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Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001*vi_diff.txt* For Vim version 8.1. Last change: 2019 May 07
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Differences between Vim and Vi *vi-differences*
8
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02009This file lists the differences between Vim and Vi/Ex and gives an overview of
10what is in Vim that is not in Vi.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000011
12Vim is mostly POSIX 1003.2-1 compliant. The only command known to be missing
13is ":open". There are probably a lot of small differences (either because Vim
14is missing something or because Posix is beside the mark).
15
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +0000161. Simulated command |simulated-command|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000172. Missing options |missing-options|
183. Limits |limits|
194. The most interesting additions |vim-additions|
205. Other vim features |other-features|
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200216. Supported Vi features |vi-features|
227. Command-line arguments |cmdline-arguments|
238. POSIX compliance |posix-compliance|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000024
25==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +0000261. Simulated command *simulated-command*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000027
Bram Moolenaardd2a3cd2007-05-05 17:10:09 +000028This command is in Vi, but Vim only simulates it:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000029
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +000030 *:o* *:op* *:open*
31:[range]o[pen] Works like |:visual|: end Ex mode.
32 {Vi: start editing in open mode}
33
34:[range]o[pen] /pattern/ As above, additionally move the cursor to the
35 column where "pattern" matches in the cursor
36 line.
37
38Vim does not support open mode, since it's not really useful. For those
39situations where ":open" would start open mode Vim will leave Ex mode, which
40allows executing the same commands, but updates the whole screen instead of
41only one line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000042
43==============================================================================
442. Missing options *missing-options*
45
46These options are in the Unix Vi, but not in Vim. If you try to set one of
47them you won't get an error message, but the value is not used and cannot be
48printed.
49
50autoprint (ap) boolean (default on) *'autoprint'* *'ap'*
51beautify (bf) boolean (default off) *'beautify'* *'bf'*
52flash (fl) boolean (default ??) *'flash'* *'fl'*
53graphic (gr) boolean (default off) *'graphic'* *'gr'*
54hardtabs (ht) number (default 8) *'hardtabs'* *'ht'*
55 number of spaces that a <Tab> moves on the display
56mesg boolean (default on) *'mesg'*
57novice boolean (default off) *'novice'*
58open boolean (default on) *'open'*
59optimize (op) boolean (default off) *'optimize'* *'op'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060redraw boolean (default off) *'redraw'*
61slowopen (slow) boolean (default off) *'slowopen'* *'slow'*
62sourceany boolean (default off) *'sourceany'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000063w300 number (default 23) *'w300'*
64w1200 number (default 23) *'w1200'*
65w9600 number (default 23) *'w9600'*
66
67==============================================================================
683. Limits *limits*
69
70Vim has only a few limits for the files that can be edited {Vi: can not handle
71<Nul> characters and characters above 128, has limited line length, many other
72limits}.
73 *E340*
74Maximum line length On machines with 16-bit ints (Amiga and MS-DOS real
75 mode): 32767, otherwise 2147483647 characters.
76 Longer lines are split.
77Maximum number of lines 2147483647 lines.
78Maximum file size 2147483647 bytes (2 Gbyte) when a long integer is
79 32 bits. Much more for 64 bit longs. Also limited
80 by available disk space for the |swap-file|.
81 *E75*
82Length of a file path Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
83 characters (or as much as the system supports).
84Length of an expanded string option
85 Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
86 characters
87Maximum display width Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 255
88 characters
89Maximum lhs of a mapping 50 characters.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +000090Number of different highlighting types: over 30000
Bram Moolenaar5302d9e2011-09-14 17:55:08 +020091Range of a Number variable: -2147483648 to 2147483647 (might be more on 64
92 bit systems)
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +020093Maximum length of a line in a tags file: 512 bytes.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000094
95Information for undo and text in registers is kept in memory, thus when making
96(big) changes the amount of (virtual) memory available limits the number of
97undo levels and the text that can be kept in registers. Other things are also
98kept in memory: Command-line history, error messages for Quickfix mode, etc.
99
100Memory usage limits
101-------------------
102
103The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximum memory used for one
104buffer (in kilobytes). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximum memory used for
105all buffers (in kilobytes). The defaults depend on the system used. For the
106Amiga and MS-DOS, 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000107available.
108These are not hard limits, but tell Vim when to move text into a swap file.
109If you don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a
110very large value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you
111don't want a swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n"
112argument when starting Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000113
114==============================================================================
1154. The most interesting additions *vim-additions*
116
117Vi compatibility. |'compatible'|
118 Although Vim is 99% Vi compatible, some things in Vi can be
119 considered to be a bug, or at least need improvement. But still, Vim
120 starts in a mode which behaves like the "real" Vi as much as possible.
121 To make Vim behave a little bit better, try resetting the 'compatible'
122 option:
123 :set nocompatible
124 Or start Vim with the "-N" argument:
125 vim -N
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000126 Vim starts with 'nocompatible' automatically if you have a .vimrc
127 file. See |startup|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000128 The 'cpoptions' option can be used to set Vi compatibility on/off for
129 a number of specific items.
130
131Support for different systems.
132 Vim can be used on:
133 - All Unix systems (it works on all systems it was tested on, although
134 the GUI and Perl interface may not work everywhere).
135 - Amiga (500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000, ...).
136 - MS-DOS in real-mode (no additional drivers required).
137 - In protected mode on Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS (DPMI driver required).
138 - Windows 95 and Windows NT, with support for long file names.
139 - OS/2 (needs emx.dll)
140 - Atari MiNT
141 - VMS
142 - BeOS
143 - Macintosh
144 - Risc OS
145 - IBM OS/390
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000146 Note that on some systems features need to be disabled to reduce
147 resource usage, esp. on MS-DOS. For some outdated systems you need to
148 use an older Vim version.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000149
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200150Multi level persistent undo. |undo|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000151 'u' goes backward in time, 'CTRL-R' goes forward again. Set option
152 'undolevels' to the number of changes to be remembered (default 1000).
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +0200153 Set 'undolevels' to 0 for a Vi-compatible one level undo. Set it to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000154 -1 for no undo at all.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000155 When all changes in a buffer have been undone, the buffer is not
156 considered changed anymore. You can exit it with :q, without <!>.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000157 When undoing a few changes and then making a new change Vim will
158 create a branch in the undo tree. This means you can go back to any
Bram Moolenaar143c38c2007-05-10 16:41:10 +0000159 state of the text, there is no risk of a change causing text to be
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000160 lost forever. |undo-tree|
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200161 The undo information is stored in a file when the 'undofile' option is
162 set. This means you can exit Vim, start Vim on a previously edited
163 file and undo changes that were made before exiting Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000164
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000165Graphical User Interface (GUI). |gui|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000166 Included support for GUI: menu's, mouse, scrollbars, etc. You can
167 define your own menus. Better support for CTRL/SHIFT/ALT keys in
168 combination with special keys and mouse. Supported for various
169 platforms, such as X11 (with Motif and Athena interfaces), GTK, Win32
170 (Windows 95 and later), BeOS, Amiga and Macintosh.
171
172Multiple windows and buffers. |windows.txt|
173 Vim can split the screen into several windows, each editing a
174 different buffer or the same buffer at a different location. Buffers
175 can still be loaded (and changed) but not displayed in a window. This
176 is called a hidden buffer. Many commands and options have been added
177 for this facility.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000178 Vim can also use multiple tab pages, each with one or more windows. A
179 line with tab labels can be used to quickly switch between these pages.
180 |tab-page|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000181
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200182Terminal window. |:terminal|
183 Vim can create a window in which a terminal emulator runs. This can
184 be used to execute an arbitrary command, a shell or a debugger.
185
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000186Syntax highlighting. |:syntax|
187 Vim can highlight keywords, patterns and other things. This is
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000188 defined by a number of |:syntax| commands, and can be made to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000189 highlight most languages and file types. A number of files are
190 included for highlighting the most common languages, like C, C++,
191 Java, Pascal, Makefiles, shell scripts, etc. The colors used for
192 highlighting can be defined for ordinary terminals, color terminals
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000193 and the GUI with the |:highlight| command. A convenient way to do
194 this is using a |:colorscheme| command.
195 The highlighted text can be exported as HTML. |convert-to-HTML|
196 Other items that can be highlighted are matches with the search string
197 |'hlsearch'|, matching parens |matchparen| and the cursor line and
198 column |'cursorline'| |'cursorcolumn'|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000199
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200200Text properties |textprop.txt|
201 Vim supports highlighting text by a plugin. Property types can be
202 specificed with |prop_type_add()| and properties can be placed with
203 |prop_add()|.
204
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000205Spell checking. |spell|
206 When the 'spell' option is set Vim will highlight spelling mistakes.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200207 About 50 languages are currently supported, selected with the
Bram Moolenaarf2330482008-06-24 20:19:36 +0000208 'spelllang' option. In source code only comments and strings are
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000209 checked for spelling.
210
211Folding. |folding|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000212 A range of lines can be shown as one "folded" line. This allows
213 overviewing a file and moving blocks of text around quickly.
214 Folds can be created manually, from the syntax of the file, by indent,
215 etc.
216
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000217Diff mode. |diff|
218 Vim can show two versions of a file with the differences highlighted.
219 Parts of the text that are equal are folded away. Commands can be
220 used to move text from one version to the other.
221
222Plugins. |add-plugin|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000223 The functionality can be extended by dropping a plugin file in the
224 right directory. That's an easy way to start using Vim scripts
225 written by others. Plugins can be for all kind of files, or
226 specifically for a filetype.
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200227 Packages make this even easier. |packages|
228
229Asynchronous communication and timers. |channel| |job| |timer|
230 Vim can exchange messages with other processes in the background.
231 This makes it possible to have servers do work and send back the
232 results to Vim. |channel|
233 Vim can start a job, communicate with it and stop it. |job|
234 Timers can fire once or repeatedly and invoke a function to do any
235 work. |timer|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000236
237Repeat a series of commands. |q|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000238 "q{c}" starts recording typed characters into named register {c}.
239 A subsequent "q" stops recording. The register can then be executed
240 with the "@{c}" command. This is very useful to repeat a complex
241 action.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000242
243Flexible insert mode. |ins-special-special|
244 The arrow keys can be used in insert mode to move around in the file.
245 This breaks the insert in two parts as far as undo and redo is
246 concerned.
247
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000248 CTRL-O can be used to execute a single Normal mode command. This is
249 almost the same as hitting <Esc>, typing the command and doing |a|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000250
251Visual mode. |Visual-mode|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000252 Visual mode can be used to first highlight a piece of text and then
253 give a command to do something with it. This is an (easy to use)
254 alternative to first giving the operator and then moving to the end of
255 the text to be operated upon.
256 |v| and |V| are used to start Visual mode. |v| works on characters
257 and |V| on lines. Move the cursor to extend the Visual area. It is
258 shown highlighted on the screen. By typing "o" the other end of the
259 Visual area can be moved. The Visual area can be affected by an
260 operator:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000261 d delete
262 c change
263 y yank
264 > or < insert or delete indent
265 ! filter through external program
266 = filter through indent
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000267 : start |:| command for the Visual lines.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000268 gq format text to 'textwidth' columns
269 J join lines
270 ~ swap case
271 u make lowercase
272 U make uppercase
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200273 {Vi has no Visual mode, the name "visual" is used for Normal mode, to
274 distinguish it from Ex mode}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000275
276Block operators. |visual-block|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000277 With Visual mode a rectangular block of text can be selected. Start
278 Visual mode with CTRL-V. The block can be deleted ("d"), yanked ("y")
279 or its case can be changed ("~", "u" and "U"). A deleted or yanked
280 block can be put into the text with the "p" and "P" commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000281
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000282Help system. |:help|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000283 Help is displayed in a window. The usual commands can be used to
284 move around, search for a string, etc. Tags can be used to jump
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000285 around in the help files, just like hypertext links. The |:help|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000286 command takes an argument to quickly jump to the info on a subject.
287 <F1> is the quick access to the help system. The name of the help
288 index file can be set with the 'helpfile' option.
289
290Command-line editing and history. |cmdline-editing|
291 You can insert or delete at any place in the command-line using the
292 cursor keys. The right/left cursor keys can be used to move
293 forward/backward one character. The shifted right/left cursor keys
294 can be used to move forward/backward one word. CTRL-B/CTRL-E can be
295 used to go to the begin/end of the command-line.
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200296 {Vi: can only alter the last character in the line}
297 {Vi: when hitting <Esc> the command-line is executed. This is
298 unexpected for most people; therefore it was changed in Vim. But when
299 the <Esc> is part of a mapping, the command-line is executed. If you
300 want the Vi behaviour also when typing <Esc>, use ":cmap ^V<Esc>
301 ^V^M"}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000302 |cmdline-history|
303 The command-lines are remembered. The up/down cursor keys can be used
304 to recall previous command-lines. The 'history' option can be set to
305 the number of lines that will be remembered. There is a separate
306 history for commands and for search patterns.
307
308Command-line completion. |cmdline-completion|
309 While entering a command-line (on the bottom line of the screen)
310 <Tab> can be typed to complete
311 what example ~
312 - command :e<Tab>
313 - tag :ta scr<Tab>
314 - option :set sc<Tab>
315 - option value :set hf=<Tab>
316 - file name :e ve<Tab>
317 - etc.
318
319 If there are multiple matches, CTRL-N (next) and CTRL-P (previous)
320 will walk through the matches. <Tab> works like CTRL-N, but wraps
321 around to the first match.
322
323 The 'wildchar' option can be set to the character for command-line
324 completion, <Tab> is the default. CTRL-D can be typed after an
325 (incomplete) wildcard; all matches will be listed. CTRL-A will insert
326 all matches. CTRL-L will insert the longest common part of the
327 matches.
328
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000329Insert-mode completion. |ins-completion|
330 In Insert mode the CTRL-N and CTRL-P keys can be used to complete a
331 word that appears elsewhere. |i_CTRL-N|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000332 With CTRL-X another mode is entered, through which completion can be
333 done for:
334 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F| file names
335 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K| words from 'dictionary' files
336 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T| words from 'thesaurus' files
337 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I| words from included files
338 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L| whole lines
339 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| words from the tags file
340 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D| definitions or macros
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000341 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O| Omni completion: clever completion
342 specifically for a file type
343 etc.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000344
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000345Long line support. |'wrap'| |'linebreak'|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000346 If the 'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap and only part
347 of them will be shown. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not
348 shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The minimum number of
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000349 columns to scroll can be set with the 'sidescroll' option. The |zh|
350 and |zl| commands can be used to scroll sideways.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000351 Alternatively, long lines are broken in between words when the
352 'linebreak' option is set. This allows editing a single-line
353 paragraph conveniently (e.g. when the text is later read into a DTP
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000354 program). Move the cursor up/down with the |gk| and |gj| commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000355
356Text formatting. |formatting|
357 The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically limit the line
358 length. This supplements the 'wrapmargin' option of Vi, which was not
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000359 very useful. The |gq| operator can be used to format a piece of text
360 (for example, |gqap| formats the current paragraph). Commands for
361 text alignment: |:center|, |:left| and |:right|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000362
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000363Extended search patterns. |pattern|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000364 There are many extra items to match various text items. Examples:
365 A "\n" can be used in a search pattern to match a line break.
366 "x\{2,4}" matches "x" 2 to 4 times.
367 "\s" matches a white space character.
368
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000369Directory, remote and archive browsing. |netrw|
370 Vim can browse the file system. Simply edit a directory. Move around
371 in the list with the usual commands and press <Enter> to go to the
372 directory or file under the cursor.
373 This also works for remote files over ftp, http, ssh, etc.
374 Zip and tar archives can also be browsed. |tar| |zip|
375
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000376Edit-compile-edit speedup. |quickfix|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000377 The |:make| command can be used to run the compilation and jump to the
378 first error. A file with compiler error messages is interpreted. Vim
379 jumps to the first error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000380
381 Each line in the error file is scanned for the name of a file, line
382 number and error message. The 'errorformat' option can be set to a
383 list of scanf-like strings to handle output from many compilers.
384
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000385 The |:cn| command can be used to jump to the next error.
386 |:cl| lists all the error messages. Other commands are available.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000387 The 'makeef' option has the name of the file with error messages.
388 The 'makeprg' option contains the name of the program to be executed
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000389 with the |:make| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000390 The 'shellpipe' option contains the string to be used to put the
391 output of the compiler into the errorfile.
392
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000393Finding matches in files. |:vimgrep|
394 Vim can search for a pattern in multiple files. This uses the
395 advanced Vim regexp pattern, works on all systems and also works to
396 search in compressed files.
397
398Improved indenting for programs. |'cindent'|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000399 When the 'cindent' option is on the indent of each line is
400 automatically adjusted. C syntax is mostly recognized. The indent
401 for various styles can be set with 'cinoptions'. The keys to trigger
402 indenting can be set with 'cinkeys'.
403
404 Comments can be automatically formatted. The 'comments' option can be
405 set to the characters that start and end a comment. This works best
406 for C code, but also works for e-mail (">" at start of the line) and
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000407 other types of text. The |=| operator can be used to re-indent
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000408 lines.
409
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000410 For many other languages an indent plugin is present to support
411 automatic indenting. |30.3|
412
413Searching for words in included files. |include-search|
414 The |[i| command can be used to search for a match of the word under
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000415 the cursor in the current and included files. The 'include' option
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000416 can be set to a pattern that describes a command to include a file
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000417 (the default is for C programs).
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000418 The |[I| command lists all matches, the |[_CTRL-I| command jumps to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000419 a match.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000420 The |[d|, |[D| and |[_CTRL-D| commands do the same, but only for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000421 lines where the pattern given with the 'define' option matches.
422
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000423Automatic commands. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000424 Commands can be automatically executed when reading a file, writing a
425 file, jumping to another buffer, etc., depending on the file name.
426 This is useful to set options and mappings for C programs,
427 documentation, plain text, e-mail, etc. This also makes it possible
428 to edit compressed files.
429
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000430Scripts and Expressions. |expression|
431 Commands have been added to form up a powerful script language.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000432 |:if| Conditional execution, which can be used for example
433 to set options depending on the value of $TERM.
434 |:while| Repeat a number of commands.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000435 |:for| Loop over a list.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000436 |:echo| Print the result of an expression.
437 |:let| Assign a value to an internal variable, option, etc.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000438 Variable types are Number, String, List and Dictionary.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000439 |:execute| Execute a command formed by an expression.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000440 |:try| Catch exceptions.
441 etc., etc. See |eval|.
442 Debugging and profiling are supported. |debug-scripts| |profile|
443 If this is not enough, an interface is provided to |Python|, |Ruby|,
Bram Moolenaar0ba04292010-07-14 23:23:17 +0200444 |Tcl|, |Lua|, |Perl| and |MzScheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000445
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000446Viminfo. |viminfo-file|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000447 The command-line history, marks and registers can be stored in a file
448 that is read on startup. This can be used to repeat a search command
449 or command-line command after exiting and restarting Vim. It is also
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000450 possible to jump right back to where the last edit stopped with |'0|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000451 The 'viminfo' option can be set to select which items to store in the
452 .viminfo file. This is off by default.
453
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000454Printing. |printing|
455 The |:hardcopy| command sends text to the printer. This can include
456 syntax highlighting.
457
458Mouse support. |mouse-using|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000459 The mouse is supported in the GUI version, in an xterm for Unix, for
Bram Moolenaarf2330482008-06-24 20:19:36 +0000460 BSDs with sysmouse, for Linux with gpm, for MS-DOS, and Win32. It
461 can be used to position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a
462 register, etc.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000463
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000464Usage of key names. |<>| |key-notation|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000465 Special keys now all have a name like <Up>, <End>, etc.
466 This name can be used in mappings, to make it easy to edit them.
467
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000468Editing binary files. |edit-binary|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000469 Vim can edit binary files. You can change a few characters in an
470 executable file, without corrupting it. Vim doesn't remove NUL
471 characters (they are represented as <NL> internally).
472 |-b| command-line argument to start editing a binary file
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000473 |'binary'| Option set by |-b|. Prevents adding an <EOL> for the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000474 last line in the file.
475
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000476Multi-language support. |multi-lang|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000477 Files in double-byte or multi-byte encodings can be edited. There is
478 UTF-8 support to be able to edit various languages at the same time,
479 without switching fonts. |UTF-8|
480 Messages and menus are available in different languages.
481
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000482Move cursor beyond lines.
483 When the 'virtualedit' option is set the cursor can move all over the
484 screen, also where there is no text. This is useful to edit tables
485 and figures easily.
486
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000487==============================================================================
4885. Other vim features *other-features*
489
490A random collection of nice extra features.
491
492
493When Vim is started with "-s scriptfile", the characters read from
494"scriptfile" are treated as if you typed them. If end of file is reached
495before the editor exits, further characters are read from the console.
496
497The "-w" option can be used to record all typed characters in a script file.
498This file can then be used to redo the editing, possibly on another file or
499after changing some commands in the script file.
500
501The "-o" option opens a window for each argument. "-o4" opens four windows.
502
503Vi requires several termcap entries to be able to work full-screen. Vim only
504requires the "cm" entry (cursor motion).
505
506
507In command mode:
508
509When the 'showcmd' option is set, the command characters are shown in the last
510line of the screen. They are removed when the command is finished.
511
512If the 'ruler' option is set, the current cursor position is shown in the
513last line of the screen.
514
515"U" still works after having moved off the last changed line and after "u".
516
517Characters with the 8th bit set are displayed. The characters between '~' and
5180xa0 are displayed as "~?", "~@", "~A", etc., unless they are included in the
519'isprint' option.
520
521"][" goes to the next ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
522"[]" goes to the previous ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
523
524"]f", "[f" and "gf" start editing the file whose name is under the cursor.
525CTRL-W f splits the window and starts editing the file whose name is under
526the cursor.
527
528"*" searches forward for the identifier under the cursor, "#" backward.
529"K" runs the program defined by the 'keywordprg' option, with the identifier
530under the cursor as argument.
531
532"%" can be preceded with a count. The cursor jumps to the line that
533percentage down in the file. The normal "%" function to jump to the matching
534brace skips braces inside quotes.
535
536With the CTRL-] command, the cursor may be in the middle of the identifier.
537
538The used tags are remembered. Commands that can be used with the tag stack
539are CTRL-T, ":pop" and ":tag". ":tags" lists the tag stack.
540
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200541Vi uses 'wrapscan' when searching for a tag. When jumping to a tag Vi starts
542searching in line 2 of another file. It does not find a tag in line 1 of
543another file when 'wrapscan' is not set.
544
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000545The 'tags' option can be set to a list of tag file names. Thus multiple
546tag files can be used. For file names that start with "./", the "./" is
547replaced with the path of the current file. This makes it possible to use a
548tags file in the same directory as the file being edited.
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200549{Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
550{Vi does not have the security prevention for commands in tag files}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000551
552Previously used file names are remembered in the alternate file name list.
553CTRL-^ accepts a count, which is an index in this list.
554":files" command shows the list of alternate file names.
555"#<N>" is replaced with the <N>th alternate file name in the list.
556"#<" is replaced with the current file name without extension.
557
558Search patterns have more features. The <NL> character is seen as part of the
559search pattern and the substitute string of ":s". Vi sees it as the end of
560the command.
561
562Searches can put the cursor on the end of a match and may include a character
563offset.
564
565Count added to "~", ":next", ":Next", "n" and "N".
566
567The command ":next!" with 'autowrite' set does not write the file. In vi the
568file was written, but this is considered to be a bug, because one does not
569expect it and the file is not written with ":rewind!".
570
571In Vi when entering a <CR> in replace mode deletes a character only when 'ai'
572is set (but does not show it until you hit <Esc>). Vim always deletes a
573character (and shows it immediately).
574
575Added :wnext command. Same as ":write" followed by ":next".
576
577The ":w!" command always writes, also when the file is write protected. In Vi
Bram Moolenaar26df0922014-02-23 23:39:13 +0100578you would have to do ":!chmod +w %:S" and ":set noro".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000579
580When 'tildeop' has been set, "~" is an operator (must be followed by a
581movement command).
582
583With the "J" (join) command you can reset the 'joinspaces' option to have only
584one space after a period (Vi inserts two spaces).
585
586"cw" can be used to change white space formed by several characters (Vi is
587confusing: "cw" only changes one space, while "dw" deletes all white space).
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200588{Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first
589blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000590
591"o" and "O" accept a count for repeating the insert (Vi clears a part of
592display).
593
594Flags after Ex commands not supported (no plans to include it).
595
596On non-UNIX systems ":cd" command shows current directory instead of going to
597the home directory (there isn't one). ":pwd" prints the current directory on
598all systems.
599
600After a ":cd" command the file names (in the argument list, opened files)
601still point to the same files. In Vi ":cd" is not allowed in a changed file;
602otherwise the meaning of file names change.
603
604":source!" command reads Vi commands from a file.
605
606":mkexrc" command writes current modified options and mappings to a ".exrc"
607file. ":mkvimrc" writes to a ".vimrc" file.
608
609No check for "tail recursion" with mappings. This allows things like
610":map! foo ^]foo".
611
612When a mapping starts with number, vi loses the count typed before it (e.g.
613when using the mapping ":map g 4G" the command "7g" goes to line 4). This is
614considered a vi bug. Vim concatenates the counts (in the example it becomes
615"74G"), as most people would expect.
616
617The :put! command inserts the contents of a register above the current line.
618
619The "p" and "P" commands of vi cannot be repeated with "." when the putted
620text is less than a line. In Vim they can always be repeated.
621
622":noremap" command can be used to enter a mapping that will not be remapped.
623This is useful to exchange the meaning of two keys. ":cmap", ":cunmap" and
624":cnoremap" can be used for mapping in command-line editing only. ":imap",
625":iunmap" and ":inoremap" can be used for mapping in insert mode only.
626Similar commands exist for abbreviations: ":noreabbrev", ":iabbrev"
627":cabbrev", ":iunabbrev", ":cunabbrev", ":inoreabbrev", ":cnoreabbrev".
628
629In Vi the command ":map foo bar" would remove a previous mapping
630":map bug foo". This is considered a bug, so it is not included in Vim.
631":unmap! foo" does remove ":map! bug foo", because unmapping would be very
632difficult otherwise (this is vi compatible).
633
634The ':' register contains the last command-line.
635The '%' register contains the current file name.
636The '.' register contains the last inserted text.
637
638":dis" command shows the contents of the yank registers.
639
640CTRL-O/CTRL-I can be used to jump to older/newer positions. These are the
641same positions as used with the '' command, but may be in another file. The
642":jumps" command lists the older positions.
643
644If the 'shiftround' option is set, an indent is rounded to a multiple of
645'shiftwidth' with ">" and "<" commands.
646
647The 'scrolljump' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to scroll
648when the cursor gets off the screen. Use this when scrolling is slow.
649
650The 'scrolloff' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to keep
651above and below the cursor. This gives some context to where you are
652editing. When set to a large number the cursor line is always in the middle
653of the window.
654
655Uppercase marks can be used to jump between files. The ":marks" command lists
656all currently set marks. The commands "']" and "`]" jump to the end of the
657previous operator or end of the text inserted with the put command. "'[" and
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200658"`[" do jump to the start. {Vi: no uppercase marks}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000659
660The 'shelltype' option can be set to reflect the type of shell used on the
661Amiga.
662
663The 'highlight' option can be set for the highlight mode to be used for
664several commands.
665
666The CTRL-A (add) and CTRL-X (subtract) commands are new. The count to the
667command (default 1) is added to/subtracted from the number at or after the
668cursor. That number may be decimal, octal (starts with a '0') or hexadecimal
669(starts with '0x'). Very useful in macros.
670
671With the :set command the prefix "inv" can be used to invert boolean options.
672
673In both Vi and Vim you can create a line break with the ":substitute" command
674by using a CTRL-M. For Vi this means you cannot insert a real CTRL-M in the
675text. With Vim you can put a real CTRL-M in the text by preceding it with a
676CTRL-V.
677
678
679In Insert mode:
680
681If the 'revins' option is set, insert happens backwards. This is for typing
682Hebrew. When inserting normal characters the cursor will not be shifted and
683the text moves rightwards. Backspace, CTRL-W and CTRL-U will also work in
684the opposite direction. CTRL-B toggles the 'revins' option. In replace mode
685'revins' has no effect. Only when enabled at compile time.
686
687The backspace key can be used just like CTRL-D to remove auto-indents.
688
689You can backspace, CTRL-U and CTRL-W over line breaks if the 'backspace' (bs)
690option includes "eol". You can backspace over the start of insert if the
691'backspace' option includes "start".
692
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200693When the 'paste' option is set, a few options are reset and mapping in insert
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000694mode and abbreviation are disabled. This allows for pasting text in windowing
695systems without unexpected results. When the 'paste' option is reset, the old
696option values are restored.
697
698CTRL-T/CTRL-D always insert/delete an indent in the current line, no matter
699what column the cursor is in.
700
701CTRL-@ (insert previously inserted text) works always (Vi: only when typed as
702first character).
703
704CTRL-A works like CTRL-@ but does not leave insert mode.
705
706CTRL-R {0-9a-z..} can be used to insert the contents of a register.
707
708When the 'smartindent' option is set, C programs will be better auto-indented.
709With 'cindent' even more.
710
711CTRL-Y and CTRL-E can be used to copy a character from above/below the
712current cursor position.
713
714After CTRL-V you can enter a three digit decimal number. This byte value is
715inserted in the text as a single character. Useful for international
716characters that are not on your keyboard.
717
718When the 'expandtab' (et) option is set, a <Tab> is expanded to the
719appropriate number of spaces.
720
721The window always reflects the contents of the buffer (Vi does not do this
722when changing text and in some other cases).
723
724If Vim is compiled with DIGRAPHS defined, digraphs are supported. A set of
725normal digraphs is included. They are shown with the ":digraph" command.
726More can be added with ":digraph {char1}{char2} {number}". A digraph is
727entered with "CTRL-K {char1} {char2}" or "{char1} BS {char2}" (only when
728'digraph' option is set).
729
730When repeating an insert, e.g. "10atest <Esc>" vi would only handle wrapmargin
731for the first insert. Vim does it for all.
732
733A count to the "i" or "a" command is used for all the text. Vi uses the count
734only for one line. "3iabc<NL>def<Esc>" would insert "abcabcabc<NL>def" in Vi
735but "abc<NL>defabc<NL>defabc<NL>def" in Vim.
736
737
738In Command-line mode:
739
Bram Moolenaar4499d2e2005-04-15 20:41:38 +0000740<Esc> terminates the command-line without executing it. In vi the command
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000741line would be executed, which is not what most people expect (hitting <Esc>
742should always get you back to command mode). To avoid problems with some
743obscure macros, an <Esc> in a macro will execute the command. If you want a
744typed <Esc> to execute the command like vi does you can fix this with
745 ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V<CR>"
746
747General:
748
749The 'ttimeout' option is like 'timeout', but only works for cursor and
750function keys, not for ordinary mapped characters. The 'timeoutlen' option
751gives the number of milliseconds that is waited for. If the 'esckeys' option
752is not set, cursor and function keys that start with <Esc> are not recognized
753in insert mode.
754
755There is an option for each terminal string. Can be used when termcap is not
756supported or to change individual strings.
757
758The 'fileformat' option can be set to select the <EOL>: "dos" <CR><NL>, "unix"
759<NL> or "mac" <CR>.
760When the 'fileformats' option is not empty, Vim tries to detect the type of
761<EOL> automatically. The 'fileformat' option is set accordingly.
762
763On systems that have no job control (older Unix systems and non-Unix systems)
764the CTRL-Z, ":stop" or ":suspend" command starts a new shell.
765
766If Vim is started on the Amiga without an interactive window for output, a
767window is opened (and :sh still works). You can give a device to use for
768editing with the |-d| argument, e.g. "-d con:20/20/600/150".
769
770The 'columns' and 'lines' options are used to set or get the width and height
771of the display.
772
773Option settings are read from the first and last few lines of the file.
774Option 'modelines' determines how many lines are tried (default is 5). Note
775that this is different from the Vi versions that can execute any Ex command
776in a modeline (a major security problem). |trojan-horse|
777
778If the 'insertmode' option is set (e.g. in .exrc), Vim starts in insert mode.
779And it comes back there, when pressing <Esc>.
780
781Undo information is kept in memory. Available memory limits the number and
782size of change that can be undone. This may be a problem with MS-DOS, is
783hardly a problem on the Amiga and almost never with Unix and Win32.
784
785If the 'backup' or 'writebackup' option is set: Before a file is overwritten,
786a backup file (.bak) is made. If the "backup" option is set it is left
787behind.
788
789Vim creates a file ending in ".swp" to store parts of the file that have been
790changed or that do not fit in memory. This file can be used to recover from
791an aborted editing session with "vim -r file". Using the swap file can be
792switched off by setting the 'updatecount' option to 0 or starting Vim with
793the "-n" option. Use the 'directory' option for placing the .swp file
794somewhere else.
795
796Vim is able to work correctly on filesystems with 8.3 file names, also when
797using messydos or crossdos filesystems on the Amiga, or any 8.3 mounted
798filesystem under Unix. See |'shortname'|.
799
800Error messages are shown at least one second (Vi overwrites error messages).
801
802If Vim gives the |hit-enter| prompt, you can hit any key. Characters other
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200803than <CR>, <NL> and <Space> are interpreted as the (start of) a command.
804{Vi: only ":" commands are interpreted}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000805
806The contents of the numbered and unnamed registers is remembered when
807changing files.
808
809The "No lines in buffer" message is a normal message instead of an error
810message, since that may cause a mapping to be aborted.
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200811{Vi: error messages may be overwritten with other messages before you have a
812chance to read them}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000813
814The AUX: device of the Amiga is supported.
815
816==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02008176. Supported Vi features *vi-features*
818
819Vim supports nearly all Vi commands and mostly in the same way. That is when
820the 'compatible' option is set and 'cpoptions' contains all flags. What the
821effect is of resetting 'compatible' and removing flags from 'cpoptions' can be
822found at the help for the specific command.
823
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200824The help files used to mark features that are in Vim but not in Vi with {not
825in Vi}. However, since these remarks cluttered the help files we now do it
826the other way around: Below is listed what Vi already supported. Anything
827else has been added by Vim.
828
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200829
830The following Ex commands are supported by Vi: ~
831
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200832`:abbreviate` enter abbreviation
833`:append` append text
834`:args` print the argument list
835`:cd` change directory; Vi: no "cd -"
836`:change` replace a line or series of lines
837`:chdir` change directory
838`:copy` copy lines
839`:delete` delete lines
840`:edit` edit a file
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200841`:exit` same as `:xit`
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200842`:file` show or set the current file name; Vi: without the column number
843`:global` execute commands for matching lines
844`:insert` insert text
845`:join` join lines; Vi: not :join!
846`:k` set a mark
847`:list` print lines
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200848`:map` show or enter a mapping
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200849`:mark` set a mark
850`:move` move lines
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200851`:Next` go to previous file in the argument list {Vi: no count}
852`:next` go to next file in the argument list {Vi: no count}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200853`:number` print lines with line number
854`:open` start open mode (not implemented in Vim)
855`:pop` jump to older entry in tag stack (only in some versions)
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200856`:preserve` write all text to swap file {Vi: might also exit}
857`:previous` same as `:Next` {Vi: only in some versions}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200858`:print` print lines
859`:put` insert contents of register in the text
860`:quit` quit Vi
861`:read` read file into the text
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200862`:recover` recover a file from a swap file {Vi: recovers in another way
863 and sends mail if there is something to recover}
864`:rewind` go to the first file in the argument list; no ++opt
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200865`:set` set option; but not `:set inv{option}`, `:set option&`,
866 `:set all&`, `:set option+=value`, `:set option^=value`
867 `:set option-=value` `:set option<`
868`:shell` escape to a shell
869`:source` read Vim or Ex commands from a file
870`:stop` suspend the editor or escape to a shell
871`:substitute` find and replace text; Vi: no '&', 'i', 's', 'r' or 'I' flag,
872 confirm prompt only supports 'y' and 'n', no highlighting
873`:suspend` same as ":stop"
874`:t` same as ":copy"
875`:tag` jump to tag
876`:unabbreviate` remove abbreviation
877`:undo` undo last change {Vi: only one level}
878`:unmap` remove mapping
879`:vglobal` execute commands for not matching lines
880`:version` print version number and other info
881`:visual` same as ":edit", but turns off "Ex" mode
882`:wq` write to a file and quit Vi
883`:write` write to a file
884`:xit` write if buffer changed and quit Vi
885`:yank` yank lines into a register
886`:z` print some lines {not in all versions of Vi}
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200887`:!` filter lines or execute an external command
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200888`:"` comment
889`:#` same as ":number"
890`:*` execute contents of a register
891`:&` repeat last ":substitute"
892`:<` shift lines one 'shiftwidth' left
893`:=` print the cursor line number
894`:>` shift lines one 'shiftwidth' right
895`:@` execute contents of a register; but not `:@`; `:@@` only in
896 some versions
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200897
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200898Common for these commands is that Vi doesn't support the ++opt argument on
899`:edit` and other commands that open a file.
900
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200901
902The following Normal mode commands are supported by Vi: ~
903
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200904|CTRL-B| scroll N screens Backwards
905|CTRL-C| interrupt current (search) command
906|CTRL-D| scroll Down N lines (default: half a screen); Vim scrolls
907 'scroll' screen lines, Vi scrolls file lines; makes a
908 difference when lines wrap
909|CTRL-E| scroll N lines upwards (N lines Extra)
910|CTRL-F| scroll N screens Forward
911|CTRL-G| display current file name and position
912|<BS>| same as "h"
913|CTRL-H| same as "h"
914|<NL>| same as "j"
915|CTRL-J| same as "j"
916|CTRL-L| redraw screen
917|<CR>| cursor to the first CHAR N lines lower
918|CTRL-M| same as <CR>
919|CTRL-N| same as "j"
920|CTRL-P| same as "k"
921|CTRL-R| in some Vi versions: same as CTRL-L
922|CTRL-T| jump to N older Tag in tag list
923|CTRL-U| N lines Upwards (default: half a screen)
924|CTRL-Y| scroll N lines downwards
925|CTRL-Z| suspend program (or start new shell)
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200926|CTRL-]| :ta to ident under cursor {Vi: identifier after the cursor}
927|CTRL-^| edit alternate file {Vi: no count}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200928|<Space>| same as "l"
929|!| filter Nmove text through the {filter} command
930|!!| filter N lines through the {filter} command
931" use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank or put
932 (uppercase to append) ({.%#:} only work with put)
933|$| cursor to the end of Nth next line
934|%| find the next (curly/square) bracket on this line and go to
935 its match, or go to matching comment bracket, or go to
936 matching preprocessor directive (Vi: no count supported)
937|&| repeat last :s
938|'| jump to mark (Vi: only lowercase marks)
939|(| cursor N sentences backward
940|)| cursor N sentences forward
941|+| same as <CR>
942|,| repeat latest f, t, F or T in opposite direction N times
943|-| cursor to the first CHAR N lines higher
944|.| repeat last change with count replaced with N
945|/| search forward for the Nth occurrence of {pattern}
946|0| cursor to the first char of the line
947|:| start entering an Ex command
948|;| repeat latest f, t, F or T N times
949|<| shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards
950|<<| shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards
951|=| filter Nmove lines through "indent"
952|==| filter N lines through "indent"
953|>| shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards
954|>>| shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards
955|?| search backward for the Nth previous occurrence of {pattern}
956|@| execute the contents of register {a-z} N times
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200957 {Vi: only named registers}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200958|@@| repeat the previous @{a-z} N times
959|A| append text after the end of the line N times
960|B| cursor N WORDS backward
961|C| change from the cursor position to the end of the line
962|D| delete the characters under the cursor until the end of the
963 line and N-1 more lines [into register x]; synonym for "d$"
964|E| cursor forward to the end of WORD N
965|F| cursor to the Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
966|G| cursor to line N, default last line
967|H| cursor to line N from top of screen
968|I| insert text before the first CHAR on the line N times
969|J| Join N lines; default is 2
970|L| cursor to line N from bottom of screen
971|M| cursor to middle line of screen
972|N| repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times in opposite direction
973|O| begin a new line above the cursor and insert text, repeat N
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200974 times {Vi: blank [count] screen lines}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200975|P| put the text [from register x] before the cursor N times
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200976 {Vi: no count}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200977|Q| switch to "Ex" mode
978|R| enter replace mode: overtype existing characters, repeat the
979 entered text N-1 times
980|S| delete N lines [into register x] and start insert; synonym for
981 "cc".
982|T| cursor till after Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
983|U| undo all latest changes on one line
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +0200984 {Vi: while not moved off of the last modified line}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200985|W| cursor N WORDS forward
986|X| delete N characters before the cursor [into register x]
987|Y| yank N lines [into register x]; synonym for "yy"
988|ZZ| store current file if modified, and exit
989|[[| cursor N sections backward
990|]]| cursor N sections forward
991|^| cursor to the first CHAR of the line
992|_| cursor to the first CHAR N - 1 lines lower
993|`| cursor to the mark {a-zA-Z0-9}
994|a| append text after the cursor N times
995|b| cursor N words backward
996|c| delete Nmove text [into register x] and start insert
997|cc| delete N lines [into register x] and start insert
998|d| delete Nmove text [into register x]
999|dd| delete N lines [into register x]
1000|e| cursor forward to the end of word N
1001|f| cursor to Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
1002|h| cursor N chars to the left
1003|i| insert text before the cursor N times
1004|j| cursor N lines downward
1005|k| cursor N lines upward
1006|l| cursor N chars to the right
1007|m| set mark {A-Za-z} at cursor position
1008|n| repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times
1009|o| begin a new line below the cursor and insert text
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001010 {Vi: blank [count] screen lines}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001011|p| put the text [from register x] after the cursor N times
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001012 {Vi: no count}
1013|r| replace N chars with {char} {Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces
1014 with a line break, cannot replace something with a <CR>}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001015|s| (substitute) delete N characters [into register x] and start
1016 insert
1017|t| cursor till before Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
1018|u| undo changes {Vi: only one level}
1019|w| cursor N words forward
1020|x| delete N characters under and after the cursor [into register
1021 x]
1022|y| yank Nmove text [into register x]
1023|yy| yank N lines [into register x]
1024|z<CR>| current line to the top
1025|z-| current line to the bottom
1026|z+| cursor on line N
1027|z^| cursor on line N
1028|{| cursor N paragraphs backward
1029| cursor to column N
1030|}| cursor N paragraphs forward
1031|~| switch case of N characters under the cursor; Vim: depends on
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001032 'tildeop' {Vi: no count, no 'tildeop'}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001033|<Del>| same as "x"
1034
1035
1036The following commands are supported in Insert mode by Vi: ~
1037
1038CTRL-@ insert previously inserted text and stop insert
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001039 {Vi: only when typed as first char, only up to 128 chars}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001040CTRL-C quit insert mode, without checking for abbreviation, unless
1041 'insertmode' set.
1042CTRL-D delete one shiftwidth of indent in the current line
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001043 {Vi: CTRL-D works only when used after autoindent}
1044<BS> delete character before the cursor {Vi: does not delete
1045 autoindents, does not cross lines, does not delete past start
1046 position of insert}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001047CTRL-H same as <BS>
1048<Tab> insert a <Tab> character
1049CTRL-I same as <Tab>
1050<NL> same as <CR>
1051CTRL-J same as <CR>
1052<CR> begin new line
1053CTRL-M same as <CR>
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001054CTRL-T insert one shiftwidth of indent in current line {Vi: only when
1055 in indent}
1056CTRL-V {char} insert next non-digit literally {Vi: no decimal byte entry}
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001057CTRL-W delete word before the cursor
1058CTRL-Z when 'insertmode' set: suspend Vim
1059<Esc> end insert mode (unless 'insertmode' set)
1060CTRL-[ same as <Esc>
10610 CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line
1062^ CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line, restore it in the next
1063 line
1064<Del> delete character under the cursor
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001065
1066
1067The following options are supported by Vi: ~
1068
1069'autoindent' 'ai' take indent for new line from previous line
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001070 {Vi does this slightly differently: After the
1071 indent is deleted when typing <Esc> or <CR>, the
1072 cursor position when moving up or down is after
1073 the deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere
1074 in the deleted indent}.
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001075'autowrite' 'aw' automatically write file if changed
1076'directory' 'dir' list of directory names for the swap file
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001077 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to
1078 "/tmp"}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001079'edcompatible' 'ed' toggle flags of ":substitute" command
1080'errorbells' 'eb' ring the bell for error messages
1081'ignorecase' 'ic' ignore case in search patterns
1082'lines' number of lines in the display
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001083'lisp' automatic indenting for Lisp {Vi: Does it a little
1084 bit differently}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001085'list' show <Tab> and <EOL>
1086'magic' changes special characters in search patterns
1087'modeline' 'ml' recognize 'modelines' at start or end of file
1088 {called modelines in some Vi versions}
1089'number' 'nu' print the line number in front of each line
1090'paragraphs' 'para' nroff macros that separate paragraphs
1091'prompt' 'prompt' enable prompt in Ex mode
1092'readonly' 'ro' disallow writing the buffer {Vim sets 'readonly'
1093 when editing a file with `:view`}
1094'remap' allow mappings to work recursively
1095'report' threshold for reporting nr. of lines changed
1096'scroll' 'scr' lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D
1097'sections' 'sect' nroff macros that separate sections
1098'shell' 'sh' name of shell to use for external commands
1099'shiftwidth' 'sw' number of spaces to use for (auto)indent step
1100'showmatch' 'sm' briefly jump to matching bracket if insert one
1101'showmode' 'smd' message on status line to show current mode
1102'tabstop' 'ts' number of spaces that <Tab> in file uses
1103'taglength' 'tl' number of significant characters for a tag
1104'tags' 'tag' list of file names used by the tag command
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001105 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001106'tagstack' 'tgst' push tags onto the tag stack {not in all versions
1107 of Vi}
1108'term' name of the terminal
1109'terse' shorten some messages
1110'timeout' 'to' time out on mappings and key codes
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001111'timeoutlen' 'tm' time for 'timeout' {only in some Vi versions}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001112'ttytype' 'tty' alias for 'term'
1113'verbose' 'vbs' give informative messages {only in some Vi
1114 versions as a boolean option}
1115'warn' warn for shell command when buffer was changed
1116'window' 'wi' nr of lines to scroll for CTRL-F and CTRL-B
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001117 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of
1118 displayed lines}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001119'wrapmargin' 'wm' chars from the right where wrapping starts
Bram Moolenaara6c27c42019-05-09 19:16:22 +02001120 {Vi: works differently and less usefully}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001121'wrapscan' 'ws' searches wrap around the end of the file
1122'writeany' 'wa' write to file with no need for "!" override
1123
1124Also see |missing-options|.
1125
1126==============================================================================
11277. Command-line arguments *cmdline-arguments*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001128
1129Different versions of Vi have different command-line arguments. This can be
1130confusing. To help you, this section gives an overview of the differences.
1131
1132Five variants of Vi will be considered here:
1133 Elvis Elvis version 2.1b
1134 Nvi Nvi version 1.79
1135 Posix Posix 1003.2
1136 Vi Vi version 3.7 (for Sun 4.1.x)
1137 Vile Vile version 7.4 (incomplete)
1138 Vim Vim version 5.2
1139
1140Only Vim is able to accept options in between and after the file names.
1141
1142+{command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Same as "-c {command}".
1143
1144- Nvi, Posix, Vi: Run Ex in batch mode.
1145 Vim: Read file from stdin (use -s for batch mode).
1146
1147-- Vim: End of options, only file names are following.
1148
1149--cmd {command} Vim: execute {command} before sourcing vimrc files.
1150
1151--echo-wid Vim: GTK+ echoes the Window ID on stdout
1152
1153--help Vim: show help message and exit.
1154
1155--literal Vim: take file names literally, don't expand wildcards.
1156
1157--nofork Vim: same as |-f|
1158
1159--noplugin[s] Vim: Skip loading plugins.
1160
1161--remote Vim: edit the files in another Vim server
1162
1163--remote-expr {expr} Vim: evaluate {expr} in another Vim server
1164
1165--remote-send {keys} Vim: send {keys} to a Vim server and exit
1166
1167--remote-silent {file} Vim: edit the files in another Vim server if possible
1168
1169--remote-wait Vim: edit the files in another Vim server and wait for it
1170
1171--remote-wait-silent Vim: like --remote-wait, no complaints if not possible
1172
1173--role {role} Vim: GTK+ 2: set role of main window
1174
1175--serverlist Vim: Output a list of Vim servers and exit
1176
1177--servername {name} Vim: Specify Vim server name
1178
1179--socketid {id} Vim: GTK window socket to run Vim in
1180
Bram Moolenaar78e17622007-08-30 10:26:19 +00001181--windowid {id} Vim: Win32 window ID to run Vim in
1182
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001183--version Vim: show version message and exit.
1184
1185-? Vile: print usage summary and exit.
1186
1187-a Elvis: Load all specified file names into a window (use -o for
1188 Vim).
1189
1190-A Vim: Start in Arabic mode (when compiled with Arabic).
1191
1192-b {blksize} Elvis: Use {blksize} blocksize for the session file.
1193-b Vim: set 'binary' mode.
1194
1195-C Vim: Compatible mode.
1196
1197-c {command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vim: run {command} as an Ex command after
1198 loading the edit buffer.
1199 Vim: allow up to 10 "-c" arguments
1200
1201-d {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). {only when compiled
1202 without the |+diff| feature}
1203-d Vim: start with 'diff' set. |vimdiff|
1204
1205-dev {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only).
1206
1207-D Vim: debug mode.
1208
1209-e Elvis, Nvi, Vim: Start in Ex mode, as if the executable is
1210 called "ex".
1211
1212-E Vim: Start in improved Ex mode |gQ|, like "exim".
1213
1214-f Vim: Run GUI in foreground (Amiga: don't open new window).
1215-f {session} Elvis: Use {session} as the session file.
1216
1217-F Vim: Start in Farsi mode (when compiled with Farsi).
1218 Nvi: Fast start, don't read the entire file when editing
1219 starts.
1220
1221-G {gui} Elvis: Use the {gui} as user interface.
1222
1223-g Vim: Start GUI.
1224-g N Vile: start editing at line N
1225
1226-h Vim: Give help message.
1227 Vile: edit the help file
1228
1229-H Vim: start Hebrew mode (when compiled with it).
1230
1231-i Elvis: Start each window in Insert mode.
1232-i {viminfo} Vim: Use {viminfo} for viminfo file.
1233
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001234-L Vim: Same as "-r" {only in some versions of Vi: "List
1235 recoverable edit sessions"}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001236
1237-l Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options.
1238
1239-m Vim: Modifications not allowed to be written, resets 'write'
1240 option.
1241
1242-M Vim: Modifications not allowed, resets 'modifiable' and the
1243 'write' option.
1244
1245-N Vim: No-compatible mode.
1246
1247-n Vim: No swap file used.
1248
1249-nb[args] Vim: open a NetBeans interface connection
1250
1251-O[N] Vim: Like -o, but use vertically split windows.
1252
1253-o[N] Vim: Open [N] windows, or one for each file.
1254
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +00001255-p[N] Vim: Open [N] tab pages, or one for each file.
1256
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001257-P {parent-title} Win32 Vim: open Vim inside a parent application window
1258
1259-q {name} Vim: Use {name} for quickfix error file.
1260-q{name} Vim: Idem.
1261
1262-R Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vile, Vim: Set the 'readonly' option.
1263
1264-r Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Recovery mode.
1265
1266-S Nvi: Set 'secure' option.
1267-S {script} Vim: source script after starting up.
1268
1269-s Nvi, Posix, Vim: Same as "-" (silent mode), when in Ex mode.
1270 Elvis: Sets the 'safer' option.
1271-s {scriptin} Vim: Read from script file {scriptin}; only when not in Ex
1272 mode.
1273-s {pattern} Vile: search for {pattern}
1274
1275-t {tag} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Edit the file containing {tag}.
1276-t{tag} Vim: Idem.
1277
1278-T {term} Vim: Set terminal name to {term}.
1279
1280-u {vimrc} Vim: Read initializations from {vimrc} file.
1281
1282-U {gvimrc} Vim: Read GUI initializations from {gvimrc} file.
1283
1284-v Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Begin in Normal mode (visual mode, in Vi
1285 terms).
1286 Vile: View mode, no changes possible.
1287
1288-V Elvis, Vim: Verbose mode.
1289-V{nr} Vim: Verbose mode with specified level.
1290
1291-w {size} Elvis, Posix, Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set value of 'window' to {size}.
1292-w{size} Nvi, Vi: Same as "-w {size}".
1293-w {name} Vim: Write to script file {name} (must start with non-digit).
1294
1295-W {name} Vim: Append to script file {name}.
1296
1297-x Vi, Vim: Ask for encryption key. See |encryption|.
1298
1299-X Vim: Don't connect to the X server.
1300
1301-y Vim: Start in easy mode, like |evim|.
1302
1303-Z Vim: restricted mode
1304
1305@{cmdfile} Vile: use {cmdfile} as startup file.
1306
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001307==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +020013088. POSIX compliance *posix* *posix-compliance*
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001309
Bram Moolenaardd2a3cd2007-05-05 17:10:09 +00001310In 2005 the POSIX test suite was run to check the compatibility of Vim. Most
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001311of the test was executed properly. There are the few things where Vim
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001312is not POSIX compliant, even when run in Vi compatibility mode.
Bram Moolenaar38a55632016-02-15 22:07:32 +01001313 *$VIM_POSIX*
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001314Set the $VIM_POSIX environment variable to have 'cpoptions' include the POSIX
1315flags when Vim starts up. This makes Vim run as POSIX as it can. That's
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001316a bit different from being Vi compatible.
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001317
1318This is where Vim does not behave as POSIX specifies and why:
1319
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001320 *posix-screen-size*
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001321 The $COLUMNS and $LINES environment variables are ignored by Vim if
1322 the size can be obtained from the terminal in a more reliable way.
1323 Add the '|' flag to 'cpoptions' to have $COLUMNS and $LINES overrule
1324 sizes obtained in another way.
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001325
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001326 The "{" and "}" commands don't stop at a "{" in the original Vi, but
1327 POSIX specifies it does. Add the '{' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want
1328 it the POSIX way.
1329
1330 The "D", "o" and "O" commands accept a count. Also when repeated.
1331 Add the '#' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want to ignore the count.
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001332
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001333 The ":cd" command fails if the current buffer is modified when the '.'
1334 flag is present in 'cpoptions'.
1335
1336 There is no ATTENTION message, the "A" flag is added to 'shortmess'.
1337
1338These are remarks about running the POSIX test suite:
1339- vi test 33 sometimes fails for unknown reasons
1340- vi test 250 fails; behavior will be changed in a new revision
1341 http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg01710.html
Bram Moolenaar483c5d82010-10-20 18:45:33 +02001342 (link no longer works, perhaps it's now:
1343 https://www.opengroup.org/sophocles/show_mail.tpl?CALLER=show_archive.tpl&source=L&listname=austin-review-l&id=1711)
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001344- vi test 310 fails; exit code non-zero when any error occurred?
1345- ex test 24 fails because test is wrong. Changed between SUSv2 and SUSv3.
1346- ex tests 47, 48, 49, 72, 73 fail because .exrc file isn't read in silent
1347 mode and $EXINIT isn't used.
1348- ex tests 76, 78 fail because echo is used instead of printf. (fixed)
1349 Also: problem with \s not changed to space.
1350- ex test 355 fails because 'window' isn't used for "30z".
1351- ex test 368 fails because shell command isn't echoed in silent mode.
1352- ex test 394 fails because "=" command output isn't visible in silent mode.
1353- ex test 411 fails because test file is wrong, contains stray ':'.
1354- ex test 475 and 476 fail because reprint output isn't visible in silent mode.
1355- ex test 480 and 481 fail because the tags file has spaces instead of a tab.
1356- ex test 502 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1357- ex test 509 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. and exit code is
1358 1 instead of 2.
1359- ex test 534 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1360
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001361
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001362 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: