
5153 Sets the character encoding used when printing.
5154 See |penc-option|.
5156 *'printexpr'* *'pexpr'*
5157 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
5158 global
5159 {not in Vi}
5160 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5161 and |+postscript| features}
5162 Expression used to print the PostScript produced with |:hardcopy|.
5163 See |pexpr-option|.
5165 *'printfont'* *'pfn'*
5166 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
5167 global
5168 {not in Vi}
5169 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5170 feature}
5171 The name of the font that will be used for |:hardcopy|.
5172 See |pfn-option|.
5174 *'printheader'* *'pheader'*
5175 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
5176 global
5177 {not in Vi}
5178 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5179 feature}
5180 The format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output.
5181 See |pheader-option|.
5183 *'printmbcharset'* *'pmbcs'*
5184 'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
5185 global
5186 {not in Vi}
5187 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5188 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5189 The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5190 See |pmbcs-option|.
5192 *'printmbfont'* *'pmbfn'*
5193 'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
5194 global
5195 {not in Vi}
5196 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5197 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5198 List of font names to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5199 See |pmbfn-option|.
5201 *'printoptions'* *'popt'*
5202 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
5203 global
5204 {not in Vi}
5205 {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
5206 List of items that control the format of the output of |:hardcopy|.
5207 See |popt-option|.
5209 *'prompt'* *'noprompt'*
5210 'prompt' boolean (default on)
5211 global
5212 When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
5214 *'pumheight'* *'ph'*
5215 'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
5216 global
5217 {not available when compiled without the
5218 |+insert_expand| feature}
5219 {not in Vi}
5220 Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
5221 Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
5222 |ins-completion-menu|.
5225 *'quoteescape'* *'qe'*
5226 'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
5227 local to buffer
5228 {not in Vi}
5229 The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
5230 objects like a', a" and a` |a'|.
5231 When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
5232 the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
5233 text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
5235 *'readonly'* *'ro'* *'noreadonly'* *'noro'*
5236 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
5237 local to buffer
5238 If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
5239 accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
5240 in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
5241 When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
5242 buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
5243 {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is
5244 set for the newly edited buffer.
5246 *'redrawtime'* *'rdt'*
5247 'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
5248 global
5249 {not in Vi}
5250 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime|
5251 feature}
5252 The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
5253 searching for patterns for 'hlsearch' and |:match| highlighting.
5254 When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
5255 matches will be highlighted. This is used to avoid that Vim hangs
5256 when using a very complicated pattern.
5258 *'remap'* *'noremap'*
5259 'remap' boolean (default on)
5260 global
5261 Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
5262 a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
5263 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
5264 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
5265 old Vi scripts.
5267 *'report'*
5268 'report' number (default 2)
5269 global
5270 Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
5271 changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
5272 ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
5273 For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
5274 instead of the number of lines.
5276 *'restorescreen'* *'rs'* *'norestorescreen'* *'nors'*
5277 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
5278 global
5279 {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
5280 When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
5281 happens when executing external commands.
5283 For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
5284 options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
5285 set t_ti= t_te=
5286 To enable restoring (for an xterm):
5287 set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
5288 (Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
5290 *'revins'* *'ri'* *'norevins'* *'nori'*
5291 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
5292 global
5293 {not in Vi}
5294 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5295 feature}
5296 Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
5297 backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
5298 command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
5299 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
5301 *'rightleft'* *'rl'* *'norightleft'* *'norl'*
5302 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
5303 local to window
5304 {not in Vi}
5305 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5306 feature}
5307 When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
5308 that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
5309 Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
5310 are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
5311 This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
5312 simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
5313 useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
5314 and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
5315 in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
5317 *'rightleftcmd'* *'rlc'* *'norightleftcmd'* *'norlc'*
5318 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
5319 local to window
5320 {not in Vi}
5321 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5322 feature}
5323 Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
5324 right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
5326 search "/" and "?" commands
5328 This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
5329 The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
5331 *'ruler'* *'ru'* *'noruler'* *'noru'*
5332 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
5333 global
5334 {not in Vi}
5335 {not available when compiled without the
5336 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5337 Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
5338 comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
5339 text in the file is shown on the far right:
5340 Top first line is visible
5341 Bot last line is visible
5342 All first and last line are visible
5343 45% relative position in the file
5344 If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
5345 Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
5346 ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
5347 screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
5348 this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'
5349 If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
5350 bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both
5351 the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
5352 separated with a dash.
5353 For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
5354 For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
5355 This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5356 If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
5357 you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|.
5358 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5360 *'rulerformat'* *'ruf'*
5361 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
5362 global
5363 {not in Vi}
5364 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
5365 feature}
5366 When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
5367 string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
5368 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
5369 The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
5370 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
5371 Example: >
5372 :set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
5373 <
5374 *'runtimepath'* *'rtp'* *vimfiles*
5375 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
5376 Unix: "$HOME/.vim,
5377 $VIM/vimfiles,
5378 $VIMRUNTIME,
5379 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5380 $HOME/.vim/after"
5381 Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
5382 $VIM/vimfiles,
5383 $VIMRUNTIME,
5384 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5385 home:vimfiles/after"
5386 PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
5387 $VIM/vimfiles,
5388 $VIMRUNTIME,
5389 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5390 $HOME/vimfiles/after"
5391 Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles,
5392 $VIMRUNTIME,
5393 $VIM:vimfiles:after"
5394 RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
5395 $VIMRUNTIME,
5396 Choices:vimfiles/after"
5397 VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
5398 $VIM/vimfiles,
5399 $VIMRUNTIME,
5400 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5401 sys$login:vimfiles/after")
5402 global
5403 {not in Vi}
5404 This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
5405 files:
5406 filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype|
5407 scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts|
5408 autoload/ automatically loaded scripts |autoload-functions|
5409 colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme|
5410 compiler/ compiler files |:compiler|
5411 doc/ documentation |write-local-help|
5412 ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin|
5413 indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression|
5414 keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap|
5415 lang/ menu translations |:menutrans|
5416 menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim|
5417 plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin|
5418 print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding|
5419 spell/ spell checking files |spell|
5420 syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile|
5421 tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
5423 And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
5425 The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
5426 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
5427 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
5428 administrator.
5429 3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
5430 *after-directory*
5431 4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
5432 for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
5433 defaults (rarely needed)
5434 5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
5435 personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
5436 or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
5438 Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
5439 wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
5440 runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
5441 wildcards.
5442 See |:runtime|.
5443 Example: >
5444 :set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
5445 < This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
5446 personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
5447 group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
5448 files).
5449 You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
5450 distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
5451 to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
5452 a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
5453 runtime files.
5454 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5455 security reasons.
5457 *'scroll'* *'scr'*
5458 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
5459 local to window
5460 Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
5461 set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
5462 changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
5463 be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
5464 height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives
5465 the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference
5466 when lines wrap}
5468 *'scrollbind'* *'scb'* *'noscrollbind'* *'noscb'*
5469 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
5470 local to window
5471 {not in Vi}
5472 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5473 feature}
5474 See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current
5475 window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have
5476 this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the
5477 differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
5478 See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be
5479 interpreted.
5480 This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
5481 file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
5482 with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
5484 *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
5485 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
5486 global
5487 {not in Vi}
5488 Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
5489 screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
5490 CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
5491 When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
5492 percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
5493 height.
5494 NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
5496 *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
5497 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
5498 global
5499 {not in Vi}
5500 Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
5501 This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
5502 you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
5503 in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
5504 when long lines wrap).
5505 For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
5506 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5508 *'scrollopt'* *'sbo'*
5509 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
5510 global
5511 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5512 feature}
5513 {not in Vi}
5514 This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
5515 'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
5516 Options.
5517 The following words are available:
5518 ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5519 hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5520 jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
5521 scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
5522 displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
5523 around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
5524 reach a position before the start or after the end of
5525 the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
5526 moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
5527 to the desired position when possible.
5528 When now making that window the current one, two
5529 things can be done with the relative offset:
5530 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
5531 adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
5532 window. When going back to the other window, the
5533 new relative offset will be used.
5534 2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
5535 scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
5536 going back to the other window, it still uses the
5537 same relative offset.
5538 Also see |scroll-binding|.
5539 When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
5540 even when "ver" isn't there.
5542 *'sections'* *'sect'*
5543 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
5544 global
5545 Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
5546 two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start
5547 at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
5549 *'secure'* *'nosecure'* *E523*
5550 'secure' boolean (default off)
5551 global
5552 {not in Vi}
5553 When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
5554 ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
5555 displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
5556 problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
5557 only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
5558 dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
5559 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
5560 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5561 security reasons.
5563 *'selection'* *'sel'*
5564 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
5565 global
5566 {not in Vi}
5567 This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
5568 in Visual and Select mode.
5569 Possible values:
5570 value past line inclusive ~
5571 old no yes
5572 inclusive yes yes
5573 exclusive yes no
5574 "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
5575 character past the line.
5576 "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
5577 in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
5578 selection.
5579 Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
5580 backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
5581 starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
5583 The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5585 *'selectmode'* *'slm'*
5586 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
5587 global
5588 {not in Vi}
5589 This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start
5590 Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
5591 Possible values:
5592 mouse when using the mouse
5593 key when using shifted special keys
5594 cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
5595 See |Select-mode|.
5596 The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5598 *'sessionoptions'* *'ssop'*
5599 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
5600 help,options,tabpages,winsize")
5601 global
5602 {not in Vi}
5603 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
5604 feature}
5605 Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma
5606 separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
5607 something:
5608 word save and restore ~
5609 blank empty windows
5610 buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
5611 curdir the current directory
5612 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
5613 fold options
5614 globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
5615 and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
5616 String and Number types are stored.
5617 help the help window
5618 localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
5619 global values for local options)
5620 options all options and mappings (also global values for local
5621 options)
5622 resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
5623 sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
5624 will become the current directory (useful with
5625 projects accessed over a network from different
5626 systems)
5627 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
5628 slashes
5629 tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
5630 is restored, so that you can make a session for each
5631 tab page separately
5632 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
5633 on Windows or DOS
5634 winpos position of the whole Vim window
5635 winsize window sizes
5637 Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
5638 When neither "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored
5639 with absolute paths.
5640 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
5641 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
5642 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
5644 *'shell'* *'sh'* *E91*
5645 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
5646 MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or
5647 "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
5648 global
5649 Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
5650 value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
5651 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
5652 It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
5653 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
5654 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5655 If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose
5656 it in quotes. Example: >
5657 :set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
5658 < Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
5659 each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
5660 "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
5661 name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
5662 separators.
5663 For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment
5664 variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the
5665 libc.inf file of DJGPP.
5666 Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
5667 included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
5668 works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
5669 filtering).
5670 For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
5671 changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this: >
5672 :set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
5673 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5674 security reasons.
5676 *'shellcmdflag'* *'shcf'*
5677 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5678 does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
5679 global
5680 {not in Vi}
5681 Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
5682 "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like
5683 systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to
5684 reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for
5685 OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about
5686 including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|.
5687 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5688 security reasons.
5690 *'shellpipe'* *'sp'*
5691 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")
5692 global
5693 {not in Vi}
5694 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
5695 feature}
5696 String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
5697 error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about
5698 including spaces and backslashes.
5699 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5700 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5701 of this option).
5702 For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly
5703 saved in a file and not echoed to the screen.
5704 For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
5705 in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
5706 "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
5707 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes
5708 "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included.
5709 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5710 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5711 there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
5712 explicitly set before.
5713 When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
5714 ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
5715 that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
5716 want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
5717 Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
5718 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5719 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5720 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5721 security reasons.
5723 *'shellquote'* *'shq'*
5724 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5725 contains "sh" somewhere: "\"")
5726 global
5727 {not in Vi}
5728 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5729 the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
5730 quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
5731 probably not useful to set both options.
5732 This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
5733 third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell
5734 or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according
5735 the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the
5736 user. See |dos-shell|.
5737 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5738 security reasons.
5740 *'shellredir'* *'srr'*
5741 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
5742 global
5743 {not in Vi}
5744 String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
5745 file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
5746 and backslashes.
5747 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5748 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5749 of this option).
5750 The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh"
5751 or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
5752 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes
5753 ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included.
5754 For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked
5755 for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with
5756 ".exe" appended are checked for.
5757 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5758 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5759 there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
5760 explicitly set before.
5761 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5762 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5763 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5764 security reasons.
5766 *'shellslash'* *'ssl'* *'noshellslash'* *'nossl'*
5767 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
5768 global
5769 {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5770 When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
5771 useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or
5772 cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to
5773 forward slashes by Vim.
5774 Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
5775 existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
5776 any file for best results. This might change in the future.
5777 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
5778 separator. To test if this is so use: >
5779 if exists('+shellslash')
5780 <
5781 *'shelltemp'* *'stmp'* *'noshelltemp'* *'nostmp'*
5782 'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
5783 global
5784 {not in Vi}
5785 When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
5786 When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
5787 Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix. You can check it with: >
5788 :if has("filterpipe")
5789 < The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
5790 and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
5791 The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
5792 can be detected.
5793 The |FilterReadPre|, |FilterReadPost| and |FilterWritePre|,
5794 |FilterWritePost| autocommands event are not triggered when
5795 'shelltemp' is off.
5797 *'shelltype'* *'st'*
5798 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
5799 global
5800 {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
5801 On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
5802 which use a shell.
5803 0 and 1: always use the shell
5804 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
5805 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
5806 When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
5808 0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
5809 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
5811 *'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
5812 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
5813 for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
5814 somewhere: "\""
5815 for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
5816 global
5817 {not in Vi}
5818 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5819 the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
5820 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
5821 to set both options.
5822 This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for
5823 third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn
5824 Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted
5825 according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option
5826 by the user. See |dos-shell|.
5827 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5828 security reasons.
5830 *'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
5831 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
5832 global
5833 {not in Vi}
5834 Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
5835 commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
5836 a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
5837 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5839 *'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
5840 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
5841 local to buffer
5842 Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
5843 |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
5845 *'shortmess'* *'shm'*
5846 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "",
5847 POSIX default: "A")
5848 global
5849 {not in Vi}
5850 This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file
5851 messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
5852 It is a list of flags:
5853 flag meaning when present ~
5854 f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)"
5855 i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]"
5856 l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters"
5857 m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]"
5858 n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]"
5859 r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]"
5860 w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
5861 and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
5862 x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
5863 "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
5864 a all of the above abbreviations
5866 o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
5867 for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
5868 O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
5869 Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
5870 s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
5871 hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
5872 t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
5873 on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column.
5874 Ignored in Ex mode.
5875 T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
5876 fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.
5877 Ignored in Ex mode.
5878 W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file
5879 A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
5880 is found.
5881 I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
5883 This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
5884 requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
5885 possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
5886 would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
5887 Useful values:
5888 shm= No abbreviation of message.
5889 shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
5890 shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
5892 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5893 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5895 *'shortname'* *'sn'* *'noshortname'* *'nosn'*
5896 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
5897 local to buffer
5898 {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
5899 Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
5900 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
5901 option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
5902 adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available
5903 for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful
5904 when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
5905 or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this
5906 option is always on by default.
5908 *'showbreak'* *'sbr'* *E595*
5909 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
5910 global
5911 {not in Vi}
5912 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
5913 feature}
5914 String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
5915 values are "> " or "+++ ".
5916 Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
5917 comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
5918 part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
5919 The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
5920 'highlight'.
5921 Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
5922 If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
5923 "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
5925 *'showcmd'* *'sc'* *'noshowcmd'* *'nosc'*
5926 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
5927 off)
5928 global
5929 {not in Vi}
5930 {not available when compiled without the
5931 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5932 Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
5933 option off if your terminal is slow.
5934 In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
5935 - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
5936 - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
5937 - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters:
5938 {lines}x{columns}.
5939 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5940 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5942 *'showfulltag'* *'sft'* *'noshowfulltag'* *'nosft'*
5943 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
5944 global
5945 {not in Vi}
5946 When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the
5947 tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
5948 pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
5949 matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
5950 required (coding style permitting).
5951 Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
5952 'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
5953 match the typed text.
5955 *'showmatch'* *'sm'* *'noshowmatch'* *'nosm'*
5956 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
5957 global
5958 When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
5959 jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
5960 show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
5961 A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
5962 seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5963 When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
5964 will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
5965 See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
5966 blinking when showing the match.
5967 The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
5968 matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
5969 matches.
5970 Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
5971 around |pi_paren.txt|.
5972 Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
5974 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
5975 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
5976 global
5977 If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
5978 Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
5979 this message.
5980 When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
5981 doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
5982 not set.
5983 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5984 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5986 *'showtabline'* *'stal'*
5987 'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
5988 global
5989 {not in Vi}
5990 {not available when compiled without the +windows
5991 feature}
5992 The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
5993 will be displayed:
5994 0: never
5995 1: only if there are at least two tab pages
5996 2: always
5997 This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
5998 line.
5999 See |tab-page| for more information about tab pages.
6001 *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
6002 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
6003 global
6004 {not in Vi}
6005 The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
6006 the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
6007 When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
6008 When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
6009 a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
6010 commands.
6012 *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
6013 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
6014 global
6015 {not in Vi}
6016 The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
6017 right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
6018 value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero
6019 value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
6020 horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
6021 to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
6022 horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
6023 close to the beginning of the line.
6024 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6026 Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
6027 in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
6028 onto the "extends" character:
6030 :set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
6031 :set sidescrolloff=1
6034 *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
6035 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
6036 global
6037 {not in Vi}
6038 Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
6039 case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
6040 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
6041 ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After
6042 "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
6043 recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
6044 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6046 *'smartindent'* *'si'* *'nosmartindent'* *'nosi'*
6047 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
6048 local to buffer
6049 {not in Vi}
6050 {not available when compiled without the
6051 |+smartindent| feature}
6052 Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
6053 programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
6054 something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
6055 see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect.
6056 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative.
6057 Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
6058 An indent is automatically inserted:
6059 - After a line ending in '{'.
6060 - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
6061 - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
6062 When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
6063 given the same indent as the matching '{'.
6064 When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
6065 that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
6066 is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
6067 mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
6068 When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
6069 right.
6070 NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste'
6071 is set smart indenting is disabled.
6073 *'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
6074 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
6075 global
6076 {not in Vi}
6077 When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
6078 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
6079 <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
6080 line.
6081 When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
6082 'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
6083 right |shift-left-right|.
6084 What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
6085 option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
6086 number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6087 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6089 *'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
6090 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
6091 local to buffer
6092 {not in Vi}
6093 Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
6094 operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
6095 <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
6096 used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
6097 of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
6098 commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
6099 When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
6100 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
6101 See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
6102 spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6103 The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
6104 set.
6105 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6107 *'spell'* *'nospell'*
6108 'spell' boolean (default off)
6109 local to window
6110 {not in Vi}
6111 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6112 feature}
6113 When on spell checking will be done. See |spell|.
6114 The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
6116 *'spellcapcheck'* *'spc'*
6117 'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
6118 local to buffer
6119 {not in Vi}
6120 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6121 feature}
6122 Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
6123 checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
6124 with SpellCap |hl-SpellCap| (unless the word is also badly spelled).
6125 When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
6126 Only used when 'spell' is set.
6127 Be careful with special characters, see |option-backslash| about
6128 including spaces and backslashes.
6129 To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
6130 |set-spc-auto|.
6132 *'spellfile'* *'spf'*
6133 'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
6134 local to buffer
6135 {not in Vi}
6136 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6137 feature}
6138 Name of the word list file where words are added for the |zg| and |zw|
6139 commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
6140 path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
6141 *E765*
6142 It may also be a comma separated list of names. A count before the
6143 |zg| and |zw| commands can be used to access each. This allows using
6144 a personal word list file and a project word list file.
6145 When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
6146 you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
6147 there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
6148 name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
6149 ignoring the region.
6150 The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
6151 have to appear in 'spelllang'.
6152 Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
6153 name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
6154 'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
6155 without region name will be found.
6156 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6157 security reasons.
6159 *'spelllang'* *'spl'*
6160 'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
6161 local to buffer
6162 {not in Vi}
6163 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6164 feature}
6165 A comma separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
6166 on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example: >
6167 set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
6168 < This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
6169 that are not recognized will be highlighted.
6170 The word list name must not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
6171 recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
6172 specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
6173 A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
6174 the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
6175 region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
6176 English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
6177 Britain.
6178 *E757*
6179 As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
6180 first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
6181 (_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
6182 This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
6183 encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
6184 When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
6185 idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
6186 files twice.
6187 How the related spell files are found is explained here: |spell-load|.
6189 If the |spellfile.vim| plugin is active and you use a language name
6190 for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
6191 will ask you if you want to download the file.
6193 After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
6194 "spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
6195 up to the first comma, dot or underscore.
6196 Also see |set-spc-auto|.
6199 *'spellsuggest'* *'sps'*
6200 'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
6201 global
6202 {not in Vi}
6203 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6204 feature}
6205 Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the |z=| command and
6206 the |spellsuggest()| function. This is a comma-separated list of
6207 items:
6209 best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
6210 changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
6211 scoring to improve the ordering.
6213 double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
6214 results. The first method is "fast", the other method
6215 computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
6216 word. That only works when the language specifies
6217 sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
6218 better results.
6220 fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
6221 character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
6222 simple typing mistakes.
6224 {number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for |z=|.
6225 Not used for |spellsuggest()|. The number of
6226 suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
6227 minus two.
6229 file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
6230 separated by a slash. The first column contains the
6231 bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
6232 Example:
6233 theribal/terrible ~
6234 Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
6235 top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
6236 Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
6237 comments.
6238 The file is used for all languages.
6240 expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
6241 trouble with spaces. |v:val| holds the badly spelled
6242 word. The expression must evaluate to a List of
6243 Lists, each with a suggestion and a score.
6244 Example:
6245 [['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
6246 Set 'verbose' and use |z=| to see the scores that the
6247 internal methods use. A lower score is better.
6248 This may invoke |spellsuggest()| if you temporarily
6249 set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
6250 Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
6251 'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
6253 Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
6254 appear several times in any order. Example: >
6255 :set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
6256 <
6257 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6258 security reasons.
6261 *'splitbelow'* *'sb'* *'nosplitbelow'* *'nosb'*
6262 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
6263 global
6264 {not in Vi}
6265 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6266 feature}
6267 When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
6268 one. |:split|
6270 *'splitright'* *'spr'* *'nosplitright'* *'nospr'*
6271 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
6272 global
6273 {not in Vi}
6274 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
6275 feature}
6276 When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
6277 current one. |:vsplit|
6279 *'startofline'* *'sol'* *'nostartofline'* *'nosol'*
6280 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
6281 global
6282 {not in Vi}
6283 When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
6284 non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
6285 (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B,
6286 CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", gg, and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>"
6287 with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing
6288 commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that
6289 only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
6290 In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
6291 where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
6292 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
6294 *'statusline'* *'stl'* *E540* *E541* *E542*
6295 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
6296 global or local to window |global-local|
6297 {not in Vi}
6298 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
6299 feature}
6300 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line.
6301 Also see |status-line|.
6303 The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
6304 normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
6305 %-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
6306 All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can
6307 be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
6309 When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
6310 evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example: >
6311 :set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
6312 < The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
6314 When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
6315 empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
6317 Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
6318 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
6320 field meaning ~
6321 - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
6322 when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
6323 0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
6324 minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
6325 Value must be 50 or less.
6326 maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
6327 on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
6328 shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
6329 where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
6330 an exponential notation.
6331 item A one letter code as described below.
6333 Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
6334 second character in "item" is the type:
6335 N for number
6336 S for string
6337 F for flags as described below
6338 - not applicable
6340 item meaning ~
6341 f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
6342 directory.
6343 F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
6344 t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
6345 m F Modified flag, text is "[+]"; "[-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
6346 M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
6347 r F Readonly flag, text is "[RO]".
6348 R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
6349 h F Help buffer flag, text is "[help]".
6350 H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
6351 w F Preview window flag, text is "[Preview]".
6352 W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
6353 y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., "[vim]". See 'filetype'.
6354 Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
6355 {not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
6356 k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
6357 being used: "<keymap>"
6358 n N Buffer number.
6359 b N Value of byte under cursor.
6360 B N As above, in hexadecimal.
6361 o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
6362 Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
6363 {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
6364 O N As above, in hexadecimal.
6365 N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
6366 l N Line number.
6367 L N Number of lines in buffer.
6368 c N Column number.
6369 v N Virtual column number.
6370 V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
6371 p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|.
6372 P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
6373 percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
6374 a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
6375 Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
6376 { NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
6377 Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'.
6378 ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
6379 alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
6380 ) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
6381 T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
6382 label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6383 X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
6384 label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
6385 mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6386 < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
6387 No width fields allowed.
6388 = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
6389 No width fields allowed.
6390 # - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
6391 Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
6392 highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
6393 windows.
6394 * - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
6395 minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
6396 The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied
6397 to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
6398 The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
6400 When displaying a flag, Vim removes the leading comma, if any, when
6401 that flag comes right after plaintext. This will make a nice display
6402 when flags are used like in the examples below.
6404 When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
6405 not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
6406 become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
6407 completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set. >
6408 :set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
6409 <
6410 Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
6411 line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set
6412 temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
6413 currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
6414 The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the
6415 real current buffer.
6417 The 'statusline' option may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
6418 |sandbox-option|.
6420 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
6421 evaluating 'statusline' |textlock|.
6423 If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
6424 a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
6425 setting an option without changing its value. Example: >
6426 :let &ro = &ro
6428 < A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
6429 Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
6430 described above.
6432 Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
6433 If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
6434 edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
6436 Examples:
6437 Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set >
6438 :set statusline=%<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
6439 < Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga") >
6440 :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
6441 < Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red. >
6442 :set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
6443 :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
6444 < Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded >
6445 :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
6446 < In the |:autocmd|'s: >
6447 :let b:gzflag = 1
6448 < And: >
6449 :unlet b:gzflag
6450 < And define this function: >
6451 :function VarExists(var, val)
6452 : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
6453 :endfunction
6454 <
6455 *'suffixes'* *'su'*
6456 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
6457 global
6458 {not in Vi}
6459 Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
6460 match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the
6461 suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
6462 the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
6463 separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about
6464 including spaces and backslashes).
6465 See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
6466 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6467 suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6468 uses another default.
6470 *'suffixesadd'* *'sua'*
6471 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
6472 local to buffer
6473 {not in Vi}
6474 {not available when compiled without the
6475 |+file_in_path| feature}
6476 Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
6477 file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example: >
6478 :set suffixesadd=.java
6479 <
6480 *'swapfile'* *'swf'* *'noswapfile'* *'noswf'*
6481 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
6482 local to buffer
6483 {not in Vi}
6484 Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
6485 swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
6486 confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
6487 Careful: All text will be in memory:
6488 - Don't use this for big files.
6489 - Recovery will be impossible!
6490 A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and
6491 'swapfile' is set.
6492 When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
6493 immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
6494 non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
6495 Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
6497 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
6498 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
6500 *'swapsync'* *'sws'*
6501 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
6502 global
6503 {not in Vi}
6504 When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
6505 writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
6506 When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
6507 not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
6508 On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
6509 so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
6510 systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
6511 setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
6512 fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
6513 The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
6515 *'switchbuf'* *'swb'*
6516 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
6517 global
6518 {not in Vi}
6519 This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
6520 Possible values (comma separated list):
6521 useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
6522 contains the specified buffer (if there is one).
6523 Otherwise: Do not examine other windows.
6524 This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when
6525 jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is
6526 also used in all buffer related split commands, for
6527 example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
6528 usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
6529 pages.
6530 split If included, split the current window before loading
6531 a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window.
6532 Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
6533 newtab Like "split", but open a new tab page. Overrules
6534 "split" when both are present.
6536 *'synmaxcol'* *'smc'*
6537 'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
6538 local to buffer
6539 {not in Vi}
6540 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6541 feature}
6542 Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
6543 text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
6544 be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
6545 This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
6546 long line.
6547 Set to zero to remove the limit.
6549 *'syntax'* *'syn'*
6550 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
6551 local to buffer
6552 {not in Vi}
6553 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6554 feature}
6555 When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
6556 syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
6557 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
6558 b:current_syntax variable does).
6559 This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
6560 not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
6561 /* vim: set syntax=idl : */ ~
6562 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
6563 names. Example:
6564 /* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */ ~
6565 This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
6566 Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
6567 otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
6568 To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use: >
6569 :set syntax=OFF
6570 < To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
6571 'filetype' option: >
6572 :set syntax=ON
6573 < What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
6574 Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
6575 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
6576 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
6577 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
6579 *'tabline'* *'tal'*
6580 'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
6581 global
6582 {not in Vi}
6583 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6584 feature}
6585 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
6586 line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
6587 tab pages line. See |setting-tabline| for more info.
6589 The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
6590 option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
6591 'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
6592 instead.
6594 The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
6595 |tabpagenr()|, |tabpagewinnr()| and |tabpagebuflist()| to figure out
6596 the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
6597 the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
6599 Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
6600 are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
6603 *'tabpagemax'* *'tpm'*
6604 'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
6605 global
6606 {not in Vi}
6607 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6608 feature}
6609 Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the |-p| command line
6610 argument or the ":tab all" command. |tabpage|
6613 *'tabstop'* *'ts'*
6614 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
6615 local to buffer
6616 Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
6617 |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
6619 Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
6620 appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
6622 There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
6623 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
6624 (or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
6625 will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
6626 behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
6627 2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
6628 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
6629 formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
6630 3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
6631 |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
6632 works when using Vim to edit the file.
6633 4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
6634 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
6635 for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
6636 tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
6637 though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
6638 changed.
6640 *'tagbsearch'* *'tbs'* *'notagbsearch'* *'notbs'*
6641 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
6642 global
6643 {not in Vi}
6644 When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either
6645 use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
6646 searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
6647 will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
6648 Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
6649 they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
6650 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
6652 When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
6653 files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
6654 certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
6655 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
6657 Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
6658 at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted: >
6659 !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
6660 < [The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
6662 When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
6663 files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used
6664 instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
6665 Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
6666 be found in the retry.
6668 If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
6669 linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value
6670 of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be
6671 case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in
6672 the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version
6673 5.x or higher (at least 5.5) the --sort=foldcase switch can be used
6674 for this as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this
6675 to work.
6677 When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
6678 exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
6679 files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
6680 When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
6681 ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
6682 must be included in the tags file.
6683 This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
6684 command-line completion and ":help").
6685 {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
6687 *'taglength'* *'tl'*
6688 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
6689 global
6690 If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
6692 *'tagrelative'* *'tr'* *'notagrelative'* *'notr'*
6693 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6694 global
6695 {not in Vi}
6696 If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
6697 tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
6698 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6699 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6701 *'tags'* *'tag'* *E433*
6702 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
6703 |+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
6704 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6705 Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
6706 include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash
6707 (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes).
6708 When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
6709 of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
6710 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see
6711 |tags-option|.
6712 "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
6713 a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled
6714 without the |+path_extra| feature}
6715 The |tagfiles()| function can be used to get a list of the file names
6716 actually used.
6717 If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag
6718 files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
6719 default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
6720 differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags|
6721 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6722 file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6723 uses another default.
6724 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
6726 *'tagstack'* *'tgst'* *'notagstack'* *'notgst'*
6727 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
6728 global
6729 {not in all versions of Vi}
6730 When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
6731 ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
6732 tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
6733 any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
6734 tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
6735 Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
6736 mapping which should not change the tagstack.
6738 *'term'* *E529* *E530* *E531*
6739 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
6740 in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
6741 on Amiga: "amiga"
6742 on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
6743 on Mac: "mac-ansi"
6744 on MiNT: "vt52"
6745 on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
6746 on OS/2: "os2ansi"
6747 on Unix: "ansi"
6748 on VMS: "ansi"
6749 on Win 32: "win32")
6750 global
6751 Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
6752 characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
6753 For example: >
6754 :set term=$TERM
6755 < See |termcap|.
6757 *'termbidi'* *'tbidi'*
6758 *'notermbidi'* *'notbidi'*
6759 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
6760 global
6761 {not in Vi}
6762 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
6763 feature}
6764 The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
6765 by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
6766 that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
6767 Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
6768 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
6769 Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
6770 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
6771 This option is reset when the GUI is started.
6772 For further details see |arabic.txt|.
6774 *'termencoding'* *'tenc'*
6775 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""; with GTK+ 2 GUI: "utf-8"; with
6776 Macintosh GUI: "macroman")
6777 global
6778 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
6779 feature}
6780 {not in Vi}
6781 Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
6782 encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
6783 the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
6784 display). Except for the Mac when 'macatsui' is off, then
6785 'termencoding' should be "macroman".
6786 In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage
6787 when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
6788 *E617*
6789 Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 GUI. After the GUI has been
6790 successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set to "utf-8".
6791 Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected, and an error
6792 message is shown.
6793 For the Win32 GUI 'termencoding' is not used for typed characters,
6794 because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
6795 When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
6796 This is the normal value.
6797 Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
6798 |encoding-table|.
6799 The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
6800 iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
6801 will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
6802 Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
6803 want to edit a UTF-8 file: >
6804 :let &termencoding = &encoding
6805 :set encoding=utf-8
6806 < You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
6808 *'terse'* *'noterse'*
6809 'terse' boolean (default off)
6810 global
6811 When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
6812 for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
6813 displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
6814 shortens a lot of messages}
6816 *'textauto'* *'ta'* *'notextauto'* *'nota'*
6817 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6818 global
6819 {not in Vi}
6820 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
6821 For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
6822 set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
6823 reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
6824 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6825 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6827 *'textmode'* *'tx'* *'notextmode'* *'notx'*
6828 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
6829 others: default off)
6830 local to buffer
6831 {not in Vi}
6832 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
6833 For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
6834 set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
6835 "unix".
6837 *'textwidth'* *'tw'*
6838 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
6839 local to buffer
6840 {not in Vi}
6841 Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
6842 broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
6843 this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When
6844 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
6845 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|.
6846 When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
6847 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6849 *'thesaurus'* *'tsr'*
6850 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
6851 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6852 {not in Vi}
6853 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
6854 for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in
6855 the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by
6856 non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line
6857 length is 510 bytes.
6858 To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at
6859 http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk .
6860 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
6861 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
6862 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
6863 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6864 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6865 uses another default.
6866 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
6868 *'tildeop'* *'top'* *'notildeop'* *'notop'*
6869 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
6870 global
6871 {not in Vi}
6872 When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
6873 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6875 *'timeout'* *'to'* *'notimeout'* *'noto'*
6876 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
6877 global
6878 *'ttimeout'* *'nottimeout'*
6879 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
6880 global
6881 {not in Vi}
6882 These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
6883 mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
6885 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action ~
6886 off off do not time out
6887 on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
6888 off on time out on key codes
6890 If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
6891 mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
6892 is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
6893 example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
6894 character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
6895 When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
6896 the next character to arrive. After that the already received
6897 characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
6898 be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
6899 On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
6900 malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
6901 forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
6902 with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
6903 problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
6904 sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
6905 reset the 'timeout' option.
6907 NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6909 *'timeoutlen'* *'tm'*
6910 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
6911 global
6912 {not in all versions of Vi}
6913 *'ttimeoutlen'* *'ttm'*
6914 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
6915 global
6916 {not in Vi}
6917 The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
6918 sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
6919 when part of a command has been typed.
6920 Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
6921 different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
6922 a non-negative number.
6924 ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay ~
6925 < 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
6926 >= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
6928 The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
6929 tell so. A useful setting would be >
6930 :set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
6931 < (time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
6932 a tenth of a second).
6934 *'title'* *'notitle'*
6935 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
6936 global
6937 {not in Vi}
6938 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6939 feature}
6940 When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
6941 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
6942 filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
6943 Where:
6944 filename the name of the file being edited
6945 - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
6946 + indicates the file was modified
6947 = indicates the file is read-only
6948 =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
6949 (path) is the path of the file being edited
6950 - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
6951 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
6952 (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
6953 terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
6954 iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
6955 *X11*
6956 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
6957 be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
6958 when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
6959 works for the icon name |'icon'|.
6960 But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title
6961 will not work (except in the GUI).
6962 If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
6963 You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
6964 When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
6965 rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
6966 then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
6967 title of the window should change back to what it should be after
6968 exiting Vim.
6970 *'titlelen'*
6971 'titlelen' number (default 85)
6972 global
6973 {not in Vi}
6974 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6975 feature}
6976 Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
6977 title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
6978 shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
6979 Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
6980 it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
6981 available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
6982 bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
6983 values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
6984 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
6986 *'titleold'*
6987 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
6988 global
6989 {not in Vi}
6990 {only available when compiled with the |+title|
6991 feature}
6992 This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
6993 original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
6994 'titlestring' is not empty.
6995 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6996 security reasons.
6997 *'titlestring'*
6998 'titlestring' string (default "")
6999 global
7000 {not in Vi}
7001 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7002 feature}
7003 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
7004 window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
7005 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
7006 Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
7007 non-empty 't_ts' option).
7008 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7009 be restored if possible |X11|.
7010 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
7011 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'.
7012 Example: >
7013 :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p")
7014 :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
7015 < The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
7016 of the available space.
7017 Some people prefer to have the file name first: >
7018 :set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
7019 < Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
7020 without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
7021 separating space only when needed.
7022 NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
7023 to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
7024 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
7026 *'toolbar'* *'tb'*
7027 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
7028 global
7029 {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif| and
7030 |+GUI_Photon|}
7031 The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
7032 possible values are:
7033 icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
7034 text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
7035 horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
7036 horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
7037 tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
7038 Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
7039 cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
7041 If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
7042 following: >
7043 :set tb=icons,text
7044 < Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
7045 will show icons if both are requested.
7047 If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
7048 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
7049 the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example: >
7050 :set guioptions-=T
7051 < Also see |gui-toolbar|.
7053 *'toolbariconsize'* *'tbis'*
7054 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
7055 global
7056 {not in Vi}
7057 {only in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
7058 Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
7059 tiny Use tiny toolbar icons.
7060 small Use small toolbar icons (default).
7061 medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons.
7062 large Use large toolbar icons.
7063 The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
7064 the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24,
7065 small=20x20 and tiny=16x16.
7067 If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
7068 by user preferences or the current theme is used.
7070 *'ttybuiltin'* *'tbi'* *'nottybuiltin'* *'notbi'*
7071 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
7072 global
7073 {not in Vi}
7074 When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
7075 When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
7076 When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
7077 the change to take effect, for example: >
7078 :set notbi term=$TERM
7079 < See also |termcap|.
7080 Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
7081 termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
7082 xterm entries...).
7084 *'ttyfast'* *'tf'* *'nottyfast'* *'notf'*
7085 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
7086 sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or
7087 iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in
7088 a DOS console)
7089 global
7090 {not in Vi}
7091 Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
7092 the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
7093 commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
7094 windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
7095 Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
7096 line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
7097 mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
7099 *'ttymouse'* *'ttym'*
7100 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
7101 global
7102 {not in Vi}
7103 {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
7104 available when compiled without |+mouse|}
7105 Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
7106 Currently these strings are valid:
7107 *xterm-mouse*
7108 xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
7109 "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
7110 "s" = button state
7111 "c" = column plus 33
7112 "r" = row plus 33
7113 This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec" for a
7114 solution.
7115 xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
7116 mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
7117 much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
7118 least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
7119 work. See below for how Vim detects this
7120 automatically.
7121 *netterm-mouse*
7122 netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
7123 "<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
7124 for the row and column.
7125 *dec-mouse*
7126 dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
7127 rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
7128 This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
7129 configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
7130 *jsbterm-mouse*
7131 jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
7132 *pterm-mouse*
7133 pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
7135 The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm|
7136 |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|.
7137 Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
7138 recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
7139 are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
7140 "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict).
7141 This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
7142 set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm"
7143 or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to
7144 "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can
7145 handle xterm mouse codes.
7146 The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
7147 95 or higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse|
7148 feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the
7149 xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly.
7150 If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set
7151 t_RV to an empty string: >
7152 :set t_RV=
7153 <
7154 *'ttyscroll'* *'tsl'*
7155 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
7156 global
7157 Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
7158 to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
7159 very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
7160 e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
7162 *'ttytype'* *'tty'*
7163 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
7164 global
7165 Alias for 'term', see above.
7167 *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
7168 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
7169 Win32 and OS/2)
7170 global
7171 {not in Vi}
7172 Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
7173 is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
7174 (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
7175 Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
7176 itself: >
7177 set ul=0
7178 < But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
7179 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
7180 Set to a negative number for no undo at all: >
7181 set ul=-1
7182 < This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
7183 Also see |undo-two-ways|.
7185 *'updatecount'* *'uc'*
7186 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
7187 global
7188 {not in Vi}
7189 After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
7190 disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
7191 recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
7192 Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly
7193 mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
7194 The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|.
7195 When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
7196 created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
7197 is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
7198 Also see |'swapsync'|.
7199 This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile"
7200 or "nowrite".
7202 *'updatetime'* *'ut'*
7203 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
7204 global
7205 {not in Vi}
7206 If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
7207 written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the
7208 |CursorHold| autocommand event.
7210 *'verbose'* *'vbs'*
7211 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
7212 global
7213 {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean
7214 verbose option}
7215 When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
7216 Currently, these messages are given:
7217 >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
7218 >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
7219 >= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
7220 >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
7221 >= 9 Every executed autocommand.
7222 >= 12 Every executed function.
7223 >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
7224 >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
7225 >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
7227 This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|.
7228 This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
7230 When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
7231 displayed.
7233 *'verbosefile'* *'vfile'*
7234 'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
7235 global
7236 {not in Vi}
7237 When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
7238 When the file exists messages are appended.
7239 Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
7240 empty.
7241 Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
7242 The difference with |:redir| is that verbose messages are not
7243 displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
7245 *'viewdir'* *'vdir'*
7246 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
7247 "$VIM/vimfiles/view",
7248 for Unix: "~/.vim/view",
7249 for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view"
7250 for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view"
7251 for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
7252 global
7253 {not in Vi}
7254 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7255 feature}
7256 Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|.
7257 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7258 security reasons.
7260 *'viewoptions'* *'vop'*
7261 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
7262 global
7263 {not in Vi}
7264 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7265 feature}
7266 Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated
7267 list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
7268 word save and restore ~
7269 cursor cursor position in file and in window
7270 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
7271 fold options
7272 options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
7273 global values for local options)
7274 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
7275 slashes
7276 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
7277 on Windows or DOS
7279 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files
7280 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
7281 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
7283 *'viminfo'* *'vi'* *E526* *E527* *E528*
7284 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
7285 Windows and OS/2: '100,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
7286 for Amiga: '100,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
7287 for others: '100,<50,s10,h)
7288 global
7289 {not in Vi}
7290 {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo|
7291 feature}
7292 When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
7293 when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma
7294 separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character
7295 identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string
7296 which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular
7297 character is left out, then the default value is used for that
7298 parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and
7299 the effect of their value.
7300 CHAR VALUE ~
7301 ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
7302 with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
7303 letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
7304 and "_K_L_M" are not. Only String and Number types are
7305 stored.
7306 " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
7307 the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
7308 backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
7309 start of a comment!
7310 % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
7311 started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
7312 restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
7313 buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers
7314 without a file name and buffers for help files are not written
7315 to the viminfo file.
7316 When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
7317 number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
7318 buffers are stored.
7319 ' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
7320 are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
7321 'viminfo' is non-empty.
7322 Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the
7323 |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
7324 / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
7325 saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
7326 patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
7327 'history' is used.
7328 : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
7329 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7330 < Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
7331 registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
7332 saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
7333 Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
7334 @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
7335 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7336 c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
7337 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
7338 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
7339 f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
7340 to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
7341 non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
7342 cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
7343 h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
7344 file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
7345 has been used since the last search command.
7346 n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
7347 the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was
7348 given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one
7349 given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded
7350 when opening the file, not when setting the option.
7351 r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
7352 ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
7353 specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
7354 stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you
7355 could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
7356 also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
7357 ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
7358 characters.
7359 s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
7360 not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
7361 "s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
7362 Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
7364 Example: >
7365 :set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
7366 <
7367 '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
7368 edited.
7369 <1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
7370 remembered.
7371 s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
7372 :0 Command-line history will not be saved.
7373 n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
7374 no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
7375 that is, save all of the search history, and also the
7376 previous search and substitute patterns.
7377 no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
7378 no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
7380 When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to
7381 load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
7383 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7384 security reasons.
7386 *'virtualedit'* *'ve'*
7387 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
7388 global
7389 {not in Vi}
7390 {not available when compiled without the
7391 |+virtualedit| feature}
7392 A comma separated list of these words:
7393 block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
7394 insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
7395 all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
7396 onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
7398 Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
7399 no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
7400 of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
7401 editing a table.
7402 "onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
7403 after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
7404 consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
7405 if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
7406 break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because |l| can move
7407 the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
7408 Using the |$| command will move to the last character in the line, not
7409 past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
7410 It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
7411 not get a warning for it.
7413 *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
7414 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
7415 global
7416 {not in Vi}
7417 Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
7418 visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
7419 use ":set vb t_vb=".
7420 Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
7421 might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|.
7422 In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
7423 for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
7424 where 40 is the time in msec.
7425 Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
7426 Also see 'errorbells'.
7428 *'warn'* *'nowarn'*
7429 'warn' boolean (default on)
7430 global
7431 Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
7432 has been changed.
7434 *'weirdinvert'* *'wiv'* *'noweirdinvert'* *'nowiv'*
7435 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
7436 global
7437 {not in Vi}
7438 This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
7439 It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
7440 Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
7441 vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
7443 *'whichwrap'* *'ww'*
7444 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
7445 global
7446 {not in Vi}
7447 Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
7448 previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
7449 the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
7450 char key mode ~
7451 b <BS> Normal and Visual
7452 s <Space> Normal and Visual
7453 h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7454 l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7455 < <Left> Normal and Visual
7456 > <Right> Normal and Visual
7457 ~ "~" Normal
7458 [ <Left> Insert and Replace
7459 ] <Right> Insert and Replace
7460 For example: >
7461 :set ww=<,>,[,]
7462 < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
7463 When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
7464 operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
7465 different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
7466 is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
7467 "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
7468 ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
7469 cursor.
7470 When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
7471 line then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl",
7472 "yl" etc. work normally.
7473 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7474 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7476 *'wildchar'* *'wc'*
7477 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
7478 global
7479 {not in Vi}
7480 Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
7481 command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
7482 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7483 The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
7484 'wildcharm' for that.
7485 Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key: >
7486 :set wc=<Esc>
7487 < NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7488 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7490 *'wildcharm'* *'wcm'*
7491 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
7492 global
7493 {not in Vi}
7494 'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
7495 recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
7496 keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally
7497 you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
7498 automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.: >
7499 :set wcm=<C-Z>
7500 :cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
7501 < Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
7503 *'wildignore'* *'wig'*
7504 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
7505 global
7506 {not in Vi}
7507 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7508 feature}
7509 A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
7510 patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names, and
7511 influences the result of |expand()|, |glob()| and |globpath()| unless
7512 a flag is passed to disable this.
7513 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
7514 Also see 'suffixes'.
7515 Example: >
7516 :set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
7517 < The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
7518 a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
7519 uses another default.
7521 *'wildmenu'* *'wmnu'* *'nowildmenu'* *'nowmnu'*
7522 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
7523 global
7524 {not in Vi}
7525 {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu|
7526 feature}
7527 When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
7528 mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
7529 the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the
7530 first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is
7531 one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
7532 CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
7533 When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
7534 specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
7535 If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
7536 the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
7537 as needed.
7538 The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
7539 for selecting a completion.
7540 While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special
7541 meanings:
7543 <Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
7544 <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
7545 subdirectory or submenu.
7546 <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
7547 dot: move into a submenu.
7548 <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
7549 parent directory or parent menu.
7551 This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
7553 If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
7554 of selecting a different match, use this: >
7555 :cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
7556 :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
7557 <
7558 The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
7559 |hl-WildMenu|.
7561 *'wildmode'* *'wim'*
7562 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
7563 global
7564 {not in Vi}
7565 Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
7566 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each
7567 part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
7568 first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
7569 The second part for the second use, etc.
7570 These are the possible values for each part:
7571 "" Complete only the first match.
7572 "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
7573 the original string is used and then the first match
7574 again.
7575 "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
7576 result in a longer string, use the next part.
7577 "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
7578 enabled.
7579 "list" When more than one match, list all matches.
7580 "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
7581 complete first match.
7582 "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
7583 complete till longest common string.
7584 When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
7586 Examples: >
7587 :set wildmode=full
7588 < Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default) >
7589 :set wildmode=longest,full
7590 < Complete longest common string, then each full match >
7591 :set wildmode=list:full
7592 < List all matches and complete each full match >
7593 :set wildmode=list,full
7594 < List all matches without completing, then each full match >
7595 :set wildmode=longest,list
7596 < Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
7597 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7599 *'wildoptions'* *'wop'*
7600 'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
7601 global
7602 {not in Vi}
7603 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7604 feature}
7605 A list of words that change how command line completion is done.
7606 Currently only one word is allowed:
7607 tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
7608 tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
7609 is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
7610 d #define
7611 f function
7612 Also see |cmdline-completion|.
7614 *'winaltkeys'* *'wak'*
7615 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
7616 global
7617 {not in Vi}
7618 {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
7619 Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
7620 key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
7621 menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
7622 entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
7623 no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
7624 mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
7625 done with the |:simalt| command.
7626 yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
7627 combinations cannot be mapped.
7628 menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
7629 shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
7630 keys can be mapped.
7631 If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
7632 key is never used for the menu.
7633 This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
7634 select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
7636 *'window'* *'wi'*
7637 'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
7638 global
7639 Window height. Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window,
7640 use 'lines' for that.
7641 Used for |CTRL-F| and |CTRL-B| when there is only one window and the
7642 value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen will scroll
7643 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
7644 When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
7645 in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
7646 When resizing the Vim window, the value is smaller than 1 or more than
7647 or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
7648 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines}
7650 *'winheight'* *'wh'* *E591*
7651 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
7652 global
7653 {not in Vi}
7654 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7655 feature}
7656 Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
7657 minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
7658 focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
7659 cost of the height of other windows.
7660 Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
7661 Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
7662 Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
7663 that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
7664 to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
7665 using the |VimEnter| event: >
7666 au VimEnter * set winheight=999
7667 < Minimum value is 1.
7668 The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
7669 height of the current window.
7670 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
7671 the minimal height for other windows.
7673 *'winfixheight'* *'wfh'* *'nowinfixheight'* *'nowfh'*
7674 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
7675 local to window
7676 {not in Vi}
7677 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7678 feature}
7679 Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
7680 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|. Set by default for the
7681 |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|.
7682 The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7684 *'winfixwidth'* *'wfw'* *'nowinfixwidth'* *'nowfw'*
7685 'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
7686 local to window
7687 {not in Vi}
7688 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7689 feature}
7690 Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
7691 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|.
7692 The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7694 *'winminheight'* *'wmh'*
7695 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
7696 global
7697 {not in Vi}
7698 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7699 feature}
7700 The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
7701 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7702 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
7703 status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
7704 they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
7705 Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
7706 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7707 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7708 windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
7710 *'winminwidth'* *'wmw'*
7711 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
7712 global
7713 {not in Vi}
7714 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7715 feature}
7716 The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
7717 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7718 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
7719 a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
7720 line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
7721 to go.)
7722 Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
7723 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7724 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7725 windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
7727 *'winwidth'* *'wiw'* *E592*
7728 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
7729 global
7730 {not in Vi}
7731 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7732 feature}
7733 Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
7734 minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
7735 the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
7736 the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
7737 always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
7738 The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
7739 width of the current window.
7740 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
7741 the minimal width for other windows.
7743 *'wrap'* *'nowrap'*
7744 'wrap' boolean (default on)
7745 local to window
7746 {not in Vi}
7747 This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
7748 in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
7749 When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
7750 displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
7751 and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
7752 moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
7753 horizontally.
7754 The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
7755 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
7756 To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this: >
7757 :set sidescroll=5
7758 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
7759 < See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
7760 This option can't be set from a |modeline| when the 'diff' option is
7761 on.
7763 *'wrapmargin'* *'wm'*
7764 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
7765 local to buffer
7766 Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
7767 starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
7768 and inserting continues on the next line.
7769 Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
7770 the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
7771 When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
7772 See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently
7773 and less usefully}
7775 *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
7776 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) *E384* *E385*
7777 global
7778 Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to |]s| and
7779 |[s|, searching for spelling mistakes.
7781 *'write'* *'nowrite'*
7782 'write' boolean (default on)
7783 global
7784 {not in Vi}
7785 Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
7786 Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
7787 still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line
7788 argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
7789 writing a temporary file.
7791 *'writeany'* *'wa'* *'nowriteany'* *'nowa'*
7792 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
7793 global
7794 Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
7796 *'writebackup'* *'wb'* *'nowritebackup'* *'nowb'*
7797 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
7798 otherwise)
7799 global
7800 {not in Vi}
7801 Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
7802 the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
7803 also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See
7804 |backup-table| for another explanation.
7805 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
7806 NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
7807 set.
7809 *'writedelay'* *'wd'*
7810 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
7811 global
7812 {not in Vi}
7813 The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the
7814 screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
7815 one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.
7817 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: