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Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +01001*change.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2021 Mar 01
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 Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000262
263==============================================================================
2643. Simple changes *simple-change*
265
266 *r*
267r{char} Replace the character under the cursor with {char}.
268 If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the
269 character. To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V
270 <CR>. CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>.
Bram Moolenaar80716072012-05-01 21:14:34 +0200271
272 If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the
273 line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E|
274 and |i_CTRL-Y|. This also works with a count, thus
275 `10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below.
276
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000277 If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters
278 with [count] {char}s. When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>,
279 however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces
280 five characters with a single line break.
281 When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs
282 autoindenting. This works just like deleting the
283 characters that are replaced and then doing
284 "i<CR><Esc>".
285 {char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|.
286 |:lmap| mappings apply to {char}. The CTRL-^ command
287 in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off
288 |i_CTRL-^|. See |utf-8-char-arg| about using
289 composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode.
290
291 *gr*
292gr{char} Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with
293 {char}. This replaces in screen space, not file
294 space. See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more
295 details. As with |r| a count may be given.
296 {char} can be entered like with |r|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000297
298 *digraph-arg*
299The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character.
300When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered
301like |digraphs|. First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters.
302{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
303
304 *case*
305The following commands change the case of letters. The currently active
306|locale| is used. See |:language|. The LC_CTYPE value matters here.
307
308 *~*
309~ 'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character
310 under the cursor and move the cursor to the right.
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200311 If a [count] is given, do that many characters.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000312
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200313~{motion} 'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000314
315 *g~*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200316g~{motion} Switch case of {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000317
318g~g~ *g~g~* *g~~*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200319g~~ Switch case of current line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000320
321 *v_~*
322{Visual}~ Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200323 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000324
325 *v_U*
326{Visual}U Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200327 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000328
329 *gU* *uppercase*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200330gU{motion} Make {motion} text uppercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000331 Example: >
332 :map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a
333< This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the
334 word before the cursor uppercase. Handy to type
335 words in lowercase and then make them uppercase.
336
337
338gUgU *gUgU* *gUU*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200339gUU Make current line uppercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000340
341 *v_u*
342{Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200343 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000344
345 *gu* *lowercase*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200346gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000347
348gugu *gugu* *guu*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200349guu Make current line lowercase.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000350
351 *g?* *rot13*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200352g?{motion} Rot13 encode {motion} text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000353
354 *v_g?*
355{Visual}g? Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200356 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000357
358g?g? *g?g?* *g??*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200359g?? Rot13 encode current line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000360
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000361To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word
362uppercase: >
363 :s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g
364
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000365
366Adding and subtracting ~
367 *CTRL-A*
368CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200369 or after the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000370
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200371 *v_CTRL-A*
372{Visual}CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200373 the highlighted text.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200374
375 *v_g_CTRL-A*
376{Visual}g CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
377 the highlighted text. If several lines are
378 highlighted, each one will be incremented by an
379 additional [count] (so effectively creating a
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200380 [count] incrementing sequence).
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200381 For Example, if you have this list of numbers:
382 1. ~
383 1. ~
384 1. ~
385 1. ~
386 Move to the second "1." and Visually select three
387 lines, pressing g CTRL-A results in:
388 1. ~
389 2. ~
390 3. ~
391 4. ~
392
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000393 *CTRL-X*
394CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200395 character at or after the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000396
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200397 *v_CTRL-X*
398{Visual}CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200399 character in the highlighted text.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200400
Bram Moolenaare0fa3742016-02-20 15:47:01 +0100401 On MS-Windows, this is mapped to cut Visual text
402 |dos-standard-mappings|. If you want to disable the
403 mapping, use this: >
404 silent! vunmap <C-X>
405<
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200406 *v_g_CTRL-X*
407{Visual}g CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
408 character in the highlighted text. If several lines
409 are highlighted, each value will be decremented by an
410 additional [count] (so effectively creating a [count]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200411 decrementing sequence).
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200412
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +0100413The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands can work for:
414- signed and unsigned decimal numbers
415- unsigned binary, octal and hexadecimal numbers
416- alphabetic characters
417
418This depends on the 'nrformats' option:
419- When 'nrformats' includes "bin", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0b' or
420 '0B' are binary.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000421- When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0'
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000422 to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'. Other numbers are
423 decimal and may have a preceding minus sign.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000424 If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise
425 Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000426- When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or
427 '0X' are hexadecimal. The case of the rightmost letter in the number
428 determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number. If there is no
429 letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case.
430- When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character
431 under or after the cursor. This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic
432 index.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000433
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200434For decimals a leading negative sign is considered for incrementing/
Bram Moolenaarfa735342016-01-03 22:14:44 +0100435decrementing, for binary, octal and hex values, it won't be considered. To
Bram Moolenaar85eee132018-05-06 17:57:30 +0200436ignore the sign Visually select the number before using CTRL-A or CTRL-X.
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200437
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000438For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers),
439Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible. CTRL-A on
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000440"0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000441There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to
442be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal",
443leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an
444octal number.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000445
446Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000447zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000448
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +0100449Note similarly, when 'nrformats' includes "bin", binary numbers with a leading
450'0x' or '0X' can be interpreted as hexadecimal rather than binary since '0b'
451are valid hexadecimal digits.
452
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000453The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro. Example: Use the following
454steps to make a numbered list.
455
4561. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004572. qa - start recording into register 'a'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004583. Y - yank the entry
4594. p - put a copy of the entry below the first one
4605. CTRL-A - increment the number
4616. q - stop recording
4627. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times
463
464
465SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT *shift-left-right*
466
467 *<*
468<{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
469
Bram Moolenaarf9514162018-11-22 03:08:29 +0100470 If the 'vartabstop' feature is enabled, and the
471 'shiftwidth' option is set to zero, the amount of
472 indent is calculated at the first non-blank character
473 in the line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000474 *<<*
475<< Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
476
477 *v_<*
478{Visual}[count]< Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200479 leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000480
481 *>*
482 >{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
483
Bram Moolenaarf9514162018-11-22 03:08:29 +0100484 If the 'vartabstop' feature is enabled, and the
485 'shiftwidth' option is set to zero, the amount of
486 indent is calculated at the first non-blank character
487 in the line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000488 *>>*
489 >> Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
490
491 *v_>*
492{Visual}[count]> Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200493 rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000494
495 *:<*
496:[range]< Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left. Repeat '<'
497 for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
498
499:[range]< {count} Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting
500 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
501 Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
502
503:[range]le[ft] [indent] left align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200504 lines to [indent] (default 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000505
506 *:>*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000507:[range]> [flags] Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000508 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000509 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000510
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000511:[range]> {count} [flags]
512 Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000513 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
514 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000515 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000516
517The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within
518programs. Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space
519which these commands insert or delete. Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8,
520but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents. The shift leftwards
521stops when there is no indent. The shift right does not affect empty lines.
522
523If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of
524'shiftwidth'.
525
526If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains
Bram Moolenaar8e69b4a2013-11-09 03:41:58 +0100527'#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#'
528(these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1).
Bram Moolenaar7dda86f2018-04-20 22:36:41 +0200529This can be changed with the 'cino' option, see |cino-#|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000530
531When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as
532much as possible to make the indent. You can use ">><<" to replace an indent
533made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces
534if necessary). If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces. Then
535you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200536`:retab!`).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000537
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200538To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000539For example: >
540 Vjj4> move three lines 4 indents to the right
541 :<<< move current line 3 indents to the left
542 :>> 5 move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
543 :5>> move line 5 2 indents to the right
544
545==============================================================================
5464. Complex changes *complex-change*
547
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005484.1 Filter commands *filter*
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000549
550A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some
551way, and sends it to standard output. You can use the commands below to send
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000552some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000553Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and
554"indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that
555works like a filter; not all versions do). The 'shell' option specifies the
556shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype'
557option). You can repeat filter commands with ".". Vim does not recognize a
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200558comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000559
560 *!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000561!{motion}{filter} Filter {motion} text lines through the external
562 program {filter}.
563
564 *!!*
565!!{filter} Filter [count] lines through the external program
566 {filter}.
567
568 *v_!*
569{Visual}!{filter} Filter the highlighted lines through the external
570 program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000571
572:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg] *:range!*
573 Filter {range} lines through the external program
574 {filter}. Vim replaces the optional bangs with the
575 latest given command and appends the optional [arg].
576 Vim saves the output of the filter command in a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100577 temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer
578 |tempfile|. Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to
579 redirect the filter output to the temporary file.
Bram Moolenaar83c465c2005-12-16 21:53:56 +0000580 However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes
581 are used when possible (on Unix).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000582 When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in
583 the filtered lines are deleted, unless the
584 |:keepmarks| command is used. Example: >
585 :keepmarks '<,'>!sort
586< When the number of lines after filtering is less than
587 before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway.
588
589 *=*
590={motion} Filter {motion} lines through the external program
591 given with the 'equalprg' option. When the 'equalprg'
592 option is empty (this is the default), use the
Bram Moolenaar20f90cf2011-05-19 12:22:51 +0200593 internal formatting function |C-indenting| and
594 |'lisp'|. But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will
595 be used instead |indent-expression|. When Vim was
596 compiled without internal formatting then the "indent"
597 program is used as a last resort.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000598
599 *==*
600== Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}.
601
602 *v_=*
603{Visual}= Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000604
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000605
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100606 *tempfile* *setuid*
607Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for
608tempname(). For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
609accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink
610attack or other people reading your file). When Vim exits the directory and
611all files in it are deleted. When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause
612problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command
613probably runs as the original user.
Bram Moolenaar6f345a12019-12-17 21:27:18 +0100614On MS-Windows the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP,
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100615$TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP.
616For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME.
617For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used.
618For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used.
619
620
621
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00006224.2 Substitute *:substitute*
623 *:s* *:su*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000624:[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000625 For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern}
626 with {string}.
627 For the {pattern} see |pattern|.
628 {string} can be a literal string, or something
629 special; see |sub-replace-special|.
630 When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the
Bram Moolenaar3df01732017-02-17 22:47:16 +0100631 current line only. When [count] is given, replace in
632 [count] lines, starting with the last line in [range].
633 When [range] is omitted start in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar4c92e752019-02-17 21:18:32 +0100634 *E939*
Bram Moolenaar3df01732017-02-17 22:47:16 +0100635 [count] must be a positive number. Also see
636 |cmdline-ranges|.
637
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000638 See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaarebdf3c92020-02-15 21:41:42 +0100639 The delimiter doesn't need to be /, see
640 |pattern-delimiter|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000641
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000642:[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count]
643:[range]&[&][flags] [count] *:&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000644 Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and
645 substitute string, but without the same flags. You
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000646 may add [flags], see |:s_flags|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200647 Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000648 used, it's recognized as a pattern separator.
Bram Moolenaarfc39ecf2015-08-11 20:34:49 +0200649 The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g',
650 'i', 'I' and 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts
651 it's a good idea to keep it to avoid confusion.
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100652 Also see the two and three letter commands to repeat
653 :substitute below |:substitute-repeat|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000654
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000655:[range]~[&][flags] [count] *:~*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000656 Repeat last substitute with same substitute string
657 but with last used search pattern. This is like
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200658 `:&r`. See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000659
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000660 *&*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200661& Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute). Note
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000662 that the flags are not remembered, thus it might
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200663 actually work differently. You can use `:&&` to keep
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000664 the flags.
665
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000666 *g&*
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100667g& Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with
668 last search pattern on all lines with the same flags).
Bram Moolenaar34700a62013-03-07 13:20:54 +0100669 For example, when you first do a substitution with
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100670 `:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for
671 something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`.
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200672 Mnemonic: global substitute.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000673
674 *:snomagic* *:sno*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200675:[range]sno[magic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677 *:smagic* *:sm*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200678:[range]sm[agic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000679
680 *:s_flags*
681The flags that you can use for the substitute commands:
682
Bram Moolenaar51628222016-12-01 23:03:28 +0100683 *:&&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000684[&] Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute
685 command. Examples: >
686 :&&
687 :s/this/that/&
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200688< Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000689
690[c] Confirm each substitution. Vim highlights the matching string (with
691 |hl-IncSearch|). You can type: *:s_c*
692 'y' to substitute this match
693 'l' to substitute this match and then quit ("last")
694 'n' to skip this match
695 <Esc> to quit substituting
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200696 'a' to substitute this and all remaining matches
697 'q' to quit substituting
Bram Moolenaare2c453d2019-08-21 14:37:09 +0200698 CTRL-E to scroll the screen up
699 CTRL-Y to scroll the screen down
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000700 If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and
701 toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new
702 search pattern.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200704 *:s_e*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000705[e] When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in
706 particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred. This is most
707 useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping. Vim
708 does not suppress the following error messages, however:
709 Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters
710 \ should be followed by /, ? or &
711 No previous substitute regular expression
712 Trailing characters
713 Interrupted
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000714
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200715 *:s_g*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000716[g] Replace all occurrences in the line. Without this argument,
717 replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line. If
718 the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles
719 it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search
720 pattern. If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default
721 and the [g] argument switches it off.
722
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200723 *:s_i*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000724[i] Ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options
725 are not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000726
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200727 *:s_I*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000728[I] Don't ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase'
729 options are not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000730
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200731 *:s_n*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000732[n] Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute. The [c]
733 flag is ignored. The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero.
734 Useful to |count-items|.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200735 If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be
736 evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000737
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200738[p] Print the line containing the last substitute. *:s_p*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000739
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200740[#] Like [p] and prepend the line number. *:s_#*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000741
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200742[l] Like [p] but print the text like |:list|. *:s_l*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000743
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200744 *:s_r*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200745[r] Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments. `:&r`
746 works the same way as `:~`: When the search pattern is empty, use the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000747 previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200748 last substitute or `:global`. If the last command that did a search
749 was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect. If the last
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000750 command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that
751 command.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200752 For `:s` with an argument this already happens: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000753 :s/blue/red/
754 /green
755 :s//red/ or :~ or :&r
756< The last commands will replace "green" with "red". >
757 :s/blue/red/
758 /green
759 :&
760< The last command will replace "blue" with "red".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000761
762Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern. A
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000763different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends. The
764reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in
765order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known. Catch 22!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000766
767If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200768pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command. If there is none, but
Bram Moolenaar662db672011-03-22 14:05:35 +0100769there is a previous search pattern, that one is used. With the [r] flag, the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200770command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000771command.
772
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000773If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty. Thus the
774matched pattern is deleted. The separator after {pattern} can also be left
775out then. Example: >
776 :%s/TESTING
777This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line.
778
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000779For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed:
780"\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r".
781"\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/".
Bram Moolenaarebdf3c92020-02-15 21:41:42 +0100782 *pattern-delimiter* *E146*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000783Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000784can use any other single-byte character, but not an alphanumeric character,
785'\', '"' or '|'. This is useful if you want to include a '/' in the search
786pattern or replacement string. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000787 :s+/+//+
788
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000789For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|. In Visual block mode, use
790|/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only.
791Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000792
793 *sub-replace-special* *:s\=*
794When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200795|sub-replace-expression|. You can use that for complex replacement or special
796characters.
797
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000798Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning:
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000799 *:s%*
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +0000800When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option,
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200801then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000802
803magic nomagic action ~
804 & \& replaced with the whole matched pattern *s/\&*
805 \& & replaced with &
806 \0 replaced with the whole matched pattern *\0* *s/\0*
807 \1 replaced with the matched pattern in the first
808 pair of () *s/\1*
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000809 \2 replaced with the matched pattern in the second
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000810 pair of () *s/\2*
811 .. .. *s/\3*
812 \9 replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth
813 pair of () *s/\9*
814 ~ \~ replaced with the {string} of the previous
815 substitute *s~*
816 \~ ~ replaced with ~ *s/\~*
817 \u next character made uppercase *s/\u*
818 \U following characters made uppercase, until \E *s/\U*
819 \l next character made lowercase *s/\l*
820 \L following characters made lowercase, until \E *s/\L*
821 \e end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!) *s/\e*
822 \E end of \u, \U, \l and \L *s/\E*
823 <CR> split line in two at this point
824 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s<CR>*
825 \r idem *s/\r*
826 \<CR> insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M)
827 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s/\<CR>*
828 \n insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file)
829 (does NOT break the line) *s/\n*
830 \b insert a <BS> *s/\b*
831 \t insert a <Tab> *s/\t*
832 \\ insert a single backslash *s/\\*
833 \x where x is any character not mentioned above:
834 Reserved for future expansion
835
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200836The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of
837the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions:
838 - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'.
839 - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'.
840 - A ~ inserts a tilde literally.
841 - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M).
Bram Moolenaarba3ff532018-11-04 14:45:49 +0100842 - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. It's just one of \x.
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200843
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000844Examples: >
845 :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g modifies "a b" to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx"
846 :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb"
847 :s/abcde/abc^Mde/ modifies "abcde" to "abc", "de" (two lines)
848 :s/$/\^M/ modifies "abcde" to "abcde^M"
Bram Moolenaarefd2bf12006-03-16 21:41:35 +0000849 :s/\w\+/\u\0/g modifies "bla bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaaraa3b15d2016-04-21 08:53:19 +0200850 :s/\w\+/\L\u\0/g modifies "BLA bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaarbf884932013-04-05 22:26:15 +0200851
852Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word. This is
853not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel
854out the "\L". Same for "\U\l".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000855
856Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way. Since this is
857not Vi compatible, this was removed. Use a backslash instead.
858
859command text result ~
860:s/aa/a^Ma/ aa a<line-break>a
861:s/aa/a\^Ma/ aa a^Ma
862:s/aa/a\\^Ma/ aa a\<line-break>a
863
864(you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here)
865
866The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in
867the pattern (going left to right). When a parentheses group matches several
868times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc. Example: >
869 :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/ modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x"
Bram Moolenaar7e1479b2016-09-11 15:07:27 +0200870The "\2" is for "\(a[a-d] \)". At first it matches "aa ", secondly "ab ".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000871
872When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\),
873either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either
874\1 or \2 is empty. Example: >
875 :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g modifies "a b c d" to "ax bx x x"
876<
877
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100878 *:sc* *:sce* *:scg* *:sci* *:scI* *:scl* *:scp* *:sg* *:sgc*
879 *:sge* *:sgi* *:sgI* *:sgl* *:sgn* *:sgp* *:sgr* *:sI* *:si*
880 *:sic* *:sIc* *:sie* *:sIe* *:sIg* *:sIl* *:sin* *:sIn* *:sIp*
881 *:sip* *:sIr* *:sir* *:sr* *:src* *:srg* *:sri* *:srI* *:srl*
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100882 *:srn* *:srp* *:substitute-repeat*
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +01008832-letter and 3-letter :substitute commands ~
884
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100885These commands repeat the previous `:substitute` command with the given flags.
886The first letter is always "s", followed by one or two of the possible flag
887characters. For example `:sce` works like `:s///ce`. The table lists the
888possible combinations, not all flags are possible, because the command is
889short for another command.
890
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100891 List of :substitute commands
892 | c e g i I n p l r
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100893 | c :sc :sce :scg :sci :scI :scn :scp :scl
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100894 | e
895 | g :sgc :sge :sg :sgi :sgI :sgn :sgp :sgl :sgr
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100896 | i :sic :sie :si :siI :sin :sip :sir
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100897 | I :sIc :sIe :sIg :sIi :sI :sIn :sIp :sIl :sIr
898 | n
899 | p
900 | l
Bram Moolenaarc8cdf0f2021-03-13 13:28:13 +0100901 | r :src :srg :sri :srI :srn :srp :srl :sr
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100902
903Exceptions:
904 :scr is `:scriptnames`
905 :se is `:set`
906 :sig is `:sign`
907 :sil is `:silent`
908 :sn is `:snext`
909 :sp is `:split`
910 :sl is `:sleep`
911 :sre is `:srewind`
912
913
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000914Substitute with an expression *sub-replace-expression*
Bram Moolenaar92dff182014-02-11 19:15:50 +0100915 *sub-replace-\=* *s/\=*
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000916When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an
Bram Moolenaar6100d022016-10-02 16:51:57 +0200917expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000918
919The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200920not apply except for "<CR>". A <NL> character is used as a line break, you
921can get one with a double-quote string: "\n". Prepend a backslash to get a
922real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000923
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200924The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of
925|substitute()| function. In this case, the special meaning for characters as
926mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and
927<NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a
928new-line respectively.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000929
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +0000930When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line
931breaks. Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line
932breaks themselves.
933
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +0100934The |submatch()| function can be used to obtain matched text. The whole
935matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)". The text matched with the
936first pair of () with "submatch(1)". Likewise for further sub-matches in ().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000937
938Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression!
939Consider using a character like "@" or ":". There is no problem if the result
940of the expression contains the separation character.
941
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000942Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000943 :s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000944This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. >
945
946 s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000947This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign. Read more in |<Char->|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000948
949
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00009504.3 Search and replace *search-replace*
951
952 *:pro* *:promptfind*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000953:promptf[ind] [string]
954 Put up a Search dialog. When [string] is given, it is
955 used as the initial search string.
956 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
957
958 *:promptr* *:promptrepl*
959:promptr[epl] [string]
960 Put up a Search/Replace dialog. When [string] is
961 given, it is used as the initial search string.
962 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
963
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000964
9654.4 Changing tabs *change-tabs*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200966 *:ret* *:retab* *:retab!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000967:[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop]
968 Replace all sequences of white-space containing a
969 <Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new
970 tabstop value given. If you do not specify a new
971 tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value
972 of 'tabstop'.
973 The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to
974 compute the width of existing tabs.
975 With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal
976 spaces with tabs where appropriate.
977 With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the
978 appropriate number of spaces.
979 This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given,
980 and if performed on the whole file, which is default,
981 should not make any visible change.
982 Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters
983 inside of strings in a C program. Use "\t" to avoid
984 this (that's a good habit anyway).
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200985 `:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000986 <Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf().
Bram Moolenaar04958cb2018-06-23 19:23:02 +0200987 If the |+vartabs| feature is enabled then a list of
988 tab widths separated by commas may be used in place of
989 a single tabstop. Each value in the list represents
990 the width of one tabstop, except the final value which
991 applies to all following tabstops.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000992
993 *retab-example*
994Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored
995with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4. Warning: white space
996inside of strings can change! Also see 'softtabstop' option. >
997
998 :auto BufReadPost *.xx retab! 4
999 :auto BufWritePre *.xx retab! 8
1000 :auto BufWritePost *.xx retab! 4
1001 :auto BufNewFile *.xx set ts=4
1002
1003==============================================================================
10045. Copying and moving text *copy-move*
1005
1006 *quote*
Bram Moolenaar7ceefb32020-05-01 16:07:38 +02001007"{register} Use {register} for next delete, yank or put. Use
1008 an uppercase character to append with delete and yank.
1009 Registers ".", "%", "#" and ":" only work with put.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001010
1011 *:reg* *:registers*
Bram Moolenaar3691f1e2019-10-24 20:17:00 +02001012:reg[isters] Display the type and contents of all numbered and
1013 named registers. If a register is written to for
1014 |:redir| it will not be listed.
1015 Type can be one of:
1016 "c" for |characterwise| text
1017 "l" for |linewise| text
1018 "b" for |blockwise-visual| text
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001019
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001020
1021:reg[isters] {arg} Display the contents of the numbered and named
1022 registers that are mentioned in {arg}. For example: >
Bram Moolenaarfa735342016-01-03 22:14:44 +01001023 :reg 1a
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001024< to display registers '1' and 'a'. Spaces are allowed
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001025 in {arg}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001026
1027 *:di* *:display*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001028:di[splay] [arg] Same as :registers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001029
1030 *y* *yank*
1031["x]y{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. When no
1032 characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1),
1033 this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E'
1034 flag.
1035
1036 *yy*
1037["x]yy Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
1038
1039 *Y*
1040["x]Y yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for
1041 yy, |linewise|). If you like "Y" to work from the
1042 cursor to the end of line (which is more logical,
1043 but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$".
1044
1045 *v_y*
1046{Visual}["x]y Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001047 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001048
1049 *v_Y*
1050{Visual}["x]Y Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001051 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001052
Bram Moolenaar85de2062011-05-05 14:26:41 +02001053 *:y* *:yank* *E850*
1054:[range]y[ank] [x] Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001055 "* or "+ registers is possible only when the
1056 |+clipboard| feature is included.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001057
1058:[range]y[ank] [x] {count}
1059 Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number
1060 in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|),
1061 [into register x].
1062
1063 *p* *put* *E353*
1064["x]p Put the text [from register x] after the cursor
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001065 [count] times.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001066
1067 *P*
1068["x]P Put the text [from register x] before the cursor
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001069 [count] times.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001070
1071 *<MiddleMouse>*
1072["x]<MiddleMouse> Put the text from a register before the cursor [count]
1073 times. Uses the "* register, unless another is
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001074 specified.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +00001075 Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text.
1076 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1077 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001078 If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste
1079 text, you can use these mappings to disable the
1080 pasting with the middle mouse button: >
1081 :map <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1082 :imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1083< You might want to disable the multi-click versions
1084 too, see |double-click|.
1085
1086 *gp*
1087["x]gp Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001088 text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001089
1090 *gP*
1091["x]gP Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001092 text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001093
1094 *:pu* *:put*
1095:[line]pu[t] [x] Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default
1096 current line). This always works |linewise|, thus
1097 this command can be used to put a yanked block as new
1098 lines.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001099 If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb'
1100 option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the
1101 + register |quoteplus|. Otherwise, if 'cb' contains
Bram Moolenaarddbb5552012-04-26 20:17:03 +02001102 "unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001103 Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register
1104 |quote_quote|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001105 The register can also be '=' followed by an optional
1106 expression. The expression continues until the end of
1107 the command. You need to escape the '|' and '"'
1108 characters to prevent them from terminating the
1109 command. Example: >
1110 :put ='path' . \",/test\"
1111< If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the
1112 previous expression. You can see it with ":dis =".
1113
1114:[line]pu[t]! [x] Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default
1115 current line).
1116
1117["x]]p or *]p* *]<MiddleMouse>*
1118["x]]<MiddleMouse> Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1119 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001120 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001121
1122["x][P or *[P*
1123["x]]P or *]P*
1124["x][p or *[p* *[<MiddleMouse>*
1125["x][<MiddleMouse> Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1126 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001127 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001128
Christian Brabandt2fa93842021-05-30 22:17:25 +02001129["x]zp or *zp* *zP*
1130["x]zP Like "p" and "P", except without adding trailing spaces
1131 when pasting a block. Thus the inserted text will not
1132 always be a rectangle.
1133
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001134You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another. Do this
1135by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change
1136command, then inserting the register contents with a put command. You can
1137also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim
1138preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick
1139way to toggle between two files).
1140
1141 *linewise-register* *characterwise-register*
1142You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them. If
1143the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|,
1144Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is.
1145Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor. With
1146the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line. You can
1147exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp". You can exchange two
1148lines with the command sequence "ddp". You can exchange two words with the
1149command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the
1150first word). You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to
1151move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move
1152the cursor to the start.
1153
1154 *put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P*
1155When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to
1156replace the selected text with the contents of the register. Whether this
1157works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the
1158register. With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001159and whether the corners are on an existing character. (Implementation detail:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001160it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001161deleting the selection.)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001162The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register. If you want to
1163put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use
1164another register. E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to
1165replace and use "0p . You can repeat this as many times as you like, the
1166unnamed register will be changed each time.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001167
Bram Moolenaarec11aef2013-09-22 15:23:44 +02001168When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into
1169a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on
1170each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a
1171block of the pasted line).
1172
Christian Brabandt2fa93842021-05-30 22:17:25 +02001173Use |zP|/|zp| to paste a blockwise yanked register without appending trailing
1174spaces.
1175
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001176 *blockwise-register*
1177If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register,
1178the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor
1179column in the current and next lines. Vim makes the whole block of text start
1180in the same column. Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was
1181yanked or deleted. Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make
1182this happen. However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab>
1183width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be
1184misaligned.
1185
1186Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the
1187first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer. This means
1188that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character
1189left.
1190Rationale: In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would
1191 sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character,
1192 because redisplaying was skipped. In Vim it always moves to
1193 the first character, as specified by Posix.
1194With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the
1195column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character.
1196
Bram Moolenaar5be4cee2019-09-27 19:34:08 +02001197There are ten types of registers: *registers* *{register}* *E354*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000011981. The unnamed register ""
11992. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9
12003. The small delete register "-
12014. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z
Bram Moolenaar396e8292019-07-13 23:04:31 +020012025. Three read-only registers ":, "., "%
12036. Alternate buffer register "#
12047. The expression register "=
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012058. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
12069. The black hole register "_
120710. Last search pattern register "/
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001208
12091. Unnamed register "" *quote_quote* *quotequote*
1210Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands
1211or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001212register was used (e.g. "xdd). This is like the unnamed register is pointing
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001213to the last used register. Thus when appending using an uppercase register
1214name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register.
1215An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any
1216register.
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001217Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P)
1218which does not specify a register. Additionally you can access it with the
1219name '"'. This means you have to type two double quotes. Writing to the ""
1220register writes to register "0.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001221{Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'}
1222
Bram Moolenaaraa3b15d2016-04-21 08:53:19 +020012232. Numbered registers "0 to "9 *quote_number* *quote0* *quote1*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001224 *quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9*
1225Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands.
1226 Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command,
1227unless the command specified another register with ["x].
1228 Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or
1229change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is
1230less than one line (the small delete register is used then). An exception is
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001231made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|,
1232|/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|. Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi
1233compatible). The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line.
Bram Moolenaarbaca7f72013-09-22 14:42:24 +02001234Note that these characters may be mapped. E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +02001235plugin.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001236 With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents
1237of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous
1238contents of register 9.
1239{Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does
1240not exist}
1241
12423. Small delete register "- *quote_-* *quote-*
1243This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line,
1244except when the command specifies a register with ["x].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001245
12464. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z *quote_alpha* *quotea*
1247Vim fills these registers only when you say so. Specify them as lowercase
1248letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001249to their previous contents. When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then
1250a line break is inserted before the appended text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001251
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012525. Read-only registers ":, ". and "%
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001253These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'. You can use them only with the "p", "P",
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001254and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001255 *quote_.* *quote.* *E29*
1256 ". Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted
1257 with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@). Note: this
1258 doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line. It works a bit
1259 differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it
1260 ('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted).
1261 *quote_%* *quote%*
1262 "% Contains the name of the current file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001263 *quote_:* *quote:* *E30*
1264 ": Contains the most recent executed command-line. Example: Use
1265 "@:" to repeat the previous command-line command.
1266 The command-line is only stored in this register when at least
1267 one character of it was typed. Thus it remains unchanged if
1268 the command was completely from a mapping.
1269 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist|
1270 feature}
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +01001271 *quote_#* *quote#*
12726. Alternate file register "#
1273Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window. It will
1274change how the |CTRL-^| command works.
1275This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has
1276changed it. It accepts buffer number: >
1277 let altbuf = bufnr(@#)
1278 ...
1279 let @# = altbuf
1280It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not
1281exist.
1282It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: >
1283 let @# = 'buffer_name'
1284Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94|
1285if none of buffers matches the given name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001286
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012877. Expression register "= *quote_=* *quote=* *@=*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001288This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an
1289expression in commands which use a register. The expression register is
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001290read-write.
1291
1292When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line,
1293where you can enter any expression (see |expression|). All normal
1294command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for
1295expressions. When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the
1296result of the expression. If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the
1297expression. If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001298expression (like with the "/" command).
1299
1300The expression must evaluate to a String. A Number is always automatically
1301converted to a String. For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a
1302Float it's converted into a String. If the result is a List each element is
1303turned into a String and used as a line. A Dictionary or FuncRef results in
1304an error message (use string() to convert).
1305
1306If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL>
1307characters. If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001308register.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001309
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013108. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001311Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001312See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|. When the clipboard is not available or not
Bram Moolenaarf4d11452005-12-02 00:46:37 +00001313working, the unnamed register is used instead. For Unix systems the clipboard
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001314is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001315
1316Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems. For
1317an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|. Under MS-Windows, use
1318of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|.
1319
1320 *quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>*
1321The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop
1322operation. When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is
1323filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification. You can remap
1324this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001325contents of the "~ register at the cursor position.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001326{only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001327GTK GUI}
1328
1329Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim.
1330Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally.
1331
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013329. Black hole register "_ *quote_*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001333When writing to this register, nothing happens. This can be used to delete
1334text without affecting the normal registers. When reading from this register,
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001335nothing is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001336
Bram Moolenaar5be4cee2019-09-27 19:34:08 +0200133710. Last search pattern register "/ *quote_/* *quote/*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001338Contains the most recent search-pattern. This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001339It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001340other matches without actually searching. You can't yank or delete into this
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001341register. The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|.
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001342Note that the value is restored when returning from a function
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001343|function-search-undo|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001344
1345 *@/*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001346You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001347 :let @/ = "the"
1348
1349If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register
1350that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register). If
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001351you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001352command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is
1353labelled '"').
1354
1355The next three commands always work on whole lines.
1356
1357:[range]co[py] {address} *:co* *:copy*
1358 Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line
1359 given by {address}.
1360
1361 *:t*
1362:t Synonym for copy.
1363
1364:[range]m[ove] {address} *:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134*
1365 Move the lines given by [range] to below the line
1366 given by {address}.
1367
1368==============================================================================
13696. Formatting text *formatting*
1370
1371:[range]ce[nter] [width] *:ce* *:center*
1372 Center lines in [range] between [width] columns
1373 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001374
1375:[range]ri[ght] [width] *:ri* *:right*
1376 Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns
1377 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001378
1379 *:le* *:left*
1380:[range]le[ft] [indent]
1381 Left-align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001382 lines to [indent] (default 0).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001383
1384 *gq*
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001385gq{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001386 Formatting is done with one of three methods:
1387 1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is
1388 evaluated. This can differ for each buffer.
Bram Moolenaar4c7ed462006-02-15 22:18:42 +00001389 2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001390 is used.
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00001391 3. Otherwise formatting is done internally.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001392
1393 In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the
1394 length of each formatted line (see below).
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001395 If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line
1396 length is the screen width (with a maximum width of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001397 79).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001398 The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of
1399 formatting |fo-table|.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001400 The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last
1401 formatted line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001402 NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this
1403 function. If you still want to use "Q" for
1404 formatting, use this mapping: >
1405 :nnoremap Q gq
1406
1407gqgq *gqgq* *gqq*
Bram Moolenaar40af4e32010-07-29 22:33:18 +02001408gqq Format the current line. With a count format that
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001409 many lines.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001410
1411 *v_gq*
1412{Visual}gq Format the highlighted text. (for {Visual} see
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001413 |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001414
1415 *gw*
1416gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. Similar to
1417 |gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001418 the text. However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001419 not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001420
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001421gwgw *gwgw* *gww*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001422gww Format the current line as with "gw".
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001423
1424 *v_gw*
1425{Visual}gw Format the highlighted text as with "gw". (for
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001426 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001427
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001428Example: To format the current paragraph use: *gqap* >
1429 gqap
1430
1431The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes
1432the cursor. This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".". This
1433works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until
1434end of paragraph). Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on
1435the first formatted line (as with using a filter command).
1436
1437If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: >
1438 gwap
1439If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a'
1440flag to 'formatoptions'. See |auto-format|.
1441
1442If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for
1443the following lines.
1444
1445Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only
1446white space!).
1447
1448The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together.
1449
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001450You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option
1451to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting. The
1452'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external
1453program.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001454
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001455 *format-formatexpr*
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001456The 'formatexpr' option can be set to a Vim script function that performs
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001457reformatting of the buffer. This should usually happen in an |ftplugin|,
1458since formatting is highly dependent on the type of file. It makes
1459sense to use an |autoload| script, so the corresponding script is only loaded
1460when actually needed and the script should be called <filetype>format.vim.
1461
1462For example, the XML filetype plugin distributed with Vim in the $VIMRUNTIME
1463directory, sets the 'formatexpr' option to: >
1464
1465 setlocal formatexpr=xmlformat#Format()
1466
1467That means, you will find the corresponding script, defining the
1468xmlformat#Format() function, in the directory:
1469`$VIMRUNTIME/autoload/xmlformat.vim`
1470
1471Here is an example script that removes trailing whitespace from the selected
1472text. Put it in your autoload directory, e.g. ~/.vim/autoload/format.vim: >
1473
1474 func! format#Format()
1475 " only reformat on explicit gq command
1476 if mode() != 'n'
Bram Moolenaard1caa942020-04-10 22:10:56 +02001477 " fall back to Vim's internal reformatting
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001478 return 1
1479 endif
1480 let lines = getline(v:lnum, v:lnum + v:count - 1)
1481 call map(lines, {key, val -> substitute(val, '\s\+$', '', 'g')})
1482 call setline('.', lines)
1483
1484 " do not run internal formatter!
1485 return 0
1486 endfunc
1487
1488You can then enable the formatting by executing: >
1489 setlocal formatexpr=format#Format()
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001490
Bram Moolenaar7db25fe2018-05-13 00:02:36 +02001491Note: this function explicitly returns non-zero when called from insert mode
1492(which basically means, text is inserted beyond the 'textwidth' limit). This
1493causes Vim to fall back to reformat the text by using the internal formatter.
1494
1495However, if the |gq| command is used to reformat the text, the function
1496will receive the selected lines, trim trailing whitespace from those lines and
1497put them back in place. If you are going to split single lines into multiple
1498lines, be careful not to overwrite anything.
1499
1500If you want to allow reformatting of text from insert or replace mode, one has
1501to be very careful, because the function might be called recursively. For
1502debugging it helps to set the 'debug' option.
1503
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001504 *right-justify*
1505There is no command in Vim to right justify text. You can do it with
1506an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the
1507paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par".
1508
1509 *format-comments*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001510An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual.
1511
1512Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way. Vim
1513recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring
1514white space). Three types of comments can be used:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001515
1516- A comment string that repeats at the start of each line. An example is the
1517 type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#".
1518- A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following
1519 lines. An example is this list with dashes.
1520- Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional
1521 lines in between. The strings for the start, middle and end are different.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001522 An example is the C style comment:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001523 /*
1524 * this is a C comment
1525 */
1526
1527The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part defines a
1528type of comment string. A part consists of:
1529 {flags}:{string}
1530
1531{string} is the literal text that must appear.
1532
1533{flags}:
1534 n Nested comment. Nesting with mixed parts is allowed. If 'comments'
1535 is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment.
1536
1537 b Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}.
1538
1539 f Only the first line has the comment string. Do not repeat comment on
1540 the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list).
1541
1542 s Start of three-piece comment
1543
1544 m Middle of a three-piece comment
1545
1546 e End of a three-piece comment
1547
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001548 l Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of
1549 start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle.
1550 This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001551
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001552 r Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See
1553 below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001554
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001555 O Don't consider this comment for the "O" command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001556
1557 x Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001558 character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new
1559 line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically.
1560 See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001561
1562 {digits}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001563 When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an
1564 automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins
1565 from a left alignment. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001566
1567 -{digits}
1568 Like {digits} but reduce the indent. This only works when there is
1569 some indent for the start or end part that can be removed.
1570
1571When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the
1572comment string repeats at the start of each line. The flags field may be
1573empty.
1574
1575Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the
1576{string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a
1577required part of the comment string.
1578
1579When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole.
1580For example, to include both "-" and "->", use >
1581 :set comments=f:->,f:-
1582
1583A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other
1584parts in between. An example of a three-piece comment is >
1585 sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/
1586for C-comments. To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string
1587includes the 'b' flag. For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after
1588the start and middle strings for the end string. If Vim finds the end string,
1589the comment does not continue on the next line. Three-piece comments must
1590have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines.
1591
1592Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition.
1593When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001594for the new line: " * ". To close this comment you just have to type "/"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001595before typing anything else on the new line. This will replace the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001596middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001597alignment, leaving just " */". There is no need to hit Backspace first.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001598
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001599When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end
1600part which is longer, the end part is used. This makes a C style comment work
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001601without requiring the middle part to end with a space.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001602
1603Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001604(kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: >
1605 :set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/
1606<
1607 /*** ~
1608 **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~
1609 ** ~
1610offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~
1611 ******/ ~
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001612In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times,
1613then "/" was pressed to end the comment.
1614
1615Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when
1616alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line
1617after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and
1618automatically ending a three-piece comment. The end alignment flag has a
1619backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with
1620"s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces.
1621Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number
1622will override the "r" and "l" flag.
1623
1624Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases.
1625Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult
1626alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other
1627formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options
1628for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001629indent alignments. However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with
1630three piece comments.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001631
1632Other examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001633 "b:*" Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is
1634 followed by a non-blank. This avoids a pointer dereference
1635 like "*str" to be recognized as a comment.
1636 "n:>" Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc.
1637 "fb:-" Format a list that starts with "- ".
1638
1639By default, "b:#" is included. This means that a line that starts with
1640"#include" is not recognized as a comment line. But a line that starts with
1641"# define" is recognized. This is a compromise.
1642
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001643 *fo-table*
1644You can use the 'formatoptions' option to influence how Vim formats text.
1645'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below. The
1646default setting is "tcq". You can separate the option letters with commas for
1647readability.
1648
1649letter meaning when present in 'formatoptions' ~
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001650 *fo-t*
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +00001651t Auto-wrap text using textwidth
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001652 *fo-c*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001653c Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment
1654 leader automatically.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001655 *fo-r*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001656r Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting
1657 <Enter> in Insert mode.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001658 *fo-o*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001659o Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or
1660 'O' in Normal mode.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001661 *fo-q*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001662q Allow formatting of comments with "gq".
1663 Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing
1664 only the comment leader. A new paragraph starts after such a line,
1665 or when the comment leader changes.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001666 *fo-w*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001667w Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line.
1668 A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001669 *fo-a*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001670a Automatic formatting of paragraphs. Every time text is inserted or
1671 deleted the paragraph will be reformatted. See |auto-format|.
1672 When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized
1673 comments.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001674 *fo-n*
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001675n When formatting text, recognize numbered lists. This actually uses
1676 the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used. The
1677 indent of the text after the number is used for the next line. The
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001678 default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')',
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001679 ']' or '}'. Note that 'autoindent' must be set too. Doesn't work
1680 well together with "2".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001681 Example: >
1682 1. the first item
1683 wraps
1684 2. the second item
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001685< *fo-2*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000016862 When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph
1687 for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first
1688 line. This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a
1689 different indent than the rest. Note that 'autoindent' must be set
1690 too. Example: >
1691 first line of a paragraph
1692 second line of the same paragraph
1693 third line.
Bram Moolenaar30b65812012-07-12 22:01:11 +02001694< This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001695 *fo-v*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001696v Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a
1697 blank that you have entered during the current insert command. (Note:
1698 this is not 100% Vi compatible. Vi has some "unexpected features" or
1699 bugs in this area. It uses the screen column instead of the line
1700 column.)
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001701 *fo-b*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001702b Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before
1703 the wrap margin. If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you
1704 started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before
1705 reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001706 *fo-l*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001707l Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than
1708 'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not
1709 automatically format it.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001710 *fo-m*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001711m Also break at a multibyte character above 255. This is useful for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001712 Asian text where every character is a word on its own.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001713 *fo-M*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001714M When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multibyte
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001715 character. Overrules the 'B' flag.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001716 *fo-B*
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +02001717B When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multibyte
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001718 characters. Overruled by the 'M' flag.
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001719 *fo-1*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000017201 Don't break a line after a one-letter word. It's broken before it
1721 instead (if possible).
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001722 *fo-]*
Bram Moolenaare52702f2020-06-04 18:22:13 +02001723] Respect textwidth rigorously. With this flag set, no line can be
1724 longer than textwidth, unless line-break-prohibition rules make this
1725 impossible. Mainly for CJK scripts and works only if 'encoding' is
1726 "utf-8".
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001727 *fo-j*
Bram Moolenaar81340392012-06-06 16:12:59 +02001728j Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines. For
1729 example, joining:
1730 int i; // the index ~
1731 // in the list ~
1732 Becomes:
1733 int i; // the index in the list ~
Bram Moolenaare0e39172021-01-25 21:14:57 +01001734 *fo-p*
Bram Moolenaarc3c31582019-01-11 22:15:05 +01001735p Don't break lines at single spaces that follow periods. This is
1736 intended to complement 'joinspaces' and |cpo-J|, for prose with
1737 sentences separated by two spaces. For example, with 'textwidth' set
1738 to 28: >
1739 Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!
1740< Becomes: >
1741 Surely you're joking,
1742 Mr. Feynman!
1743< Instead of: >
1744 Surely you're joking, Mr.
1745 Feynman!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001746
1747
1748With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping:
1749value action ~
1750"" no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting)
1751"t" automatic formatting of text, but not comments
1752"c" automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code)
1753"tc" automatic formatting for text and comments
1754
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001755Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but
1756does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option). An exception
1757is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001758
1759Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all.
1760
1761Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping;
1762'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq".
1763
1764If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some
1765built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly.
1766Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in
1767'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically. The same
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001768happens with formatting and auto-wrapping. Opening a line after a line
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001769starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to
1770be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing
1771the start of the comment.
1772E.g.:
1773 /* ~
1774 * Your typical comment. ~
1775 */ ~
1776 The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above
1777 comment.
1778
1779All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new
1780:autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file.
1781
1782Some examples:
1783 for C code (only format comments): >
1784 :set fo=croq
1785< for Mail/news (format all, don't start comment with "o" command): >
1786 :set fo=tcrq
1787<
1788
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001789Automatic formatting *auto-format* *autoformat*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001790
1791When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted
Bram Moolenaar2547aa92020-07-26 17:00:44 +02001792automatically when inserting text or deleting text. This works nicely for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001793editing text paragraphs. A few hints on how to use this:
1794
1795- You need to properly define paragraphs. The simplest is paragraphs that are
1796 separated by a blank line. When there is no separating blank line, consider
1797 using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the
1798 paragraphs except the last one.
1799
1800- You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or
1801 specifically for one file with a |modeline|.
1802
1803- Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this:
1804
1805 bla bla foobar bla
1806 bla foobar bla foobar bla
1807 bla bla foobar bla
1808 bla foobar bla bla foobar
1809
1810- Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments. Useful in source code.
1811
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001812- Set 'textwidth' to the desired width. If it is zero then 79 is used, or the
1813 width of the screen if this is smaller.
1814
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001815And a few warnings:
1816
1817- When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making
1818 changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway. Consider doing >
1819
1820 :set fo-=a
1821
1822- When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and
1823 deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be
1824 joined with the next one.
1825
1826- Changed text is saved for undo. Formatting is also a change. Thus each
1827 format action saves text for undo. This may consume quite a lot of memory.
1828
1829- Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow.
1830
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001831==============================================================================
18327. Sorting text *sorting*
1833
1834Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command. The sorting function can be
Bram Moolenaar327aa022014-03-25 18:24:23 +01001835found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001836
1837 *:sor* *:sort*
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001838:[range]sor[t][!] [b][f][i][l][n][o][r][u][x] [/{pattern}/]
Bram Moolenaare5180522005-12-10 20:19:46 +00001839 Sort lines in [range]. When no range is given all
1840 lines are sorted.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001841
1842 With [!] the order is reversed.
1843
1844 With [i] case is ignored.
1845
Bram Moolenaar3132cdd2020-11-05 20:41:49 +01001846 With [l] sort uses the current collation locale.
1847 Implementation details: strcoll() is used to compare
1848 strings. See |:language| to check or set the collation
1849 locale. Example: >
1850 :language collate en_US.UTF-8
1851 :%sort l
1852< |v:collate| can also used to check the current locale.
1853 Sorting using the locale typically ignores case.
1854 This does not work properly on Mac.
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001855
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001856 Options [n][f][x][o][b] are mutually exclusive.
1857
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001858 With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001859 in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001860 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001861
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001862 With [f] sorting is done on the Float in the line.
1863 The value of Float is determined similar to passing
1864 the text (after or inside a {pattern} match) to
1865 str2float() function. This option is available only
1866 if Vim was compiled with Floating point support.
1867
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001868 With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001869 number in the line (after or inside a {pattern}
1870 match). A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001871 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001872
1873 With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001874 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001875
Bram Moolenaar887c1fe2016-01-02 17:56:35 +01001876 With [b] sorting is done on the first binary number in
1877 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
1878
Bram Moolenaarf7edf402016-01-19 23:36:15 +01001879 With [u] (u stands for unique) only keep the first of
1880 a sequence of identical lines (ignoring case when [i]
1881 is used). Without this flag, a sequence of identical
1882 lines will be kept in their original order.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001883 Note that leading and trailing white space may cause
1884 lines to be different.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001885
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001886 When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag
1887 the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that
1888 you sort on what comes after the match.
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +01001889 'ignorecase' applies to the pattern, but 'smartcase'
1890 is not used.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001891 Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used.
1892 For example, to sort on the second comma-separated
1893 field: >
1894 :sort /[^,]*,/
1895< To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus
1896 ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): >
1897 :sort /.*\%10v/
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001898< To sort on the first number in the line, no matter
1899 what is in front of it: >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001900 :sort /.\{-}\ze\d/
1901< (Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the
1902 end of the match and \d matches a digit.)
1903 With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001904 instead of skipping past it as described above.
1905 For example, to sort on only the first three letters
1906 of each line: >
1907 :sort /\a\a\a/ r
1908
1909< If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a
1910 match for {pattern} are kept in their current order,
1911 but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}.
1912 If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse
1913 order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be
1914 in their original order, right before the sorted
1915 lines.
1916
Bram Moolenaar1256e722007-07-10 15:26:20 +00001917 If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the
1918 last search pattern is used. This allows trying out
1919 a pattern first.
1920
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001921Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001922quite useless.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001923
Bram Moolenaar55e29612020-11-01 13:57:44 +01001924`:sort` does not use the current locale unless the l flag is used.
Bram Moolenaar8bb1c3e2014-07-04 16:43:17 +02001925Vim does do a "stable" sort.
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001926
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001927The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the
1928process you may end up with duplicated lines. This also depends on the system
1929library function used.
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +00001930
Bram Moolenaar91f84f62018-07-29 15:07:52 +02001931 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: