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1 *vi_diff.txt* For Vim version 7.2. Last change: 2008 Jun 28
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 (more on 64 bit
92 systems)
94 Information for undo and text in registers is kept in memory, thus when making
95 (big) changes the amount of (virtual) memory available limits the number of
96 undo levels and the text that can be kept in registers. Other things are also
97 kept in memory: Command-line history, error messages for Quickfix mode, etc.
99 Memory usage limits
100 -------------------
102 The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximum memory used for one
103 buffer (in kilobytes). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximum memory used for
104 all buffers (in kilobytes). The defaults depend on the system used. For the
105 Amiga and MS-DOS, 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory
106 available.
107 These are not hard limits, but tell Vim when to move text into a swap file.
108 If you don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a
109 very large value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you
110 don't want a swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n"
111 argument when starting Vim.
113 ==============================================================================
114 4. The most interesting additions *vim-additions*
116 Vi compatibility. |'compatible'|
117 Although Vim is 99% Vi compatible, some things in Vi can be
118 considered to be a bug, or at least need improvement. But still, Vim
119 starts in a mode which behaves like the "real" Vi as much as possible.
120 To make Vim behave a little bit better, try resetting the 'compatible'
121 option:
122 :set nocompatible
123 Or start Vim with the "-N" argument:
124 vim -N
125 Vim starts with 'nocompatible' automatically if you have a .vimrc
126 file. See |startup|.
127 The 'cpoptions' option can be used to set Vi compatibility on/off for
128 a number of specific items.
130 Support for different systems.
131 Vim can be used on:
132 - All Unix systems (it works on all systems it was tested on, although
133 the GUI and Perl interface may not work everywhere).
134 - Amiga (500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000, ...).
135 - MS-DOS in real-mode (no additional drivers required).
136 - In protected mode on Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS (DPMI driver required).
137 - Windows 95 and Windows NT, with support for long file names.
138 - OS/2 (needs emx.dll)
139 - Atari MiNT
140 - VMS
141 - BeOS
142 - Macintosh
143 - Risc OS
144 - IBM OS/390
145 Note that on some systems features need to be disabled to reduce
146 resource usage, esp. on MS-DOS. For some outdated systems you need to
147 use an older Vim version.
149 Multi level undo. |undo|
150 'u' goes backward in time, 'CTRL-R' goes forward again. Set option
151 'undolevels' to the number of changes to be remembered (default 1000).
152 Set 'undolevels' to 0 for a vi-compatible one level undo. Set it to
153 -1 for no undo at all.
154 When all changes in a buffer have been undone, the buffer is not
155 considered changed anymore. You can exit it with :q, without <!>.
156 When undoing a few changes and then making a new change Vim will
157 create a branch in the undo tree. This means you can go back to any
158 state of the text, there is no risk of a change causing text to be
159 lost forever. |undo-tree|
161 Graphical User Interface (GUI). |gui|
162 Included support for GUI: menu's, mouse, scrollbars, etc. You can
163 define your own menus. Better support for CTRL/SHIFT/ALT keys in
164 combination with special keys and mouse. Supported for various
165 platforms, such as X11 (with Motif and Athena interfaces), GTK, Win32
166 (Windows 95 and later), BeOS, Amiga and Macintosh.
168 Multiple windows and buffers. |windows.txt|
169 Vim can split the screen into several windows, each editing a
170 different buffer or the same buffer at a different location. Buffers
171 can still be loaded (and changed) but not displayed in a window. This
172 is called a hidden buffer. Many commands and options have been added
173 for this facility.
174 Vim can also use multiple tab pages, each with one or more windows. A
175 line with tab labels can be used to quickly switch between these pages.
176 |tab-page|
178 Syntax highlighting. |:syntax|
179 Vim can highlight keywords, patterns and other things. This is
180 defined by a number of |:syntax| commands, and can be made to
181 highlight most languages and file types. A number of files are
182 included for highlighting the most common languages, like C, C++,
183 Java, Pascal, Makefiles, shell scripts, etc. The colors used for
184 highlighting can be defined for ordinary terminals, color terminals
185 and the GUI with the |:highlight| command. A convenient way to do
186 this is using a |:colorscheme| command.
187 The highlighted text can be exported as HTML. |convert-to-HTML|
188 Other items that can be highlighted are matches with the search string
189 |'hlsearch'|, matching parens |matchparen| and the cursor line and
190 column |'cursorline'| |'cursorcolumn'|.
192 Spell checking. |spell|
193 When the 'spell' option is set Vim will highlight spelling mistakes.
194 About 40 languages are currently supported, selected with the
195 'spelllang' option. In source code only comments and strings are
196 checked for spelling.
198 Folding. |folding|
199 A range of lines can be shown as one "folded" line. This allows
200 overviewing a file and moving blocks of text around quickly.
201 Folds can be created manually, from the syntax of the file, by indent,
202 etc.
204 Diff mode. |diff|
205 Vim can show two versions of a file with the differences highlighted.
206 Parts of the text that are equal are folded away. Commands can be
207 used to move text from one version to the other.
209 Plugins. |add-plugin|
210 The functionality can be extended by dropping a plugin file in the
211 right directory. That's an easy way to start using Vim scripts
212 written by others. Plugins can be for all kind of files, or
213 specifically for a filetype.
215 Repeat a series of commands. |q|
216 "q{c}" starts recording typed characters into named register {c}.
217 A subsequent "q" stops recording. The register can then be executed
218 with the "@{c}" command. This is very useful to repeat a complex
219 action.
221 Flexible insert mode. |ins-special-special|
222 The arrow keys can be used in insert mode to move around in the file.
223 This breaks the insert in two parts as far as undo and redo is
224 concerned.
226 CTRL-O can be used to execute a single Normal mode command. This is
227 almost the same as hitting <Esc>, typing the command and doing |a|.
229 Visual mode. |Visual-mode|
230 Visual mode can be used to first highlight a piece of text and then
231 give a command to do something with it. This is an (easy to use)
232 alternative to first giving the operator and then moving to the end of
233 the text to be operated upon.
234 |v| and |V| are used to start Visual mode. |v| works on characters
235 and |V| on lines. Move the cursor to extend the Visual area. It is
236 shown highlighted on the screen. By typing "o" the other end of the
237 Visual area can be moved. The Visual area can be affected by an
238 operator:
239 d delete
240 c change
241 y yank
242 > or < insert or delete indent
243 ! filter through external program
244 = filter through indent
245 : start |:| command for the Visual lines.
246 gq format text to 'textwidth' columns
247 J join lines
248 ~ swap case
249 u make lowercase
250 U make uppercase
252 Block operators. |visual-block|
253 With Visual mode a rectangular block of text can be selected. Start
254 Visual mode with CTRL-V. The block can be deleted ("d"), yanked ("y")
255 or its case can be changed ("~", "u" and "U"). A deleted or yanked
256 block can be put into the text with the "p" and "P" commands.
258 Help system. |:help|
259 Help is displayed in a window. The usual commands can be used to
260 move around, search for a string, etc. Tags can be used to jump
261 around in the help files, just like hypertext links. The |:help|
262 command takes an argument to quickly jump to the info on a subject.
263 <F1> is the quick access to the help system. The name of the help
264 index file can be set with the 'helpfile' option.
266 Command-line editing and history. |cmdline-editing|
267 You can insert or delete at any place in the command-line using the
268 cursor keys. The right/left cursor keys can be used to move
269 forward/backward one character. The shifted right/left cursor keys
270 can be used to move forward/backward one word. CTRL-B/CTRL-E can be
271 used to go to the begin/end of the command-line.
272 |cmdline-history|
273 The command-lines are remembered. The up/down cursor keys can be used
274 to recall previous command-lines. The 'history' option can be set to
275 the number of lines that will be remembered. There is a separate
276 history for commands and for search patterns.
278 Command-line completion. |cmdline-completion|
279 While entering a command-line (on the bottom line of the screen)
280 <Tab> can be typed to complete
281 what example ~
282 - command :e<Tab>
283 - tag :ta scr<Tab>
284 - option :set sc<Tab>
285 - option value :set hf=<Tab>
286 - file name :e ve<Tab>
287 - etc.
289 If there are multiple matches, CTRL-N (next) and CTRL-P (previous)
290 will walk through the matches. <Tab> works like CTRL-N, but wraps
291 around to the first match.
293 The 'wildchar' option can be set to the character for command-line
294 completion, <Tab> is the default. CTRL-D can be typed after an
295 (incomplete) wildcard; all matches will be listed. CTRL-A will insert
296 all matches. CTRL-L will insert the longest common part of the
297 matches.
299 Insert-mode completion. |ins-completion|
300 In Insert mode the CTRL-N and CTRL-P keys can be used to complete a
301 word that appears elsewhere. |i_CTRL-N|
302 With CTRL-X another mode is entered, through which completion can be
303 done for:
304 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F| file names
305 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K| words from 'dictionary' files
306 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T| words from 'thesaurus' files
307 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I| words from included files
308 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L| whole lines
309 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| words from the tags file
310 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D| definitions or macros
311 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O| Omni completion: clever completion
312 specifically for a file type
313 etc.
315 Long line support. |'wrap'| |'linebreak'|
316 If the 'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap and only part
317 of them will be shown. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not
318 shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The minimum number of
319 columns to scroll can be set with the 'sidescroll' option. The |zh|
320 and |zl| commands can be used to scroll sideways.
321 Alternatively, long lines are broken in between words when the
322 'linebreak' option is set. This allows editing a single-line
323 paragraph conveniently (e.g. when the text is later read into a DTP
324 program). Move the cursor up/down with the |gk| and |gj| commands.
326 Text formatting. |formatting|
327 The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically limit the line
328 length. This supplements the 'wrapmargin' option of Vi, which was not
329 very useful. The |gq| operator can be used to format a piece of text
330 (for example, |gqap| formats the current paragraph). Commands for
331 text alignment: |:center|, |:left| and |:right|.
333 Extended search patterns. |pattern|
334 There are many extra items to match various text items. Examples:
335 A "\n" can be used in a search pattern to match a line break.
336 "x\{2,4}" matches "x" 2 to 4 times.
337 "\s" matches a white space character.
339 Directory, remote and archive browsing. |netrw|
340 Vim can browse the file system. Simply edit a directory. Move around
341 in the list with the usual commands and press <Enter> to go to the
342 directory or file under the cursor.
343 This also works for remote files over ftp, http, ssh, etc.
344 Zip and tar archives can also be browsed. |tar| |zip|
346 Edit-compile-edit speedup. |quickfix|
347 The |:make| command can be used to run the compilation and jump to the
348 first error. A file with compiler error messages is interpreted. Vim
349 jumps to the first error.
351 Each line in the error file is scanned for the name of a file, line
352 number and error message. The 'errorformat' option can be set to a
353 list of scanf-like strings to handle output from many compilers.
355 The |:cn| command can be used to jump to the next error.
356 |:cl| lists all the error messages. Other commands are available.
357 The 'makeef' option has the name of the file with error messages.
358 The 'makeprg' option contains the name of the program to be executed
359 with the |:make| command.
360 The 'shellpipe' option contains the string to be used to put the
361 output of the compiler into the errorfile.
363 Finding matches in files. |:vimgrep|
364 Vim can search for a pattern in multiple files. This uses the
365 advanced Vim regexp pattern, works on all systems and also works to
366 search in compressed files.
368 Improved indenting for programs. |'cindent'|
369 When the 'cindent' option is on the indent of each line is
370 automatically adjusted. C syntax is mostly recognized. The indent
371 for various styles can be set with 'cinoptions'. The keys to trigger
372 indenting can be set with 'cinkeys'.
374 Comments can be automatically formatted. The 'comments' option can be
375 set to the characters that start and end a comment. This works best
376 for C code, but also works for e-mail (">" at start of the line) and
377 other types of text. The |=| operator can be used to re-indent
378 lines.
380 For many other languages an indent plugin is present to support
381 automatic indenting. |30.3|
383 Searching for words in included files. |include-search|
384 The |[i| command can be used to search for a match of the word under
385 the cursor in the current and included files. The 'include' option
386 can be set to a pattern that describes a command to include a file
387 (the default is for C programs).
388 The |[I| command lists all matches, the |[_CTRL-I| command jumps to
389 a match.
390 The |[d|, |[D| and |[_CTRL-D| commands do the same, but only for
391 lines where the pattern given with the 'define' option matches.
393 Automatic commands. |autocommand|
394 Commands can be automatically executed when reading a file, writing a
395 file, jumping to another buffer, etc., depending on the file name.
396 This is useful to set options and mappings for C programs,
397 documentation, plain text, e-mail, etc. This also makes it possible
398 to edit compressed files.
400 Scripts and Expressions. |expression|
401 Commands have been added to form up a powerful script language.
402 |:if| Conditional execution, which can be used for example
403 to set options depending on the value of $TERM.
404 |:while| Repeat a number of commands.
405 |:for| Loop over a list.
406 |:echo| Print the result of an expression.
407 |:let| Assign a value to an internal variable, option, etc.
408 Variable types are Number, String, List and Dictionary.
409 |:execute| Execute a command formed by an expression.
410 |:try| Catch exceptions.
411 etc., etc. See |eval|.
412 Debugging and profiling are supported. |debug-scripts| |profile|
413 If this is not enough, an interface is provided to |Python|, |Ruby|,
414 |Tcl|, |Perl| and |MzScheme|.
416 Viminfo. |viminfo-file|
417 The command-line history, marks and registers can be stored in a file
418 that is read on startup. This can be used to repeat a search command
419 or command-line command after exiting and restarting Vim. It is also
420 possible to jump right back to where the last edit stopped with |'0|.
421 The 'viminfo' option can be set to select which items to store in the
422 .viminfo file. This is off by default.
424 Printing. |printing|
425 The |:hardcopy| command sends text to the printer. This can include
426 syntax highlighting.
428 Mouse support. |mouse-using|
429 The mouse is supported in the GUI version, in an xterm for Unix, for
430 BSDs with sysmouse, for Linux with gpm, for MS-DOS, and Win32. It
431 can be used to position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a
432 register, etc.
434 Usage of key names. |<>| |key-notation|
435 Special keys now all have a name like <Up>, <End>, etc.
436 This name can be used in mappings, to make it easy to edit them.
438 Editing binary files. |edit-binary|
439 Vim can edit binary files. You can change a few characters in an
440 executable file, without corrupting it. Vim doesn't remove NUL
441 characters (they are represented as <NL> internally).
442 |-b| command-line argument to start editing a binary file
443 |'binary'| Option set by |-b|. Prevents adding an <EOL> for the
444 last line in the file.
446 Multi-language support. |multi-lang|
447 Files in double-byte or multi-byte encodings can be edited. There is
448 UTF-8 support to be able to edit various languages at the same time,
449 without switching fonts. |UTF-8|
450 Messages and menus are available in different languages.
452 Move cursor beyond lines.
453 When the 'virtualedit' option is set the cursor can move all over the
454 screen, also where there is no text. This is useful to edit tables
455 and figures easily.
457 ==============================================================================
458 5. Other vim features *other-features*
460 A random collection of nice extra features.
463 When Vim is started with "-s scriptfile", the characters read from
464 "scriptfile" are treated as if you typed them. If end of file is reached
465 before the editor exits, further characters are read from the console.
467 The "-w" option can be used to record all typed characters in a script file.
468 This file can then be used to redo the editing, possibly on another file or
469 after changing some commands in the script file.
471 The "-o" option opens a window for each argument. "-o4" opens four windows.
473 Vi requires several termcap entries to be able to work full-screen. Vim only
474 requires the "cm" entry (cursor motion).
477 In command mode:
479 When the 'showcmd' option is set, the command characters are shown in the last
480 line of the screen. They are removed when the command is finished.
482 If the 'ruler' option is set, the current cursor position is shown in the
483 last line of the screen.
485 "U" still works after having moved off the last changed line and after "u".
487 Characters with the 8th bit set are displayed. The characters between '~' and
488 0xa0 are displayed as "~?", "~@", "~A", etc., unless they are included in the
489 'isprint' option.
491 "][" goes to the next ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
492 "[]" goes to the previous ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
494 "]f", "[f" and "gf" start editing the file whose name is under the cursor.
495 CTRL-W f splits the window and starts editing the file whose name is under
496 the cursor.
498 "*" searches forward for the identifier under the cursor, "#" backward.
499 "K" runs the program defined by the 'keywordprg' option, with the identifier
500 under the cursor as argument.
502 "%" can be preceded with a count. The cursor jumps to the line that
503 percentage down in the file. The normal "%" function to jump to the matching
504 brace skips braces inside quotes.
506 With the CTRL-] command, the cursor may be in the middle of the identifier.
508 The used tags are remembered. Commands that can be used with the tag stack
509 are CTRL-T, ":pop" and ":tag". ":tags" lists the tag stack.
511 The 'tags' option can be set to a list of tag file names. Thus multiple
512 tag files can be used. For file names that start with "./", the "./" is
513 replaced with the path of the current file. This makes it possible to use a
514 tags file in the same directory as the file being edited.
516 Previously used file names are remembered in the alternate file name list.
517 CTRL-^ accepts a count, which is an index in this list.
518 ":files" command shows the list of alternate file names.
519 "#<N>" is replaced with the <N>th alternate file name in the list.
520 "#<" is replaced with the current file name without extension.
522 Search patterns have more features. The <NL> character is seen as part of the
523 search pattern and the substitute string of ":s". Vi sees it as the end of
524 the command.
526 Searches can put the cursor on the end of a match and may include a character
527 offset.
529 Count added to "~", ":next", ":Next", "n" and "N".
531 The command ":next!" with 'autowrite' set does not write the file. In vi the
532 file was written, but this is considered to be a bug, because one does not
533 expect it and the file is not written with ":rewind!".
535 In Vi when entering a <CR> in replace mode deletes a character only when 'ai'
536 is set (but does not show it until you hit <Esc>). Vim always deletes a
537 character (and shows it immediately).
539 Added :wnext command. Same as ":write" followed by ":next".
541 The ":w!" command always writes, also when the file is write protected. In Vi
542 you would have to do ":!chmod +w %" and ":set noro".
544 When 'tildeop' has been set, "~" is an operator (must be followed by a
545 movement command).
547 With the "J" (join) command you can reset the 'joinspaces' option to have only
548 one space after a period (Vi inserts two spaces).
550 "cw" can be used to change white space formed by several characters (Vi is
551 confusing: "cw" only changes one space, while "dw" deletes all white space).
553 "o" and "O" accept a count for repeating the insert (Vi clears a part of
554 display).
556 Flags after Ex commands not supported (no plans to include it).
558 On non-UNIX systems ":cd" command shows current directory instead of going to
559 the home directory (there isn't one). ":pwd" prints the current directory on
560 all systems.
562 After a ":cd" command the file names (in the argument list, opened files)
563 still point to the same files. In Vi ":cd" is not allowed in a changed file;
564 otherwise the meaning of file names change.
566 ":source!" command reads Vi commands from a file.
568 ":mkexrc" command writes current modified options and mappings to a ".exrc"
569 file. ":mkvimrc" writes to a ".vimrc" file.
571 No check for "tail recursion" with mappings. This allows things like
572 ":map! foo ^]foo".
574 When a mapping starts with number, vi loses the count typed before it (e.g.
575 when using the mapping ":map g 4G" the command "7g" goes to line 4). This is
576 considered a vi bug. Vim concatenates the counts (in the example it becomes
577 "74G"), as most people would expect.
579 The :put! command inserts the contents of a register above the current line.
581 The "p" and "P" commands of vi cannot be repeated with "." when the putted
582 text is less than a line. In Vim they can always be repeated.
584 ":noremap" command can be used to enter a mapping that will not be remapped.
585 This is useful to exchange the meaning of two keys. ":cmap", ":cunmap" and
586 ":cnoremap" can be used for mapping in command-line editing only. ":imap",
587 ":iunmap" and ":inoremap" can be used for mapping in insert mode only.
588 Similar commands exist for abbreviations: ":noreabbrev", ":iabbrev"
589 ":cabbrev", ":iunabbrev", ":cunabbrev", ":inoreabbrev", ":cnoreabbrev".
591 In Vi the command ":map foo bar" would remove a previous mapping
592 ":map bug foo". This is considered a bug, so it is not included in Vim.
593 ":unmap! foo" does remove ":map! bug foo", because unmapping would be very
594 difficult otherwise (this is vi compatible).
596 The ':' register contains the last command-line.
597 The '%' register contains the current file name.
598 The '.' register contains the last inserted text.
600 ":dis" command shows the contents of the yank registers.
602 CTRL-O/CTRL-I can be used to jump to older/newer positions. These are the
603 same positions as used with the '' command, but may be in another file. The
604 ":jumps" command lists the older positions.
606 If the 'shiftround' option is set, an indent is rounded to a multiple of
607 'shiftwidth' with ">" and "<" commands.
609 The 'scrolljump' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to scroll
610 when the cursor gets off the screen. Use this when scrolling is slow.
612 The 'scrolloff' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to keep
613 above and below the cursor. This gives some context to where you are
614 editing. When set to a large number the cursor line is always in the middle
615 of the window.
617 Uppercase marks can be used to jump between files. The ":marks" command lists
618 all currently set marks. The commands "']" and "`]" jump to the end of the
619 previous operator or end of the text inserted with the put command. "'[" and
620 "`[" do jump to the start.
622 The 'shelltype' option can be set to reflect the type of shell used on the
623 Amiga.
625 The 'highlight' option can be set for the highlight mode to be used for
626 several commands.
628 The CTRL-A (add) and CTRL-X (subtract) commands are new. The count to the
629 command (default 1) is added to/subtracted from the number at or after the
630 cursor. That number may be decimal, octal (starts with a '0') or hexadecimal
631 (starts with '0x'). Very useful in macros.
633 With the :set command the prefix "inv" can be used to invert boolean options.
635 In both Vi and Vim you can create a line break with the ":substitute" command
636 by using a CTRL-M. For Vi this means you cannot insert a real CTRL-M in the
637 text. With Vim you can put a real CTRL-M in the text by preceding it with a
638 CTRL-V.
641 In Insert mode:
643 If the 'revins' option is set, insert happens backwards. This is for typing
644 Hebrew. When inserting normal characters the cursor will not be shifted and
645 the text moves rightwards. Backspace, CTRL-W and CTRL-U will also work in
646 the opposite direction. CTRL-B toggles the 'revins' option. In replace mode
647 'revins' has no effect. Only when enabled at compile time.
649 The backspace key can be used just like CTRL-D to remove auto-indents.
651 You can backspace, CTRL-U and CTRL-W over line breaks if the 'backspace' (bs)
652 option includes "eol". You can backspace over the start of insert if the
653 'backspace' option includes "start".
655 When the 'paste' option is set, a few option are reset and mapping in insert
656 mode and abbreviation are disabled. This allows for pasting text in windowing
657 systems without unexpected results. When the 'paste' option is reset, the old
658 option values are restored.
660 CTRL-T/CTRL-D always insert/delete an indent in the current line, no matter
661 what column the cursor is in.
663 CTRL-@ (insert previously inserted text) works always (Vi: only when typed as
664 first character).
666 CTRL-A works like CTRL-@ but does not leave insert mode.
668 CTRL-R {0-9a-z..} can be used to insert the contents of a register.
670 When the 'smartindent' option is set, C programs will be better auto-indented.
671 With 'cindent' even more.
673 CTRL-Y and CTRL-E can be used to copy a character from above/below the
674 current cursor position.
676 After CTRL-V you can enter a three digit decimal number. This byte value is
677 inserted in the text as a single character. Useful for international
678 characters that are not on your keyboard.
680 When the 'expandtab' (et) option is set, a <Tab> is expanded to the
681 appropriate number of spaces.
683 The window always reflects the contents of the buffer (Vi does not do this
684 when changing text and in some other cases).
686 If Vim is compiled with DIGRAPHS defined, digraphs are supported. A set of
687 normal digraphs is included. They are shown with the ":digraph" command.
688 More can be added with ":digraph {char1}{char2} {number}". A digraph is
689 entered with "CTRL-K {char1} {char2}" or "{char1} BS {char2}" (only when
690 'digraph' option is set).
692 When repeating an insert, e.g. "10atest <Esc>" vi would only handle wrapmargin
693 for the first insert. Vim does it for all.
695 A count to the "i" or "a" command is used for all the text. Vi uses the count
696 only for one line. "3iabc<NL>def<Esc>" would insert "abcabcabc<NL>def" in Vi
697 but "abc<NL>defabc<NL>defabc<NL>def" in Vim.
700 In Command-line mode:
702 <Esc> terminates the command-line without executing it. In vi the command
703 line would be executed, which is not what most people expect (hitting <Esc>
704 should always get you back to command mode). To avoid problems with some
705 obscure macros, an <Esc> in a macro will execute the command. If you want a
706 typed <Esc> to execute the command like vi does you can fix this with
707 ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V<CR>"
709 General:
711 The 'ttimeout' option is like 'timeout', but only works for cursor and
712 function keys, not for ordinary mapped characters. The 'timeoutlen' option
713 gives the number of milliseconds that is waited for. If the 'esckeys' option
714 is not set, cursor and function keys that start with <Esc> are not recognized
715 in insert mode.
717 There is an option for each terminal string. Can be used when termcap is not
718 supported or to change individual strings.
720 The 'fileformat' option can be set to select the <EOL>: "dos" <CR><NL>, "unix"
721 <NL> or "mac" <CR>.
722 When the 'fileformats' option is not empty, Vim tries to detect the type of
723 <EOL> automatically. The 'fileformat' option is set accordingly.
725 On systems that have no job control (older Unix systems and non-Unix systems)
726 the CTRL-Z, ":stop" or ":suspend" command starts a new shell.
728 If Vim is started on the Amiga without an interactive window for output, a
729 window is opened (and :sh still works). You can give a device to use for
730 editing with the |-d| argument, e.g. "-d con:20/20/600/150".
732 The 'columns' and 'lines' options are used to set or get the width and height
733 of the display.
735 Option settings are read from the first and last few lines of the file.
736 Option 'modelines' determines how many lines are tried (default is 5). Note
737 that this is different from the Vi versions that can execute any Ex command
738 in a modeline (a major security problem). |trojan-horse|
740 If the 'insertmode' option is set (e.g. in .exrc), Vim starts in insert mode.
741 And it comes back there, when pressing <Esc>.
743 Undo information is kept in memory. Available memory limits the number and
744 size of change that can be undone. This may be a problem with MS-DOS, is
745 hardly a problem on the Amiga and almost never with Unix and Win32.
747 If the 'backup' or 'writebackup' option is set: Before a file is overwritten,
748 a backup file (.bak) is made. If the "backup" option is set it is left
749 behind.
751 Vim creates a file ending in ".swp" to store parts of the file that have been
752 changed or that do not fit in memory. This file can be used to recover from
753 an aborted editing session with "vim -r file". Using the swap file can be
754 switched off by setting the 'updatecount' option to 0 or starting Vim with
755 the "-n" option. Use the 'directory' option for placing the .swp file
756 somewhere else.
758 Vim is able to work correctly on filesystems with 8.3 file names, also when
759 using messydos or crossdos filesystems on the Amiga, or any 8.3 mounted
760 filesystem under Unix. See |'shortname'|.
762 Error messages are shown at least one second (Vi overwrites error messages).
764 If Vim gives the |hit-enter| prompt, you can hit any key. Characters other
765 than <CR>, <NL> and <Space> are interpreted as the (start of) a command. (Vi
766 only accepts a command starting with ':').
768 The contents of the numbered and unnamed registers is remembered when
769 changing files.
771 The "No lines in buffer" message is a normal message instead of an error
772 message, since that may cause a mapping to be aborted.
774 The AUX: device of the Amiga is supported.
776 ==============================================================================
777 6. Command-line arguments *cmdline-arguments*
779 Different versions of Vi have different command-line arguments. This can be
780 confusing. To help you, this section gives an overview of the differences.
782 Five variants of Vi will be considered here:
783 Elvis Elvis version 2.1b
784 Nvi Nvi version 1.79
785 Posix Posix 1003.2
786 Vi Vi version 3.7 (for Sun 4.1.x)
787 Vile Vile version 7.4 (incomplete)
788 Vim Vim version 5.2
790 Only Vim is able to accept options in between and after the file names.
792 +{command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Same as "-c {command}".
794 - Nvi, Posix, Vi: Run Ex in batch mode.
795 Vim: Read file from stdin (use -s for batch mode).
797 -- Vim: End of options, only file names are following.
799 --cmd {command} Vim: execute {command} before sourcing vimrc files.
801 --echo-wid Vim: GTK+ echoes the Window ID on stdout
803 --help Vim: show help message and exit.
805 --literal Vim: take file names literally, don't expand wildcards.
807 --nofork Vim: same as |-f|
809 --noplugin[s] Vim: Skip loading plugins.
811 --remote Vim: edit the files in another Vim server
813 --remote-expr {expr} Vim: evaluate {expr} in another Vim server
815 --remote-send {keys} Vim: send {keys} to a Vim server and exit
817 --remote-silent {file} Vim: edit the files in another Vim server if possible
819 --remote-wait Vim: edit the files in another Vim server and wait for it
821 --remote-wait-silent Vim: like --remote-wait, no complaints if not possible
823 --role {role} Vim: GTK+ 2: set role of main window
825 --serverlist Vim: Output a list of Vim servers and exit
827 --servername {name} Vim: Specify Vim server name
829 --socketid {id} Vim: GTK window socket to run Vim in
831 --windowid {id} Vim: Win32 window ID to run Vim in
833 --version Vim: show version message and exit.
835 -? Vile: print usage summary and exit.
837 -a Elvis: Load all specified file names into a window (use -o for
838 Vim).
840 -A Vim: Start in Arabic mode (when compiled with Arabic).
842 -b {blksize} Elvis: Use {blksize} blocksize for the session file.
843 -b Vim: set 'binary' mode.
845 -C Vim: Compatible mode.
847 -c {command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vim: run {command} as an Ex command after
848 loading the edit buffer.
849 Vim: allow up to 10 "-c" arguments
851 -d {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). {only when compiled
852 without the |+diff| feature}
853 -d Vim: start with 'diff' set. |vimdiff|
855 -dev {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only).
857 -D Vim: debug mode.
859 -e Elvis, Nvi, Vim: Start in Ex mode, as if the executable is
860 called "ex".
862 -E Vim: Start in improved Ex mode |gQ|, like "exim".
864 -f Vim: Run GUI in foreground (Amiga: don't open new window).
865 -f {session} Elvis: Use {session} as the session file.
867 -F Vim: Start in Farsi mode (when compiled with Farsi).
868 Nvi: Fast start, don't read the entire file when editing
869 starts.
871 -G {gui} Elvis: Use the {gui} as user interface.
873 -g Vim: Start GUI.
874 -g N Vile: start editing at line N
876 -h Vim: Give help message.
877 Vile: edit the help file
879 -H Vim: start Hebrew mode (when compiled with it).
881 -i Elvis: Start each window in Insert mode.
882 -i {viminfo} Vim: Use {viminfo} for viminfo file.
884 -L Vim: Same as "-r" (also in some versions of Vi).
886 -l Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options.
888 -m Vim: Modifications not allowed to be written, resets 'write'
889 option.
891 -M Vim: Modifications not allowed, resets 'modifiable' and the
892 'write' option.
894 -N Vim: No-compatible mode.
896 -n Vim: No swap file used.
898 -nb[args] Vim: open a NetBeans interface connection
900 -O[N] Vim: Like -o, but use vertically split windows.
902 -o[N] Vim: Open [N] windows, or one for each file.
904 -p[N] Vim: Open [N] tab pages, or one for each file.
906 -P {parent-title} Win32 Vim: open Vim inside a parent application window
908 -q {name} Vim: Use {name} for quickfix error file.
909 -q{name} Vim: Idem.
911 -R Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vile, Vim: Set the 'readonly' option.
913 -r Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Recovery mode.
915 -S Nvi: Set 'secure' option.
916 -S {script} Vim: source script after starting up.
918 -s Nvi, Posix, Vim: Same as "-" (silent mode), when in Ex mode.
919 Elvis: Sets the 'safer' option.
920 -s {scriptin} Vim: Read from script file {scriptin}; only when not in Ex
921 mode.
922 -s {pattern} Vile: search for {pattern}
924 -t {tag} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Edit the file containing {tag}.
925 -t{tag} Vim: Idem.
927 -T {term} Vim: Set terminal name to {term}.
929 -u {vimrc} Vim: Read initializations from {vimrc} file.
931 -U {gvimrc} Vim: Read GUI initializations from {gvimrc} file.
933 -v Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Begin in Normal mode (visual mode, in Vi
934 terms).
935 Vile: View mode, no changes possible.
937 -V Elvis, Vim: Verbose mode.
938 -V{nr} Vim: Verbose mode with specified level.
940 -w {size} Elvis, Posix, Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set value of 'window' to {size}.
941 -w{size} Nvi, Vi: Same as "-w {size}".
942 -w {name} Vim: Write to script file {name} (must start with non-digit).
944 -W {name} Vim: Append to script file {name}.
946 -x Vi, Vim: Ask for encryption key. See |encryption|.
948 -X Vim: Don't connect to the X server.
950 -y Vim: Start in easy mode, like |evim|.
952 -Z Vim: restricted mode
954 @{cmdfile} Vile: use {cmdfile} as startup file.
956 ==============================================================================
957 7. POSIX compliance *posix* *posix-compliance*
959 In 2005 the POSIX test suite was run to check the compatibility of Vim. Most
960 of the test was executed properly. There are the few things where Vim
961 is not POSIX compliant, even when run in Vi compatibility mode.
963 Set the $VIM_POSIX environment variable to have 'cpoptions' include the POSIX
964 flags when Vim starts up. This makes Vim run as POSIX as it can. That's
965 a bit different from being Vi compatible.
967 This is where Vim does not behave as POSIX specifies and why:
969 *posix-screen-size*
970 The $COLUMNS and $LINES environment variables are ignored by Vim if
971 the size can be obtained from the terminal in a more reliable way.
972 Add the '|' flag to 'cpoptions' to have $COLUMNS and $LINES overrule
973 sizes obtained in another way.
975 The "{" and "}" commands don't stop at a "{" in the original Vi, but
976 POSIX specifies it does. Add the '{' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want
977 it the POSIX way.
979 The "D", "o" and "O" commands accept a count. Also when repeated.
980 Add the '#' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want to ignore the count.
982 The ":cd" command fails if the current buffer is modified when the '.'
983 flag is present in 'cpoptions'.
985 There is no ATTENTION message, the "A" flag is added to 'shortmess'.
987 These are remarks about running the POSIX test suite:
988 - vi test 33 sometimes fails for unknown reasons
989 - vi test 250 fails; behavior will be changed in a new revision
990 http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg01710.html
991 - vi test 310 fails; exit code non-zero when any error occurred?
992 - ex test 24 fails because test is wrong. Changed between SUSv2 and SUSv3.
993 - ex tests 47, 48, 49, 72, 73 fail because .exrc file isn't read in silent
994 mode and $EXINIT isn't used.
995 - ex tests 76, 78 fail because echo is used instead of printf. (fixed)
996 Also: problem with \s not changed to space.
997 - ex test 355 fails because 'window' isn't used for "30z".
998 - ex test 368 fails because shell command isn't echoed in silent mode.
999 - ex test 394 fails because "=" command output isn't visible in silent mode.
1000 - ex test 411 fails because test file is wrong, contains stray ':'.
1001 - ex test 475 and 476 fail because reprint output isn't visible in silent mode.
1002 - ex test 480 and 481 fail because the tags file has spaces instead of a tab.
1003 - ex test 502 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1004 - ex test 509 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. and exit code is
1005 1 instead of 2.
1006 - ex test 534 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1009 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: