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Bram Moolenaar6aa57292021-08-14 21:25:52 +02001*message.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2021 Jul 31
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This file contains an alphabetical list of messages and error messages that
8Vim produces. You can use this if you don't understand what the message
9means. It is not complete though.
10
111. Old messages |:messages|
122. Error messages |error-messages|
133. Messages |messages|
14
15==============================================================================
161. Old messages *:messages* *:mes* *message-history*
17
18The ":messages" command can be used to view previously given messages. This
19is especially useful when messages have been overwritten or truncated. This
20depends on the 'shortmess' option.
21
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +020022 :mes[sages] Show all messages.
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020023
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +020024 :{count}mes[sages] Show the {count} most recent messages.
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020025
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +020026 :mes[sages] clear Clear all messages.
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020027
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +020028 :{count}mes[sages] clear
29 Clear messages, keeping only the {count} most
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020030 recent ones.
31
Bram Moolenaar6773b2b2010-05-30 16:01:37 +020032The number of remembered messages is fixed at 20 for the tiny version and 200
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +000033for other versions.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000034
Bram Moolenaarcfc7d632005-07-28 22:28:16 +000035 *g<*
36The "g<" command can be used to see the last page of previous command output.
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +000037This is especially useful if you accidentally typed <Space> at the hit-enter
Bram Moolenaardd2a3cd2007-05-05 17:10:09 +000038prompt. You are then back at the hit-enter prompt and can then scroll further
39back.
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +020040Note: If the output has been stopped with "q" at the more prompt, it will only
41be displayed up to this point.
Bram Moolenaarcfc7d632005-07-28 22:28:16 +000042The previous command output is cleared when another command produces output.
Bram Moolenaar64d8e252016-09-06 22:12:34 +020043The "g<" output is not redirected.
Bram Moolenaarcfc7d632005-07-28 22:28:16 +000044
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000045If you are using translated messages, the first printed line tells who
46maintains the messages or the translations. You can use this to contact the
47maintainer when you spot a mistake.
48
49If you want to find help on a specific (error) message, use the ID at the
50start of the message. For example, to get help on the message: >
51
52 E72: Close error on swap file
53
54or (translated): >
55
56 E72: Errore durante chiusura swap file
57
58Use: >
59
60 :help E72
61
62If you are lazy, it also works without the shift key: >
63
64 :help e72
65
66==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaarf2330482008-06-24 20:19:36 +0000672. Error messages *error-messages* *errors*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000068
69When an error message is displayed, but it is removed before you could read
70it, you can see it again with: >
71 :echo errmsg
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020072Or view a list of recent messages with: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000073 :messages
Bram Moolenaar451f8492016-04-14 17:16:22 +020074See `:messages` above.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000075
76
77LIST OF MESSAGES
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +020078 *E222* *E228* *E232* *E293* *E298* *E304* *E317*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000079 *E318* *E356* *E438* *E439* *E440* *E316* *E320* *E322*
Bram Moolenaar4b7cdca2020-01-01 16:18:38 +010080 *E323* *E341* *E473* *E570* *E685* *E292* >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000081 Add to read buffer
82 makemap: Illegal mode
83 Cannot create BalloonEval with both message and callback
84 Hangul automata ERROR
85 block was not locked
86 Didn't get block nr {N}?
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +010087 ml_upd_block0(): Didn't get block 0??
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000088 pointer block id wrong {N}
89 Updated too many blocks?
90 get_varp ERROR
91 u_undo: line numbers wrong
92 undo list corrupt
93 undo line missing
94 ml_get: cannot find line {N}
95 cannot find line {N}
96 line number out of range: {N} past the end
97 line count wrong in block {N}
98 Internal error
Bram Moolenaarcf3630f2005-01-08 16:04:29 +000099 Internal error: {function}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000100 fatal error in cs_manage_matches
Bram Moolenaar72540672018-02-09 22:00:53 +0100101 Invalid count for del_bytes(): {N}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000102
103This is an internal error. If you can reproduce it, please send in a bug
104report. |bugs|
105
106>
107 ATTENTION
108 Found a swap file by the name ...
109
110See |ATTENTION|.
111
112 *E92* >
113 Buffer {N} not found
114
115The buffer you requested does not exist. This can also happen when you have
116wiped out a buffer which contains a mark or is referenced in another way.
117|:bwipeout|
118
119 *E95* >
120 Buffer with this name already exists
121
122You cannot have two buffers with the same name.
123
124 *E72* >
125 Close error on swap file
126
127The |swap-file|, that is used to keep a copy of the edited text, could not be
128closed properly. Mostly harmless.
129
130 *E169* >
131 Command too recursive
132
133This happens when an Ex command executes an Ex command that executes an Ex
Bram Moolenaarbc2eada2017-01-02 21:27:47 +0100134command, etc. The limit is 200 or the value of 'maxfuncdepth', whatever is
135larger. When it's more there probably is an endless loop. Probably a
136|:execute| or |:source| command is involved.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000137
138 *E254* >
139 Cannot allocate color {name}
140
141The color name {name} is unknown. See |gui-colors| for a list of colors that
142are available on most systems.
143
Drew Vogele30d1022021-10-24 20:35:07 +0100144 *E1244* >
145 Bad color string: {str}
146
147The provided color did not conform to the pattern #rrggbb
148
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000149 *E458* >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000150 Cannot allocate colormap entry, some colors may be incorrect
151
152This means that there are not enough colors available for Vim. It will still
153run, but some of the colors will not appear in the specified color. Try
154stopping other applications that use many colors, or start them after starting
155gvim.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100156Browsers are known to consume a lot of colors. You can avoid this with
157netscape by telling it to use its own colormap: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000158 netscape -install
159Or tell it to limit to a certain number of colors (64 should work well): >
160 netscape -ncols 64
161This can also be done with a line in your Xdefaults file: >
162 Netscape*installColormap: Yes
163or >
164 Netscape*maxImageColors: 64
165<
166 *E79* >
167 Cannot expand wildcards
168
169A filename contains a strange combination of characters, which causes Vim to
170attempt expanding wildcards but this fails. This does NOT mean that no
171matching file names could be found, but that the pattern was illegal.
172
173 *E459* >
174 Cannot go back to previous directory
175
176While expanding a file name, Vim failed to go back to the previously used
177directory. All file names being used may be invalid now! You need to have
178execute permission on the current directory.
179
180 *E190* *E212* >
181 Cannot open "{filename}" for writing
182 Can't open file for writing
183
184For some reason the file you are writing to cannot be created or overwritten.
185The reason could be that you do not have permission to write in the directory
186or the file name is not valid.
187
188 *E166* >
189 Can't open linked file for writing
190
191You are trying to write to a file which can't be overwritten, and the file is
192a link (either a hard link or a symbolic link). Writing might still be
193possible if the directory that contains the link or the file is writable, but
194Vim now doesn't know if you want to delete the link and write the file in its
195place, or if you want to delete the file itself and write the new file in its
196place. If you really want to write the file under this name, you have to
197manually delete the link or the file, or change the permissions so that Vim
198can overwrite.
199
200 *E46* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100201 Cannot change read-only variable "{name}"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000202
203You are trying to assign a value to an argument of a function |a:var| or a Vim
204internal variable |v:var| which is read-only.
205
206 *E90* >
207 Cannot unload last buffer
208
209Vim always requires one buffer to be loaded, otherwise there would be nothing
210to display in the window.
211
212 *E40* >
213 Can't open errorfile <filename>
214
215When using the ":make" or ":grep" commands: The file used to save the error
216messages or grep output cannot be opened. This can have several causes:
217- 'shellredir' has a wrong value.
218- The shell changes directory, causing the error file to be written in another
219 directory. This could be fixed by changing 'makeef', but then the make
220 command is still executed in the wrong directory.
221- 'makeef' has a wrong value.
222- The 'grepprg' or 'makeprg' could not be executed. This cannot always be
223 detected (especially on MS-Windows). Check your $PATH.
224
225 >
226 Can't open file C:\TEMP\VIoD243.TMP
227
228On MS-Windows, this message appears when the output of an external command was
229to be read, but the command didn't run successfully. This can be caused by
230many things. Check the 'shell', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote', 'shellslash' and
231related options. It might also be that the external command was not found,
232there is no different error message for that.
233
234 *E12* >
235 Command not allowed from exrc/vimrc in current dir or tag search
236
237Some commands are not allowed for security reasons. These commands mostly
238come from a .exrc or .vimrc file in the current directory, or from a tags
239file. Also see 'secure'.
240
241 *E74* >
242 Command too complex
243
244A mapping resulted in a very long command string. Could be caused by a
245mapping that indirectly calls itself.
246
247>
248 CONVERSION ERROR
249
250When writing a file and the text "CONVERSION ERROR" appears, this means that
251some bits were lost when converting text from the internally used UTF-8 to the
252format of the file. The file will not be marked unmodified. If you care
253about the loss of information, set the 'fileencoding' option to another value
254that can handle the characters in the buffer and write again. If you don't
255care, you can abandon the buffer or reset the 'modified' option.
Bram Moolenaar68e65602019-05-26 21:33:31 +0200256If there is a backup file, when 'writebackup' or 'backup' is set, it will not
257be deleted, so you can move it back into place if you want to discard the
258changes.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000259
260 *E302* >
261 Could not rename swap file
262
263When the file name changes, Vim tries to rename the |swap-file| as well.
264This failed and the old swap file is now still used. Mostly harmless.
265
266 *E43* *E44* >
267 Damaged match string
268 Corrupted regexp program
269
270Something inside Vim went wrong and resulted in a corrupted regexp. If you
271know how to reproduce this problem, please report it. |bugs|
272
273 *E208* *E209* *E210* >
274 Error writing to "{filename}"
275 Error closing "{filename}"
276 Error reading "{filename}"
277
278This occurs when Vim is trying to rename a file, but a simple change of file
279name doesn't work. Then the file will be copied, but somehow this failed.
280The result may be that both the original file and the destination file exist
281and the destination file may be incomplete.
282
283>
284 Vim: Error reading input, exiting...
285
286This occurs when Vim cannot read typed characters while input is required.
287Vim got stuck, the only thing it can do is exit. This can happen when both
288stdin and stderr are redirected and executing a script that doesn't exit Vim.
289
290 *E47* >
291 Error while reading errorfile
292
293Reading the error file was not possible. This is NOT caused by an error
294message that was not recognized.
295
296 *E80* >
297 Error while writing
298
299Writing a file was not completed successfully. The file is probably
300incomplete.
301
302 *E13* *E189* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100303 File exists (add ! to override)
304 "{filename}" exists (add ! to override)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000305
306You are protected from accidentally overwriting a file. When you want to
307write anyway, use the same command, but add a "!" just after the command.
308Example: >
309 :w /tmp/test
310changes to: >
311 :w! /tmp/test
312<
Bram Moolenaarecf07c82005-08-01 21:52:12 +0000313 *E768* >
314 Swap file exists: {filename} (:silent! overrides)
315
316You are protected from overwriting a file that is being edited by Vim. This
317happens when you use ":w! filename" and a swapfile is found.
318- If the swapfile was left over from an old crashed edit session you may want
319 to delete the swapfile. Edit {filename} to find out information about the
320 swapfile.
321- If you want to write anyway prepend ":silent!" to the command. For example: >
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000322 :silent! w! /tmp/test
Bram Moolenaarecf07c82005-08-01 21:52:12 +0000323< The special command is needed, since you already added the ! for overwriting
324 an existing file.
325
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000326 *E139* >
327 File is loaded in another buffer
328
329You are trying to write a file under a name which is also used in another
330buffer. This would result in two versions of the same file.
331
332 *E142* >
333 File not written: Writing is disabled by 'write' option
334
335The 'write' option is off. This makes all commands that try to write a file
336generate this message. This could be caused by a |-m| commandline argument.
337You can switch the 'write' option on with ":set write".
338
339 *E25* >
340 GUI cannot be used: Not enabled at compile time
341
342You are running a version of Vim that doesn't include the GUI code. Therefore
343"gvim" and ":gui" don't work.
344
345 *E49* >
346 Invalid scroll size
347
348This is caused by setting an invalid value for the 'scroll', 'scrolljump' or
349'scrolloff' options.
350
351 *E17* >
352 "{filename}" is a directory
353
354You tried to write a file with the name of a directory. This is not possible.
355You probably need to append a file name.
356
357 *E19* >
358 Mark has invalid line number
359
360You are using a mark that has a line number that doesn't exist. This can
361happen when you have a mark in another file, and some other program has
362deleted lines from it.
363
364 *E219* *E220* >
365 Missing {.
366 Missing }.
367
368Using a {} construct in a file name, but there is a { without a matching } or
369the other way around. It should be used like this: {foo,bar}. This matches
370"foo" and "bar".
371
372 *E315* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100373 ml_get: invalid lnum: {number}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000374
375This is an internal Vim error. Please try to find out how it can be
376reproduced, and submit a bug report |bugreport.vim|.
377
378 *E173* >
379 {number} more files to edit
380
381You are trying to exit, while the last item in the argument list has not been
382edited. This protects you from accidentally exiting when you still have more
383files to work on. See |argument-list|. If you do want to exit, just do it
384again and it will work.
385
386 *E23* *E194* >
387 No alternate file
388 No alternate file name to substitute for '#'
389
390The alternate file is not defined yet. See |alternate-file|.
391
392 *E32* >
393 No file name
394
395The current buffer has no name. To write it, use ":w fname". Or give the
396buffer a name with ":file fname".
397
398 *E141* >
399 No file name for buffer {number}
400
401One of the buffers that was changed does not have a file name. Therefore it
402cannot be written. You need to give the buffer a file name: >
403 :buffer {number}
404 :file {filename}
405<
406 *E33* >
407 No previous substitute regular expression
408
409When using the '~' character in a pattern, it is replaced with the previously
410used pattern in a ":substitute" command. This fails when no such command has
Bram Moolenaardf177f62005-02-22 08:39:57 +0000411been used yet. See |/~|. This also happens when using ":s/pat/%/", where the
412"%" stands for the previous substitute string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000413
414 *E35* >
415 No previous regular expression
416
417When using an empty search pattern, the previous search pattern is used. But
418that is not possible if there was no previous search.
419
420 *E24* >
421 No such abbreviation
422
423You have used an ":unabbreviate" command with an argument which is not an
424existing abbreviation. All variations of this command give the same message:
425":cunabbrev", ":iunabbrev", etc. Check for trailing white space.
426
427>
428 /dev/dsp: No such file or directory
429
430Only given for GTK GUI with Gnome support. Gnome tries to use the audio
431device and it isn't present. You can ignore this error.
432
433 *E31* >
434 No such mapping
435
436You have used an ":unmap" command with an argument which is not an existing
437mapping. All variations of this command give the same message: ":cunmap",
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +0000438":unmap!", etc. A few hints:
439- Check for trailing white space.
440- If the mapping is buffer-local you need to use ":unmap <buffer>".
441 |:map-<buffer>|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000442
443 *E37* *E89* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100444 No write since last change (add ! to override)
445 No write since last change for buffer {N} (add ! to override)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000446
447You are trying to |abandon| a file that has changes. Vim protects you from
448losing your work. You can either write the changed file with ":w", or, if you
449are sure, |abandon| it anyway, and lose all the changes. This can be done by
450adding a '!' character just after the command you used. Example: >
451 :e other_file
452changes to: >
453 :e! other_file
454<
455 *E162* >
456 No write since last change for buffer "{name}"
457
458This appears when you try to exit Vim while some buffers are changed. You
459will either have to write the changed buffer (with |:w|), or use a command to
460abandon the buffer forcefully, e.g., with ":qa!". Careful, make sure you
461don't throw away changes you really want to keep. You might have forgotten
462about a buffer, especially when 'hidden' is set.
463
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +0000464>
465 [No write since last change]
466
467This appears when executing a shell command while at least one buffer was
468changed. To avoid the message reset the 'warn' option.
469
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000470 *E38* >
471 Null argument
472
473Something inside Vim went wrong and resulted in a NULL pointer. If you know
474how to reproduce this problem, please report it. |bugs|
475
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000476 *E41* *E82* *E83* *E342* >
477 Out of memory!
478 Out of memory! (allocating {number} bytes)
479 Cannot allocate any buffer, exiting...
480 Cannot allocate buffer, using other one...
481
482Oh, oh. You must have been doing something complicated, or some other program
483is consuming your memory. Be careful! Vim is not completely prepared for an
484out-of-memory situation. First make sure that any changes are saved. Then
485try to solve the memory shortage. To stay on the safe side, exit Vim and
Bram Moolenaar0ed0eea2010-07-26 22:21:27 +0200486start again.
487
Bram Moolenaar06fe74a2019-08-31 16:20:32 +0200488If this happens while Vim is still initializing, editing files is very
Bram Moolenaar2e693a82019-10-16 22:35:02 +0200489unlikely to work, therefore Vim will exit with value 123.
Bram Moolenaar06fe74a2019-08-31 16:20:32 +0200490
Bram Moolenaar0ed0eea2010-07-26 22:21:27 +0200491Buffers are only partly kept in memory, thus editing a very large file is
492unlikely to cause an out-of-memory situation. Undo information is completely
493in memory, you can reduce that with these options:
494- 'undolevels' Set to a low value, or to -1 to disable undo completely. This
495 helps for a change that affects all lines.
496- 'undoreload' Set to zero to disable.
497
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000498 *E339* >
499 Pattern too long
500
Bram Moolenaard58e9292011-02-09 17:07:58 +0100501This happens on systems with 16 bit ints: The compiled regexp pattern is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000502longer than about 65000 characters. Try using a shorter pattern.
Bram Moolenaard58e9292011-02-09 17:07:58 +0100503It also happens when the offset of a rule doesn't fit in the space available.
504Try simplifying the pattern.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000505
506 *E45* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100507 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000508
509You are trying to write a file that was marked as read-only. To write the
510file anyway, either reset the 'readonly' option, or add a '!' character just
511after the command you used. Example: >
512 :w
513changes to: >
514 :w!
515<
516 *E294* *E295* *E301* >
517 Read error in swap file
518 Seek error in swap file read
519 Oops, lost the swap file!!!
520
521Vim tried to read text from the |swap-file|, but something went wrong. The
522text in the related buffer may now be corrupted! Check carefully before you
523write a buffer. You may want to write it in another file and check for
524differences.
525
526 *E192* >
527 Recursive use of :normal too deep
528
529You are using a ":normal" command, whose argument again uses a ":normal"
530command in a recursive way. This is restricted to 'maxmapdepth' levels. This
531example illustrates how to get this message: >
532 :map gq :normal gq<CR>
533If you type "gq", it will execute this mapping, which will call "gq" again.
534
535 *E22* >
536 Scripts nested too deep
537
538Scripts can be read with the "-s" command-line argument and with the ":source"
539command. The script can then again read another script. This can continue
540for about 14 levels. When more nesting is done, Vim assumes that there is a
541recursive loop somewhere and stops with this error message.
542
543 *E319* >
544 Sorry, the command is not available in this version
545
546You have used a command that is not present in the version of Vim you are
547using. When compiling Vim, many different features can be enabled or
548disabled. This depends on how big Vim has chosen to be and the operating
549system. See |+feature-list| for when which feature is available. The
550|:version| command shows which feature Vim was compiled with.
551
552 *E300* >
553 Swap file already exists (symlink attack?)
554
555This message appears when Vim is trying to open a swap file and finds it
556already exists or finds a symbolic link in its place. This shouldn't happen,
557because Vim already checked that the file doesn't exist. Either someone else
558opened the same file at exactly the same moment (very unlikely) or someone is
559attempting a symlink attack (could happen when editing a file in /tmp or when
560'directory' starts with "/tmp", which is a bad choice).
561
562 *E432* >
563 Tags file not sorted: {file name}
564
565Vim (and Vi) expect tags files to be sorted in ASCII order. Binary searching
566can then be used, which is a lot faster than a linear search. If your tags
567files are not properly sorted, reset the |'tagbsearch'| option.
568This message is only given when Vim detects a problem when searching for a
Bram Moolenaar7fc0c062010-08-10 21:43:35 +0200569tag. Sometimes this message is not given, even though the tags file is not
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000570properly sorted.
571
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000572 *E424* >
573 Too many different highlighting attributes in use
574
575Vim can only handle about 223 different kinds of highlighting. If you run
576into this limit, you have used too many |:highlight| commands with different
577arguments. A ":highlight link" is not counted.
578
579 *E77* >
580 Too many file names
581
582When expanding file names, more than one match was found. Only one match is
583allowed for the command that was used.
584
585 *E303* >
586 Unable to open swap file for "{filename}", recovery impossible
587
588Vim was not able to create a swap file. You can still edit the file, but if
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100589Vim unexpectedly exits the changes will be lost. And Vim may consume a lot of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000590memory when editing a big file. You may want to change the 'directory' option
Bram Moolenaar00e192b2019-10-19 17:01:28 +0200591to avoid this error. This error is not given when 'directory' is empty. See
592|swap-file|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000593
594 *E140* >
595 Use ! to write partial buffer
596
597When using a range to write part of a buffer, it is unusual to overwrite the
598original file. It is probably a mistake (e.g., when Visual mode was active
599when using ":w"), therefore Vim requires using a ! after the command, e.g.:
600":3,10w!".
601>
602
603 Warning: Cannot convert string "<Key>Escape,_Key_Cancel" to type
604 VirtualBinding
605
606Messages like this appear when starting up. This is not a Vim problem, your
607X11 configuration is wrong. You can find a hint on how to solve this here:
608http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solarisonintel/message/12179.
Bram Moolenaara17d4c12010-05-30 18:30:36 +0200609[this URL is no longer valid]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000610
611 *W10* >
612 Warning: Changing a readonly file
613
614The file is read-only and you are making a change to it anyway. You can use
615the |FileChangedRO| autocommand event to avoid this message (the autocommand
616must reset the 'readonly' option). See 'modifiable' to completely disallow
617making changes to a file.
Bram Moolenaard5cdbeb2005-10-10 20:59:28 +0000618This message is only given for the first change after 'readonly' has been set.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000619
620 *W13* >
621 Warning: File "{filename}" has been created after editing started
622
623You are editing a file in Vim when it didn't exist, but it does exist now.
624You will have to decide if you want to keep the version in Vim or the newly
625created file. This message is not given when 'buftype' is not empty.
626
627 *W11* >
628 Warning: File "{filename}" has changed since editing started
629
630The file which you have started editing has got another timestamp and the
631contents changed (more precisely: When reading the file again with the current
632option settings and autocommands you would end up with different text). This
633probably means that some other program changed the file. You will have to
634find out what happened, and decide which version of the file you want to keep.
635Set the 'autoread' option if you want to do this automatically.
636This message is not given when 'buftype' is not empty.
637
638There is one situation where you get this message even though there is nothing
639wrong: If you save a file in Windows on the day the daylight saving time
640starts. It can be fixed in one of these ways:
641- Add this line in your autoexec.bat: >
642 SET TZ=-1
643< Adjust the "-1" for your time zone.
644- Disable "automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes".
645- Just write the file again the next day. Or set your clock to the next day,
646 write the file twice and set the clock back.
647
Bram Moolenaar01164a62017-11-02 22:58:42 +0100648If you get W11 all the time, you may need to disable "Acronis Active
Bram Moolenaarb0d45e72017-11-05 18:19:24 +0100649Protection" or register Vim as a trusted service/application.
Bram Moolenaar01164a62017-11-02 22:58:42 +0100650
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000651 *W12* >
652 Warning: File "{filename}" has changed and the buffer was changed in Vim as well
653
654Like the above, and the buffer for the file was changed in this Vim as well.
655You will have to decide if you want to keep the version in this Vim or the one
656on disk. This message is not given when 'buftype' is not empty.
657
658 *W16* >
659 Warning: Mode of file "{filename}" has changed since editing started
660
661When the timestamp for a buffer was changed and the contents are still the
662same but the mode (permissions) have changed. This usually occurs when
663checking out a file from a version control system, which causes the read-only
664bit to be reset. It should be safe to reload the file. Set 'autoread' to
665automatically reload the file.
666
667 *E211* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100668 File "{filename}" no longer available
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000669
670The file which you have started editing has disappeared, or is no longer
671accessible. Make sure you write the buffer somewhere to avoid losing
672changes. This message is not given when 'buftype' is not empty.
673
674 *W14* >
675 Warning: List of file names overflow
676
677You must be using an awful lot of buffers. It's now possible that two buffers
678have the same number, which causes various problems. You might want to exit
679Vim and restart it.
680
Bram Moolenaar269f5952016-07-15 22:54:41 +0200681 *E931* >
682 Buffer cannot be registered
683
Bram Moolenaar42ebd062016-07-17 13:35:14 +0200684Out of memory or a duplicate buffer number. May happen after W14. Looking up
Bram Moolenaar269f5952016-07-15 22:54:41 +0200685a buffer will not always work, better restart Vim.
686
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000687 *E296* *E297* >
688 Seek error in swap file write
689 Write error in swap file
690
691This mostly happens when the disk is full. Vim could not write text into the
692|swap-file|. It's not directly harmful, but when Vim unexpectedly exits some
693text may be lost without recovery being possible. Vim might run out of memory
694when this problem persists.
695
696 *connection-refused* >
697 Xlib: connection to "<machine-name:0.0" refused by server
698
699This happens when Vim tries to connect to the X server, but the X server does
700not allow a connection. The connection to the X server is needed to be able
701to restore the title and for the xterm clipboard support. Unfortunately this
702error message cannot be avoided, except by disabling the |+xterm_clipboard|
703and |+X11| features.
704
705 *E10* >
706 \\ should be followed by /, ? or &
707
708A command line started with a backslash or the range of a command contained a
709backslash in a wrong place. This is often caused by command-line continuation
710being disabled. Remove the 'C' flag from the 'cpoptions' option to enable it.
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +0000711Or use ":set nocp".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000712
713 *E471* >
714 Argument required
715
716This happens when an Ex command with mandatory argument(s) was executed, but
717no argument has been specified.
718
Bram Moolenaar62e1bb42019-04-08 16:25:07 +0200719 *E474* *E475* *E983* >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000720 Invalid argument
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100721 Invalid argument: {arg}
Bram Moolenaar62e1bb42019-04-08 16:25:07 +0200722 Duplicate argument: {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000723
Bram Moolenaar62e1bb42019-04-08 16:25:07 +0200724An Ex command or function has been executed, but an invalid argument has been
725specified.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000726
727 *E488* >
728 Trailing characters
729
730An argument has been added to an Ex command that does not permit one.
731
732 *E477* *E478* >
733 No ! allowed
734 Don't panic!
735
736You have added a "!" after an Ex command that doesn't permit one.
737
738 *E481* >
739 No range allowed
740
741A range was specified for an Ex command that doesn't permit one. See
742|cmdline-ranges|.
743
744 *E482* *E483* >
745 Can't create file {filename}
746 Can't get temp file name
747
748Vim cannot create a temporary file.
749
750 *E484* *E485* >
Bram Moolenaar5e3dae82010-03-02 16:19:40 +0100751 Can't open file {filename}
752 Can't read file {filename}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000753
Bram Moolenaar34700a62013-03-07 13:20:54 +0100754Vim cannot read a temporary file. Especially on Windows, this can be caused
755by wrong escaping of special characters for cmd.exe; the approach was
756changed with patch 7.3.443. Try using |shellescape()| for all shell arguments
757given to |system()|, or explicitly add escaping with ^. Also see
758'shellxquote' and 'shellxescape'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000759
760 *E464* >
761 Ambiguous use of user-defined command
762
763There are two user-defined commands with a common name prefix, and you used
764Command-line completion to execute one of them. |user-cmd-ambiguous|
765Example: >
766 :command MyCommand1 echo "one"
767 :command MyCommand2 echo "two"
768 :MyCommand
769<
770 *E492* >
771 Not an editor command
772
773You tried to execute a command that is neither an Ex command nor
774a user-defined command.
775
Bram Moolenaare0720cb2017-03-29 13:48:40 +0200776 *E943* >
777 Command table needs to be updated, run 'make cmdidxs'
778
779This can only happen when changing the source code, when adding a command in
780src/ex_cmds.h. The lookup table then needs to be updated, by running: >
781 make cmdidxs
Bram Moolenaar6aa57292021-08-14 21:25:52 +0200782<
783 *E928* *E889* *E839* >
784 E928: String required
785 E889: Number required
786 E839: Bool required
787
788These happen when a value or expression is used that does not have the
789expected type.
Bram Moolenaare0720cb2017-03-29 13:48:40 +0200790
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000791==============================================================================
7923. Messages *messages*
793
794This is an (incomplete) overview of various messages that Vim gives:
795
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000796 *hit-enter* *press-enter* *hit-return*
797 *press-return* *hit-enter-prompt*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000798
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000799 Press ENTER or type command to continue
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000800
801This message is given when there is something on the screen for you to read,
802and the screen is about to be redrawn:
803- After executing an external command (e.g., ":!ls" and "=").
804- Something is displayed on the status line that is longer than the width of
805 the window, or runs into the 'showcmd' or 'ruler' output.
806
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000807-> Press <Enter> or <Space> to redraw the screen and continue, without that
808 key being used otherwise.
809-> Press ':' or any other Normal mode command character to start that command.
Bram Moolenaar7e6a5152021-01-02 16:39:53 +0100810 Note that after an external command some special keys, such as the cursor
811 keys, may not work normally, because the terminal is still set to a state
812 for executing the external command.
Bram Moolenaare1438bb2006-03-01 22:01:55 +0000813-> Press 'k', <Up>, 'u', 'b' or 'g' to scroll back in the messages. This
814 works the same way as at the |more-prompt|. Only works when 'compatible'
815 is off and 'more' is on.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100816-> Pressing 'j', 'f', 'd' or <Down> is ignored when messages scrolled off the
817 top of the screen, 'compatible' is off and 'more' is on, to avoid that
818 typing one 'j' or 'f' too many causes the messages to disappear.
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000819-> Press <C-Y> to copy (yank) a modeless selection to the clipboard register.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000820-> Use a menu. The characters defined for Cmdline-mode are used.
821-> When 'mouse' contains the 'r' flag, clicking the left mouse button works
822 like pressing <Space>. This makes it impossible to select text though.
823-> For the GUI clicking the left mouse button in the last line works like
824 pressing <Space>.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000825
Bram Moolenaarcfc7d632005-07-28 22:28:16 +0000826If you accidentally hit <Enter> or <Space> and you want to see the displayed
827text then use |g<|. This only works when 'more' is set.
828
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000829To reduce the number of hit-enter prompts:
830- Set 'cmdheight' to 2 or higher.
831- Add flags to 'shortmess'.
832- Reset 'showcmd' and/or 'ruler'.
Bram Moolenaar06fe74a2019-08-31 16:20:32 +0200833- Make sure `:echo` text is shorter than or equal to |v:echospace| screen
834 cells.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000835
Bram Moolenaarbb15b652005-10-03 21:52:09 +0000836If your script causes the hit-enter prompt and you don't know why, you may
837find the |v:scrollstart| variable useful.
838
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000839Also see 'mouse'. The hit-enter message is highlighted with the |hl-Question|
840group.
841
842
843 *more-prompt* *pager* >
844 -- More --
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000845 -- More -- SPACE/d/j: screen/page/line down, b/u/k: up, q: quit
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000846
847This message is given when the screen is filled with messages. It is only
848given when the 'more' option is on. It is highlighted with the |hl-MoreMsg|
849group.
850
851Type effect ~
852 <CR> or <NL> or j or <Down> one more line
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000853 d down a page (half a screen)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100854 <Space> or f or <PageDown> down a screen
Bram Moolenaarcfc7d632005-07-28 22:28:16 +0000855 G down all the way, until the hit-enter
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000856 prompt
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000857
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200858 <BS> or k or <Up> one line back
859 u up a page (half a screen)
860 b or <PageUp> back a screen
861 g back to the start
Bram Moolenaar87e25fd2005-07-27 21:13:01 +0000862
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000863 q, <Esc> or CTRL-C stop the listing
864 : stop the listing and enter a
865 command-line
866 <C-Y> yank (copy) a modeless selection to
867 the clipboard ("* and "+ registers)
868 {menu-entry} what the menu is defined to in
869 Cmdline-mode.
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200870 <LeftMouse> next page (*)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000871
872Any other key causes the meaning of the keys to be displayed.
873
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200874(*) Clicking the left mouse button only works:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000875 - For the GUI: in the last line of the screen.
876 - When 'r' is included in 'mouse' (but then selecting text won't work).
877
878
879Note: The typed key is directly obtained from the terminal, it is not mapped
880and typeahead is ignored.
881
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +0000882The |g<| command can be used to see the last page of previous command output.
883This is especially useful if you accidentally typed <Space> at the hit-enter
884prompt.
885
Bram Moolenaar91f84f62018-07-29 15:07:52 +0200886 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: