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Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2004 Oct 06
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Expression evaluation *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
8
9Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
10
11Note: Expression evaluation can be disabled at compile time. If this has been
12done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and the
13last chapter below.
14
151. Variables |variables|
162. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
173. Internal variable |internal-variables|
184. Builtin Functions |functions|
195. Defining functions |user-functions|
206. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
217. Commands |expression-commands|
228. Exception handling |exception-handling|
239. Examples |eval-examples|
2410. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
2511. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
26
27{Vi does not have any of these commands}
28
29==============================================================================
301. Variables *variables*
31
32There are two types of variables:
33
34Number a 32 bit signed number.
35String a NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters.
36
37These are converted automatically, depending on how they are used.
38
39Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
40the Number. Examples: >
41 Number 123 --> String "123"
42 Number 0 --> String "0"
43 Number -1 --> String "-1"
44
45Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
46to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
47the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
48 String "456" --> Number 456
49 String "6bar" --> Number 6
50 String "foo" --> Number 0
51 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
52 String "0100" --> Number 64
53 String "-8" --> Number -8
54 String "+8" --> Number 0
55
56To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
57 :echo "0100" + 0
58
59For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
60
61Note that in the command >
62 :if "foo"
63"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
64use strlen(): >
65 :if strlen("foo")
66
67If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
68function.
69
70When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
71start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
72stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
73
74When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
75start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
76stored in the session file |session-file|.
77
78variable name can be stored where ~
79my_var_6 not
80My_Var_6 session file
81MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
82
83
84It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
85|curly-braces-names|.
86
87==============================================================================
882. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
89
90Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
91
92|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
93
94|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
95
96|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
97
98|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
99 expr5 != expr5 not equal
100 expr5 > expr5 greater than
101 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
102 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
103 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
104 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
105 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
106
107 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
108 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
109 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
110 matching case
111
112|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition
113 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
114 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
115
116|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
117 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
118 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
119
120|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
121 - expr7 unary minus
122 + expr7 unary plus
123 expr8
124
125|expr8| expr9[expr1] index in String
126
127|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000128 "string" string constant, backslash is special
129 'string' string constant
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000130 &option option value
131 (expr1) nested expression
132 variable internal variable
133 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
134 $VAR environment variable
135 @r contents of register 'r'
136 function(expr1, ...) function call
137 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
138
139
140".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
141Example: >
142 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
143
144All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
145
146
147expr1 *expr1* *E109*
148-----
149
150expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
151
152The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
153non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
154otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
155Example: >
156 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
157
158Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
159other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
160Example: >
161 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
162
163To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
164 :echo lnum == 1
165 :\ ? "top"
166 :\ : lnum == 1000
167 :\ ? "last"
168 :\ : lnum
169
170
171expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
172---------------
173
174 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
175The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
176are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
177
178 input output ~
179n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
180zero zero zero zero
181zero non-zero non-zero zero
182non-zero zero non-zero zero
183non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
184
185The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
186
187 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
188
189Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
190
191 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
192
193Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
194arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
195
196 let a = 1
197 echo a || b
198
199This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
200so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
201
202 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
203
204This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
205only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
206
207
208expr4 *expr4*
209-----
210
211expr5 {cmp} expr5
212
213Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
214if it evaluates to true.
215
216 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
217 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
218 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
219 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
220 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
221 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
222 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
223equal == ==# ==?
224not equal != !=# !=?
225greater than > ># >?
226greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
227smaller than < <# <?
228smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
229regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
230regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
231
232Examples:
233"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
234"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
235"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
236
237When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
238and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
239because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
240
241When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
242results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
243necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
244
245When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
246'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
247
248When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
249'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
250
251The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
252argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
253This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
254matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
255portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
256single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
257Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
258(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
259can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
260 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
261 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
262
263
264expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
265---------------
266expr6 + expr6 .. number addition *expr-+*
267expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction *expr--*
268expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation *expr-.*
269
270expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
271expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
272expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
273
274For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
275
276Note the difference between "+" and ".":
277 "123" + "456" = 579
278 "123" . "456" = "123456"
279
280When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
281When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
282
283
284expr7 *expr7*
285-----
286! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
287- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
288+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
289
290For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
291For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
292For '+' the number is unchanged.
293
294A String will be converted to a Number first.
295
296These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
297 !-1 == 0
298 !!8 == 1
299 --9 == 9
300
301
302expr8 *expr8*
303-----
304expr9[expr1] index in String *expr-[]* *E111*
305
306This results in a String that contains the expr1'th single byte from expr9.
307expr9 is used as a String, expr1 as a Number. Note that this doesn't work for
308multi-byte encodings.
309
310Note that index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C.
311Careful: text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character
312under the cursor: >
313 :let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
314
315If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
316String.
317
318 *expr9*
319number
320------
321number number constant *expr-number*
322
323Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
324
325
326string *expr-string* *E114*
327------
328"string" string constant *expr-quote*
329
330Note that double quotes are used.
331
332A string constant accepts these special characters:
333\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
334\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
335\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
336\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
337\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
338\X.. same as \x..
339\X. same as \x.
340\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
341 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
342\U.... same as \u....
343\b backspace <BS>
344\e escape <Esc>
345\f formfeed <FF>
346\n newline <NL>
347\r return <CR>
348\t tab <Tab>
349\\ backslash
350\" double quote
351\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
352
353Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
354
355
356literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
357---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000358'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000359
360Note that single quotes are used.
361
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000362This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
363meaning. A literal-string cannot contain a single quote. Use a normal,
364double-quoted string for that.
365
366Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
367to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
368 if a =~ "\\s*"
369 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000370
371
372option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
373------
374&option option value, local value if possible
375&g:option global option value
376&l:option local option value
377
378Examples: >
379 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
380 if &insertmode
381
382Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
383and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
384anyway.
385
386
387register *expr-register*
388--------
389@r contents of register 'r'
390
391The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
392Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
393register use @" or @@. The '=' register can not be used here. See
394|registers| for an explanation of the available registers.
395
396
397nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
398-------
399(expr1) nested expression
400
401
402environment variable *expr-env*
403--------------------
404$VAR environment variable
405
406The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
407result is an empty string.
408 *expr-env-expand*
409Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
410expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
411are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
412the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
413fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
414does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
415 :echo $version
416 :echo expand("$version")
417The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
418variable (if your shell supports it).
419
420
421internal variable *expr-variable*
422-----------------
423variable internal variable
424See below |internal-variables|.
425
426
427function call *expr-function* *E116* *E117* *E118* *E119* *E120*
428-------------
429function(expr1, ...) function call
430See below |functions|.
431
432
433==============================================================================
4343. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
435 *E461*
436An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
437cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
438|curly-braces-names|.
439
440An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
441An internal variable is destroyed with the ":unlet" command |:unlet|.
442Using a name that isn't an internal variable, or an internal variable that has
443been destroyed, results in an error.
444
445There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
446specified by what is prepended:
447
448 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
449|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
450|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
451|global-variable| g: Global.
452|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
453|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
454|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
455|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
456
457 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
458A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
459Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
460This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
461|:bdelete|.
462
463One local buffer variable is predefined:
464 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
465b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
466 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
467 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
468 the buffer has changed. Example: >
469 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
470 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
471 : call My_Update()
472 :endif
473<
474 *window-variable* *w:var*
475A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
476is deleted when the window is closed.
477
478 *global-variable* *g:var*
479Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
480access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
481place if you like.
482
483 *local-variable* *l:var*
484Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
485But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
486
487 *script-variable* *s:var*
488In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
489accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
490
491They can be used in:
492- commands executed while the script is sourced
493- functions defined in the script
494- autocommands defined in the script
495- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
496 defined in the script (recursively)
497- user defined commands defined in the script
498Thus not in:
499- other scripts sourced from this one
500- mappings
501- etc.
502
503script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
504Take this example:
505
506 let s:counter = 0
507 function MyCounter()
508 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
509 echo s:counter
510 endfunction
511 command Tick call MyCounter()
512
513You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
514that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
515"Tick" was defined is used.
516
517Another example that does the same: >
518
519 let s:counter = 0
520 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
521
522When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000523script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000524defined.
525
526The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
527function that is defined in a script. Example: >
528
529 let s:counter = 0
530 function StartCounting(incr)
531 if a:incr
532 function MyCounter()
533 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
534 endfunction
535 else
536 function MyCounter()
537 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
538 endfunction
539 endif
540 endfunction
541
542This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
543when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
544called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
545
546When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
547They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
548maintain a counter: >
549
550 if !exists("s:counter")
551 let s:counter = 1
552 echo "script executed for the first time"
553 else
554 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
555 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
556 endif
557
558Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
559variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
560
561
562Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
563
564 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
565v:charconvert_from
566 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
567 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
568
569 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
570v:charconvert_to
571 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
572 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
573
574 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
575v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
576 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
577 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
578 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
579 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
580 possible to append this variable directly after the
581 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
582 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
583 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
584 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
585 in 'printexpr'.
586
587 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
588v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
589 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
590 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
591 can be used.
592
593 *v:count* *count-variable*
594v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
595 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
596 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
597< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
598 get when typing ':' after a count.
599 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
600
601 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
602v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
603 used.
604
605 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
606v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
607 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
608 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
609 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
610 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
611 command.
612 See |multi-lang|.
613
614 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
615v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
616 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
617 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
618 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
619 Example: >
620 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
621<
622 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
623v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
624 Example: >
625 :let v:errmsg = ""
626 :silent! next
627 :if v:errmsg != ""
628 : ... handle error
629< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
630
631 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
632v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
633 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
634 Example: >
635 :try
636 : throw "oops"
637 :catch /.*/
638 : echo "caught" v:exception
639 :endtry
640< Output: "caught oops".
641
642 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
643v:fname_in The name of the input file. Only valid while evaluating:
644 option used for ~
645 'charconvert' file to be converted
646 'diffexpr' original file
647 'patchexpr' original file
648 'printexpr' file to be printed
649
650 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
651v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
652 evaluating:
653 option used for ~
654 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
655 'diffexpr' output of diff
656 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
657 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
658 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
659 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
660 file and different from v:fname_in.
661
662 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
663v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
664 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
665
666 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
667v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
668 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
669
670 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
671v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
672 fold.
673 Read-only. |fold-foldtext|
674
675 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
676v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
677 Read-only. |fold-foldtext|
678
679 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
680v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
681 Read-only. |fold-foldtext|
682
683 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
684v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
685 Read-only. |fold-foldtext|
686
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +0000687 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
688v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
689 events. Values:
690 i Insert mode
691 r Replace mode
692 v Virtual Replace mode
693
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000694 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
695v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
696 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
697 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
698 The value is system dependent.
699 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
700 command.
701 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
702 in a different language than what is used for character
703 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
704
705 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
706v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
707 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
708 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
709 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
710 command. See |multi-lang|.
711
712 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
713v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' and 'indentexpr' expressions.
714 Only valid while one of these expressions is being evaluated.
715 Read-only. |fold-expr| 'indentexpr'
716
717 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
718v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
719 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
720 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
721 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
722< Read-only.
723
724 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
725v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
726 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
727 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
728 Read-only.
729
730 *v:register* *register-variable*
731v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
732 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
733
734 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
735v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
736 Read-only.
737
738 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
739v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
740 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
741 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
742 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
743 executed. Read-only.
744 Example: >
745 :!mv foo bar
746 :if v:shell_error
747 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
748 :endif
749< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
750
751 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
752v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
753
754 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
755v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
756 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
757 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
758 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
759 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
760 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
761 terminal.
762 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
763 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
764 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
765 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
766 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
767
768 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
769v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
770 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
771 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
772 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
773
774 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
775v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
776 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
777 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
778 Example: >
779 :try
780 : throw "oops"
781 :catch /.*/
782 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
783 :endtry
784< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
785
786 *v:version* *version-variable*
787v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
788 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
789 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
790 compatibility.
791 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
792 if has("patch123")
793< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
794 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
795 completely different.
796
797 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
798v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
799
800==============================================================================
8014. Builtin Functions *functions*
802
803See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
804
805(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation)
806
807USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
808
809append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
810argc() Number number of files in the argument list
811argidx() Number current index in the argument list
812argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
813browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
814 String put up a file requester
815bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
816buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
817bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
818bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
819bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
820bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
821byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +0000822byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000823char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
824cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
825col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
826confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
827 Number number of choice picked by user
828cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
829 Number checks existence of cscope connection
830cursor( {lnum}, {col}) Number position cursor at {lnum}, {col}
831delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
832did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
833escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
834eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
835executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
836exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
837expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
838filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +0000839findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
840 String Find fine {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000841filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
842fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
843foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
844foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
845foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
846foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
847foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
848getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
849getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
850getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
851getcmdline() String return the current command-line
852getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
853getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +0000854getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
855getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000856getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +0000857getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000858getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} from current buffer
859getreg( [{regname}]) String contents of register
860getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
861getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
862getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
863getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in window {nr}
864glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
865globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
866has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
867hasmapto( {what} [, {mode}]) Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
868histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
869histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
870histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
871histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
872hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
873hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
874hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
875iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
876indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
877input( {prompt} [, {text}]) String get input from the user
878inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
879inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
880inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
881inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
882isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
883libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
884libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
885line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
886line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
887lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
888localtime() Number current time
889maparg( {name}[, {mode}]) String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
890mapcheck( {name}[, {mode}]) String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +0000891match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000892 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +0000893matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000894 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +0000895matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
896 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000897mode() String current editing mode
898nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
899nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
900prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
901remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
902 String send expression
903remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
904remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
905 Number check for reply string
906remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
907remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
908 String send key sequence
909rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +0000910repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000911resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
912search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
913searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
914 Number search for other end of start/end pair
915server2client( {clientid}, {string})
916 Number send reply string
917serverlist() String get a list of available servers
918setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
919setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
920setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
921setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
922setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
923simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
924strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
925stridx( {haystack}, {needle}) Number first index of {needle} in {haystack}
926strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
927strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
928 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
929strridx( {haystack}, {needle}) Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
930strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
931submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
932substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
933 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
934synID( {line}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {line} and {col}
935synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
936 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
937synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +0000938system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000939tempname() String name for a temporary file
940tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
941toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000942tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
943 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000944type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
945virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
946visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
947winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
948wincol() Number window column of the cursor
949winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
950winline() Number window line of the cursor
951winnr() Number number of current window
952winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
953winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
954
955append({lnum}, {string}) *append()*
956 Append the text {string} after line {lnum} in the current
957 buffer. {lnum} can be zero, to insert a line before the first
958 one. Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range) or 0 for
959 success.
960
961 *argc()*
962argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
963 current window. See |arglist|.
964
965 *argidx()*
966argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
967 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
968
969 *argv()*
970argv({nr}) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
971 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
972 Example: >
973 :let i = 0
974 :while i < argc()
975 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
976 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
977 : let i = i + 1
978 :endwhile
979<
980 *browse()*
981browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
982 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
983 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
984 The input fields are:
985 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
986 {title} title for the requester
987 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
988 {default} default file name
989 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
990 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
991
992bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
993 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
994 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000995 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000996 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000997 exactly. The name can be:
998 - Relative to the current directory.
999 - A full path.
1000 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1001 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001002 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1003 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1004 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1005 long name to be able to find them.
1006 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1007 file name.
1008 *buffer_exists()*
1009 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1010
1011buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1012 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1013 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001014 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001015
1016bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1017 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1018 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001019 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001020
1021bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1022 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1023 ":ls" command.
1024 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1025 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1026 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1027 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1028 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1029 match an empty string is returned.
1030 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1031 alternate buffer.
1032 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1033 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1034 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1035 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1036 buffers are searched for.
1037 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1038 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1039 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1040< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1041 string is returned. >
1042 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1043 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1044 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1045 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1046< *buffer_name()*
1047 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1048
1049 *bufnr()*
1050bufnr({expr}) The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
1051 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
1052 above. If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
1053 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1054 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1055< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1056 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1057 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1058 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1059 *buffer_number()*
1060 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1061 *last_buffer_nr()*
1062 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1063
1064bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1065 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1066 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1067 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1068 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1069
1070 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1071
1072< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1073 |:wincmd|.
1074
1075
1076byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1077 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1078 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1079 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1080 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1081 one.
1082 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1083 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1084 feature}
1085
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001086byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1087 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1088 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1089 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1090 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1091 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1092 Example : >
1093 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1094< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1095 same: >
1096 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1097 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1098< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1099 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1100 is returned.
1101
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001102char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1103 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1104 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1105 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1106< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
1107 char2nr("á") returns 225
1108 char2nr("á"[0]) returns 195
1109
1110cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1111 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1112 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1113 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1114 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1115 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1116 feature, -1 is returned.
1117
1118 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001119col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001120 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1121 . the cursor position
1122 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1123 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1124 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1125 returned)
1126 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1127 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1128 Examples: >
1129 col(".") column of cursor
1130 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1131 col("'t") column of mark t
1132 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1133< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1134 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1135 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
1136 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
1137 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
1138 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
1139 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
1140 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
1141<
1142 *confirm()*
1143confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1144 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
1145 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
1146 choice this is 1.
1147 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
1148 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
1149 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
1150 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
1151 used (and translated).
1152 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
1153 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
1154 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
1155 by '\n', e.g. >
1156 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
1157< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
1158 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
1159 not need to be the first letter: >
1160 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
1161< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
1162 the default shortcut key.
1163 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
1164 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
1165 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
1166 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
1167 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
1168 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
1169 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
1170 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
1171 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
1172 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
1173 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
1174
1175 An example: >
1176 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
1177 :if choice == 0
1178 : echo "make up your mind!"
1179 :elseif choice == 3
1180 : echo "tasteful"
1181 :else
1182 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
1183 :endif
1184< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
1185 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
1186 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
1187 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
1188 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
1189 the horizontal layout is always used.
1190
1191 *cscope_connection()*
1192cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1193 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
1194 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
1195 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
1196 if there are no cscope connections;
1197 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
1198
1199 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
1200 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
1201
1202 {num} Description of existence check
1203 ----- ------------------------------
1204 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
1205 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
1206 {dbpath}.
1207 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
1208 {dbpath}.
1209 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
1210 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1211 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
1212 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1213
1214 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
1215
1216 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
1217
1218 # pid database name prepend path
1219 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
1220<
1221 Invocation Return Val ~
1222 ---------- ---------- >
1223 cscope_connection() 1
1224 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
1225 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
1226 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
1227 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
1228 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
1229 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
1230 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
1231<
1232cursor({lnum}, {col}) *cursor()*
1233 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
1234 Does not change the jumplist.
1235 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
1236 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
1237 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
1238 If {col} is greater than the number of characters in the line,
1239 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
1240 line.
1241 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
1242
1243 *delete()*
1244delete({fname}) Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
1245 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
1246 when the deletion failed.
1247
1248 *did_filetype()*
1249did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
1250 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
1251 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
1252 that detect the file type. |FileType|
1253 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
1254 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
1255 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
1256 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
1257 file.
1258
1259escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
1260 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
1261 backslash. Example: >
1262 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
1263< results in: >
1264 c:\\program\ files\\vim
1265<
1266eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
1267 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
1268 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
1269 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
1270 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
1271
1272executable({expr}) *executable()*
1273 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
1274 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00001275 arguments.
1276 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
1277 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
1278 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
1279 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
1280 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
1281 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
1282 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
1283 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
1284 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
1285 extension.
1286 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
1287 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001288 The result is a Number:
1289 1 exists
1290 0 does not exist
1291 -1 not implemented on this system
1292
1293 *exists()*
1294exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
1295 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
1296 which contains one of these:
1297 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
1298 not if it really works)
1299 +option-name Vim option that works.
1300 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
1301 done by comparing with an empty
1302 string)
1303 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
1304 or user defined function (see
1305 |user-functions|).
1306 varname internal variable (see
1307 |internal-variables|). Does not work
1308 for |curly-braces-names|.
1309 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
1310 command or command modifier |:command|.
1311 Returns:
1312 1 for match with start of a command
1313 2 full match with a command
1314 3 matches several user commands
1315 To check for a supported command
1316 always check the return value to be 2.
1317 #event autocommand defined for this event
1318 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
1319 pattern (the pattern is taken
1320 literally and compared to the
1321 autocommand patterns character by
1322 character)
1323 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
1324
1325 Examples: >
1326 exists("&shortname")
1327 exists("$HOSTNAME")
1328 exists("*strftime")
1329 exists("*s:MyFunc")
1330 exists("bufcount")
1331 exists(":Make")
1332 exists("#CursorHold");
1333 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
1334< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
1335 name.
1336 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
1337 variable itself! For example: >
1338 exists(bufcount)
1339< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
1340 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
1341 exists.
1342
1343expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
1344 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
1345 The result is a String.
1346
1347 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
1348 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
1349 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
1350
1351 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
1352 for a non-existing file is not included.
1353
1354 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
1355 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
1356 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
1357
1358 % current file name
1359 # alternate file name
1360 #n alternate file name n
1361 <cfile> file name under the cursor
1362 <afile> autocmd file name
1363 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
1364 <amatch> autocmd matched name
1365 <sfile> sourced script file name
1366 <cword> word under the cursor
1367 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
1368 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
1369 message |server2client()|
1370 Modifiers:
1371 :p expand to full path
1372 :h head (last path component removed)
1373 :t tail (last path component only)
1374 :r root (one extension removed)
1375 :e extension only
1376
1377 Example: >
1378 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
1379< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
1380 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
1381 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
1382< Use this: >
1383 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
1384< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
1385 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
1386 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
1387 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
1388 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
1389<
1390 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
1391 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
1392 to modify normal file names.
1393
1394 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
1395 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
1396 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
1397 '/' added.
1398
1399 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
1400 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
1401 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
1402 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
1403 non-existing files are included.
1404
1405 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
1406 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
1407 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
1408 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
1409 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
1410 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
1411 "$FOOBAR".
1412
1413 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
1414 getting the raw output of an external command.
1415
1416filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
1417 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
1418 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
1419 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
1420 expression, which is used as a String.
1421 *file_readable()*
1422 Obsolete name: file_readable().
1423
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001424finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
1425 Find directory {name} in {path}.
1426 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
1427 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
1428 {name} in {path}.
1429 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
1430 When the found directory is below the current directory a
1431 relative path is returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
1432 Example: >
1433 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
1434< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
1435 the file "tags.vim".
1436 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
1437
1438findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
1439 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
1440
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001441filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
1442 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
1443 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
1444 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
1445 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
1446
1447fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
1448 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
1449 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
1450 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
1451 Example: >
1452 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
1453< results in: >
1454 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
1455< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
1456 |expand()| first then.
1457
1458foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
1459 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
1460 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
1461 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
1462
1463foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
1464 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
1465 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
1466 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
1467
1468foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
1469 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
1470 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
1471 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
1472 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
1473 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
1474 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
1475 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
1476 previous line is usually available.
1477
1478 *foldtext()*
1479foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
1480 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
1481 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
1482 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
1483 The returned string looks like this: >
1484 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
1485< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
1486 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
1487 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
1488 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
1489 options is removed.
1490 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
1491
1492 *foreground()*
1493foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
1494 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
1495 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
1496 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
1497 |remote_foreground()| instead.
1498 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
1499 Win32 console version}
1500
1501getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
1502 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
1503 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
1504 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
1505 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
1506 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
1507 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
1508 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
1509 not consumed. If a normal character is
1510 available, it is returned, otherwise a
1511 non-zero value is returned.
1512 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
1513 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
1514 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
1515 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
1516 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
1517 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
1518 user that a character has to be typed.
1519 There is no mapping for the character.
1520 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
1521 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
1522 sequence. Examples: >
1523 getchar() == "\<Del>"
1524 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
1525< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
1526 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
1527 :function FindChar()
1528 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
1529 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
1530 : normal l
1531 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
1532 : break
1533 : endif
1534 : endwhile
1535 :endfunction
1536
1537getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
1538 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
1539 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
1540 These values are added together:
1541 2 shift
1542 4 control
1543 8 alt (meta)
1544 16 mouse double click
1545 32 mouse triple click
1546 64 mouse quadruple click
1547 128 Macintosh only: command
1548 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
1549 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
1550 with no modifier.
1551
1552getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
1553 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
1554 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
1555 must be used.
1556 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
1557 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
1558 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
1559 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
1560 returned, there is no error message.
1561 Examples: >
1562 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
1563 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
1564<
1565getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
1566 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
1567 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
1568 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
1569 Example: >
1570 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
1571< Also see |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
1572
1573getcmdpos({pos}) *getcmdpos()*
1574 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
1575 byte count. The first column is 1.
1576 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
1577 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
1578 Also see |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
1579
1580 *getcwd()*
1581getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
1582 working directory.
1583
1584getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
1585 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
1586 given file {fname}.
1587 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
1588 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
1589
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001590getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
1591 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
1592 permissions of the given file {fname}.
1593 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
1594 empty string is returned.
1595 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
1596 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
1597 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
1598 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
1599 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
1600 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
1601< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
1602 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
1603
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001604getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
1605 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
1606 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
1607 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
1608 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
1609 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
1610
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001611getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
1612 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
1613 file of the given file {fname}.
1614 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
1615 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
1616 results:
1617 Normal file "file"
1618 Directory "dir"
1619 Symbolic link "link"
1620 Block device "bdev"
1621 Character device "cdev"
1622 Socket "socket"
1623 FIFO "fifo"
1624 All other "other"
1625 Example: >
1626 getftype("/home")
1627< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
1628 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
1629 "file" are returned.
1630
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001631 *getline()*
1632getline({lnum}) The result is a String, which is line {lnum} from the current
1633 buffer. Example: >
1634 getline(1)
1635< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
1636 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
1637 To get the line under the cursor: >
1638 getline(".")
1639< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
1640 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
1641
1642getreg([{regname}]) *getreg()*
1643 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
1644 {regname}. Example: >
1645 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
1646< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
1647 register. (For use in maps).
1648 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
1649
1650getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
1651 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
1652 The value will be one of:
1653 "v" for |characterwise| text
1654 "V" for |linewise| text
1655 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
1656 0 for an empty or unknown register
1657 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
1658 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
1659
1660 *getwinposx()*
1661getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
1662 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
1663 -1 if the information is not available.
1664
1665 *getwinposy()*
1666getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
1667 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
1668 information is not available.
1669
1670getwinvar({nr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
1671 The result is the value of option or local window variable
1672 {varname} in window {nr}.
1673 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
1674 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
1675 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
1676 Examples: >
1677 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
1678 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
1679<
1680 *glob()*
1681glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
1682 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
1683 characters.
1684 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
1685 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
1686
1687 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
1688 any external command. Example: >
1689 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
1690 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
1691< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
1692 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
1693
1694 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
1695 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
1696
1697globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
1698 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
1699 the results. Example: >
1700 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
1701< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
1702 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
1703 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
1704 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
1705 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
1706 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
1707 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
1708 error message.
1709 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
1710 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
1711
1712 *has()*
1713has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
1714 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
1715 string. See |feature-list| below.
1716 Also see |exists()|.
1717
1718hasmapto({what} [, {mode}]) *hasmapto()*
1719 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
1720 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
1721 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
1722 {mode}.
1723 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
1724 buffer are checked for a match.
1725 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
1726 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
1727 n Normal mode
1728 v Visual mode
1729 o Operator-pending mode
1730 i Insert mode
1731 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
1732 c Command-line mode
1733 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
1734
1735 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
1736 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
1737 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
1738 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
1739 :endif
1740< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
1741 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
1742
1743histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
1744 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
1745 one of: *hist-names*
1746 "cmd" or ":" command line history
1747 "search" or "/" search pattern history
1748 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
1749 "input" or "@" input line history
1750 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
1751 shifted to become the newest entry.
1752 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
1753 otherwise 0 is returned.
1754
1755 Example: >
1756 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
1757 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
1758< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
1759
1760histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
1761 Clear {history}, ie. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
1762 for the possible values of {history}.
1763
1764 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
1765 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
1766 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
1767 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
1768 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
1769 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
1770 if it exists.
1771
1772 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
1773 otherwise 0 is returned.
1774
1775 Examples:
1776 Clear expression register history: >
1777 :call histdel("expr")
1778<
1779 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
1780 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
1781<
1782 The following three are equivalent: >
1783 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
1784 :call histdel("search", -1)
1785 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
1786<
1787 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
1788 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
1789 :call histdel("search", -1)
1790 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
1791
1792histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
1793 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
1794 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
1795 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
1796 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
1797 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
1798
1799 Examples:
1800 Redo the second last search from history. >
1801 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
1802
1803< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
1804 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
1805 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
1806<
1807histnr({history}) *histnr()*
1808 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
1809 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
1810 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
1811
1812 Example: >
1813 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
1814<
1815hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
1816 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
1817 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
1818 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
1819 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
1820 item.
1821 *highlight_exists()*
1822 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
1823
1824 *hlID()*
1825hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
1826 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
1827 zero is returned.
1828 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
1829 group. For example, to get the background color of the
1830 "Comment" group: >
1831 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
1832< *highlightID()*
1833 Obsolete name: highlightID().
1834
1835hostname() *hostname()*
1836 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
1837 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
1838 256 characters long are truncated.
1839
1840iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
1841 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
1842 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
1843 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
1844 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
1845 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
1846 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
1847 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
1848 can be done.
1849 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
1850 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
1851 UTF-8 and use: >
1852 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
1853< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
1854 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
1855 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
1856 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
1857
1858 *indent()*
1859indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
1860 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
1861 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
1862 |getline()|.
1863 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
1864
1865input({prompt} [, {text}]) *input()*
1866 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
1867 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
1868 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
1869 prompt to start a new line. The highlighting set with
1870 |:echohl| is used for the prompt. The input is entered just
1871 like a command-line, with the same editing commands and
1872 mappings. There is a separate history for lines typed for
1873 input().
1874 If the optional {text} is present, this is used for the
1875 default reply, as if the user typed this.
1876 NOTE: This must not be used in a startup file, for the
1877 versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
1878 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
1879 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
1880 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
1881 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
1882 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
1883 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
1884 |:execute| or |:normal|.
1885
1886 Example: >
1887 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
1888 : echo "Cheers!"
1889 :endif
1890< Example with default text: >
1891 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
1892< Example with a mapping: >
1893 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
1894 :function GetFoo()
1895 : call inputsave()
1896 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
1897 : call inputrestore()
1898 :endfunction
1899
1900inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
1901 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
1902 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
1903 Example: >
1904 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
1905 :if n != ""
1906 : let &sw = n
1907 :endif
1908< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
1909 omitted an empty string is returned.
1910 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
1911 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
1912
1913inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
1914 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
1915 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
1916 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
1917 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
1918
1919inputsave() *inputsave()*
1920 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
1921 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
1922 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
1923 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
1924 many inputrestore() calls.
1925 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
1926
1927inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
1928 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
1929 two exceptions:
1930 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
1931 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
1932 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
1933 |history| stack.
1934 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
1935 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
1936
1937isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
1938 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
1939 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
1940 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
1941 is any expression, which is used as a String.
1942
1943 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
1944libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
1945 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
1946 with single argument {argument}.
1947 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
1948 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
1949 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
1950 limited.
1951 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
1952 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
1953 to Vim.
1954 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
1955 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
1956 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
1957 null-terminated string.
1958 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
1959
1960 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
1961 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
1962 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
1963 very probably crash.
1964
1965 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
1966 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
1967 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
1968 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
1969 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
1970 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
1971 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
1972 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
1973 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
1974 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
1975
1976 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
1977 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
1978 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
1979 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
1980 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
1981 the DLL is not in the usual places.
1982 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
1983 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
1984 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
1985 feature is present}
1986 Examples: >
1987 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
1988 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
1989<
1990 *libcallnr()*
1991libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
1992 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
1993 int instead of a string.
1994 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
1995 feature is present}
1996 Example (not very useful...): >
1997 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
1998 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
1999<
2000 *line()*
2001line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
2002 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
2003 . the cursor position
2004 $ the last line in the current buffer
2005 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2006 returned)
2007 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2008 Examples: >
2009 line(".") line number of the cursor
2010 line("'t") line number of mark t
2011 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
2012< *last-position-jump*
2013 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
2014 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
2015 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002016
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002017line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
2018 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
2019 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
2020 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
2021 line returns 1.
2022 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
2023 below the last line: >
2024 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
2025< This is the file size plus one.
2026 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
2027 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
2028 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
2029
2030lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
2031 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
2032 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
2033 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
2034 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
2035 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
2036 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
2037
2038localtime() *localtime()*
2039 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
2040 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
2041
2042maparg({name}[, {mode}]) *maparg()*
2043 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
2044 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
2045 These characters can be used for {mode}:
2046 "n" Normal
2047 "v" Visual
2048 "o" Operator-pending
2049 "i" Insert
2050 "c" Cmd-line
2051 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
2052 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
2053 When {mode} is omitted, the modes from "" are used.
2054 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
2055 command. The returned String has special characters
2056 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
2057 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
2058 then the global mappings.
2059
2060mapcheck({name}[, {mode}]) *mapcheck()*
2061 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
2062 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
2063 {name}.
2064 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
2065 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
2066
2067 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
2068 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
2069 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
2070 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
2071 mapcheck("b") no no no
2072
2073 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
2074 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
2075 mapping for {name} exactly.
2076 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
2077 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
2078 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
2079 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
2080 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
2081 then the global mappings.
2082 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
2083 without being ambiguous. Example: >
2084 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
2085 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
2086 :endif
2087< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
2088 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
2089
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002090match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002091 The result is a Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002092 {expr} where {pat} matches.
2093 A match at the first character returns zero.
2094 If there is no match -1 is returned.
2095 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002096 :echo match("testing", "ing")
2097< results in "4".
2098 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002099 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
2100 is found the search for the next one starts on character
2101 further. Thus this example results in 1: >
2102 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
2103< If {start} is given, the search starts from index {start}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002104 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
2105 first character. Example: >
2106 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
2107< result is again "4". >
2108 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
2109< result is again "4". >
2110 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
2111< result is "3".
2112 If {start} < 0, it will be set to 0.
2113 If {start} > strlen({expr}) -1 is returned.
2114 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
2115 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
2116 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
2117 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
2118
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002119matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002120 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
2121 the match. Example: >
2122 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
2123< results in "7".
2124 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
2125 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
2126< results in "7". >
2127 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
2128< result is "-1".
2129
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002130matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002131 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
2132 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
2133< results in "ing".
2134 When there is no match "" is returned.
2135 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
2136 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
2137< results in "ing". >
2138 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
2139< result is "".
2140
2141 *mode()*
2142mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
2143 n Normal
2144 v Visual by character
2145 V Visual by line
2146 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
2147 s Select by character
2148 S Select by line
2149 CTRL-S Select blockwise
2150 i Insert
2151 R Replace
2152 c Command-line
2153 r Hit-enter prompt
2154 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
2155 places it always returns "c" or "n".
2156
2157nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
2158 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
2159 that is not blank. Example: >
2160 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
2161< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
2162 below it, zero is returned.
2163 See also |prevnonblank()|.
2164
2165nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
2166 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
2167 value {expr}. Examples: >
2168 nr2char(64) returns "@"
2169 nr2char(32) returns " "
2170< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
2171 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
2172< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
2173 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
2174 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
2175 string, thus isn't very useful.
2176
2177prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
2178 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
2179 that is not blank. Example: >
2180 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
2181< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
2182 above it, zero is returned.
2183 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
2184
2185 *remote_expr()* *E449*
2186remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
2187 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
2188 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
2189 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
2190 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
2191 remote_read() is stored there.
2192 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
2193 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2194 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2195 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
2196 and the result will be the empty string.
2197 Examples: >
2198 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
2199 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
2200<
2201
2202remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
2203 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
2204 This works like: >
2205 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
2206< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
2207 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
2208 to bring itself to the foreground.
2209 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2210 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2211 Win32 console version}
2212
2213
2214remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
2215 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
2216 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
2217 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
2218 name of a variable.
2219 Returns zero if none are available.
2220 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
2221 See also |clientserver|.
2222 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2223 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2224 Examples: >
2225 :let repl = ""
2226 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
2227
2228remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
2229 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
2230 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
2231 See also |clientserver|.
2232 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2233 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2234 Example: >
2235 :echo remote_read(id)
2236<
2237 *remote_send()* *E241*
2238remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00002239 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
2240 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
2241 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002242 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
2243 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
2244 remote_read() is stored there.
2245 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
2246 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2247 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2248 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
2249 up the display.
2250 Examples: >
2251 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
2252 \ remote_read(serverid)
2253
2254 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
2255 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
2256 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
2257 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
2258
2259
2260rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
2261 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
2262 should also work to move files across file systems. The
2263 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
2264 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
2265 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2266
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00002267repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
2268 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
2269 result. Example: >
2270 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
2271< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
2272
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002273resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
2274 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
2275 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
2276 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
2277 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
2278 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
2279 stopped after 100 iterations.
2280 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
2281 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
2282 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
2283 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
2284 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
2285
2286search({pattern} [, {flags}]) *search()*
2287 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
2288 cursor position.
2289 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
2290 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002291 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002292 'w' wrap around the end of the file
2293 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
2294 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
2295
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002296 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
2297 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
2298 flag is used).
2299 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
2300 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002301
2302 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
2303 :let n = 1
2304 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
2305 : exe "argument " . n
2306 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
2307 : " first search to find match at start of file
2308 : normal G$
2309 : let flags = "w"
2310 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
2311 : s/foo/bar/g
2312 : let flags = "W"
2313 : endwhile
2314 : update " write the file if modified
2315 : let n = n + 1
2316 :endwhile
2317<
2318 *searchpair()*
2319searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
2320 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
2321 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
2322 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
2323 The search starts at the cursor. If a match is found, the
2324 cursor is positioned at it and the line number is returned.
2325 If no match is found 0 or -1 is returned and the cursor
2326 doesn't move. No error message is given.
2327
2328 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
2329 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
2330 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
2331 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
2332 typical use is: >
2333 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
2334< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
2335
2336 {flags} are used like with |search()|. Additionally:
2337 'n' do Not move the cursor
2338 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
2339 outer pair
2340 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
2341 the match; will only be > 1 when 'r' is used.
2342
2343 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
2344 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
2345 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
2346 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
2347 or a string.
2348 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
2349 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
2350 and -1 returned.
2351
2352 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
2353 patterns are used like it's on.
2354
2355 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
2356 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
2357 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
2358 if 1
2359 if 2
2360 endif 2
2361 endif 1
2362< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
2363 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
2364 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
2365 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
2366 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
2367 "endif 2".
2368 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
2369 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
2370 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
2371 the matching start.
2372
2373 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
2374
2375 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
2376 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
2377
2378< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
2379 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
2380 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
2381 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
2382 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
2383 match.
2384 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
2385
2386 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
2387
2388< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
2389 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
2390 highlighting recognized as strings: >
2391
2392 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
2393 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
2394<
2395server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
2396 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
2397 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
2398 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2399 Note:
2400 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
2401 received. Ie. before returning from the received command and
2402 before calling any commands that waits for input.
2403 See also |clientserver|.
2404 Example: >
2405 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
2406<
2407serverlist() *serverlist()*
2408 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
2409 When there are no servers or the information is not available
2410 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
2411 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
2412 Example: >
2413 :echo serverlist()
2414<
2415setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
2416 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
2417 {val}.
2418 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
2419 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
2420 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
2421 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2422 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
2423 Examples: >
2424 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
2425 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
2426< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2427
2428setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
2429 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
2430 {pos}. The first position is 1.
2431 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
2432 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
2433 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. The position is set after the
2434 command line is set to the expression.
2435 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
2436 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
2437 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
2438 line.
2439
2440setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
2441 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}. If this
2442 succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely because
2443 {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
2444 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
2445< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
2446
2447 *setreg()*
2448setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
2449 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
2450 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
2451 then the value is appended.
2452 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
2453 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
2454 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
2455 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
2456 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
2457 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
2458 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
2459 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
2460
2461 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
2462 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
2463 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
2464 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
2465
2466 Examples: >
2467 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
2468 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
2469 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
2470
2471< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
2472 register. >
2473 :let var_a = getreg('a')
2474 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
2475 ....
2476 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
2477
2478< You can also change the type of a register by appending
2479 nothing: >
2480 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
2481
2482setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
2483 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {nr} to
2484 {val}.
2485 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
2486 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
2487 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
2488 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
2489 Examples: >
2490 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
2491 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
2492< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2493
2494simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
2495 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
2496 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
2497 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
2498 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
2499 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
2500 not removed either.
2501 Example: >
2502 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
2503< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
2504 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
2505 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
2506 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
2507 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
2508
2509strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
2510 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
2511 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
2512 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
2513 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
2514 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
2515 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
2516 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
2517 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
2518 Examples: >
2519 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
2520 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
2521 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
2522 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
2523 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
2524 Show mod time of file.c.
2525<
2526stridx({haystack}, {needle}) *stridx()*
2527 The result is a Number, which gives the index in {haystack} of
2528 the first occurrence of the String {needle} in the String
2529 {haystack}. The search is done case-sensitive. For advanced
2530 searches use |match()|.
2531 If the {needle} does not occur in {haystack} it returns -1.
2532 See also |strridx()|. Examples: >
2533 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
2534 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
2535 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
2536<
2537 *strlen()*
2538strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
2539 {expr} in bytes. If you want to count the number of
2540 multi-byte characters use something like this: >
2541
2542 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
2543
2544< Composing characters are not counted.
2545
2546strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
2547 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
2548 byte {start}, with the length {len}.
2549 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
2550 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
2551 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
2552 end of the {src}. >
2553 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
2554 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
2555 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
2556 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
2557< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
2558 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
2559 strpart(getline(line(".")), col(".") - 1, 3)
2560<
2561strridx({haystack}, {needle}) *strridx()*
2562 The result is a Number, which gives the index in {haystack} of
2563 the last occurrence of the String {needle} in the String
2564 {haystack}. The search is done case-sensitive. For advanced
2565 searches use |match()|.
2566 If the {needle} does not occur in {haystack} it returns -1.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00002567 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002568 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
2569 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
2570<
2571strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
2572 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
2573 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
2574 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
2575 echo strtrans(@a)
2576< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
2577 starting a new line.
2578
2579submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
2580 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
2581 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
2582 the whole matched text is returned.
2583 Example: >
2584 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
2585< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
2586 A line break is included as a newline character.
2587
2588substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
2589 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
2590 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
2591 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
2592 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
2593 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
2594 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
2595 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
2596 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
2597 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
2598 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
2599 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
2600 unmodified.
2601 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
2602 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
2603 Example: >
2604 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
2605< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
2606 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
2607< results in "TESTING".
2608
2609synID({line}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
2610 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
2611 {line} and {col} in the current window.
2612 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
2613 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
2614 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {line} is 1 for the first
2615 line.
2616 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
2617 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
2618 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
2619 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
2620 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
2621 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
2622 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
2623
2624 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
2625 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
2626<
2627synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
2628 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
2629 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
2630 about a syntax item.
2631 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
2632 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
2633 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
2634 used (GUI, cterm or term).
2635 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
2636 {what} result
2637 "name" the name of the syntax item
2638 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
2639 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
2640 term: empty string)
2641 "bg" background color (like "fg")
2642 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
2643 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
2644 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
2645 "bold" "1" if bold
2646 "italic" "1" if italic
2647 "reverse" "1" if reverse
2648 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
2649 "underline" "1" if underlined
2650
2651 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
2652 cursor): >
2653 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
2654<
2655synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
2656 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
2657 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
2658 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
2659 ":highlight link" are followed.
2660
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00002661system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
2662 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
2663 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
2664 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
2665 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
2666 yourself.
2667 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
2668 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
2669 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002670 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
2671 The result is a String. Example: >
2672
2673 :let files = system("ls")
2674
2675< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
2676 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
2677 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
2678 The command executed is constructed using several options:
2679 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
2680 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
2681 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
2682 concatenated commands.
2683
2684 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
2685 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
2686 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
2687 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
2688
2689tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
2690 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
2691 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
2692 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
2693 :let tmpfile = tempname()
2694 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
2695< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
2696 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
2697 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
2698 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
2699 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
2700 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
2701
2702tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
2703 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
2704 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
2705 the string).
2706
2707toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
2708 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
2709 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
2710 the string).
2711
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00002712tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
2713 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
2714 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
2715 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
2716 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
2717 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
2718 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
2719
2720 Examples: >
2721 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
2722< returns "Hello THere" >
2723 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
2724< returns "{blob}"
2725
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002726type({expr}) *type()*
2727 The result is a Number:
2728 0 if {expr} has the type Number
2729 1 if {expr} has the type String
2730
2731virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
2732 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
2733 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
2734 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
2735 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
2736 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
2737 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
2738 set to 8, it returns 8.
2739 For the byte position use |col()|.
2740 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
2741 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
2742 The accepted positions are:
2743 . the cursor position
2744 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
2745 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
2746 plus one)
2747 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2748 returned)
2749 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2750 Examples: >
2751 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
2752 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
2753 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
2754< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
2755
2756visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
2757 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
2758 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
2759 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
2760 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
2761 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
2762 Example: >
2763 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
2764< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
2765 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
2766 Visual mode that was used.
2767
2768 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
2769 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
2770 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
2771 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
2772
2773 *winbufnr()*
2774winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
2775 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
2776 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
2777 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
2778 Example: >
2779 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
2780<
2781 *wincol()*
2782wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
2783 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
2784 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
2785
2786winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
2787 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
2788 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
2789 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
2790 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
2791 Examples: >
2792 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
2793<
2794 *winline()*
2795winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
2796 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
2797 the window. The first line is one.
2798
2799 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002800winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
2801 window. The top window has number 1.
2802 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
2803 last window is returnd (the window count).
2804 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
2805 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
2806 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
2807 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
2808 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002809
2810 *winrestcmd()*
2811winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
2812 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
2813 are opened or closed and the current window is unchanged.
2814 Example: >
2815 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
2816 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
2817 :exe cmd
2818
2819winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
2820 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
2821 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
2822 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
2823 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
2824 Examples: >
2825 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
2826 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
2827 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
2828 :endif
2829<
2830
2831 *feature-list*
2832There are three types of features:
28331. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
2834 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
2835 :if has("cindent")
28362. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
2837 Example: >
2838 :if has("gui_running")
2839< *has-patch*
28403. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
2841 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
2842 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
2843 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
2844
2845all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
2846amiga Amiga version of Vim.
2847arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
2848arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
2849autocmd Compiled with autocommands support.
2850balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
2851beos BeOS version of Vim.
2852browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
2853 work.
2854builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
2855byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
2856cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
2857clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
2858clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
2859cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
2860cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
2861cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
2862comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
2863cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
2864cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
2865compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
2866debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
2867dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
2868dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
2869diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
2870digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
2871dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
2872dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
2873dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
2874ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
2875emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
2876eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
2877 true, of course!
2878ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
2879extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
2880 |'hlsearch'|
2881farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
2882file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
2883find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
2884 |+find_in_path|.
2885fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
2886 Windows this is not present).
2887folding Compiled with |folding| support.
2888footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
2889fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
2890gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
2891gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
2892gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002893gui_beos Compiled with BeOS GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002894gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
2895gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00002896gui_kde Compiled with KDE GUI |KVim|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002897gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
2898gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
2899gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
2900gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
2901gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
2902gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
2903hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
2904iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
2905insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
2906 Insert mode.
2907jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
2908keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
2909langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
2910libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
2911linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
2912 support.
2913lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
2914listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
2915 and the argument list |arglist|.
2916localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
2917mac Macintosh version of Vim.
2918macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
2919menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
2920mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
2921modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
2922mouse Compiled with support mouse.
2923mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
2924mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
2925mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
2926mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
2927mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
2928mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
2929multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
2930multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
2931multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00002932mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002933netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
2934ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
2935os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
2936osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
2937path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
2938perl Compiled with Perl interface.
2939postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
2940printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
2941python Compiled with Python interface.
2942qnx QNX version of Vim.
2943quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
2944rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
2945ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
2946scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
2947showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
2948signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
2949smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002950sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002951statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
2952 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
2953sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
2954syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support.
2955syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
2956 current buffer.
2957system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
2958tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
2959 |tag-binary-search|.
2960tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
2961 |tag-old-static|.
2962tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
2963 files |tag-any-white|.
2964tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
2965terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
2966termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
2967textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
2968tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
2969 or terminfo file.
2970title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
2971toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
2972unix Unix version of Vim.
2973user_commands User-defined commands.
2974viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
2975vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
2976vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
2977virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
2978visual Compiled with Visual mode.
2979visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
2980 |blockwise-operators|.
2981vms VMS version of Vim.
2982vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
2983wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
2984wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
2985windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
2986winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
2987win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
2988win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
2989win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
2990win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
2991win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
2992writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
2993xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
2994xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
2995xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
2996xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
2997xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
2998xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
2999 xterm screen.
3000x11 Compiled with X11 support.
3001
3002 *string-match*
3003Matching a pattern in a String
3004
3005A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
3006the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
3007everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
3008like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
3009line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
3010with ".". Example: >
3011 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
3012 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
3013 aa
3014 xx
3015 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
3016 a
3017 x
3018
3019Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
3020"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
3021"\n".
3022
3023==============================================================================
30245. Defining functions *user-functions*
3025
3026New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
3027functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
3028commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
3029
3030The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
3031builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
3032avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
3033the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
3034
3035It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|.
3036
3037 *local-function*
3038A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
3039can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
3040and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
3041function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
3042instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
3043
3044 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
3045:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
3046
3047:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
3048 *E124* *E125*
3049:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort]
3050 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
3051 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
3052 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
3053 *function-argument* *a:var*
3054 An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the
3055 function this can then be used as "a:name" ("a:" for
3056 argument).
3057 Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas.
3058 Finally, an argument "..." can be specified, which
3059 means that more arguments may be following. In the
3060 function they can be used as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0"
3061 is set to the number of extra arguments (which can be
3062 0).
3063 When not using "...", the number of arguments in a
3064 function call must be equal to the number of named
3065 arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
3066 may be larger.
3067 It is also possible to define a function without any
3068 arguments. You must still supply the () then.
3069 The body of the function follows in the next lines,
3070 until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to
3071 define another function inside a function body.
3072 *E127* *E122*
3073 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
3074 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
3075 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
3076 is currently being executed, that is an error.
3077 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
3078 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
3079 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
3080 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
3081 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
3082 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
3083 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
3084 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
3085 abort as soon as an error is detected.
3086 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
3087 will not be changed by the function.
3088
3089 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
3090:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
3091 by its own, without other commands.
3092
3093 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
3094:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
3095
3096 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
3097:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
3098 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
3099 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
3100 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
3101 the number 0 is returned.
3102 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
3103 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
3104
3105 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
3106 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
3107 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
3108 are executed first. This process applies to all
3109 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
3110 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
3111
3112
3113Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
3114will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
3115accessed with "g:".
3116
3117Example: >
3118 :function Table(title, ...)
3119 : echohl Title
3120 : echo a:title
3121 : echohl None
3122 : let idx = 1
3123 : while idx <= a:0
3124 : echo a:{idx} . ' '
3125 : let idx = idx + 1
3126 : endwhile
3127 : return idx
3128 :endfunction
3129
3130This function can then be called with: >
3131 let lines = Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
3132 let lines = Table("Empty Table")
3133
3134To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
3135 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
3136 : if a:n2 == 0
3137 : return "fail"
3138 : endif
3139 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
3140 : return "ok"
3141 :endfunction
3142
3143This function can then be called with: >
3144 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
3145 :if success == "ok"
3146 : echo div
3147 :endif
3148
3149An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
3150with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
3151 :function Foo()
3152 : execute Bar()
3153 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
3154 :endfunction
3155
3156 :function Bar()
3157 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
3158 :endfunction
3159
3160The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
3161the caller to set the names.
3162
3163 *:cal* *:call* *E107*
3164:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
3165 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
3166 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
3167 used.
3168 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
3169 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
3170 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
3171 function.
3172 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
3173 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
3174 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
3175 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
3176 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
3177 this works:
3178 *function-range-example* >
3179 :function Mynumber(arg)
3180 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
3181 :endfunction
3182 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
3183<
3184 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
3185 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
3186 the range.
3187
3188 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
3189
3190 :function Cont() range
3191 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
3192 :endfunction
3193 :4,8call Cont()
3194<
3195 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
3196 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
3197
3198 *E132*
3199The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
3200option.
3201
3202 *autoload-functions*
3203When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
3204only when they are used. Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a
3205pattern that matches the function(s) to be defined. Example: >
3206
3207 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
3208
3209The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
3210"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
3211
3212==============================================================================
32136. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
3214
3215Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
3216This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
3217{} like this: >
3218 my_{adjective}_variable
3219
3220When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
3221that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
3222name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
3223"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
3224"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
3225
3226One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
3227value. For example, the statement >
3228 echo my_{&background}_message
3229
3230would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
3231on the current value of 'background'.
3232
3233You can use multiple brace pairs: >
3234 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
3235..or even nest them: >
3236 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
3237where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
3238
3239However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
3240variable name. e.g. this is invalid: >
3241 :let foo='a + b'
3242 :echo c{foo}d
3243.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
3244
3245 *curly-braces-function-names*
3246You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
3247Example: >
3248 :let func_end='whizz'
3249 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
3250
3251This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
3252
3253==============================================================================
32547. Commands *expression-commands*
3255
3256:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
3257 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
3258 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
3259 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
3260 is created.
3261
3262:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
3263 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
3264 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
3265
3266:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
3267 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
3268 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
3269 must be the name of a writable register (see
3270 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
3271 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
3272 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
3273 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
3274 characterwise.
3275 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
3276 :let @/ = ""
3277< This is different from searching for an empty string,
3278 that would match everywhere.
3279
3280:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
3281 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
3282 expression {expr1}. The value is always converted to
3283 the type of the option.
3284 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
3285 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
3286 value and the global value is changed.
3287
3288:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
3289 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
3290 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
3291
3292:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
3293 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
3294 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
3295
3296 *E106*
3297:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Several
3298 variable names may be given.
3299
3300:let List the values of all variables.
3301
3302 *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
3303:unl[et][!] {var-name} ...
3304 Remove the internal variable {var-name}. Several
3305 variable names can be given, they are all removed.
3306 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
3307 variables.
3308
3309:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
3310:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
3311 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
3312
3313 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
3314 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
3315 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
3316 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
3317 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
3318 part was not executed either.
3319
3320 You can use this to remain compatible with older
3321 versions: >
3322 :if version >= 500
3323 : version-5-specific-commands
3324 :endif
3325< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
3326 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
3327 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
3328 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
3329 avoid problems: >
3330 :if version >= 600
3331 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
3332 :endif
3333<
3334 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
3335 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
3336
3337 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
3338:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
3339 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
3340 executed.
3341
3342 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
3343:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
3344 is no extra ":endif".
3345
3346:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
3347 *E170* *E585* *E588*
3348:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
3349 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
3350 When an error is detected from a command inside the
3351 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
3352
3353 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
3354 properly inside a ":while" loop.
3355
3356 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
3357:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while", jumps back to the
3358 ":while". If it is used after a |:try| inside the
3359 ":while" but before the matching |:finally| (if
3360 present), the commands following the ":finally" up to
3361 the matching |:endtry| are executed first. This
3362 process applies to all nested ":try"s inside the
3363 ":while". The outermost ":endtry" then jumps back to
3364 the ":while".
3365
3366 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
3367:brea[k] When used inside a ":while", skips to the command
3368 after the matching ":endwhile". If it is used after
3369 a |:try| inside the ":while" but before the matching
3370 |:finally| (if present), the commands following the
3371 ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry| are executed
3372 first. This process applies to all nested ":try"s
3373 inside the ":while". The outermost ":endtry" then
3374 jumps to the command after the ":endwhile".
3375
3376:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
3377:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
3378 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
3379 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
3380 or autocommand invocations.
3381
3382 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
3383 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
3384 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
3385 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
3386 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
3387 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
3388 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
3389 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
3390 Example: >
3391 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
3392 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
3393<
3394 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
3395 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
3396 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
3397 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
3398 processing is not terminated.
3399
3400 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
3401 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
3402 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
3403 other errors are converted to a value of the form
3404 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
3405 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
3406 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
3407 the error number.
3408 Examples: >
3409 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
3410 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
3411<
3412 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
3413:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
3414 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
3415 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
3416 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
3417 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
3418 commands are skipped.
3419 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
3420 Examples: >
3421 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
3422 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
3423 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
3424 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
3425 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
3426 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
3427 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
3428 :catch " same as /.*/
3429<
3430 Another character can be used instead of / around the
3431 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
3432 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
3433 {pattern}.
3434 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
3435 an error message because it may vary in different
3436 locales.
3437
3438 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
3439:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
3440 are executed whenever the part between the matching
3441 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
3442 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
3443 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
3444 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
3445
3446 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
3447:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
3448 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
3449 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
3450 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
3451 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
3452 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
3453 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
3454 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
3455 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
3456 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
3457 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
3458 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
3459 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
3460 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
3461 is terminated.
3462 Example: >
3463 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
3464<
3465
3466 *:ec* *:echo*
3467:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
3468 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
3469 Also see |:comment|.
3470 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
3471 cursor to the first column.
3472 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
3473 Cannot be followed by a comment.
3474 Example: >
3475 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
3476< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
3477 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
3478 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
3479 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
3480 command. Example: >
3481 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
3482<
3483 *:echon*
3484:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
3485 |:comment|.
3486 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
3487 Cannot be followed by a comment.
3488 Example: >
3489 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
3490<
3491 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
3492 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
3493 command: >
3494 :!echo % --> filename
3495< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
3496 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
3497< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
3498 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
3499 :echo % --> nothing
3500< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
3501 :echo "%" --> %
3502< This just echoes the '%' character. >
3503 :echo expand("%") --> filename
3504< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
3505
3506 *:echoh* *:echohl*
3507:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
3508 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
3509 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
3510 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
3511< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
3512 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
3513
3514 *:echom* *:echomsg*
3515:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
3516 message in the |message-history|.
3517 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
3518 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
3519 displayed, not interpreted.
3520 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
3521 Example: >
3522 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
3523<
3524 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
3525:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
3526 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
3527 script or function the line number will be added.
3528 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
3529 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
3530 the message is raised as an error exception instead
3531 (see |try-echoerr|).
3532 Example: >
3533 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
3534< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
3535 And to get a beep: >
3536 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
3537<
3538 *:exe* *:execute*
3539:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
3540 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
3541 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
3542 used as the processed command, command line editing
3543 keys are not recognized.
3544 Cannot be followed by a comment.
3545 Examples: >
3546 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
3547 :execute "normal " count . "w"
3548<
3549 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
3550 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
3551 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
3552
3553< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
3554 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
3555 command: >
3556 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
3557< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
3558
3559 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
3560 you cannot start or end a "while" or "if" command.
3561 Thus this is illegal: >
3562 :execute 'while i > 5'
3563 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
3564<
3565 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
3566 completely in the executed string: >
3567 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
3568<
3569
3570 *:comment*
3571 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
3572 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
3573 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
3574 comment. Example: >
3575 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
3576
3577==============================================================================
35788. Exception handling *exception-handling*
3579
3580The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
3581explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
3582
3583Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
3584|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
3585exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
3586
3587
3588TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
3589
3590Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
3591use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
3592a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
3593 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
3594|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
3595a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
3596be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
3597which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
3598clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
3599
3600 :try
3601 : ...
3602 : ... TRY BLOCK
3603 : ...
3604 :catch /{pattern}/
3605 : ...
3606 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
3607 : ...
3608 :catch /{pattern}/
3609 : ...
3610 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
3611 : ...
3612 :finally
3613 : ...
3614 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
3615 : ...
3616 :endtry
3617
3618The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
3619appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
3620from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
3621 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
3622is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
3623script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
3624 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
3625lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
3626patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
3627after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
3628executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
3629":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
3630(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
3631continues in the following line as usual.
3632 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
3633":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
3634that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
3635finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
3636the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
3637the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
3638see |try-nesting|.
3639 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
3640remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
3641not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
3642try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
3643a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
3644execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
3645exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
3646 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
3647thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
3648clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
3649catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
3650following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
3651clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
3652
3653The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
3654a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
3655try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
3656from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
3657sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
3658":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
3659":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
3660from the finally clause.
3661 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
3662try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
3663clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
3664":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
3665clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
3666":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
3667this pending exception or command is discarded.
3668
3669For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
3670
3671
3672NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
3673
3674Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
3675conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
3676clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
3677catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
3678of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
3679checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
3680try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
3681otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
3682nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
3683one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
3684the inner try conditional.
3685
3686When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
3687finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
3688An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
3689thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
3690implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
3691as usual.
3692
3693For examples see |throw-catch|.
3694
3695
3696EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
3697
3698Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
3699'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
3700script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
3701finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
3702a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
3703(see |debug-scripts|).
3704
3705
3706THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
3707
3708You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
3709and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
3710 :throw 4711
3711 :throw "string"
3712< *throw-expression*
3713You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
3714first, and the result is thrown: >
3715 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
3716 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
3717
3718An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
3719command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
3720The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
3721 Example: >
3722
3723 :function! Foo(arg)
3724 : try
3725 : throw a:arg
3726 : catch /foo/
3727 : endtry
3728 : return 1
3729 :endfunction
3730 :
3731 :function! Bar()
3732 : echo "in Bar"
3733 : return 4710
3734 :endfunction
3735 :
3736 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
3737
3738This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
3739executed. >
3740 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
3741however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
3742
3743Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
3744abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
3745exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
3746 Example: >
3747
3748 :if Foo("arrgh")
3749 : echo "then"
3750 :else
3751 : echo "else"
3752 :endif
3753
3754Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
3755
3756 *catch-order*
3757Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
3758commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
3759command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
3760gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
3761 Example: >
3762
3763 :function! Foo(value)
3764 : try
3765 : throw a:value
3766 : catch /^\d\+$/
3767 : echo "Number thrown"
3768 : catch /.*/
3769 : echo "String thrown"
3770 : endtry
3771 :endfunction
3772 :
3773 :call Foo(0x1267)
3774 :call Foo('string')
3775
3776The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
3777An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
3778specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
3779specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
3780
3781 : catch /.*/
3782 : echo "String thrown"
3783 : catch /^\d\+$/
3784 : echo "Number thrown"
3785
3786The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
3787never taken.
3788
3789 *throw-variables*
3790If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
3791in the variable |v:exception|: >
3792
3793 : catch /^\d\+$/
3794 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
3795
3796You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
3797|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
3798exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
3799 Example: >
3800
3801 :function! Caught()
3802 : if v:exception != ""
3803 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
3804 : else
3805 : echo 'Nothing caught'
3806 : endif
3807 :endfunction
3808 :
3809 :function! Foo()
3810 : try
3811 : try
3812 : try
3813 : throw 4711
3814 : finally
3815 : call Caught()
3816 : endtry
3817 : catch /.*/
3818 : call Caught()
3819 : throw "oops"
3820 : endtry
3821 : catch /.*/
3822 : call Caught()
3823 : finally
3824 : call Caught()
3825 : endtry
3826 :endfunction
3827 :
3828 :call Foo()
3829
3830This displays >
3831
3832 Nothing caught
3833 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
3834 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
3835 Nothing caught
3836
3837A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
3838number in the script or function where it has been used: >
3839
3840 :function! LineNumber()
3841 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
3842 :endfunction
3843 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
3844<
3845 *try-nested*
3846An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
3847a surrounding try conditional: >
3848
3849 :try
3850 : try
3851 : throw "foo"
3852 : catch /foobar/
3853 : echo "foobar"
3854 : finally
3855 : echo "inner finally"
3856 : endtry
3857 :catch /foo/
3858 : echo "foo"
3859 :endtry
3860
3861The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
3862clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
3863conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
3864
3865 *throw-from-catch*
3866You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
3867catch clause: >
3868
3869 :function! Foo()
3870 : throw "foo"
3871 :endfunction
3872 :
3873 :function! Bar()
3874 : try
3875 : call Foo()
3876 : catch /foo/
3877 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
3878 : throw "bar"
3879 : endtry
3880 :endfunction
3881 :
3882 :try
3883 : call Bar()
3884 :catch /.*/
3885 : echo "Caught" v:exception
3886 :endtry
3887
3888This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
3889
3890 *rethrow*
3891There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
3892"v:exception" instead: >
3893
3894 :function! Bar()
3895 : try
3896 : call Foo()
3897 : catch /.*/
3898 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
3899 : throw v:exception
3900 : endtry
3901 :endfunction
3902< *try-echoerr*
3903Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
3904exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
3905Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
3906denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
3907the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
3908
3909 :try
3910 : try
3911 : asdf
3912 : catch /.*/
3913 : echoerr v:exception
3914 : endtry
3915 :catch /.*/
3916 : echo v:exception
3917 :endtry
3918
3919This code displays
3920
3921 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
3922
3923
3924CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
3925
3926Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
3927user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
3928an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
3929a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
3930catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
3931a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
3932normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
3933(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
3934to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
3935clause has been executed.)
3936Example: >
3937
3938 :try
3939 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
3940 : set ts=17
3941 :
3942 : " Do the hard work here.
3943 :
3944 :finally
3945 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
3946 : unlet s:saved_ts
3947 :endtry
3948
3949This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
3950changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
3951that function or script part.
3952
3953 *break-finally*
3954Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
3955a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
3956 Example: >
3957
3958 :let first = 1
3959 :while 1
3960 : try
3961 : if first
3962 : echo "first"
3963 : let first = 0
3964 : continue
3965 : else
3966 : throw "second"
3967 : endif
3968 : catch /.*/
3969 : echo v:exception
3970 : break
3971 : finally
3972 : echo "cleanup"
3973 : endtry
3974 : echo "still in while"
3975 :endwhile
3976 :echo "end"
3977
3978This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
3979
3980 :function! Foo()
3981 : try
3982 : return 4711
3983 : finally
3984 : echo "cleanup\n"
3985 : endtry
3986 : echo "Foo still active"
3987 :endfunction
3988 :
3989 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
3990
3991This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
3992extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
3993return value.)
3994
3995 *except-from-finally*
3996Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
3997a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
3998cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
3999exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
4000 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
4001working correctly: >
4002
4003 :try
4004 : try
4005 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
4006 : while 1
4007 : endwhile
4008 : finally
4009 : unlet novar
4010 : endtry
4011 :catch /novar/
4012 :endtry
4013 :echo "Script still running"
4014 :sleep 1
4015
4016If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
4017think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
4018|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
4019
4020
4021CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
4022
4023If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
4024watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
4025presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
4026exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
4027the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
4028the error exception is.
4029 Error exceptions have the following format: >
4030
4031 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
4032or >
4033 Vim:{errmsg}
4034
4035{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
4036the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
4037when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
4038a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
4039a space.
4040
4041Examples:
4042
4043The command >
4044 :unlet novar
4045normally produces the error message >
4046 E108: No such variable: "novar"
4047which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
4048 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
4049
4050The command >
4051 :dwim
4052normally produces the error message >
4053 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
4054which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
4055 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
4056
4057You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
4058 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
4059or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
4060 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
4061
4062Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
4063 :function nofunc
4064and >
4065 :delfunction nofunc
4066both produce the error message >
4067 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
4068which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
4069 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
4070or >
4071 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
4072respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
4073command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
4074 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
4075
4076Some commands like >
4077 :let x = novar
4078produce multiple error messages, here: >
4079 E121: Undefined variable: novar
4080 E15: Invalid expression: novar
4081Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
4082one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
4083 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
4084
4085You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
4086 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
4087
4088You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
4089 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
4090
4091You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
4092 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
4093<
4094 *catch-text*
4095NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
4096 :catch /No such variable/
4097only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
4098a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
4099cite the message text in a comment: >
4100 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
4101
4102
4103IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
4104
4105You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
4106
4107 :try
4108 : write
4109 :catch
4110 :endtry
4111
4112But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
4113catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
4114be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
4115
4116 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
4117
4118There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
4119writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
4120then hide the error from the user.
4121 It is much better to use >
4122
4123 :try
4124 : write
4125 :catch /^Vim(write):/
4126 :endtry
4127
4128which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
4129intentionally.
4130
4131For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
4132even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
4133command: >
4134 :silent! nunmap k
4135This works also when a try conditional is active.
4136
4137
4138CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
4139
4140When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
4141the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
4142script is not terminated, then.
4143 Example: >
4144
4145 :function! TASK1()
4146 : sleep 10
4147 :endfunction
4148
4149 :function! TASK2()
4150 : sleep 20
4151 :endfunction
4152
4153 :while 1
4154 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
4155 : try
4156 : if command == ""
4157 : continue
4158 : elseif command == "END"
4159 : break
4160 : elseif command == "TASK1"
4161 : call TASK1()
4162 : elseif command == "TASK2"
4163 : call TASK2()
4164 : else
4165 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
4166 : continue
4167 : endif
4168 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
4169 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
4170 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
4171 : endtry
4172 :endwhile
4173
4174You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
4175a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
4176
4177For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
4178your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
4179command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
4180
4181
4182CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
4183
4184The commands >
4185
4186 :catch /.*/
4187 :catch //
4188 :catch
4189
4190catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
4191explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
4192a script in order to catch unexpected things.
4193 Example: >
4194
4195 :try
4196 :
4197 : " do the hard work here
4198 :
4199 :catch /MyException/
4200 :
4201 : " handle known problem
4202 :
4203 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
4204 : echo "Script interrupted"
4205 :catch /.*/
4206 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
4207 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
4208 :endtry
4209 :" end of script
4210
4211Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
4212strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
4213specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
4214 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
4215by pressing CTRL-C: >
4216
4217 :while 1
4218 : try
4219 : sleep 1
4220 : catch
4221 : endtry
4222 :endwhile
4223
4224
4225EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
4226
4227Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
4228
4229 :autocmd User x try
4230 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
4231 :autocmd User x catch
4232 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
4233 :autocmd User x endtry
4234 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
4235 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
4236 :
4237 :try
4238 : doautocmd User x
4239 :catch
4240 : echo v:exception
4241 :endtry
4242
4243This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
4244
4245 *except-autocmd-Pre*
4246For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
4247command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
4248of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
4249abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
4250 Example: >
4251
4252 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
4253 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
4254 :
4255 :try
4256 : write
4257 :catch
4258 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
4259 :endtry
4260
4261Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
4262you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
4263autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
4264script displays: >
4265
4266 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
4267<
4268 *except-autocmd-Post*
4269For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
4270command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
4271an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
4272is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
4273 Example: >
4274
4275 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
4276 :
4277 :try
4278 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
4279 :catch
4280 : echo v:exception
4281 :endtry
4282
4283This just displays: >
4284
4285 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
4286
4287If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
4288fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
4289 Example: >
4290
4291 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
4292 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
4293 :
4294 :try
4295 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
4296 :catch
4297 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
4298 :endtry
4299<
4300You can also use ":silent!": >
4301
4302 :let x = "ok"
4303 :let v:errmsg = ""
4304 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
4305 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
4306 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
4307 :try
4308 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
4309 :catch
4310 :endtry
4311 :echo x
4312
4313This displays "after fail".
4314
4315If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
4316autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
4317
4318 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
4319 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
4320 :
4321 :try
4322 : write
4323 :catch
4324 : echo v:exception
4325 :endtry
4326<
4327 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
4328For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
4329autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
4330of the command.
4331 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
4332had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
4333some way. >
4334
4335 :if !exists("cnt")
4336 : let cnt = 0
4337 :
4338 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
4339 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
4340 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
4341 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
4342 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
4343 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
4344 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
4345 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
4346 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
4347 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
4348 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
4349 :endif
4350 :
4351 :try
4352 : write
4353 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
4354 : if &modified
4355 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
4356 : else
4357 : echo "Error after writing"
4358 : endif
4359 :catch /^Vim(write):/
4360 : echo "Error on writing"
4361 :endtry
4362
4363When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
4364first >
4365 File successfully written!
4366then >
4367 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
4368then >
4369 Error after writing
4370etc.
4371
4372 *except-autocmd-ill*
4373You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
4374The following code is ill-formed: >
4375
4376 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
4377 :
4378 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
4379 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
4380 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
4381 :
4382 :write
4383
4384
4385EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
4386
4387Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
4388pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
4389similar things in Vim.
4390 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
4391class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
4392string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
4393 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
4394it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
4395for an error when writing "myfile".
4396 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
4397base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
4398parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
4399 Example: >
4400
4401 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
4402 : if a:a < 0
4403 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
4404 : endif
4405 :endfunction
4406 :
4407 :function! Add(a, b)
4408 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
4409 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
4410 : let c = a:a + a:b
4411 : if c < 0
4412 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
4413 : endif
4414 : return c
4415 :endfunction
4416 :
4417 :function! Div(a, b)
4418 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
4419 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
4420 : if (a:b == 0)
4421 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
4422 : endif
4423 : return a:a / a:b
4424 :endfunction
4425 :
4426 :function! Write(file)
4427 : try
4428 : execute "write" a:file
4429 : catch /^Vim(write):/
4430 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
4431 : endtry
4432 :endfunction
4433 :
4434 :try
4435 :
4436 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
4437 :
4438 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
4439 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
4440 : echo "Range error in" function
4441 :
4442 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
4443 : echo "Math error"
4444 :
4445 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
4446 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
4447 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
4448 : if file !~ '^/'
4449 : let file = dir . "/" . file
4450 : endif
4451 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
4452 :
4453 :catch /^EXCEPT/
4454 : echo "Unspecified error"
4455 :
4456 :endtry
4457
4458The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
4459a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
4460exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
4461 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
4462failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
4463
4464
4465PECULIARITIES
4466 *except-compat*
4467The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
4468exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
4469and/or a catch clause.
4470
4471In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
4472continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
4473after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
4474functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
4475or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
4476(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
4477
4478This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
4479immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
4480conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
4481be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
4482termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
4483catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
4484by specifying a finally clause.)
4485
4486When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
4487behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
4488scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
4489
4490However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
4491commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
4492conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
4493script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
4494error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
4495messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
4496|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
4497not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
4498where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
4499error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
4500scripts.
4501
4502 *except-syntax-err*
4503Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
4504the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
4505clauses, however, is executed.
4506 Example: >
4507
4508 :try
4509 : try
4510 : throw 4711
4511 : catch /\(/
4512 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
4513 : catch
4514 : echo "inner catch-all"
4515 : finally
4516 : echo "inner finally"
4517 : endtry
4518 :catch
4519 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
4520 : finally
4521 : echo "outer finally"
4522 :endtry
4523
4524This displays: >
4525 inner finally
4526 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
4527 outer finally
4528The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
4529
4530 *except-single-line*
4531The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
4532a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
4533"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
4534 Example: >
4535 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
4536raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
4537argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
4538error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
4539displayed.
4540
4541 *except-several-errors*
4542When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
4543usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
4544 Example: >
4545 echo novar
4546causes >
4547 E121: Undefined variable: novar
4548 E15: Invalid expression: novar
4549The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
4550 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
4551< *except-syntax-error*
4552But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
4553the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
4554 Example: >
4555 unlet novar #
4556causes >
4557 E108: No such variable: "novar"
4558 E488: Trailing characters
4559The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
4560 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
4561This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
4562not intended by the user. Example: >
4563 try
4564 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
4565 catch /.*/
4566 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
4567 endtry
4568This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
4569a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
4570
4571==============================================================================
45729. Examples *eval-examples*
4573
4574Printing in Hex ~
4575>
4576 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
4577 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
4578 : let n = a:nr
4579 : let r = ""
4580 : while n
4581 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
4582 : let n = n / 16
4583 : endwhile
4584 : return r
4585 :endfunc
4586
4587 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
4588 :" character Hex string.
4589 :func String2Hex(str)
4590 : let out = ''
4591 : let ix = 0
4592 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
4593 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
4594 : let ix = ix + 1
4595 : endwhile
4596 : return out
4597 :endfunc
4598
4599Example of its use: >
4600 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
4601result: "20" >
4602 :echo String2Hex("32")
4603result: "3332"
4604
4605
4606Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
4607
4608Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
4609":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
4610platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
4611function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
4612with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
4613>
4614 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
4615 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
4616 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
4617 : return -1
4618 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
4619 : return 1
4620 : else
4621 : return 0
4622 : endif
4623 :endfunction
4624
4625 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
4626 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
4627 : if (a:start >= a:end)
4628 : return
4629 : endif
4630 : let partition = a:start - 1
4631 : let middle = partition
4632 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
4633 : let i = a:start
4634 : while (i <= a:end)
4635 : let str = getline(i)
4636 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
4637 : if (result <= 0)
4638 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
4639 : let partition = partition + 1
4640 : if (result == 0)
4641 : let middle = partition
4642 : endif
4643 : if (i != partition)
4644 : let str2 = getline(partition)
4645 : call setline(i, str2)
4646 : call setline(partition, str)
4647 : endif
4648 : endif
4649 : let i = i + 1
4650 : endwhile
4651
4652 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
4653 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
4654 : " the end of the partition.
4655 : if (middle != partition)
4656 : let str = getline(middle)
4657 : let str2 = getline(partition)
4658 : call setline(middle, str2)
4659 : call setline(partition, str)
4660 : endif
4661 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
4662 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
4663 :endfunc
4664
4665 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
4666 :" function that will compare two lines.
4667 :func! Sort(cmp) range
4668 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
4669 :endfunc
4670
4671 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
4672 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
4673<
4674 *sscanf*
4675There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
4676line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
4677how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
4678"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
4679 :" Set up the match bit
4680 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
4681 :"get the part matching the whole expression
4682 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
4683 :"get each item out of the match
4684 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
4685 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
4686 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
4687
4688The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
4689"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
4690
4691==============================================================================
469210. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
4693
4694When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
4695evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
4696to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
4697recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
4698and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
4699only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
4700recognized.
4701
4702Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
4703missing: >
4704
4705 :if 1
4706 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
4707 :else
4708 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
4709 :endif
4710
4711==============================================================================
471211. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
4713
4714The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
4715options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
4716these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
4717these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
4718a tags file is executed.
4719This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
4720
4721These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
4722 - changing the buffer text
4723 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
4724 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
4725 - executing a shell command
4726 - reading or writing a file
4727 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
4728
4729 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: