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Bram Moolenaara4d131d2021-12-27 21:33:07 +00001*change.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2021 Dec 27
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This file describes commands that delete or change text. In this context,
8changing text means deleting the text and replacing it with other text using
9one command. You can undo all of these commands. You can repeat the non-Ex
10commands with the "." command.
11
121. Deleting text |deleting|
132. Delete and insert |delete-insert|
143. Simple changes |simple-change| *changing*
154. Complex changes |complex-change|
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +000016 4.1 Filter commands |filter|
17 4.2 Substitute |:substitute|
18 4.3 Search and replace |search-replace|
19 4.4 Changing tabs |change-tabs|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000205. Copying and moving text |copy-move|
216. Formatting text |formatting|
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +0000227. Sorting text |sorting|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000023
24For inserting text see |insert.txt|.
25
26==============================================================================
271. Deleting text *deleting* *E470*
28
29["x]<Del> or *<Del>* *x* *dl*
30["x]x Delete [count] characters under and after the cursor
31 [into register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as
32 "dl".
33 The <Del> key does not take a [count]. Instead, it
34 deletes the last character of the count.
35 See |:fixdel| if the <Del> key does not do what you
36 want. See |'whichwrap'| for deleting a line break
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +020037 (join lines).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000038
39 *X* *dh*
40["x]X Delete [count] characters before the cursor [into
41 register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as "dh".
42 Also see |'whichwrap'|.
43
44 *d*
45["x]d{motion} Delete text that {motion} moves over [into register
46 x]. See below for exceptions.
47
48 *dd*
49["x]dd Delete [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
50
51 *D*
52["x]D Delete the characters under the cursor until the end
53 of the line and [count]-1 more lines [into register
54 x]; synonym for "d$".
55 (not |linewise|)
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +000056 When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
57 ignored.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000058
59{Visual}["x]x or *v_x* *v_d* *v_<Del>*
60{Visual}["x]d or
61{Visual}["x]<Del> Delete the highlighted text [into register x] (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +020062 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000063
64{Visual}["x]CTRL-H or *v_CTRL-H* *v_<BS>*
65{Visual}["x]<BS> When in Select mode: Delete the highlighted text [into
66 register x].
67
68{Visual}["x]X or *v_X* *v_D* *v_b_D*
69{Visual}["x]D Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
70 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). In Visual block mode,
71 "D" deletes the highlighted text plus all text until
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +020072 the end of the line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000073
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020074 *:d* *:de* *:del* *:delete* *:dl* *:dp*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000075:[range]d[elete] [x] Delete [range] lines (default: current line) [into
76 register x].
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020077 Note these weird abbreviations:
78 :dl delete and list
79 :dell idem
80 :delel idem
81 :deletl idem
82 :deletel idem
83 :dp delete and print
84 :dep idem
85 :delp idem
86 :delep idem
87 :deletp idem
88 :deletep idem
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000089
90:[range]d[elete] [x] {count}
91 Delete {count} lines, starting with [range]
92 (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|) [into
93 register x].
94
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +020095These commands delete text. You can repeat them with the `.` command
96(except `:d`) and undo them. Use Visual mode to delete blocks of text. See
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000097|registers| for an explanation of registers.
98
99An exception for the d{motion} command: If the motion is not linewise, the
100start and end of the motion are not in the same line, and there are only
Bram Moolenaar38a55632016-02-15 22:07:32 +0100101blanks before the start and there are no non-blanks after the end of the
102motion, the delete becomes linewise. This means that the delete also removes
103the line of blanks that you might expect to remain. Use the |o_v| operator to
104force the motion to be characterwise.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000105
106Trying to delete an empty region of text (e.g., "d0" in the first column)
107is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag.
108
109 *J*
110J Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
111 Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces (see
Bram Moolenaar77cdfd12016-03-12 12:57:59 +0100112 below). Fails when on the last line of the buffer.
Bram Moolenaar85eee132018-05-06 17:57:30 +0200113 If [count] is too big it is reduced to the number of
Bram Moolenaar77cdfd12016-03-12 12:57:59 +0100114 lines available.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000115
116 *v_J*
117{Visual}J Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
118 lines. Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200119 (see below).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000120
121 *gJ*
122gJ Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200123 Don't insert or remove any spaces.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000124
125 *v_gJ*
126{Visual}gJ Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200127 lines. Don't insert or remove any spaces.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000128
129 *:j* *:join*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000130:[range]j[oin][!] [flags]
131 Join [range] lines. Same as "J", except with [!]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000132 the join does not insert or delete any spaces.
133 If a [range] has equal start and end values, this
134 command does nothing. The default behavior is to
135 join the current line with the line below it.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000136 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000137
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000138:[range]j[oin][!] {count} [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000139 Join {count} lines, starting with [range] (default:
140 current line |cmdline-ranges|). Same as "J", except
141 with [!] the join does not insert or delete any
142 spaces.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000143 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000144
145These commands delete the <EOL> between lines. This has the effect of joining
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200146multiple lines into one line. You can repeat these commands (except `:j`) and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000147undo them.
148
149These commands, except "gJ", insert one space in place of the <EOL> unless
150there is trailing white space or the next line starts with a ')'. These
151commands, except "gJ", delete any leading white space on the next line. If
152the 'joinspaces' option is on, these commands insert two spaces after a '.',
153'!' or '?' (but if 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, they insert two spaces
154only after a '.').
155The 'B' and 'M' flags in 'formatoptions' change the behavior for inserting
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +0200156spaces before and after a multibyte character |fo-table|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000157
Bram Moolenaar251835e2014-02-24 02:51:51 +0100158The '[ mark is set at the end of the first line that was joined, '] at the end
159of the resulting line.
160
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000161
162==============================================================================
1632. Delete and insert *delete-insert* *replacing*
164
165 *R*
166R Enter Replace mode: Each character you type replaces
167 an existing character, starting with the character
168 under the cursor. Repeat the entered text [count]-1
169 times. See |Replace-mode| for more details.
170
171 *gR*
172gR Enter Virtual Replace mode: Each character you type
173 replaces existing characters in screen space. So a
174 <Tab> may replace several characters at once.
175 Repeat the entered text [count]-1 times. See
176 |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000177
178 *c*
179["x]c{motion} Delete {motion} text [into register x] and start
180 insert. When 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag and
181 there is no text to delete (e.g., with "cTx" when the
182 cursor is just after an 'x'), an error occurs and
183 insert mode does not start (this is Vi compatible).
184 When 'cpoptions' does not include the 'E' flag, the
185 "c" command always starts insert mode, even if there
186 is no text to delete.
187
188 *cc*
189["x]cc Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
190 insert |linewise|. If 'autoindent' is on, preserve
191 the indent of the first line.
192
193 *C*
194["x]C Delete from the cursor position to the end of the
195 line and [count]-1 more lines [into register x], and
196 start insert. Synonym for c$ (not |linewise|).
197
198 *s*
199["x]s Delete [count] characters [into register x] and start
200 insert (s stands for Substitute). Synonym for "cl"
201 (not |linewise|).
202
203 *S*
204["x]S Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
205 insert. Synonym for "cc" |linewise|.
206
207{Visual}["x]c or *v_c* *v_s*
208{Visual}["x]s Delete the highlighted text [into register x] and
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200209 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000210
211 *v_r*
Bram Moolenaar2c7f8c52020-04-20 19:52:53 +0200212{Visual}r{char} Replace all selected characters by {char}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000213
214 *v_C*
215{Visual}["x]C Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
216 start insert. In Visual block mode it works
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200217 differently |v_b_C|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000218 *v_S*
219{Visual}["x]S Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200220 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000221 *v_R*
222{Visual}["x]R Currently just like {Visual}["x]S. In a next version
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200223 it might work differently.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000224
225Notes:
226- You can end Insert and Replace mode with <Esc>.
227- See the section "Insert and Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl| for the other
228 special characters in these modes.
229- The effect of [count] takes place after Vim exits Insert or Replace mode.
230- When the 'cpoptions' option contains '$' and the change is within one line,
231 Vim continues to show the text to be deleted and puts a '$' at the last
232 deleted character.
233
234See |registers| for an explanation of registers.
235
236Replace mode is just like Insert mode, except that every character you enter
237deletes one character. If you reach the end of a line, Vim appends any
238further characters (just like Insert mode). In Replace mode, the backspace
239key restores the original text (if there was any). (See section "Insert and
240Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl|).
241
242 *cw* *cW*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000243Special case: When the cursor is in a word, "cw" and "cW" do not include the
244white space after a word, they only change up to the end of the word. This is
245because Vim interprets "cw" as change-word, and a word does not include the
246following white space.
247{Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first
248blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks; use the
249'w' flag in 'cpoptions' to make it work like Vi anyway}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000250
251If you prefer "cw" to include the space after a word, use this mapping: >
252 :map cw dwi
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000253Or use "caw" (see |aw|).
254
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000255 *:c* *:ch* *:change*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000256:{range}c[hange][!] Replace lines of text with some different text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000257 Type a line containing only "." to stop replacing.
258 Without {range}, this command changes only the current
259 line.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000260 Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
261 command is executed.
Bram Moolenaara4d131d2021-12-27 21:33:07 +0000262 This command is not supported in |Vim9| script,
263 because it is too easily confused with a variable
264 name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000265
266==============================================================================
2673. Simple changes *simple-change*
268
269 *r*
270r{char} Replace the character under the cursor with {char}.
271 If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the
272 character. To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V
273 <CR>. CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>.
Bram Moolenaar80716072012-05-01 21:14:34 +0200274
275 If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the
276 line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E|
277 and |i_CTRL-Y|. This also works with a count, thus
278 `10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below.
279
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000280 If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters
281 with [count] {char}s. When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>,
282 however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces
283 five characters with a single line break.
284 When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs
285 autoindenting. This works just like deleting the
286 characters that are replaced and then doing
287 "i<CR><Esc>".
288 {char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|.
289 |:lmap| mappings apply to {char}. The CTRL-^ command
290 in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off
291 |i_CTRL-^|. See |utf-8-char-arg| about using
292 composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode.
293
294 *gr*
295gr{char} Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with
296 {char}. This replaces in screen space, not file
297 space. See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more
298 details. As with |r| a count may be given.
299 {char} can be entered like with |r|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000300
301 *digraph-arg*
302The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character.
303When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered
304like |digraphs|. First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters.
305{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
306
307 *case*
308The following commands change the case of letters. The currently active
309|locale| is used. See |:language|. The LC_CTYPE value matters here.
310
311 *~*
312~ 'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character
313 under the cursor and move the cursor to the right.
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200314 If a [count] is given, do that many characters.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000315
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200316~{motion} 'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000317
318 *g~*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200319g~{motion} Switch case of {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000320
321g~g~ *g~g~* *g~~*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200322g~~ Switch case of current line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000323
324 *v_~*
325{Visual}~ Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200326 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000327
328 *v_U*
329{Visual}U Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200330 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000331
332 *gU* *uppercase*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200333gU{motion} Make {motion} text uppercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000334 Example: >
335 :map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a
336< This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the
337 word before the cursor uppercase. Handy to type
338 words in lowercase and then make them uppercase.
339
340
341gUgU *gUgU* *gUU*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200342gUU Make current line uppercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000343
344 *v_u*
345{Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200346 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000347
348 *gu* *lowercase*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200349gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000350
351gugu *gugu* *guu*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200352guu Make current line lowercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000353
354 *g?* *rot13*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200355g?{motion} Rot13 encode {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000356
357 *v_g?*
358{Visual}g? Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200359 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000360
361g?g? *g?g?* *g??*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200362g?? Rot13 encode current line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000363
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000364To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word
365uppercase: >
366 :s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g
367
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000368
369Adding and subtracting ~
370 *CTRL-A*
371CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200372 or after the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000373
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200374 *v_CTRL-A*
375{Visual}CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200376 the highlighted text.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200377
378 *v_g_CTRL-A*
379{Visual}g CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
380 the highlighted text. If several lines are
381 highlighted, each one will be incremented by an
382 additional [count] (so effectively creating a
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200383 [count] incrementing sequence).
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200384 For Example, if you have this list of numbers:
385 1. ~
386 1. ~
387 1. ~
388 1. ~
389 Move to the second "1." and Visually select three
390 lines, pressing g CTRL-A results in:
391 1. ~
392 2. ~
393 3. ~
394 4. ~
395
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000396 *CTRL-X*
397CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200398 character at or after the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000399
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200400 *v_CTRL-X*
401{Visual}CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200402 character in the highlighted text.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200403
Bram Moolenaare0fa3742016-02-20 15:47:01 +0100404 On MS-Windows, this is mapped to cut Visual text
405 |dos-standard-mappings|. If you want to disable the
406 mapping, use this: >
407 silent! vunmap <C-X>
408<
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200409 *v_g_CTRL-X*
410{Visual}g CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
411 character in the highlighted text. If several lines
412 are highlighted, each value will be decremented by an
413 additional [count] (so effectively creating a [count]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200414 decrementing sequence).
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200415
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +0100416The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands can work for:
417- signed and unsigned decimal numbers
418- unsigned binary, octal and hexadecimal numbers
419- alphabetic characters
420
421This depends on the 'nrformats' option:
422- When 'nrformats' includes "bin", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0b' or
423 '0B' are binary.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000424- When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0'
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000425 to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'. Other numbers are
426 decimal and may have a preceding minus sign.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000427 If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise
428 Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000429- When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or
430 '0X' are hexadecimal. The case of the rightmost letter in the number
431 determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number. If there is no
432 letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case.
433- When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character
434 under or after the cursor. This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic
435 index.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000436
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200437For decimals a leading negative sign is considered for incrementing/
Bram Moolenaarfa735342016-01-03 22:14:44 +0100438decrementing, for binary, octal and hex values, it won't be considered. To
Bram Moolenaar85eee132018-05-06 17:57:30 +0200439ignore the sign Visually select the number before using CTRL-A or CTRL-X.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200440
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000441For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers),
442Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible. CTRL-A on
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000443"0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000444There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to
445be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal",
446leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an
447octal number.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000448
449Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000450zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000451
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +0100452Note similarly, when 'nrformats' includes "bin", binary numbers with a leading
453'0x' or '0X' can be interpreted as hexadecimal rather than binary since '0b'
454are valid hexadecimal digits.
455
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000456The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro. Example: Use the following
457steps to make a numbered list.
458
4591. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004602. qa - start recording into register 'a'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004613. Y - yank the entry
4624. p - put a copy of the entry below the first one
4635. CTRL-A - increment the number
4646. q - stop recording
4657. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times
466
467
468SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT *shift-left-right*
469
470 *<*
471<{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
472
Bram Moolenaarf9514162018-11-22 03:08:29 +0100473 If the 'vartabstop' feature is enabled, and the
474 'shiftwidth' option is set to zero, the amount of
475 indent is calculated at the first non-blank character
476 in the line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000477 *<<*
478<< Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
479
480 *v_<*
481{Visual}[count]< Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200482 leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000483
484 *>*
485 >{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
486
Bram Moolenaarf9514162018-11-22 03:08:29 +0100487 If the 'vartabstop' feature is enabled, and the
488 'shiftwidth' option is set to zero, the amount of
489 indent is calculated at the first non-blank character
490 in the line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000491 *>>*
492 >> Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
493
494 *v_>*
495{Visual}[count]> Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200496 rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000497
498 *:<*
499:[range]< Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left. Repeat '<'
500 for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
501
502:[range]< {count} Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting
503 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
504 Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
505
506:[range]le[ft] [indent] left align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200507 lines to [indent] (default 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000508
509 *:>*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000510:[range]> [flags] Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000511 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000512 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000513
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000514:[range]> {count} [flags]
515 Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000516 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
517 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000518 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000519
520The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within
521programs. Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space
522which these commands insert or delete. Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8,
523but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents. The shift leftwards
524stops when there is no indent. The shift right does not affect empty lines.
525
526If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of
527'shiftwidth'.
528
529If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains
Bram Moolenaar8e69b4a2013-11-09 03:41:58 +0100530'#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#'
531(these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1).
Bram Moolenaar7dda86f2018-04-20 22:36:41 +0200532This can be changed with the 'cino' option, see |cino-#|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000533
534When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as
535much as possible to make the indent. You can use ">><<" to replace an indent
536made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces
537if necessary). If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces. Then
538you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200539`:retab!`).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000540
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200541To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000542For example: >
543 Vjj4> move three lines 4 indents to the right
544 :<<< move current line 3 indents to the left
545 :>> 5 move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
546 :5>> move line 5 2 indents to the right
547
548==============================================================================
5494. Complex changes *complex-change*
550
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005514.1 Filter commands *filter*
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000552
553A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some
554way, and sends it to standard output. You can use the commands below to send
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000555some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000556Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and
557"indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that
558works like a filter; not all versions do). The 'shell' option specifies the
559shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype'
560option). You can repeat filter commands with ".". Vim does not recognize a
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200561comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000562
563 *!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000564!{motion}{filter} Filter {motion} text lines through the external
565 program {filter}.
566
567 *!!*
568!!{filter} Filter [count] lines through the external program
569 {filter}.
570
571 *v_!*
572{Visual}!{filter} Filter the highlighted lines through the external
573 program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000574
575:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg] *:range!*
576 Filter {range} lines through the external program
577 {filter}. Vim replaces the optional bangs with the
578 latest given command and appends the optional [arg].
579 Vim saves the output of the filter command in a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100580 temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer
581 |tempfile|. Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to
582 redirect the filter output to the temporary file.
Bram Moolenaar83c465c2005-12-16 21:53:56 +0000583 However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes
584 are used when possible (on Unix).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000585 When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in
586 the filtered lines are deleted, unless the
587 |:keepmarks| command is used. Example: >
588 :keepmarks '<,'>!sort
589< When the number of lines after filtering is less than
590 before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway.
591
592 *=*
593={motion} Filter {motion} lines through the external program
594 given with the 'equalprg' option. When the 'equalprg'
595 option is empty (this is the default), use the
Bram Moolenaar20f90cf2011-05-19 12:22:51 +0200596 internal formatting function |C-indenting| and
597 |'lisp'|. But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will
598 be used instead |indent-expression|. When Vim was
599 compiled without internal formatting then the "indent"
600 program is used as a last resort.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000601
602 *==*
603== Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}.
604
605 *v_=*
606{Visual}= Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000607
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000608
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100609 *tempfile* *setuid*
610Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for
611tempname(). For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
612accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink
613attack or other people reading your file). When Vim exits the directory and
614all files in it are deleted. When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause
615problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command
616probably runs as the original user.
Bram Moolenaar6f345a12019-12-17 21:27:18 +0100617On MS-Windows the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP,
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100618$TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP.
619For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME.
620For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used.
621For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used.
622
623
624
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00006254.2 Substitute *:substitute*
626 *:s* *:su*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000627:[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000628 For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern}
629 with {string}.
630 For the {pattern} see |pattern|.
631 {string} can be a literal string, or something
632 special; see |sub-replace-special|.
633 When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the
Bram Moolenaar3df01732017-02-17 22:47:16 +0100634 current line only. When [count] is given, replace in
635 [count] lines, starting with the last line in [range].
636 When [range] is omitted start in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar4c92e752019-02-17 21:18:32 +0100637 *E939*
Bram Moolenaar3df01732017-02-17 22:47:16 +0100638 [count] must be a positive number. Also see
639 |cmdline-ranges|.
640
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000641 See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaarebdf3c92020-02-15 21:41:42 +0100642 The delimiter doesn't need to be /, see
643 |pattern-delimiter|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000644
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000645:[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count]
646:[range]&[&][flags] [count] *:&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000647 Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and
648 substitute string, but without the same flags. You
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000649 may add [flags], see |:s_flags|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200650 Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000651 used, it's recognized as a pattern separator.
Bram Moolenaarfc39ecf2015-08-11 20:34:49 +0200652 The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g',
653 'i', 'I' and 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts
654 it's a good idea to keep it to avoid confusion.
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100655 Also see the two and three letter commands to repeat
656 :substitute below |:substitute-repeat|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000657
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000658:[range]~[&][flags] [count] *:~*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000659 Repeat last substitute with same substitute string
660 but with last used search pattern. This is like
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200661 `:&r`. See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000662
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000663 *&*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200664& Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute). Note
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000665 that the flags are not remembered, thus it might
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200666 actually work differently. You can use `:&&` to keep
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000667 the flags.
668
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000669 *g&*
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100670g& Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with
671 last search pattern on all lines with the same flags).
Bram Moolenaar34700a62013-03-07 13:20:54 +0100672 For example, when you first do a substitution with
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100673 `:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for
674 something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`.
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200675 Mnemonic: global substitute.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677 *:snomagic* *:sno*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200678:[range]sno[magic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000679
680 *:smagic* *:sm*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200681:[range]sm[agic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000682
683 *:s_flags*
684The flags that you can use for the substitute commands:
685
Bram Moolenaar51628222016-12-01 23:03:28 +0100686 *:&&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000687[&] Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute
688 command. Examples: >
689 :&&
690 :s/this/that/&
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200691< Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000692
693[c] Confirm each substitution. Vim highlights the matching string (with
694 |hl-IncSearch|). You can type: *:s_c*
695 'y' to substitute this match
696 'l' to substitute this match and then quit ("last")
697 'n' to skip this match
698 <Esc> to quit substituting
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200699 'a' to substitute this and all remaining matches
700 'q' to quit substituting
Bram Moolenaare2c453d2019-08-21 14:37:09 +0200701 CTRL-E to scroll the screen up
702 CTRL-Y to scroll the screen down
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703 If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and
704 toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new
705 search pattern.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000706
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200707 *:s_e*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000708[e] When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in
709 particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred. This is most
710 useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping. Vim
711 does not suppress the following error messages, however:
712 Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters
713 \ should be followed by /, ? or &
714 No previous substitute regular expression
715 Trailing characters
716 Interrupted
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000717
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200718 *:s_g*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000719[g] Replace all occurrences in the line. Without this argument,
720 replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line. If
721 the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles
722 it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search
723 pattern. If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default
724 and the [g] argument switches it off.
725
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200726 *:s_i*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000727[i] Ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options
728 are not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000729
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200730 *:s_I*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000731[I] Don't ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase'
732 options are not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000733
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200734 *:s_n*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000735[n] Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute. The [c]
736 flag is ignored. The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero.
737 Useful to |count-items|.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200738 If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be
739 evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000740
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200741[p] Print the line containing the last substitute. *:s_p*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000742
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200743[#] Like [p] and prepend the line number. *:s_#*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000744
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200745[l] Like [p] but print the text like |:list|. *:s_l*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000746
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200747 *:s_r*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200748[r] Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments. `:&r`
749 works the same way as `:~`: When the search pattern is empty, use the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000750 previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200751 last substitute or `:global`. If the last command that did a search
752 was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect. If the last
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000753 command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that
754 command.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200755 For `:s` with an argument this already happens: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000756 :s/blue/red/
757 /green
758 :s//red/ or :~ or :&r
759< The last commands will replace "green" with "red". >
760 :s/blue/red/
761 /green
762 :&
763< The last command will replace "blue" with "red".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000764
765Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern. A
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000766different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends. The
767reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in
768order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known. Catch 22!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000769
770If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200771pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command. If there is none, but
Bram Moolenaar662db672011-03-22 14:05:35 +0100772there is a previous search pattern, that one is used. With the [r] flag, the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200773command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000774command.
775
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000776If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty. Thus the
777matched pattern is deleted. The separator after {pattern} can also be left
778out then. Example: >
779 :%s/TESTING
780This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line.
781
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000782For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed:
783"\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r".
784"\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/".
Bram Moolenaarebdf3c92020-02-15 21:41:42 +0100785 *pattern-delimiter* *E146*
Bram Moolenaar4d8f4762021-06-27 15:18:56 +0200786Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you can
787use another single-byte character. This is useful if you want to include a
788'/' in the search pattern or replacement string. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000789 :s+/+//+
790
Bram Moolenaar4d8f4762021-06-27 15:18:56 +0200791You can use most characters, but not an alphanumeric character, '\', '"' or
792'|'. In Vim9 script you should not use '#' because it may be recognized as
793the start of a comment.
794
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000795For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|. In Visual block mode, use
796|/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only.
797Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000798
799 *sub-replace-special* *:s\=*
800When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200801|sub-replace-expression|. You can use that for complex replacement or special
802characters.
803
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000804Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning:
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000805 *:s%*
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +0000806When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option,
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200807then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000808
809magic nomagic action ~
810 & \& replaced with the whole matched pattern *s/\&*
811 \& & replaced with &
812 \0 replaced with the whole matched pattern *\0* *s/\0*
813 \1 replaced with the matched pattern in the first
814 pair of () *s/\1*
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000815 \2 replaced with the matched pattern in the second
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000816 pair of () *s/\2*
817 .. .. *s/\3*
818 \9 replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth
819 pair of () *s/\9*
820 ~ \~ replaced with the {string} of the previous
821 substitute *s~*
822 \~ ~ replaced with ~ *s/\~*
823 \u next character made uppercase *s/\u*
824 \U following characters made uppercase, until \E *s/\U*
825 \l next character made lowercase *s/\l*
826 \L following characters made lowercase, until \E *s/\L*
827 \e end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!) *s/\e*
828 \E end of \u, \U, \l and \L *s/\E*
829 <CR> split line in two at this point
830 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s<CR>*
831 \r idem *s/\r*
832 \<CR> insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M)
833 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s/\<CR>*
834 \n insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file)
835 (does NOT break the line) *s/\n*
836 \b insert a <BS> *s/\b*
837 \t insert a <Tab> *s/\t*
838 \\ insert a single backslash *s/\\*
839 \x where x is any character not mentioned above:
840 Reserved for future expansion
841
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200842The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of
843the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions:
844 - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'.
845 - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'.
846 - A ~ inserts a tilde literally.
847 - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M).
Bram Moolenaarba3ff532018-11-04 14:45:49 +0100848 - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. It's just one of \x.
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200849
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000850Examples: >
851 :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g modifies "a b" to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx"
852 :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb"
853 :s/abcde/abc^Mde/ modifies "abcde" to "abc", "de" (two lines)
854 :s/$/\^M/ modifies "abcde" to "abcde^M"
Bram Moolenaarefd2bf12006-03-16 21:41:35 +0000855 :s/\w\+/\u\0/g modifies "bla bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaaraa3b15d2016-04-21 08:53:19 +0200856 :s/\w\+/\L\u\0/g modifies "BLA bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaarbf884932013-04-05 22:26:15 +0200857
858Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word. This is
859not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel
860out the "\L". Same for "\U\l".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000861
862Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way. Since this is
863not Vi compatible, this was removed. Use a backslash instead.
864
865command text result ~
866:s/aa/a^Ma/ aa a<line-break>a
867:s/aa/a\^Ma/ aa a^Ma
868:s/aa/a\\^Ma/ aa a\<line-break>a
869
870(you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here)
871
872The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in
873the pattern (going left to right). When a parentheses group matches several
874times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc. Example: >
875 :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/ modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x"
Bram Moolenaar7e1479b2016-09-11 15:07:27 +0200876The "\2" is for "\(a[a-d] \)". At first it matches "aa ", secondly "ab ".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000877
878When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\),
879either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either
880\1 or \2 is empty. Example: >
881 :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g modifies "a b c d" to "ax bx x x"
882<
883
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100884 *:sc* *:sce* *:scg* *:sci* *:scI* *:scl* *:scp* *:sg* *:sgc*
885 *:sge* *:sgi* *:sgI* *:sgl* *:sgn* *:sgp* *:sgr* *:sI* *:si*
886 *:sic* *:sIc* *:sie* *:sIe* *:sIg* *:sIl* *:sin* *:sIn* *:sIp*
887 *:sip* *:sIr* *:sir* *:sr* *:src* *:srg* *:sri* *:srI* *:srl*
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100888 *:srn* *:srp* *:substitute-repeat*
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +01008892-letter and 3-letter :substitute commands ~
890
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100891These commands repeat the previous `:substitute` command with the given flags.
892The first letter is always "s", followed by one or two of the possible flag
893characters. For example `:sce` works like `:s///ce`. The table lists the
894possible combinations, not all flags are possible, because the command is
895short for another command.
896
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100897 List of :substitute commands
898 | c e g i I n p l r
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100899 | c :sc :sce :scg :sci :scI :scn :scp :scl
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100900 | e
901 | g :sgc :sge :sg :sgi :sgI :sgn :sgp :sgl :sgr
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100902 | i :sic :sie :si :siI :sin :sip :sir
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100903 | I :sIc :sIe :sIg :sIi :sI :sIn :sIp :sIl :sIr
904 | n
905 | p
906 | l
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100907 | r :src :srg :sri :srI :srn :srp :srl :sr
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100908
909Exceptions:
910 :scr is `:scriptnames`
911 :se is `:set`
912 :sig is `:sign`
913 :sil is `:silent`
914 :sn is `:snext`
915 :sp is `:split`
916 :sl is `:sleep`
917 :sre is `:srewind`
918
919
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000920Substitute with an expression *sub-replace-expression*
Bram Moolenaar92dff182014-02-11 19:15:50 +0100921 *sub-replace-\=* *s/\=*
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000922When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an
Bram Moolenaar6100d022016-10-02 16:51:57 +0200923expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000924
925The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200926not apply except for "<CR>". A <NL> character is used as a line break, you
927can get one with a double-quote string: "\n". Prepend a backslash to get a
928real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000929
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200930The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of
931|substitute()| function. In this case, the special meaning for characters as
932mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and
933<NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a
934new-line respectively.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000935
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +0000936When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line
937breaks. Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line
938breaks themselves.
939
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +0100940The |submatch()| function can be used to obtain matched text. The whole
941matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)". The text matched with the
942first pair of () with "submatch(1)". Likewise for further sub-matches in ().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000943
944Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression!
945Consider using a character like "@" or ":". There is no problem if the result
946of the expression contains the separation character.
947
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000948Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000949 :s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000950This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. >
951
952 s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000953This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign. Read more in |<Char->|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000954
955
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00009564.3 Search and replace *search-replace*
957
958 *:pro* *:promptfind*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000959:promptf[ind] [string]
960 Put up a Search dialog. When [string] is given, it is
961 used as the initial search string.
962 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
963
964 *:promptr* *:promptrepl*
965:promptr[epl] [string]
966 Put up a Search/Replace dialog. When [string] is
967 given, it is used as the initial search string.
968 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
969
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000970
9714.4 Changing tabs *change-tabs*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200972 *:ret* *:retab* *:retab!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000973:[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop]
974 Replace all sequences of white-space containing a
975 <Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new
976 tabstop value given. If you do not specify a new
977 tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value
978 of 'tabstop'.
979 The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to
980 compute the width of existing tabs.
981 With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal
982 spaces with tabs where appropriate.
983 With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the
984 appropriate number of spaces.
985 This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given,
986 and if performed on the whole file, which is default,
987 should not make any visible change.
988 Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters
989 inside of strings in a C program. Use "\t" to avoid
990 this (that's a good habit anyway).
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200991 `:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000992 <Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf().
Bram Moolenaar04958cb2018-06-23 19:23:02 +0200993 If the |+vartabs| feature is enabled then a list of
994 tab widths separated by commas may be used in place of
995 a single tabstop. Each value in the list represents
996 the width of one tabstop, except the final value which
997 applies to all following tabstops.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000998
999 *retab-example*
1000Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored
1001with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4. Warning: white space
1002inside of strings can change! Also see 'softtabstop' option. >
1003
1004 :auto BufReadPost *.xx retab! 4
1005 :auto BufWritePre *.xx retab! 8
1006 :auto BufWritePost *.xx retab! 4
1007 :auto BufNewFile *.xx set ts=4
1008
1009==============================================================================
10105. Copying and moving text *copy-move*
1011
1012 *quote*
Bram Moolenaar7ceefb32020-05-01 16:07:38 +02001013"{register} Use {register} for next delete, yank or put. Use
1014 an uppercase character to append with delete and yank.
1015 Registers ".", "%", "#" and ":" only work with put.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001016
1017 *:reg* *:registers*
Bram Moolenaar3691f1e2019-10-24 20:17:00 +02001018:reg[isters] Display the type and contents of all numbered and
1019 named registers. If a register is written to for
1020 |:redir| it will not be listed.
1021 Type can be one of:
1022 "c" for |characterwise| text
1023 "l" for |linewise| text
1024 "b" for |blockwise-visual| text
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001025
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001026
1027:reg[isters] {arg} Display the contents of the numbered and named
1028 registers that are mentioned in {arg}. For example: >
Bram Moolenaarfa735342016-01-03 22:14:44 +01001029 :reg 1a
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001030< to display registers '1' and 'a'. Spaces are allowed
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001031 in {arg}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001032
1033 *:di* *:display*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001034:di[splay] [arg] Same as :registers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001035
1036 *y* *yank*
1037["x]y{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. When no
1038 characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1),
1039 this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E'
1040 flag.
1041
1042 *yy*
1043["x]yy Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
1044
1045 *Y*
1046["x]Y yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for
1047 yy, |linewise|). If you like "Y" to work from the
1048 cursor to the end of line (which is more logical,
1049 but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$".
1050
Christian Brabandt544a38e2021-06-10 19:39:11 +02001051 *zy*
1052["x]zy{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. Only differs
1053 from `y` when selecting a block of text, see |v_zy|.
1054
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001055 *v_y*
1056{Visual}["x]y Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001057 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001058
1059 *v_Y*
1060{Visual}["x]Y Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001061 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001062
Christian Brabandt544a38e2021-06-10 19:39:11 +02001063 *v_zy*
1064{Visual}["x]zy Yank the highlighted text [into register x]. Trailing
1065 whitespace at the end of each line of a selected block
1066 won't be yanked. Especially useful in combination
1067 with `zp`. (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|)
1068
Bram Moolenaar85de2062011-05-05 14:26:41 +02001069 *:y* *:yank* *E850*
1070:[range]y[ank] [x] Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001071 "* or "+ registers is possible only when the
1072 |+clipboard| feature is included.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001073
1074:[range]y[ank] [x] {count}
1075 Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number
1076 in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|),
1077 [into register x].
1078
1079 *p* *put* *E353*
1080["x]p Put the text [from register x] after the cursor
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001081 [count] times.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001082
1083 *P*
1084["x]P Put the text [from register x] before the cursor
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001085 [count] times.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001086
1087 *<MiddleMouse>*
1088["x]<MiddleMouse> Put the text from a register before the cursor [count]
1089 times. Uses the "* register, unless another is
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001090 specified.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +00001091 Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text.
1092 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1093 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001094 If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste
1095 text, you can use these mappings to disable the
1096 pasting with the middle mouse button: >
1097 :map <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1098 :imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1099< You might want to disable the multi-click versions
1100 too, see |double-click|.
1101
1102 *gp*
1103["x]gp Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001104 text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001105
1106 *gP*
1107["x]gP Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001108 text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001109
1110 *:pu* *:put*
1111:[line]pu[t] [x] Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default
1112 current line). This always works |linewise|, thus
1113 this command can be used to put a yanked block as new
1114 lines.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001115 If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb'
1116 option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the
1117 + register |quoteplus|. Otherwise, if 'cb' contains
Bram Moolenaarddbb5552012-04-26 20:17:03 +02001118 "unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001119 Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register
1120 |quote_quote|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001121 The register can also be '=' followed by an optional
1122 expression. The expression continues until the end of
1123 the command. You need to escape the '|' and '"'
1124 characters to prevent them from terminating the
1125 command. Example: >
1126 :put ='path' . \",/test\"
1127< If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the
1128 previous expression. You can see it with ":dis =".
1129
1130:[line]pu[t]! [x] Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default
1131 current line).
1132
1133["x]]p or *]p* *]<MiddleMouse>*
1134["x]]<MiddleMouse> Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1135 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001136 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001137
1138["x][P or *[P*
1139["x]]P or *]P*
1140["x][p or *[p* *[<MiddleMouse>*
1141["x][<MiddleMouse> Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1142 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001143 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001144
Christian Brabandt2fa93842021-05-30 22:17:25 +02001145["x]zp or *zp* *zP*
1146["x]zP Like "p" and "P", except without adding trailing spaces
1147 when pasting a block. Thus the inserted text will not
Christian Brabandt544a38e2021-06-10 19:39:11 +02001148 always be a rectangle. Especially useful in
1149 combination with |v_zy|.
Christian Brabandt2fa93842021-05-30 22:17:25 +02001150
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001151You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another. Do this
1152by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change
1153command, then inserting the register contents with a put command. You can
1154also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim
1155preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick
1156way to toggle between two files).
1157
1158 *linewise-register* *characterwise-register*
1159You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them. If
1160the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|,
1161Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is.
1162Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor. With
1163the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line. You can
1164exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp". You can exchange two
1165lines with the command sequence "ddp". You can exchange two words with the
1166command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the
1167first word). You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to
1168move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move
1169the cursor to the start.
1170
1171 *put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P*
1172When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to
1173replace the selected text with the contents of the register. Whether this
1174works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the
1175register. With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001176and whether the corners are on an existing character. (Implementation detail:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001177it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001178deleting the selection.)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001179The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register. If you want to
1180put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use
1181another register. E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to
1182replace and use "0p . You can repeat this as many times as you like, the
1183unnamed register will be changed each time.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001184
Bram Moolenaarec11aef2013-09-22 15:23:44 +02001185When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into
1186a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on
1187each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a
1188block of the pasted line).
1189
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001190 *blockwise-register*
1191If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register,
1192the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor
1193column in the current and next lines. Vim makes the whole block of text start
1194in the same column. Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was
1195yanked or deleted. Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make
1196this happen. However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab>
1197width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be
1198misaligned.
1199
Bram Moolenaar22863042021-10-16 15:23:36 +01001200Use |zP|/|zp| to paste a blockwise yanked register without appending trailing
1201spaces.
1202
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001203Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the
1204first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer. This means
1205that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character
1206left.
1207Rationale: In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would
1208 sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character,
1209 because redisplaying was skipped. In Vim it always moves to
1210 the first character, as specified by Posix.
1211With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the
1212column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character.
1213
Bram Moolenaar5be4cee2019-09-27 19:34:08 +02001214There are ten types of registers: *registers* *{register}* *E354*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000012151. The unnamed register ""
12162. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9
12173. The small delete register "-
12184. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z
Bram Moolenaar396e8292019-07-13 23:04:31 +020012195. Three read-only registers ":, "., "%
12206. Alternate buffer register "#
12217. The expression register "=
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012228. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
12239. The black hole register "_
122410. Last search pattern register "/
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001225
12261. Unnamed register "" *quote_quote* *quotequote*
1227Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands
1228or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001229register was used (e.g. "xdd). This is like the unnamed register is pointing
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001230to the last used register. Thus when appending using an uppercase register
1231name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register.
1232An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any
1233register.
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001234Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P)
1235which does not specify a register. Additionally you can access it with the
1236name '"'. This means you have to type two double quotes. Writing to the ""
1237register writes to register "0.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001238{Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'}
1239
Bram Moolenaaraa3b15d2016-04-21 08:53:19 +020012402. Numbered registers "0 to "9 *quote_number* *quote0* *quote1*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001241 *quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9*
1242Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands.
1243 Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command,
1244unless the command specified another register with ["x].
1245 Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or
1246change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is
1247less than one line (the small delete register is used then). An exception is
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001248made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|,
1249|/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|. Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi
1250compatible). The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line.
Bram Moolenaarbaca7f72013-09-22 14:42:24 +02001251Note that these characters may be mapped. E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +02001252plugin.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001253 With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents
1254of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous
1255contents of register 9.
1256{Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does
1257not exist}
1258
12593. Small delete register "- *quote_-* *quote-*
1260This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line,
1261except when the command specifies a register with ["x].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001262
12634. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z *quote_alpha* *quotea*
1264Vim fills these registers only when you say so. Specify them as lowercase
1265letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001266to their previous contents. When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then
1267a line break is inserted before the appended text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001268
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012695. Read-only registers ":, ". and "%
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001270These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'. You can use them only with the "p", "P",
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001271and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001272 *quote_.* *quote.* *E29*
1273 ". Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted
1274 with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@). Note: this
1275 doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line. It works a bit
1276 differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it
1277 ('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted).
1278 *quote_%* *quote%*
1279 "% Contains the name of the current file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001280 *quote_:* *quote:* *E30*
1281 ": Contains the most recent executed command-line. Example: Use
1282 "@:" to repeat the previous command-line command.
1283 The command-line is only stored in this register when at least
1284 one character of it was typed. Thus it remains unchanged if
1285 the command was completely from a mapping.
1286 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist|
1287 feature}
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +01001288 *quote_#* *quote#*
12896. Alternate file register "#
1290Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window. It will
1291change how the |CTRL-^| command works.
1292This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has
1293changed it. It accepts buffer number: >
1294 let altbuf = bufnr(@#)
1295 ...
1296 let @# = altbuf
1297It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not
1298exist.
1299It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: >
1300 let @# = 'buffer_name'
1301Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94|
1302if none of buffers matches the given name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001303
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013047. Expression register "= *quote_=* *quote=* *@=*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001305This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an
1306expression in commands which use a register. The expression register is
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001307read-write.
1308
1309When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line,
1310where you can enter any expression (see |expression|). All normal
1311command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for
1312expressions. When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the
1313result of the expression. If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the
1314expression. If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001315expression (like with the "/" command).
1316
1317The expression must evaluate to a String. A Number is always automatically
1318converted to a String. For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a
1319Float it's converted into a String. If the result is a List each element is
1320turned into a String and used as a line. A Dictionary or FuncRef results in
1321an error message (use string() to convert).
1322
1323If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL>
1324characters. If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001325register.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001326
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013278. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001328Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001329See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|. When the clipboard is not available or not
Bram Moolenaarf4d11452005-12-02 00:46:37 +00001330working, the unnamed register is used instead. For Unix systems the clipboard
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001331is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001332
1333Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems. For
1334an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|. Under MS-Windows, use
1335of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|.
1336
1337 *quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>*
1338The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop
1339operation. When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is
1340filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification. You can remap
1341this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001342contents of the "~ register at the cursor position.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001343{only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001344GTK GUI}
1345
1346Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim.
1347Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally.
1348
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013499. Black hole register "_ *quote_*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001350When writing to this register, nothing happens. This can be used to delete
1351text without affecting the normal registers. When reading from this register,
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001352nothing is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001353
Bram Moolenaar5be4cee2019-09-27 19:34:08 +0200135410. Last search pattern register "/ *quote_/* *quote/*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001355Contains the most recent search-pattern. This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001356It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001357other matches without actually searching. You can't yank or delete into this
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001358register. The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|.
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001359Note that the value is restored when returning from a function
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001360|function-search-undo|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001361
1362 *@/*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001363You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001364 :let @/ = "the"
1365
1366If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register
1367that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register). If
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001368you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001369command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is
1370labelled '"').
1371
1372The next three commands always work on whole lines.
1373
1374:[range]co[py] {address} *:co* *:copy*
1375 Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line
1376 given by {address}.
1377
1378 *:t*
1379:t Synonym for copy.
Bram Moolenaara4d131d2021-12-27 21:33:07 +00001380 This command is not supported in |Vim9| script,
1381 because it is too easily confused with a variable
1382 name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001383
1384:[range]m[ove] {address} *:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134*
1385 Move the lines given by [range] to below the line
1386 given by {address}.
1387
1388==============================================================================
13896. Formatting text *formatting*
1390
1391:[range]ce[nter] [width] *:ce* *:center*
1392 Center lines in [range] between [width] columns
1393 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001394
1395:[range]ri[ght] [width] *:ri* *:right*
1396 Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns
1397 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001398
1399 *:le* *:left*
1400:[range]le[ft] [indent]
1401 Left-align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001402 lines to [indent] (default 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001403
1404 *gq*
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001405gq{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001406 Formatting is done with one of three methods:
1407 1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is
1408 evaluated. This can differ for each buffer.
Bram Moolenaar4c7ed462006-02-15 22:18:42 +00001409 2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001410 is used.
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00001411 3. Otherwise formatting is done internally.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001412
1413 In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the
1414 length of each formatted line (see below).
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001415 If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line
1416 length is the screen width (with a maximum width of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001417 79).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001418 The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of
1419 formatting |fo-table|.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001420 The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last
1421 formatted line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001422 NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this
1423 function. If you still want to use "Q" for
1424 formatting, use this mapping: >
1425 :nnoremap Q gq
1426
1427gqgq *gqgq* *gqq*
Bram Moolenaar40af4e32010-07-29 22:33:18 +02001428gqq Format the current line. With a count format that
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001429 many lines.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001430
1431 *v_gq*
1432{Visual}gq Format the highlighted text. (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001433 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001434
1435 *gw*
1436gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. Similar to
1437 |gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001438 the text. However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001439 not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001440
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001441gwgw *gwgw* *gww*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001442gww Format the current line as with "gw".
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001443
1444 *v_gw*
1445{Visual}gw Format the highlighted text as with "gw". (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001446 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001447
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001448Example: To format the current paragraph use: *gqap* >
1449 gqap
1450
1451The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes
1452the cursor. This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".". This
1453works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until
1454end of paragraph). Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on
1455the first formatted line (as with using a filter command).
1456
1457If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: >
1458 gwap
1459If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a'
1460flag to 'formatoptions'. See |auto-format|.
1461
1462If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for
1463the following lines.
1464
1465Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only
1466white space!).
1467
1468The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together.
1469
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001470You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option
1471to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting. The
1472'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external
1473program.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001474
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001475 *format-formatexpr*
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001476The 'formatexpr' option can be set to a Vim script function that performs
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001477reformatting of the buffer. This should usually happen in an |ftplugin|,
1478since formatting is highly dependent on the type of file. It makes
1479sense to use an |autoload| script, so the corresponding script is only loaded
1480when actually needed and the script should be called <filetype>format.vim.
1481
1482For example, the XML filetype plugin distributed with Vim in the $VIMRUNTIME
1483directory, sets the 'formatexpr' option to: >
1484
1485 setlocal formatexpr=xmlformat#Format()
1486
1487That means, you will find the corresponding script, defining the
1488xmlformat#Format() function, in the directory:
1489`$VIMRUNTIME/autoload/xmlformat.vim`
1490
1491Here is an example script that removes trailing whitespace from the selected
1492text. Put it in your autoload directory, e.g. ~/.vim/autoload/format.vim: >
1493
1494 func! format#Format()
1495 " only reformat on explicit gq command
1496 if mode() != 'n'
Bram Moolenaard1caa942020-04-10 22:10:56 +02001497 " fall back to Vim's internal reformatting
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001498 return 1
1499 endif
1500 let lines = getline(v:lnum, v:lnum + v:count - 1)
1501 call map(lines, {key, val -> substitute(val, '\s\+$', '', 'g')})
1502 call setline('.', lines)
1503
1504 " do not run internal formatter!
1505 return 0
1506 endfunc
1507
1508You can then enable the formatting by executing: >
1509 setlocal formatexpr=format#Format()
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001510
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001511Note: this function explicitly returns non-zero when called from insert mode
1512(which basically means, text is inserted beyond the 'textwidth' limit). This
1513causes Vim to fall back to reformat the text by using the internal formatter.
1514
1515However, if the |gq| command is used to reformat the text, the function
1516will receive the selected lines, trim trailing whitespace from those lines and
1517put them back in place. If you are going to split single lines into multiple
1518lines, be careful not to overwrite anything.
1519
1520If you want to allow reformatting of text from insert or replace mode, one has
1521to be very careful, because the function might be called recursively. For
1522debugging it helps to set the 'debug' option.
1523
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001524 *right-justify*
1525There is no command in Vim to right justify text. You can do it with
1526an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the
1527paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par".
1528
1529 *format-comments*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001530An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual.
1531
1532Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way. Vim
1533recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring
1534white space). Three types of comments can be used:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001535
1536- A comment string that repeats at the start of each line. An example is the
1537 type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#".
1538- A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following
1539 lines. An example is this list with dashes.
1540- Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional
1541 lines in between. The strings for the start, middle and end are different.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001542 An example is the C style comment:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001543 /*
1544 * this is a C comment
1545 */
1546
1547The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part defines a
1548type of comment string. A part consists of:
1549 {flags}:{string}
1550
1551{string} is the literal text that must appear.
1552
1553{flags}:
1554 n Nested comment. Nesting with mixed parts is allowed. If 'comments'
1555 is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment.
1556
1557 b Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}.
1558
1559 f Only the first line has the comment string. Do not repeat comment on
1560 the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list).
1561
1562 s Start of three-piece comment
1563
1564 m Middle of a three-piece comment
1565
1566 e End of a three-piece comment
1567
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001568 l Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of
1569 start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle.
1570 This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001571
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001572 r Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See
1573 below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001574
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001575 O Don't consider this comment for the "O" command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001576
1577 x Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001578 character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new
1579 line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically.
1580 See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001581
1582 {digits}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001583 When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an
1584 automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins
1585 from a left alignment. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001586
1587 -{digits}
1588 Like {digits} but reduce the indent. This only works when there is
1589 some indent for the start or end part that can be removed.
1590
1591When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the
1592comment string repeats at the start of each line. The flags field may be
1593empty.
1594
1595Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the
1596{string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a
1597required part of the comment string.
1598
1599When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole.
1600For example, to include both "-" and "->", use >
1601 :set comments=f:->,f:-
1602
1603A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other
1604parts in between. An example of a three-piece comment is >
1605 sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/
1606for C-comments. To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string
1607includes the 'b' flag. For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after
1608the start and middle strings for the end string. If Vim finds the end string,
1609the comment does not continue on the next line. Three-piece comments must
1610have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines.
1611
1612Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition.
1613When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001614for the new line: " * ". To close this comment you just have to type "/"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001615before typing anything else on the new line. This will replace the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001616middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001617alignment, leaving just " */". There is no need to hit Backspace first.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001618
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001619When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end
1620part which is longer, the end part is used. This makes a C style comment work
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001621without requiring the middle part to end with a space.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001622
1623Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001624(kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: >
1625 :set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/
1626<
1627 /*** ~
1628 **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~
1629 ** ~
1630offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~
1631 ******/ ~
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001632In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times,
1633then "/" was pressed to end the comment.
1634
1635Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when
1636alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line
1637after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and
1638automatically ending a three-piece comment. The end alignment flag has a
1639backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with
1640"s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces.
1641Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number
1642will override the "r" and "l" flag.
1643
1644Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases.
1645Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult
1646alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other
1647formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options
1648for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001649indent alignments. However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with
1650three piece comments.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001651
1652Other examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001653 "b:*" Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is
1654 followed by a non-blank. This avoids a pointer dereference
1655 like "*str" to be recognized as a comment.
1656 "n:>" Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc.
1657 "fb:-" Format a list that starts with "- ".
1658
1659By default, "b:#" is included. This means that a line that starts with
1660"#include" is not recognized as a comment line. But a line that starts with
1661"# define" is recognized. This is a compromise.
1662
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001663 *fo-table*
1664You can use the 'formatoptions' option to influence how Vim formats text.
1665'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below. The
1666default setting is "tcq". You can separate the option letters with commas for
1667readability.
1668
1669letter meaning when present in 'formatoptions' ~
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001670 *fo-t*
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +00001671t Auto-wrap text using textwidth
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001672 *fo-c*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001673c Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment
1674 leader automatically.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001675 *fo-r*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001676r Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting
1677 <Enter> in Insert mode.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001678 *fo-o*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001679o Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or
1680 'O' in Normal mode.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001681 *fo-q*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001682q Allow formatting of comments with "gq".
1683 Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing
1684 only the comment leader. A new paragraph starts after such a line,
1685 or when the comment leader changes.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001686 *fo-w*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001687w Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line.
1688 A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001689 *fo-a*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001690a Automatic formatting of paragraphs. Every time text is inserted or
1691 deleted the paragraph will be reformatted. See |auto-format|.
1692 When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized
1693 comments.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001694 *fo-n*
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001695n When formatting text, recognize numbered lists. This actually uses
1696 the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used. The
1697 indent of the text after the number is used for the next line. The
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001698 default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')',
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001699 ']' or '}'. Note that 'autoindent' must be set too. Doesn't work
1700 well together with "2".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001701 Example: >
1702 1. the first item
1703 wraps
1704 2. the second item
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001705< *fo-2*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000017062 When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph
1707 for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first
1708 line. This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a
1709 different indent than the rest. Note that 'autoindent' must be set
1710 too. Example: >
1711 first line of a paragraph
1712 second line of the same paragraph
1713 third line.
Bram Moolenaar30b65812012-07-12 22:01:11 +02001714< This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001715 *fo-v*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001716v Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a
1717 blank that you have entered during the current insert command. (Note:
1718 this is not 100% Vi compatible. Vi has some "unexpected features" or
1719 bugs in this area. It uses the screen column instead of the line
1720 column.)
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001721 *fo-b*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001722b Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before
1723 the wrap margin. If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you
1724 started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before
1725 reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001726 *fo-l*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001727l Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than
1728 'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not
1729 automatically format it.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001730 *fo-m*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001731m Also break at a multibyte character above 255. This is useful for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001732 Asian text where every character is a word on its own.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001733 *fo-M*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001734M When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multibyte
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001735 character. Overrules the 'B' flag.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001736 *fo-B*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001737B When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multibyte
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001738 characters. Overruled by the 'M' flag.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001739 *fo-1*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000017401 Don't break a line after a one-letter word. It's broken before it
1741 instead (if possible).
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001742 *fo-]*
Bram Moolenaare52702f2020-06-04 18:22:13 +02001743] Respect textwidth rigorously. With this flag set, no line can be
1744 longer than textwidth, unless line-break-prohibition rules make this
1745 impossible. Mainly for CJK scripts and works only if 'encoding' is
1746 "utf-8".
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001747 *fo-j*
Bram Moolenaar81340392012-06-06 16:12:59 +02001748j Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines. For
1749 example, joining:
1750 int i; // the index ~
1751 // in the list ~
1752 Becomes:
1753 int i; // the index in the list ~
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001754 *fo-p*
Bram Moolenaarc3c31582019-01-11 22:15:05 +01001755p Don't break lines at single spaces that follow periods. This is
1756 intended to complement 'joinspaces' and |cpo-J|, for prose with
1757 sentences separated by two spaces. For example, with 'textwidth' set
1758 to 28: >
1759 Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!
1760< Becomes: >
1761 Surely you're joking,
1762 Mr. Feynman!
1763< Instead of: >
1764 Surely you're joking, Mr.
1765 Feynman!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001766
1767
1768With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping:
1769value action ~
1770"" no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting)
1771"t" automatic formatting of text, but not comments
1772"c" automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code)
1773"tc" automatic formatting for text and comments
1774
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001775Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but
1776does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option). An exception
1777is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001778
1779Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all.
1780
1781Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping;
1782'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq".
1783
1784If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some
1785built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly.
1786Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in
1787'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically. The same
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001788happens with formatting and auto-wrapping. Opening a line after a line
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001789starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to
1790be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing
1791the start of the comment.
1792E.g.:
1793 /* ~
1794 * Your typical comment. ~
1795 */ ~
1796 The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above
1797 comment.
1798
1799All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new
1800:autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file.
1801
1802Some examples:
1803 for C code (only format comments): >
1804 :set fo=croq
1805< for Mail/news (format all, don't start comment with "o" command): >
1806 :set fo=tcrq
1807<
1808
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001809Automatic formatting *auto-format* *autoformat*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001810
1811When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted
Bram Moolenaar2547aa92020-07-26 17:00:44 +02001812automatically when inserting text or deleting text. This works nicely for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001813editing text paragraphs. A few hints on how to use this:
1814
1815- You need to properly define paragraphs. The simplest is paragraphs that are
1816 separated by a blank line. When there is no separating blank line, consider
1817 using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the
1818 paragraphs except the last one.
1819
1820- You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or
1821 specifically for one file with a |modeline|.
1822
1823- Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this:
1824
1825 bla bla foobar bla
1826 bla foobar bla foobar bla
1827 bla bla foobar bla
1828 bla foobar bla bla foobar
1829
1830- Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments. Useful in source code.
1831
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001832- Set 'textwidth' to the desired width. If it is zero then 79 is used, or the
1833 width of the screen if this is smaller.
1834
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001835And a few warnings:
1836
1837- When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making
1838 changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway. Consider doing >
1839
1840 :set fo-=a
1841
1842- When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and
1843 deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be
1844 joined with the next one.
1845
1846- Changed text is saved for undo. Formatting is also a change. Thus each
1847 format action saves text for undo. This may consume quite a lot of memory.
1848
1849- Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow.
1850
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001851==============================================================================
18527. Sorting text *sorting*
1853
1854Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command. The sorting function can be
Bram Moolenaar327aa022014-03-25 18:24:23 +01001855found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001856
1857 *:sor* *:sort*
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001858:[range]sor[t][!] [b][f][i][l][n][o][r][u][x] [/{pattern}/]
Bram Moolenaare5180522005-12-10 20:19:46 +00001859 Sort lines in [range]. When no range is given all
1860 lines are sorted.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001861
1862 With [!] the order is reversed.
1863
1864 With [i] case is ignored.
1865
Bram Moolenaar3132cdd2020-11-05 20:41:49 +01001866 With [l] sort uses the current collation locale.
1867 Implementation details: strcoll() is used to compare
1868 strings. See |:language| to check or set the collation
1869 locale. Example: >
1870 :language collate en_US.UTF-8
1871 :%sort l
1872< |v:collate| can also used to check the current locale.
1873 Sorting using the locale typically ignores case.
1874 This does not work properly on Mac.
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001875
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001876 Options [n][f][x][o][b] are mutually exclusive.
1877
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001878 With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001879 in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001880 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001881
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001882 With [f] sorting is done on the Float in the line.
1883 The value of Float is determined similar to passing
1884 the text (after or inside a {pattern} match) to
1885 str2float() function. This option is available only
1886 if Vim was compiled with Floating point support.
1887
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001888 With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001889 number in the line (after or inside a {pattern}
1890 match). A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001891 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001892
1893 With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001894 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001895
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +01001896 With [b] sorting is done on the first binary number in
1897 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
1898
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001899 With [u] (u stands for unique) only keep the first of
1900 a sequence of identical lines (ignoring case when [i]
1901 is used). Without this flag, a sequence of identical
1902 lines will be kept in their original order.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001903 Note that leading and trailing white space may cause
1904 lines to be different.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001905
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001906 When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag
1907 the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that
1908 you sort on what comes after the match.
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +01001909 'ignorecase' applies to the pattern, but 'smartcase'
1910 is not used.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001911 Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used.
1912 For example, to sort on the second comma-separated
1913 field: >
1914 :sort /[^,]*,/
1915< To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus
1916 ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): >
1917 :sort /.*\%10v/
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001918< To sort on the first number in the line, no matter
1919 what is in front of it: >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001920 :sort /.\{-}\ze\d/
1921< (Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the
1922 end of the match and \d matches a digit.)
1923 With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001924 instead of skipping past it as described above.
1925 For example, to sort on only the first three letters
1926 of each line: >
1927 :sort /\a\a\a/ r
1928
1929< If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a
1930 match for {pattern} are kept in their current order,
1931 but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}.
1932 If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse
1933 order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be
1934 in their original order, right before the sorted
1935 lines.
1936
Bram Moolenaar1256e722007-07-10 15:26:20 +00001937 If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the
1938 last search pattern is used. This allows trying out
1939 a pattern first.
1940
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001941Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001942quite useless.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001943
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001944`:sort` does not use the current locale unless the l flag is used.
Bram Moolenaar8bb1c3e2014-07-04 16:43:17 +02001945Vim does do a "stable" sort.
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001946
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001947The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the
1948process you may end up with duplicated lines. This also depends on the system
1949library function used.
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +00001950
Bram Moolenaar91f84f62018-07-29 15:07:52 +02001951 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: