| blob | f35cc02b96728e4451f221863711e6ec480044fa |
1 *vi_diff.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2012 Aug 08
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 Differences between Vim and Vi *vi-differences*
9 Throughout the help files differences between Vim and Vi/Ex are given in
10 curly braces, like "{not in Vi}". This file only lists what has not been
11 mentioned in other files and gives an overview.
13 Vim is mostly POSIX 1003.2-1 compliant. The only command known to be missing
14 is ":open". There are probably a lot of small differences (either because Vim
15 is missing something or because Posix is beside the mark).
17 1. Simulated command |simulated-command|
18 2. Missing options |missing-options|
19 3. Limits |limits|
20 4. The most interesting additions |vim-additions|
21 5. Other vim features |other-features|
22 6. Command-line arguments |cmdline-arguments|
23 7. POSIX compliance |posix-compliance|
25 ==============================================================================
26 1. Simulated command *simulated-command*
28 This command is in Vi, but Vim only simulates it:
30 *:o* *:op* *:open*
31 :[range]o[pen] Works like |:visual|: end Ex mode.
32 {Vi: start editing in open mode}
34 :[range]o[pen] /pattern/ As above, additionally move the cursor to the
35 column where "pattern" matches in the cursor
36 line.
38 Vim does not support open mode, since it's not really useful. For those
39 situations where ":open" would start open mode Vim will leave Ex mode, which
40 allows executing the same commands, but updates the whole screen instead of
41 only one line.
43 ==============================================================================
44 2. Missing options *missing-options*
46 These options are in the Unix Vi, but not in Vim. If you try to set one of
47 them you won't get an error message, but the value is not used and cannot be
48 printed.
50 autoprint (ap) boolean (default on) *'autoprint'* *'ap'*
51 beautify (bf) boolean (default off) *'beautify'* *'bf'*
52 flash (fl) boolean (default ??) *'flash'* *'fl'*
53 graphic (gr) boolean (default off) *'graphic'* *'gr'*
54 hardtabs (ht) number (default 8) *'hardtabs'* *'ht'*
55 number of spaces that a <Tab> moves on the display
56 mesg boolean (default on) *'mesg'*
57 novice boolean (default off) *'novice'*
58 open boolean (default on) *'open'*
59 optimize (op) boolean (default off) *'optimize'* *'op'*
60 redraw boolean (default off) *'redraw'*
61 slowopen (slow) boolean (default off) *'slowopen'* *'slow'*
62 sourceany boolean (default off) *'sourceany'*
63 w300 number (default 23) *'w300'*
64 w1200 number (default 23) *'w1200'*
65 w9600 number (default 23) *'w9600'*
67 ==============================================================================
68 3. Limits *limits*
70 Vim has only a few limits for the files that can be edited {Vi: can not handle
71 <Nul> characters and characters above 128, has limited line length, many other
72 limits}.
73 *E340*
74 Maximum line length On machines with 16-bit ints (Amiga and MS-DOS real
75 mode): 32767, otherwise 2147483647 characters.
76 Longer lines are split.
77 Maximum number of lines 2147483647 lines.
78 Maximum file size 2147483647 bytes (2 Gbyte) when a long integer is
79 32 bits. Much more for 64 bit longs. Also limited
80 by available disk space for the |swap-file|.
81 *E75*
82 Length of a file path Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
83 characters (or as much as the system supports).
84 Length of an expanded string option
85 Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
86 characters
87 Maximum display width Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 255
88 characters
89 Maximum lhs of a mapping 50 characters.
90 Number of different highlighting types: over 30000
91 Range of a Number variable: -2147483648 to 2147483647 (might be more on 64
92 bit systems)
93 Maximum length of a line in a tags file: 512 bytes.
95 Information for undo and text in registers is kept in memory, thus when making
96 (big) changes the amount of (virtual) memory available limits the number of
97 undo levels and the text that can be kept in registers. Other things are also
98 kept in memory: Command-line history, error messages for Quickfix mode, etc.
100 Memory usage limits
101 -------------------
103 The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximum memory used for one
104 buffer (in kilobytes). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximum memory used for
105 all buffers (in kilobytes). The defaults depend on the system used. For the
106 Amiga and MS-DOS, 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory
107 available.
108 These are not hard limits, but tell Vim when to move text into a swap file.
109 If you don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a
110 very large value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you
111 don't want a swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n"
112 argument when starting Vim.
114 ==============================================================================
115 4. The most interesting additions *vim-additions*
117 Vi compatibility. |'compatible'|
118 Although Vim is 99% Vi compatible, some things in Vi can be
119 considered to be a bug, or at least need improvement. But still, Vim
120 starts in a mode which behaves like the "real" Vi as much as possible.
121 To make Vim behave a little bit better, try resetting the 'compatible'
122 option:
123 :set nocompatible
124 Or start Vim with the "-N" argument:
125 vim -N
126 Vim starts with 'nocompatible' automatically if you have a .vimrc
127 file. See |startup|.
128 The 'cpoptions' option can be used to set Vi compatibility on/off for
129 a number of specific items.
131 Support for different systems.
132 Vim can be used on:
133 - All Unix systems (it works on all systems it was tested on, although
134 the GUI and Perl interface may not work everywhere).
135 - Amiga (500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000, ...).
136 - MS-DOS in real-mode (no additional drivers required).
137 - In protected mode on Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS (DPMI driver required).
138 - Windows 95 and Windows NT, with support for long file names.
139 - OS/2 (needs emx.dll)
140 - Atari MiNT
141 - VMS
142 - BeOS
143 - Macintosh
144 - Risc OS
145 - IBM OS/390
146 Note that on some systems features need to be disabled to reduce
147 resource usage, esp. on MS-DOS. For some outdated systems you need to
148 use an older Vim version.
150 Multi level undo. |undo|
151 'u' goes backward in time, 'CTRL-R' goes forward again. Set option
152 'undolevels' to the number of changes to be remembered (default 1000).
153 Set 'undolevels' to 0 for a vi-compatible one level undo. Set it to
154 -1 for no undo at all.
155 When all changes in a buffer have been undone, the buffer is not
156 considered changed anymore. You can exit it with :q, without <!>.
157 When undoing a few changes and then making a new change Vim will
158 create a branch in the undo tree. This means you can go back to any
159 state of the text, there is no risk of a change causing text to be
160 lost forever. |undo-tree|
162 Graphical User Interface (GUI). |gui|
163 Included support for GUI: menu's, mouse, scrollbars, etc. You can
164 define your own menus. Better support for CTRL/SHIFT/ALT keys in
165 combination with special keys and mouse. Supported for various
166 platforms, such as X11 (with Motif and Athena interfaces), GTK, Win32
167 (Windows 95 and later), BeOS, Amiga and Macintosh.
169 Multiple windows and buffers. |windows.txt|
170 Vim can split the screen into several windows, each editing a
171 different buffer or the same buffer at a different location. Buffers
172 can still be loaded (and changed) but not displayed in a window. This
173 is called a hidden buffer. Many commands and options have been added
174 for this facility.
175 Vim can also use multiple tab pages, each with one or more windows. A
176 line with tab labels can be used to quickly switch between these pages.
177 |tab-page|
179 Syntax highlighting. |:syntax|
180 Vim can highlight keywords, patterns and other things. This is
181 defined by a number of |:syntax| commands, and can be made to
182 highlight most languages and file types. A number of files are
183 included for highlighting the most common languages, like C, C++,
184 Java, Pascal, Makefiles, shell scripts, etc. The colors used for
185 highlighting can be defined for ordinary terminals, color terminals
186 and the GUI with the |:highlight| command. A convenient way to do
187 this is using a |:colorscheme| command.
188 The highlighted text can be exported as HTML. |convert-to-HTML|
189 Other items that can be highlighted are matches with the search string
190 |'hlsearch'|, matching parens |matchparen| and the cursor line and
191 column |'cursorline'| |'cursorcolumn'|.
193 Spell checking. |spell|
194 When the 'spell' option is set Vim will highlight spelling mistakes.
195 About 50 languages are currently supported, selected with the
196 'spelllang' option. In source code only comments and strings are
197 checked for spelling.
199 Folding. |folding|
200 A range of lines can be shown as one "folded" line. This allows
201 overviewing a file and moving blocks of text around quickly.
202 Folds can be created manually, from the syntax of the file, by indent,
203 etc.
205 Diff mode. |diff|
206 Vim can show two versions of a file with the differences highlighted.
207 Parts of the text that are equal are folded away. Commands can be
208 used to move text from one version to the other.
210 Plugins. |add-plugin|
211 The functionality can be extended by dropping a plugin file in the
212 right directory. That's an easy way to start using Vim scripts
213 written by others. Plugins can be for all kind of files, or
214 specifically for a filetype.
216 Repeat a series of commands. |q|
217 "q{c}" starts recording typed characters into named register {c}.
218 A subsequent "q" stops recording. The register can then be executed
219 with the "@{c}" command. This is very useful to repeat a complex
220 action.
222 Flexible insert mode. |ins-special-special|
223 The arrow keys can be used in insert mode to move around in the file.
224 This breaks the insert in two parts as far as undo and redo is
225 concerned.
227 CTRL-O can be used to execute a single Normal mode command. This is
228 almost the same as hitting <Esc>, typing the command and doing |a|.
230 Visual mode. |Visual-mode|
231 Visual mode can be used to first highlight a piece of text and then
232 give a command to do something with it. This is an (easy to use)
233 alternative to first giving the operator and then moving to the end of
234 the text to be operated upon.
235 |v| and |V| are used to start Visual mode. |v| works on characters
236 and |V| on lines. Move the cursor to extend the Visual area. It is
237 shown highlighted on the screen. By typing "o" the other end of the
238 Visual area can be moved. The Visual area can be affected by an
239 operator:
240 d delete
241 c change
242 y yank
243 > or < insert or delete indent
244 ! filter through external program
245 = filter through indent
246 : start |:| command for the Visual lines.
247 gq format text to 'textwidth' columns
248 J join lines
249 ~ swap case
250 u make lowercase
251 U make uppercase
253 Block operators. |visual-block|
254 With Visual mode a rectangular block of text can be selected. Start
255 Visual mode with CTRL-V. The block can be deleted ("d"), yanked ("y")
256 or its case can be changed ("~", "u" and "U"). A deleted or yanked
257 block can be put into the text with the "p" and "P" commands.
259 Help system. |:help|
260 Help is displayed in a window. The usual commands can be used to
261 move around, search for a string, etc. Tags can be used to jump
262 around in the help files, just like hypertext links. The |:help|
263 command takes an argument to quickly jump to the info on a subject.
264 <F1> is the quick access to the help system. The name of the help
265 index file can be set with the 'helpfile' option.
267 Command-line editing and history. |cmdline-editing|
268 You can insert or delete at any place in the command-line using the
269 cursor keys. The right/left cursor keys can be used to move
270 forward/backward one character. The shifted right/left cursor keys
271 can be used to move forward/backward one word. CTRL-B/CTRL-E can be
272 used to go to the begin/end of the command-line.
273 |cmdline-history|
274 The command-lines are remembered. The up/down cursor keys can be used
275 to recall previous command-lines. The 'history' option can be set to
276 the number of lines that will be remembered. There is a separate
277 history for commands and for search patterns.
279 Command-line completion. |cmdline-completion|
280 While entering a command-line (on the bottom line of the screen)
281 <Tab> can be typed to complete
282 what example ~
283 - command :e<Tab>
284 - tag :ta scr<Tab>
285 - option :set sc<Tab>
286 - option value :set hf=<Tab>
287 - file name :e ve<Tab>
288 - etc.
290 If there are multiple matches, CTRL-N (next) and CTRL-P (previous)
291 will walk through the matches. <Tab> works like CTRL-N, but wraps
292 around to the first match.
294 The 'wildchar' option can be set to the character for command-line
295 completion, <Tab> is the default. CTRL-D can be typed after an
296 (incomplete) wildcard; all matches will be listed. CTRL-A will insert
297 all matches. CTRL-L will insert the longest common part of the
298 matches.
300 Insert-mode completion. |ins-completion|
301 In Insert mode the CTRL-N and CTRL-P keys can be used to complete a
302 word that appears elsewhere. |i_CTRL-N|
303 With CTRL-X another mode is entered, through which completion can be
304 done for:
305 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F| file names
306 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K| words from 'dictionary' files
307 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T| words from 'thesaurus' files
308 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I| words from included files
309 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L| whole lines
310 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| words from the tags file
311 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D| definitions or macros
312 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O| Omni completion: clever completion
313 specifically for a file type
314 etc.
316 Long line support. |'wrap'| |'linebreak'|
317 If the 'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap and only part
318 of them will be shown. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not
319 shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The minimum number of
320 columns to scroll can be set with the 'sidescroll' option. The |zh|
321 and |zl| commands can be used to scroll sideways.
322 Alternatively, long lines are broken in between words when the
323 'linebreak' option is set. This allows editing a single-line
324 paragraph conveniently (e.g. when the text is later read into a DTP
325 program). Move the cursor up/down with the |gk| and |gj| commands.
327 Text formatting. |formatting|
328 The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically limit the line
329 length. This supplements the 'wrapmargin' option of Vi, which was not
330 very useful. The |gq| operator can be used to format a piece of text
331 (for example, |gqap| formats the current paragraph). Commands for
332 text alignment: |:center|, |:left| and |:right|.
334 Extended search patterns. |pattern|
335 There are many extra items to match various text items. Examples:
336 A "\n" can be used in a search pattern to match a line break.
337 "x\{2,4}" matches "x" 2 to 4 times.
338 "\s" matches a white space character.
340 Directory, remote and archive browsing. |netrw|
341 Vim can browse the file system. Simply edit a directory. Move around
342 in the list with the usual commands and press <Enter> to go to the
343 directory or file under the cursor.
344 This also works for remote files over ftp, http, ssh, etc.
345 Zip and tar archives can also be browsed. |tar| |zip|
347 Edit-compile-edit speedup. |quickfix|
348 The |:make| command can be used to run the compilation and jump to the
349 first error. A file with compiler error messages is interpreted. Vim
350 jumps to the first error.
352 Each line in the error file is scanned for the name of a file, line
353 number and error message. The 'errorformat' option can be set to a
354 list of scanf-like strings to handle output from many compilers.
356 The |:cn| command can be used to jump to the next error.
357 |:cl| lists all the error messages. Other commands are available.
358 The 'makeef' option has the name of the file with error messages.
359 The 'makeprg' option contains the name of the program to be executed
360 with the |:make| command.
361 The 'shellpipe' option contains the string to be used to put the
362 output of the compiler into the errorfile.
364 Finding matches in files. |:vimgrep|
365 Vim can search for a pattern in multiple files. This uses the
366 advanced Vim regexp pattern, works on all systems and also works to
367 search in compressed files.
369 Improved indenting for programs. |'cindent'|
370 When the 'cindent' option is on the indent of each line is
371 automatically adjusted. C syntax is mostly recognized. The indent
372 for various styles can be set with 'cinoptions'. The keys to trigger
373 indenting can be set with 'cinkeys'.
375 Comments can be automatically formatted. The 'comments' option can be
376 set to the characters that start and end a comment. This works best
377 for C code, but also works for e-mail (">" at start of the line) and
378 other types of text. The |=| operator can be used to re-indent
379 lines.
381 For many other languages an indent plugin is present to support
382 automatic indenting. |30.3|
384 Searching for words in included files. |include-search|
385 The |[i| command can be used to search for a match of the word under
386 the cursor in the current and included files. The 'include' option
387 can be set to a pattern that describes a command to include a file
388 (the default is for C programs).
389 The |[I| command lists all matches, the |[_CTRL-I| command jumps to
390 a match.
391 The |[d|, |[D| and |[_CTRL-D| commands do the same, but only for
392 lines where the pattern given with the 'define' option matches.
394 Automatic commands. |autocommand|
395 Commands can be automatically executed when reading a file, writing a
396 file, jumping to another buffer, etc., depending on the file name.
397 This is useful to set options and mappings for C programs,
398 documentation, plain text, e-mail, etc. This also makes it possible
399 to edit compressed files.
401 Scripts and Expressions. |expression|
402 Commands have been added to form up a powerful script language.
403 |:if| Conditional execution, which can be used for example
404 to set options depending on the value of $TERM.
405 |:while| Repeat a number of commands.
406 |:for| Loop over a list.
407 |:echo| Print the result of an expression.
408 |:let| Assign a value to an internal variable, option, etc.
409 Variable types are Number, String, List and Dictionary.
410 |:execute| Execute a command formed by an expression.
411 |:try| Catch exceptions.
412 etc., etc. See |eval|.
413 Debugging and profiling are supported. |debug-scripts| |profile|
414 If this is not enough, an interface is provided to |Python|, |Ruby|,
415 |Tcl|, |Lua|, |Perl| and |MzScheme|.
417 Viminfo. |viminfo-file|
418 The command-line history, marks and registers can be stored in a file
419 that is read on startup. This can be used to repeat a search command
420 or command-line command after exiting and restarting Vim. It is also
421 possible to jump right back to where the last edit stopped with |'0|.
422 The 'viminfo' option can be set to select which items to store in the
423 .viminfo file. This is off by default.
425 Printing. |printing|
426 The |:hardcopy| command sends text to the printer. This can include
427 syntax highlighting.
429 Mouse support. |mouse-using|
430 The mouse is supported in the GUI version, in an xterm for Unix, for
431 BSDs with sysmouse, for Linux with gpm, for MS-DOS, and Win32. It
432 can be used to position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a
433 register, etc.
435 Usage of key names. |<>| |key-notation|
436 Special keys now all have a name like <Up>, <End>, etc.
437 This name can be used in mappings, to make it easy to edit them.
439 Editing binary files. |edit-binary|
440 Vim can edit binary files. You can change a few characters in an
441 executable file, without corrupting it. Vim doesn't remove NUL
442 characters (they are represented as <NL> internally).
443 |-b| command-line argument to start editing a binary file
444 |'binary'| Option set by |-b|. Prevents adding an <EOL> for the
445 last line in the file.
447 Multi-language support. |multi-lang|
448 Files in double-byte or multi-byte encodings can be edited. There is
449 UTF-8 support to be able to edit various languages at the same time,
450 without switching fonts. |UTF-8|
451 Messages and menus are available in different languages.
453 Move cursor beyond lines.
454 When the 'virtualedit' option is set the cursor can move all over the
455 screen, also where there is no text. This is useful to edit tables
456 and figures easily.
458 ==============================================================================
459 5. Other vim features *other-features*
461 A random collection of nice extra features.
464 When Vim is started with "-s scriptfile", the characters read from
465 "scriptfile" are treated as if you typed them. If end of file is reached
466 before the editor exits, further characters are read from the console.
468 The "-w" option can be used to record all typed characters in a script file.
469 This file can then be used to redo the editing, possibly on another file or
470 after changing some commands in the script file.
472 The "-o" option opens a window for each argument. "-o4" opens four windows.
474 Vi requires several termcap entries to be able to work full-screen. Vim only
475 requires the "cm" entry (cursor motion).
478 In command mode:
480 When the 'showcmd' option is set, the command characters are shown in the last
481 line of the screen. They are removed when the command is finished.
483 If the 'ruler' option is set, the current cursor position is shown in the
484 last line of the screen.
486 "U" still works after having moved off the last changed line and after "u".
488 Characters with the 8th bit set are displayed. The characters between '~' and
489 0xa0 are displayed as "~?", "~@", "~A", etc., unless they are included in the
490 'isprint' option.
492 "][" goes to the next ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
493 "[]" goes to the previous ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
495 "]f", "[f" and "gf" start editing the file whose name is under the cursor.
496 CTRL-W f splits the window and starts editing the file whose name is under
497 the cursor.
499 "*" searches forward for the identifier under the cursor, "#" backward.
500 "K" runs the program defined by the 'keywordprg' option, with the identifier
501 under the cursor as argument.
503 "%" can be preceded with a count. The cursor jumps to the line that
504 percentage down in the file. The normal "%" function to jump to the matching
505 brace skips braces inside quotes.
507 With the CTRL-] command, the cursor may be in the middle of the identifier.
509 The used tags are remembered. Commands that can be used with the tag stack
510 are CTRL-T, ":pop" and ":tag". ":tags" lists the tag stack.
512 The 'tags' option can be set to a list of tag file names. Thus multiple
513 tag files can be used. For file names that start with "./", the "./" is
514 replaced with the path of the current file. This makes it possible to use a
515 tags file in the same directory as the file being edited.
517 Previously used file names are remembered in the alternate file name list.
518 CTRL-^ accepts a count, which is an index in this list.
519 ":files" command shows the list of alternate file names.
520 "#<N>" is replaced with the <N>th alternate file name in the list.
521 "#<" is replaced with the current file name without extension.
523 Search patterns have more features. The <NL> character is seen as part of the
524 search pattern and the substitute string of ":s". Vi sees it as the end of
525 the command.
527 Searches can put the cursor on the end of a match and may include a character
528 offset.
530 Count added to "~", ":next", ":Next", "n" and "N".
532 The command ":next!" with 'autowrite' set does not write the file. In vi the
533 file was written, but this is considered to be a bug, because one does not
534 expect it and the file is not written with ":rewind!".
536 In Vi when entering a <CR> in replace mode deletes a character only when 'ai'
537 is set (but does not show it until you hit <Esc>). Vim always deletes a
538 character (and shows it immediately).
540 Added :wnext command. Same as ":write" followed by ":next".
542 The ":w!" command always writes, also when the file is write protected. In Vi
543 you would have to do ":!chmod +w %" and ":set noro".
545 When 'tildeop' has been set, "~" is an operator (must be followed by a
546 movement command).
548 With the "J" (join) command you can reset the 'joinspaces' option to have only
549 one space after a period (Vi inserts two spaces).
551 "cw" can be used to change white space formed by several characters (Vi is
552 confusing: "cw" only changes one space, while "dw" deletes all white space).
554 "o" and "O" accept a count for repeating the insert (Vi clears a part of
555 display).
557 Flags after Ex commands not supported (no plans to include it).
559 On non-UNIX systems ":cd" command shows current directory instead of going to
560 the home directory (there isn't one). ":pwd" prints the current directory on
561 all systems.
563 After a ":cd" command the file names (in the argument list, opened files)
564 still point to the same files. In Vi ":cd" is not allowed in a changed file;
565 otherwise the meaning of file names change.
567 ":source!" command reads Vi commands from a file.
569 ":mkexrc" command writes current modified options and mappings to a ".exrc"
570 file. ":mkvimrc" writes to a ".vimrc" file.
572 No check for "tail recursion" with mappings. This allows things like
573 ":map! foo ^]foo".
575 When a mapping starts with number, vi loses the count typed before it (e.g.
576 when using the mapping ":map g 4G" the command "7g" goes to line 4). This is
577 considered a vi bug. Vim concatenates the counts (in the example it becomes
578 "74G"), as most people would expect.
580 The :put! command inserts the contents of a register above the current line.
582 The "p" and "P" commands of vi cannot be repeated with "." when the putted
583 text is less than a line. In Vim they can always be repeated.
585 ":noremap" command can be used to enter a mapping that will not be remapped.
586 This is useful to exchange the meaning of two keys. ":cmap", ":cunmap" and
587 ":cnoremap" can be used for mapping in command-line editing only. ":imap",
588 ":iunmap" and ":inoremap" can be used for mapping in insert mode only.
589 Similar commands exist for abbreviations: ":noreabbrev", ":iabbrev"
590 ":cabbrev", ":iunabbrev", ":cunabbrev", ":inoreabbrev", ":cnoreabbrev".
592 In Vi the command ":map foo bar" would remove a previous mapping
593 ":map bug foo". This is considered a bug, so it is not included in Vim.
594 ":unmap! foo" does remove ":map! bug foo", because unmapping would be very
595 difficult otherwise (this is vi compatible).
597 The ':' register contains the last command-line.
598 The '%' register contains the current file name.
599 The '.' register contains the last inserted text.
601 ":dis" command shows the contents of the yank registers.
603 CTRL-O/CTRL-I can be used to jump to older/newer positions. These are the
604 same positions as used with the '' command, but may be in another file. The
605 ":jumps" command lists the older positions.
607 If the 'shiftround' option is set, an indent is rounded to a multiple of
608 'shiftwidth' with ">" and "<" commands.
610 The 'scrolljump' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to scroll
611 when the cursor gets off the screen. Use this when scrolling is slow.
613 The 'scrolloff' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to keep
614 above and below the cursor. This gives some context to where you are
615 editing. When set to a large number the cursor line is always in the middle
616 of the window.
618 Uppercase marks can be used to jump between files. The ":marks" command lists
619 all currently set marks. The commands "']" and "`]" jump to the end of the
620 previous operator or end of the text inserted with the put command. "'[" and
621 "`[" do jump to the start.
623 The 'shelltype' option can be set to reflect the type of shell used on the
624 Amiga.
626 The 'highlight' option can be set for the highlight mode to be used for
627 several commands.
629 The CTRL-A (add) and CTRL-X (subtract) commands are new. The count to the
630 command (default 1) is added to/subtracted from the number at or after the
631 cursor. That number may be decimal, octal (starts with a '0') or hexadecimal
632 (starts with '0x'). Very useful in macros.
634 With the :set command the prefix "inv" can be used to invert boolean options.
636 In both Vi and Vim you can create a line break with the ":substitute" command
637 by using a CTRL-M. For Vi this means you cannot insert a real CTRL-M in the
638 text. With Vim you can put a real CTRL-M in the text by preceding it with a
639 CTRL-V.
642 In Insert mode:
644 If the 'revins' option is set, insert happens backwards. This is for typing
645 Hebrew. When inserting normal characters the cursor will not be shifted and
646 the text moves rightwards. Backspace, CTRL-W and CTRL-U will also work in
647 the opposite direction. CTRL-B toggles the 'revins' option. In replace mode
648 'revins' has no effect. Only when enabled at compile time.
650 The backspace key can be used just like CTRL-D to remove auto-indents.
652 You can backspace, CTRL-U and CTRL-W over line breaks if the 'backspace' (bs)
653 option includes "eol". You can backspace over the start of insert if the
654 'backspace' option includes "start".
656 When the 'paste' option is set, a few options are reset and mapping in insert
657 mode and abbreviation are disabled. This allows for pasting text in windowing
658 systems without unexpected results. When the 'paste' option is reset, the old
659 option values are restored.
661 CTRL-T/CTRL-D always insert/delete an indent in the current line, no matter
662 what column the cursor is in.
664 CTRL-@ (insert previously inserted text) works always (Vi: only when typed as
665 first character).
667 CTRL-A works like CTRL-@ but does not leave insert mode.
669 CTRL-R {0-9a-z..} can be used to insert the contents of a register.
671 When the 'smartindent' option is set, C programs will be better auto-indented.
672 With 'cindent' even more.
674 CTRL-Y and CTRL-E can be used to copy a character from above/below the
675 current cursor position.
677 After CTRL-V you can enter a three digit decimal number. This byte value is
678 inserted in the text as a single character. Useful for international
679 characters that are not on your keyboard.
681 When the 'expandtab' (et) option is set, a <Tab> is expanded to the
682 appropriate number of spaces.
684 The window always reflects the contents of the buffer (Vi does not do this
685 when changing text and in some other cases).
687 If Vim is compiled with DIGRAPHS defined, digraphs are supported. A set of
688 normal digraphs is included. They are shown with the ":digraph" command.
689 More can be added with ":digraph {char1}{char2} {number}". A digraph is
690 entered with "CTRL-K {char1} {char2}" or "{char1} BS {char2}" (only when
691 'digraph' option is set).
693 When repeating an insert, e.g. "10atest <Esc>" vi would only handle wrapmargin
694 for the first insert. Vim does it for all.
696 A count to the "i" or "a" command is used for all the text. Vi uses the count
697 only for one line. "3iabc<NL>def<Esc>" would insert "abcabcabc<NL>def" in Vi
698 but "abc<NL>defabc<NL>defabc<NL>def" in Vim.
701 In Command-line mode:
703 <Esc> terminates the command-line without executing it. In vi the command
704 line would be executed, which is not what most people expect (hitting <Esc>
705 should always get you back to command mode). To avoid problems with some
706 obscure macros, an <Esc> in a macro will execute the command. If you want a
707 typed <Esc> to execute the command like vi does you can fix this with
708 ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V<CR>"
710 General:
712 The 'ttimeout' option is like 'timeout', but only works for cursor and
713 function keys, not for ordinary mapped characters. The 'timeoutlen' option
714 gives the number of milliseconds that is waited for. If the 'esckeys' option
715 is not set, cursor and function keys that start with <Esc> are not recognized
716 in insert mode.
718 There is an option for each terminal string. Can be used when termcap is not
719 supported or to change individual strings.
721 The 'fileformat' option can be set to select the <EOL>: "dos" <CR><NL>, "unix"
722 <NL> or "mac" <CR>.
723 When the 'fileformats' option is not empty, Vim tries to detect the type of
724 <EOL> automatically. The 'fileformat' option is set accordingly.
726 On systems that have no job control (older Unix systems and non-Unix systems)
727 the CTRL-Z, ":stop" or ":suspend" command starts a new shell.
729 If Vim is started on the Amiga without an interactive window for output, a
730 window is opened (and :sh still works). You can give a device to use for
731 editing with the |-d| argument, e.g. "-d con:20/20/600/150".
733 The 'columns' and 'lines' options are used to set or get the width and height
734 of the display.
736 Option settings are read from the first and last few lines of the file.
737 Option 'modelines' determines how many lines are tried (default is 5). Note
738 that this is different from the Vi versions that can execute any Ex command
739 in a modeline (a major security problem). |trojan-horse|
741 If the 'insertmode' option is set (e.g. in .exrc), Vim starts in insert mode.
742 And it comes back there, when pressing <Esc>.
744 Undo information is kept in memory. Available memory limits the number and
745 size of change that can be undone. This may be a problem with MS-DOS, is
746 hardly a problem on the Amiga and almost never with Unix and Win32.
748 If the 'backup' or 'writebackup' option is set: Before a file is overwritten,
749 a backup file (.bak) is made. If the "backup" option is set it is left
750 behind.
752 Vim creates a file ending in ".swp" to store parts of the file that have been
753 changed or that do not fit in memory. This file can be used to recover from
754 an aborted editing session with "vim -r file". Using the swap file can be
755 switched off by setting the 'updatecount' option to 0 or starting Vim with
756 the "-n" option. Use the 'directory' option for placing the .swp file
757 somewhere else.
759 Vim is able to work correctly on filesystems with 8.3 file names, also when
760 using messydos or crossdos filesystems on the Amiga, or any 8.3 mounted
761 filesystem under Unix. See |'shortname'|.
763 Error messages are shown at least one second (Vi overwrites error messages).
765 If Vim gives the |hit-enter| prompt, you can hit any key. Characters other
766 than <CR>, <NL> and <Space> are interpreted as the (start of) a command. (Vi
767 only accepts a command starting with ':').
769 The contents of the numbered and unnamed registers is remembered when
770 changing files.
772 The "No lines in buffer" message is a normal message instead of an error
773 message, since that may cause a mapping to be aborted.
775 The AUX: device of the Amiga is supported.
777 ==============================================================================
778 6. Command-line arguments *cmdline-arguments*
780 Different versions of Vi have different command-line arguments. This can be
781 confusing. To help you, this section gives an overview of the differences.
783 Five variants of Vi will be considered here:
784 Elvis Elvis version 2.1b
785 Nvi Nvi version 1.79
786 Posix Posix 1003.2
787 Vi Vi version 3.7 (for Sun 4.1.x)
788 Vile Vile version 7.4 (incomplete)
789 Vim Vim version 5.2
791 Only Vim is able to accept options in between and after the file names.
793 +{command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Same as "-c {command}".
795 - Nvi, Posix, Vi: Run Ex in batch mode.
796 Vim: Read file from stdin (use -s for batch mode).
798 -- Vim: End of options, only file names are following.
800 --cmd {command} Vim: execute {command} before sourcing vimrc files.
802 --echo-wid Vim: GTK+ echoes the Window ID on stdout
804 --help Vim: show help message and exit.
806 --literal Vim: take file names literally, don't expand wildcards.
808 --nofork Vim: same as |-f|
810 --noplugin[s] Vim: Skip loading plugins.
812 --remote Vim: edit the files in another Vim server
814 --remote-expr {expr} Vim: evaluate {expr} in another Vim server
816 --remote-send {keys} Vim: send {keys} to a Vim server and exit
818 --remote-silent {file} Vim: edit the files in another Vim server if possible
820 --remote-wait Vim: edit the files in another Vim server and wait for it
822 --remote-wait-silent Vim: like --remote-wait, no complaints if not possible
824 --role {role} Vim: GTK+ 2: set role of main window
826 --serverlist Vim: Output a list of Vim servers and exit
828 --servername {name} Vim: Specify Vim server name
830 --socketid {id} Vim: GTK window socket to run Vim in
832 --windowid {id} Vim: Win32 window ID to run Vim in
834 --version Vim: show version message and exit.
836 -? Vile: print usage summary and exit.
838 -a Elvis: Load all specified file names into a window (use -o for
839 Vim).
841 -A Vim: Start in Arabic mode (when compiled with Arabic).
843 -b {blksize} Elvis: Use {blksize} blocksize for the session file.
844 -b Vim: set 'binary' mode.
846 -C Vim: Compatible mode.
848 -c {command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vim: run {command} as an Ex command after
849 loading the edit buffer.
850 Vim: allow up to 10 "-c" arguments
852 -d {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). {only when compiled
853 without the |+diff| feature}
854 -d Vim: start with 'diff' set. |vimdiff|
856 -dev {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only).
858 -D Vim: debug mode.
860 -e Elvis, Nvi, Vim: Start in Ex mode, as if the executable is
861 called "ex".
863 -E Vim: Start in improved Ex mode |gQ|, like "exim".
865 -f Vim: Run GUI in foreground (Amiga: don't open new window).
866 -f {session} Elvis: Use {session} as the session file.
868 -F Vim: Start in Farsi mode (when compiled with Farsi).
869 Nvi: Fast start, don't read the entire file when editing
870 starts.
872 -G {gui} Elvis: Use the {gui} as user interface.
874 -g Vim: Start GUI.
875 -g N Vile: start editing at line N
877 -h Vim: Give help message.
878 Vile: edit the help file
880 -H Vim: start Hebrew mode (when compiled with it).
882 -i Elvis: Start each window in Insert mode.
883 -i {viminfo} Vim: Use {viminfo} for viminfo file.
885 -L Vim: Same as "-r" (also in some versions of Vi).
887 -l Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options.
889 -m Vim: Modifications not allowed to be written, resets 'write'
890 option.
892 -M Vim: Modifications not allowed, resets 'modifiable' and the
893 'write' option.
895 -N Vim: No-compatible mode.
897 -n Vim: No swap file used.
899 -nb[args] Vim: open a NetBeans interface connection
901 -O[N] Vim: Like -o, but use vertically split windows.
903 -o[N] Vim: Open [N] windows, or one for each file.
905 -p[N] Vim: Open [N] tab pages, or one for each file.
907 -P {parent-title} Win32 Vim: open Vim inside a parent application window
909 -q {name} Vim: Use {name} for quickfix error file.
910 -q{name} Vim: Idem.
912 -R Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vile, Vim: Set the 'readonly' option.
914 -r Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Recovery mode.
916 -S Nvi: Set 'secure' option.
917 -S {script} Vim: source script after starting up.
919 -s Nvi, Posix, Vim: Same as "-" (silent mode), when in Ex mode.
920 Elvis: Sets the 'safer' option.
921 -s {scriptin} Vim: Read from script file {scriptin}; only when not in Ex
922 mode.
923 -s {pattern} Vile: search for {pattern}
925 -t {tag} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Edit the file containing {tag}.
926 -t{tag} Vim: Idem.
928 -T {term} Vim: Set terminal name to {term}.
930 -u {vimrc} Vim: Read initializations from {vimrc} file.
932 -U {gvimrc} Vim: Read GUI initializations from {gvimrc} file.
934 -v Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Begin in Normal mode (visual mode, in Vi
935 terms).
936 Vile: View mode, no changes possible.
938 -V Elvis, Vim: Verbose mode.
939 -V{nr} Vim: Verbose mode with specified level.
941 -w {size} Elvis, Posix, Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set value of 'window' to {size}.
942 -w{size} Nvi, Vi: Same as "-w {size}".
943 -w {name} Vim: Write to script file {name} (must start with non-digit).
945 -W {name} Vim: Append to script file {name}.
947 -x Vi, Vim: Ask for encryption key. See |encryption|.
949 -X Vim: Don't connect to the X server.
951 -y Vim: Start in easy mode, like |evim|.
953 -Z Vim: restricted mode
955 @{cmdfile} Vile: use {cmdfile} as startup file.
957 ==============================================================================
958 7. POSIX compliance *posix* *posix-compliance*
960 In 2005 the POSIX test suite was run to check the compatibility of Vim. Most
961 of the test was executed properly. There are the few things where Vim
962 is not POSIX compliant, even when run in Vi compatibility mode.
964 Set the $VIM_POSIX environment variable to have 'cpoptions' include the POSIX
965 flags when Vim starts up. This makes Vim run as POSIX as it can. That's
966 a bit different from being Vi compatible.
968 This is where Vim does not behave as POSIX specifies and why:
970 *posix-screen-size*
971 The $COLUMNS and $LINES environment variables are ignored by Vim if
972 the size can be obtained from the terminal in a more reliable way.
973 Add the '|' flag to 'cpoptions' to have $COLUMNS and $LINES overrule
974 sizes obtained in another way.
976 The "{" and "}" commands don't stop at a "{" in the original Vi, but
977 POSIX specifies it does. Add the '{' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want
978 it the POSIX way.
980 The "D", "o" and "O" commands accept a count. Also when repeated.
981 Add the '#' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want to ignore the count.
983 The ":cd" command fails if the current buffer is modified when the '.'
984 flag is present in 'cpoptions'.
986 There is no ATTENTION message, the "A" flag is added to 'shortmess'.
988 These are remarks about running the POSIX test suite:
989 - vi test 33 sometimes fails for unknown reasons
990 - vi test 250 fails; behavior will be changed in a new revision
991 http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg01710.html
992 (link no longer works, perhaps it's now:
993 https://www.opengroup.org/sophocles/show_mail.tpl?CALLER=show_archive.tpl&source=L&listname=austin-review-l&id=1711)
994 - vi test 310 fails; exit code non-zero when any error occurred?
995 - ex test 24 fails because test is wrong. Changed between SUSv2 and SUSv3.
996 - ex tests 47, 48, 49, 72, 73 fail because .exrc file isn't read in silent
997 mode and $EXINIT isn't used.
998 - ex tests 76, 78 fail because echo is used instead of printf. (fixed)
999 Also: problem with \s not changed to space.
1000 - ex test 355 fails because 'window' isn't used for "30z".
1001 - ex test 368 fails because shell command isn't echoed in silent mode.
1002 - ex test 394 fails because "=" command output isn't visible in silent mode.
1003 - ex test 411 fails because test file is wrong, contains stray ':'.
1004 - ex test 475 and 476 fail because reprint output isn't visible in silent mode.
1005 - ex test 480 and 481 fail because the tags file has spaces instead of a tab.
1006 - ex test 502 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1007 - ex test 509 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. and exit code is
1008 1 instead of 2.
1009 - ex test 534 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1012 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: