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Bram Moolenaareb490412022-06-28 13:44:46 +01001*help.txt* For Vim version 9.0. Last change: 2022 May 13
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3 VIM - main help file
4 k
5 Move around: Use the cursor keys, or "h" to go left, h l
6 "j" to go down, "k" to go up, "l" to go right. j
7Close this window: Use ":q<Enter>".
8 Get out of Vim: Use ":qa!<Enter>" (careful, all changes are lost!).
9
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +000010Jump to a subject: Position the cursor on a tag (e.g. |bars|) and hit CTRL-].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000011 With the mouse: ":set mouse=a" to enable the mouse (in xterm or GUI).
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +000012 Double-click the left mouse button on a tag, e.g. |bars|.
Bram Moolenaar4c05fa02019-01-01 15:32:17 +010013 Jump back: Type CTRL-O. Repeat to go further back.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
15Get specific help: It is possible to go directly to whatever you want help
Bram Moolenaar1423b9d2006-05-07 15:16:06 +000016 on, by giving an argument to the |:help| command.
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +010017 Prepend something to specify the context: *help-context*
18
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000019 WHAT PREPEND EXAMPLE ~
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +010020 Normal mode command :help x
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +000021 Visual mode command v_ :help v_u
22 Insert mode command i_ :help i_<Esc>
23 Command-line command : :help :quit
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000024 Command-line editing c_ :help c_<Del>
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +000025 Vim command argument - :help -r
26 Option ' :help 'textwidth'
Bram Moolenaar5a5f4592015-04-13 12:43:06 +020027 Regular expression / :help /[
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +010028 See |help-summary| for more contexts and an explanation.
Bram Moolenaaracb4f222016-01-10 15:59:26 +010029
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000030 Search for help: Type ":help word", then hit CTRL-D to see matching
31 help entries for "word".
Bram Moolenaar91604412010-06-03 20:25:18 +020032 Or use ":helpgrep word". |:helpgrep|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000033
Bram Moolenaard1caa942020-04-10 22:10:56 +020034 Getting started: Do the Vim tutor, a 30-minute interactive course for the
Bram Moolenaar4c05fa02019-01-01 15:32:17 +010035 basic commands, see |vimtutor|.
36 Read the user manual from start to end: |usr_01.txt|
37
Bram Moolenaar6aa8cea2017-06-05 14:44:35 +020038Vim stands for Vi IMproved. Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, but only
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000039through the help of many others. See |credits|.
40------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41 *doc-file-list* *Q_ct*
42BASIC:
43|quickref| Overview of the most common commands you will use
Bram Moolenaard1caa942020-04-10 22:10:56 +020044|tutor| 30-minute interactive course for beginners
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000045|copying| About copyrights
46|iccf| Helping poor children in Uganda
47|sponsor| Sponsor Vim development, become a registered Vim user
48|www| Vim on the World Wide Web
49|bugs| Where to send bug reports
50
51USER MANUAL: These files explain how to accomplish an editing task.
52
53|usr_toc.txt| Table Of Contents
54
55Getting Started ~
56|usr_01.txt| About the manuals
57|usr_02.txt| The first steps in Vim
58|usr_03.txt| Moving around
59|usr_04.txt| Making small changes
60|usr_05.txt| Set your settings
61|usr_06.txt| Using syntax highlighting
62|usr_07.txt| Editing more than one file
63|usr_08.txt| Splitting windows
64|usr_09.txt| Using the GUI
65|usr_10.txt| Making big changes
66|usr_11.txt| Recovering from a crash
67|usr_12.txt| Clever tricks
68
69Editing Effectively ~
70|usr_20.txt| Typing command-line commands quickly
71|usr_21.txt| Go away and come back
72|usr_22.txt| Finding the file to edit
73|usr_23.txt| Editing other files
74|usr_24.txt| Inserting quickly
75|usr_25.txt| Editing formatted text
76|usr_26.txt| Repeating
77|usr_27.txt| Search commands and patterns
78|usr_28.txt| Folding
79|usr_29.txt| Moving through programs
80|usr_30.txt| Editing programs
81|usr_31.txt| Exploiting the GUI
Bram Moolenaarc01140a2006-03-24 22:21:52 +000082|usr_32.txt| The undo tree
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000083
84Tuning Vim ~
85|usr_40.txt| Make new commands
86|usr_41.txt| Write a Vim script
87|usr_42.txt| Add new menus
88|usr_43.txt| Using filetypes
89|usr_44.txt| Your own syntax highlighted
90|usr_45.txt| Select your language
Bram Moolenaar30ab04e2022-05-14 13:33:50 +010091
92Writing Vim scripts ~
93|usr_50.txt| Advanced Vim script writing
94|usr_51.txt| Create a plugin
95|usr_52.txt| Write plugins using Vim9 script
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000096
97Making Vim Run ~
98|usr_90.txt| Installing Vim
99
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000100REFERENCE MANUAL: These files explain every detail of Vim. *reference_toc*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000101
102General subjects ~
103|intro.txt| general introduction to Vim; notation used in help files
104|help.txt| overview and quick reference (this file)
Bram Moolenaar91604412010-06-03 20:25:18 +0200105|helphelp.txt| about using the help files
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000106|index.txt| alphabetical index of all commands
107|help-tags| all the tags you can jump to (index of tags)
108|howto.txt| how to do the most common editing tasks
109|tips.txt| various tips on using Vim
110|message.txt| (error) messages and explanations
111|quotes.txt| remarks from users of Vim
112|todo.txt| known problems and desired extensions
113|develop.txt| development of Vim
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +0000114|debug.txt| debugging Vim itself
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000115|uganda.txt| Vim distribution conditions and what to do with your money
116
117Basic editing ~
118|starting.txt| starting Vim, Vim command arguments, initialisation
119|editing.txt| editing and writing files
120|motion.txt| commands for moving around
121|scroll.txt| scrolling the text in the window
122|insert.txt| Insert and Replace mode
123|change.txt| deleting and replacing text
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000124|undo.txt| Undo and Redo
125|repeat.txt| repeating commands, Vim scripts and debugging
126|visual.txt| using the Visual mode (selecting a text area)
127|various.txt| various remaining commands
128|recover.txt| recovering from a crash
129
130Advanced editing ~
131|cmdline.txt| Command-line editing
132|options.txt| description of all options
133|pattern.txt| regexp patterns and search commands
134|map.txt| key mapping and abbreviations
135|tagsrch.txt| tags and special searches
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000136|windows.txt| commands for using multiple windows and buffers
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +0000137|tabpage.txt| commands for using multiple tab pages
Bram Moolenaar217ad922005-03-20 22:37:15 +0000138|spell.txt| spell checking
Bram Moolenaar2346a632021-06-13 19:02:49 +0200139|diff.txt| working with two to eight versions of the same file
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000140|autocmd.txt| automatically executing commands on an event
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000141|eval.txt| expression evaluation, conditional commands
Bram Moolenaar1cae5a02021-12-27 21:28:34 +0000142|builtin.txt| builtin functions
Bram Moolenaard0796902016-09-16 20:02:31 +0200143|channel.txt| Jobs, Channels, inter-process communication
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000144|fold.txt| hide (fold) ranges of lines
145
146Special issues ~
Bram Moolenaared997ad2019-07-21 16:42:00 +0200147|testing.txt| testing Vim and Vim scripts
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000148|print.txt| printing
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000149|remote.txt| using Vim as a server or client
150|term.txt| using different terminals and mice
Bram Moolenaar01164a62017-11-02 22:58:42 +0100151|terminal.txt| Terminal window support
Bram Moolenaard1caa942020-04-10 22:10:56 +0200152|popup.txt| popup window support
Bram Moolenaar2346a632021-06-13 19:02:49 +0200153|vim9.txt| using Vim9 script
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +0100154
155Programming language support ~
156|indent.txt| automatic indenting for C and other languages
157|syntax.txt| syntax highlighting
158|textprop.txt| Attaching properties to text for highlighting or other
159|filetype.txt| settings done specifically for a type of file
160|quickfix.txt| commands for a quick edit-compile-fix cycle
161|ft_ada.txt| Ada (the programming language) support
Bram Moolenaar2346a632021-06-13 19:02:49 +0200162|ft_ps1.txt| Filetype plugin for Windows PowerShell
163|ft_raku.txt| Filetype plugin for Raku
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +0100164|ft_rust.txt| Filetype plugin for Rust
165|ft_sql.txt| about the SQL filetype plugin
166
167Language support ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000168|digraph.txt| list of available digraphs
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +0200169|mbyte.txt| multibyte text support
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000170|mlang.txt| non-English language support
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +0100171|rileft.txt| right-to-left editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000172|arabic.txt| Arabic language support and editing
173|farsi.txt| Farsi (Persian) editing
174|hebrew.txt| Hebrew language support and editing
175|russian.txt| Russian language support and editing
176|hangulin.txt| Hangul (Korean) input mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000177
178GUI ~
179|gui.txt| Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000180|gui_w32.txt| Win32 GUI
181|gui_x11.txt| X11 GUI
182
183Interfaces ~
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +0000184|if_cscop.txt| using Cscope with Vim
Bram Moolenaar0ba04292010-07-14 23:23:17 +0200185|if_lua.txt| Lua interface
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +0000186|if_mzsch.txt| MzScheme interface
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000187|if_perl.txt| Perl interface
188|if_pyth.txt| Python interface
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000189|if_tcl.txt| Tcl interface
190|if_ole.txt| OLE automation interface for Win32
191|if_ruby.txt| Ruby interface
192|debugger.txt| Interface with a debugger
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000193|netbeans.txt| NetBeans External Editor interface
194|sign.txt| debugging signs
195
196Versions ~
197|vi_diff.txt| Main differences between Vim and Vi
198|version4.txt| Differences between Vim version 3.0 and 4.x
199|version5.txt| Differences between Vim version 4.6 and 5.x
200|version6.txt| Differences between Vim version 5.7 and 6.x
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +0000201|version7.txt| Differences between Vim version 6.4 and 7.x
Bram Moolenaar03413f42016-04-12 21:07:15 +0200202|version8.txt| Differences between Vim version 7.4 and 8.x
Bram Moolenaarc51cf032022-02-26 12:25:45 +0000203|version9.txt| Differences between Vim version 8.2 and 9.0
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000204 *sys-file-list*
205Remarks about specific systems ~
206|os_390.txt| OS/390 Unix
207|os_amiga.txt| Amiga
208|os_beos.txt| BeOS and BeBox
Bram Moolenaar8024f932020-01-14 19:29:13 +0100209|os_dos.txt| MS-DOS and MS-Windows common items
Bram Moolenaar7ceefb32020-05-01 16:07:38 +0200210|os_haiku.txt| Haiku
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000211|os_mac.txt| Macintosh
212|os_mint.txt| Atari MiNT
213|os_msdos.txt| MS-DOS (plain DOS and DOS box under Windows)
214|os_os2.txt| OS/2
215|os_qnx.txt| QNX
216|os_risc.txt| RISC-OS
217|os_unix.txt| Unix
218|os_vms.txt| VMS
Bram Moolenaar8024f932020-01-14 19:29:13 +0100219|os_win32.txt| MS-Windows
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000220 *standard-plugin-list*
221Standard plugins ~
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000222|pi_getscript.txt| Downloading latest version of Vim scripts
Bram Moolenaara3e6bc92013-01-30 14:18:00 +0100223|pi_gzip.txt| Reading and writing compressed files
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200224|pi_logipat.txt| Logical operators on patterns
Bram Moolenaara3e6bc92013-01-30 14:18:00 +0100225|pi_netrw.txt| Reading and writing files over a network
226|pi_paren.txt| Highlight matching parens
Bram Moolenaar01164a62017-11-02 22:58:42 +0100227|pi_spec.txt| Filetype plugin to work with rpm spec files
Bram Moolenaara3e6bc92013-01-30 14:18:00 +0100228|pi_tar.txt| Tar file explorer
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000229|pi_vimball.txt| Create a self-installing Vim script
Bram Moolenaara3e6bc92013-01-30 14:18:00 +0100230|pi_zip.txt| Zip archive explorer
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000231
232LOCAL ADDITIONS: *local-additions*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000233
234------------------------------------------------------------------------------
235*bars* Bars example
236
237Now that you've jumped here with CTRL-] or a double mouse click, you can use
238CTRL-T, CTRL-O, g<RightMouse>, or <C-RightMouse> to go back to where you were.
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +0000239
240Note that tags are within | characters, but when highlighting is enabled these
Bram Moolenaar91604412010-06-03 20:25:18 +0200241characters are hidden. That makes it easier to read a command.
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +0000242
243Anyway, you can use CTRL-] on any word, also when it is not within |, and Vim
Bram Moolenaar91604412010-06-03 20:25:18 +0200244will try to find help for it. Especially for options in single quotes, e.g.
245'compatible'.
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +0000246
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000247------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bram Moolenaar2c64ca12018-10-19 16:22:31 +0200248 vim:tw=78:isk=!-~,^*,^\|,^\":ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: