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Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +01001*change.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2015 Oct 17
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This file describes commands that delete or change text. In this context,
8changing text means deleting the text and replacing it with other text using
9one command. You can undo all of these commands. You can repeat the non-Ex
10commands with the "." command.
11
121. Deleting text |deleting|
132. Delete and insert |delete-insert|
143. Simple changes |simple-change| *changing*
154. Complex changes |complex-change|
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +000016 4.1 Filter commands |filter|
17 4.2 Substitute |:substitute|
18 4.3 Search and replace |search-replace|
19 4.4 Changing tabs |change-tabs|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000205. Copying and moving text |copy-move|
216. Formatting text |formatting|
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +0000227. Sorting text |sorting|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000023
24For inserting text see |insert.txt|.
25
26==============================================================================
271. Deleting text *deleting* *E470*
28
29["x]<Del> or *<Del>* *x* *dl*
30["x]x Delete [count] characters under and after the cursor
31 [into register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as
32 "dl".
33 The <Del> key does not take a [count]. Instead, it
34 deletes the last character of the count.
35 See |:fixdel| if the <Del> key does not do what you
36 want. See |'whichwrap'| for deleting a line break
37 (join lines). {Vi does not support <Del>}
38
39 *X* *dh*
40["x]X Delete [count] characters before the cursor [into
41 register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as "dh".
42 Also see |'whichwrap'|.
43
44 *d*
45["x]d{motion} Delete text that {motion} moves over [into register
46 x]. See below for exceptions.
47
48 *dd*
49["x]dd Delete [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
50
51 *D*
52["x]D Delete the characters under the cursor until the end
53 of the line and [count]-1 more lines [into register
54 x]; synonym for "d$".
55 (not |linewise|)
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +000056 When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
57 ignored.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000058
59{Visual}["x]x or *v_x* *v_d* *v_<Del>*
60{Visual}["x]d or
61{Visual}["x]<Del> Delete the highlighted text [into register x] (for
62 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
63
64{Visual}["x]CTRL-H or *v_CTRL-H* *v_<BS>*
65{Visual}["x]<BS> When in Select mode: Delete the highlighted text [into
66 register x].
67
68{Visual}["x]X or *v_X* *v_D* *v_b_D*
69{Visual}["x]D Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
70 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). In Visual block mode,
71 "D" deletes the highlighted text plus all text until
72 the end of the line. {not in Vi}
73
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020074 *:d* *:de* *:del* *:delete* *:dl* *:dp*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000075:[range]d[elete] [x] Delete [range] lines (default: current line) [into
76 register x].
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020077 Note these weird abbreviations:
78 :dl delete and list
79 :dell idem
80 :delel idem
81 :deletl idem
82 :deletel idem
83 :dp delete and print
84 :dep idem
85 :delp idem
86 :delep idem
87 :deletp idem
88 :deletep idem
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000089
90:[range]d[elete] [x] {count}
91 Delete {count} lines, starting with [range]
92 (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|) [into
93 register x].
94
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +020095These commands delete text. You can repeat them with the `.` command
96(except `:d`) and undo them. Use Visual mode to delete blocks of text. See
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000097|registers| for an explanation of registers.
98
99An exception for the d{motion} command: If the motion is not linewise, the
100start and end of the motion are not in the same line, and there are only
101blanks before the start and after the end of the motion, the delete becomes
102linewise. This means that the delete also removes the line of blanks that you
Bram Moolenaar6ee8d892012-01-10 14:55:01 +0100103might expect to remain. Use the |o_v| operator to force the motion to be
104characterwise.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000105
106Trying to delete an empty region of text (e.g., "d0" in the first column)
107is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag.
108
109 *J*
110J Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
111 Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces (see
112 below).
113
114 *v_J*
115{Visual}J Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
116 lines. Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces
117 (see below). {not in Vi}
118
119 *gJ*
120gJ Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
121 Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in Vi}
122
123 *v_gJ*
124{Visual}gJ Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
125 lines. Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in
126 Vi}
127
128 *:j* *:join*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000129:[range]j[oin][!] [flags]
130 Join [range] lines. Same as "J", except with [!]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000131 the join does not insert or delete any spaces.
132 If a [range] has equal start and end values, this
133 command does nothing. The default behavior is to
134 join the current line with the line below it.
135 {not in Vi: !}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000136 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000137
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000138:[range]j[oin][!] {count} [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000139 Join {count} lines, starting with [range] (default:
140 current line |cmdline-ranges|). Same as "J", except
141 with [!] the join does not insert or delete any
142 spaces.
143 {not in Vi: !}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000144 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000145
146These commands delete the <EOL> between lines. This has the effect of joining
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200147multiple lines into one line. You can repeat these commands (except `:j`) and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000148undo them.
149
150These commands, except "gJ", insert one space in place of the <EOL> unless
151there is trailing white space or the next line starts with a ')'. These
152commands, except "gJ", delete any leading white space on the next line. If
153the 'joinspaces' option is on, these commands insert two spaces after a '.',
154'!' or '?' (but if 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, they insert two spaces
155only after a '.').
156The 'B' and 'M' flags in 'formatoptions' change the behavior for inserting
157spaces before and after a multi-byte character |fo-table|.
158
Bram Moolenaar251835e2014-02-24 02:51:51 +0100159The '[ mark is set at the end of the first line that was joined, '] at the end
160of the resulting line.
161
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000162
163==============================================================================
1642. Delete and insert *delete-insert* *replacing*
165
166 *R*
167R Enter Replace mode: Each character you type replaces
168 an existing character, starting with the character
169 under the cursor. Repeat the entered text [count]-1
170 times. See |Replace-mode| for more details.
171
172 *gR*
173gR Enter Virtual Replace mode: Each character you type
174 replaces existing characters in screen space. So a
175 <Tab> may replace several characters at once.
176 Repeat the entered text [count]-1 times. See
177 |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more details.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200178 {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000179 feature}
180
181 *c*
182["x]c{motion} Delete {motion} text [into register x] and start
183 insert. When 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag and
184 there is no text to delete (e.g., with "cTx" when the
185 cursor is just after an 'x'), an error occurs and
186 insert mode does not start (this is Vi compatible).
187 When 'cpoptions' does not include the 'E' flag, the
188 "c" command always starts insert mode, even if there
189 is no text to delete.
190
191 *cc*
192["x]cc Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
193 insert |linewise|. If 'autoindent' is on, preserve
194 the indent of the first line.
195
196 *C*
197["x]C Delete from the cursor position to the end of the
198 line and [count]-1 more lines [into register x], and
199 start insert. Synonym for c$ (not |linewise|).
200
201 *s*
202["x]s Delete [count] characters [into register x] and start
203 insert (s stands for Substitute). Synonym for "cl"
204 (not |linewise|).
205
206 *S*
207["x]S Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
208 insert. Synonym for "cc" |linewise|.
209
210{Visual}["x]c or *v_c* *v_s*
211{Visual}["x]s Delete the highlighted text [into register x] and
212 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not
213 in Vi}
214
215 *v_r*
216{Visual}["x]r{char} Replace all selected characters by {char}.
217
218 *v_C*
219{Visual}["x]C Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
220 start insert. In Visual block mode it works
221 differently |v_b_C|. {not in Vi}
222 *v_S*
223{Visual}["x]S Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
224 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not
225 in Vi}
226 *v_R*
227{Visual}["x]R Currently just like {Visual}["x]S. In a next version
228 it might work differently. {not in Vi}
229
230Notes:
231- You can end Insert and Replace mode with <Esc>.
232- See the section "Insert and Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl| for the other
233 special characters in these modes.
234- The effect of [count] takes place after Vim exits Insert or Replace mode.
235- When the 'cpoptions' option contains '$' and the change is within one line,
236 Vim continues to show the text to be deleted and puts a '$' at the last
237 deleted character.
238
239See |registers| for an explanation of registers.
240
241Replace mode is just like Insert mode, except that every character you enter
242deletes one character. If you reach the end of a line, Vim appends any
243further characters (just like Insert mode). In Replace mode, the backspace
244key restores the original text (if there was any). (See section "Insert and
245Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl|).
246
247 *cw* *cW*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000248Special case: When the cursor is in a word, "cw" and "cW" do not include the
249white space after a word, they only change up to the end of the word. This is
250because Vim interprets "cw" as change-word, and a word does not include the
251following white space.
252{Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first
253blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks; use the
254'w' flag in 'cpoptions' to make it work like Vi anyway}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000255
256If you prefer "cw" to include the space after a word, use this mapping: >
257 :map cw dwi
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000258Or use "caw" (see |aw|).
259
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000260 *:c* *:ch* *:change*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000261:{range}c[hange][!] Replace lines of text with some different text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000262 Type a line containing only "." to stop replacing.
263 Without {range}, this command changes only the current
264 line.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000265 Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
266 command is executed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000267
268==============================================================================
2693. Simple changes *simple-change*
270
271 *r*
272r{char} Replace the character under the cursor with {char}.
273 If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the
274 character. To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V
275 <CR>. CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>.
276 {Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces with a line break,
277 cannot replace something with a <CR>}
Bram Moolenaar80716072012-05-01 21:14:34 +0200278
279 If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the
280 line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E|
281 and |i_CTRL-Y|. This also works with a count, thus
282 `10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below.
283
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000284 If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters
285 with [count] {char}s. When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>,
286 however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces
287 five characters with a single line break.
288 When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs
289 autoindenting. This works just like deleting the
290 characters that are replaced and then doing
291 "i<CR><Esc>".
292 {char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|.
293 |:lmap| mappings apply to {char}. The CTRL-^ command
294 in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off
295 |i_CTRL-^|. See |utf-8-char-arg| about using
296 composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode.
297
298 *gr*
299gr{char} Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with
300 {char}. This replaces in screen space, not file
301 space. See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more
302 details. As with |r| a count may be given.
303 {char} can be entered like with |r|.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200304 {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000305 feature}
306
307 *digraph-arg*
308The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character.
309When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered
310like |digraphs|. First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters.
311{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
312
313 *case*
314The following commands change the case of letters. The currently active
315|locale| is used. See |:language|. The LC_CTYPE value matters here.
316
317 *~*
318~ 'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character
319 under the cursor and move the cursor to the right.
320 If a [count] is given, do that many characters. {Vi:
321 no count}
322
323~{motion} 'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text. {Vi:
324 tilde cannot be used as an operator}
325
326 *g~*
327g~{motion} Switch case of {motion} text. {not in Vi}
328
329g~g~ *g~g~* *g~~*
330g~~ Switch case of current line. {not in Vi}.
331
332 *v_~*
333{Visual}~ Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see
334 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
335
336 *v_U*
337{Visual}U Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see
338 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
339
340 *gU* *uppercase*
341gU{motion} Make {motion} text uppercase. {not in Vi}
342 Example: >
343 :map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a
344< This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the
345 word before the cursor uppercase. Handy to type
346 words in lowercase and then make them uppercase.
347
348
349gUgU *gUgU* *gUU*
350gUU Make current line uppercase. {not in Vi}.
351
352 *v_u*
353{Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see
354 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
355
356 *gu* *lowercase*
357gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase. {not in Vi}
358
359gugu *gugu* *guu*
360guu Make current line lowercase. {not in Vi}.
361
362 *g?* *rot13*
363g?{motion} Rot13 encode {motion} text. {not in Vi}
364
365 *v_g?*
366{Visual}g? Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see
367 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
368
369g?g? *g?g?* *g??*
370g?? Rot13 encode current line. {not in Vi}.
371
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000372To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word
373uppercase: >
374 :s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g
375
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000376
377Adding and subtracting ~
378 *CTRL-A*
379CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at
380 or after the cursor. {not in Vi}
381
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200382 *v_CTRL-A*
383{Visual}CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
384 the highlighted text. {not in Vi}
385
386 *v_g_CTRL-A*
387{Visual}g CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
388 the highlighted text. If several lines are
389 highlighted, each one will be incremented by an
390 additional [count] (so effectively creating a
391 [count] incrementing sequence). {not in Vi}
392 For Example, if you have this list of numbers:
393 1. ~
394 1. ~
395 1. ~
396 1. ~
397 Move to the second "1." and Visually select three
398 lines, pressing g CTRL-A results in:
399 1. ~
400 2. ~
401 3. ~
402 4. ~
403
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000404 *CTRL-X*
405CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
406 character at or after the cursor. {not in Vi}
407
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200408 *v_CTRL-X*
409{Visual}CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
410 character in the highlighted text. {not in Vi}
411
412 *v_g_CTRL-X*
413{Visual}g CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
414 character in the highlighted text. If several lines
415 are highlighted, each value will be decremented by an
416 additional [count] (so effectively creating a [count]
417 decrementing sequence). {not in Vi}
418
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000419The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands work for (signed) decimal numbers, unsigned
420octal and hexadecimal numbers and alphabetic characters. This depends on the
421'nrformats' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000422- When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0'
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000423 to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'. Other numbers are
424 decimal and may have a preceding minus sign.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000425 If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise
426 Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000427- When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or
428 '0X' are hexadecimal. The case of the rightmost letter in the number
429 determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number. If there is no
430 letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case.
431- When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character
432 under or after the cursor. This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic
433 index.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000434
Bram Moolenaar979243b2015-06-26 19:35:49 +0200435For decimals a leading negative sign is considered for incrementing/
436decrementing, for octal and hex values, it won't be considered.
437To ignore the sign Visually select the number before using CTRL-A or CTRL-X.
438
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000439For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers),
440Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible. CTRL-A on
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000441"0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000442There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to
443be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal",
444leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an
445octal number.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000446
447Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000448zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000449
450The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro. Example: Use the following
451steps to make a numbered list.
452
4531. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004542. qa - start recording into register 'a'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004553. Y - yank the entry
4564. p - put a copy of the entry below the first one
4575. CTRL-A - increment the number
4586. q - stop recording
4597. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times
460
461
462SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT *shift-left-right*
463
464 *<*
465<{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
466
467 *<<*
468<< Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
469
470 *v_<*
471{Visual}[count]< Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
472 leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in
473 Vi}
474
475 *>*
476 >{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
477
478 *>>*
479 >> Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
480
481 *v_>*
482{Visual}[count]> Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
483 rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in
484 Vi}
485
486 *:<*
487:[range]< Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left. Repeat '<'
488 for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
489
490:[range]< {count} Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting
491 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
492 Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
493
494:[range]le[ft] [indent] left align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
495 lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi}
496
497 *:>*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000498:[range]> [flags] Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000499 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000500 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000501
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000502:[range]> {count} [flags]
503 Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000504 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
505 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000506 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000507
508The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within
509programs. Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space
510which these commands insert or delete. Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8,
511but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents. The shift leftwards
512stops when there is no indent. The shift right does not affect empty lines.
513
514If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of
515'shiftwidth'.
516
517If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains
Bram Moolenaar8e69b4a2013-11-09 03:41:58 +0100518'#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#'
519(these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000520
521When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as
522much as possible to make the indent. You can use ">><<" to replace an indent
523made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces
524if necessary). If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces. Then
525you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200526`:retab!`).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000527
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200528To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000529For example: >
530 Vjj4> move three lines 4 indents to the right
531 :<<< move current line 3 indents to the left
532 :>> 5 move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
533 :5>> move line 5 2 indents to the right
534
535==============================================================================
5364. Complex changes *complex-change*
537
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005384.1 Filter commands *filter*
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000539
540A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some
541way, and sends it to standard output. You can use the commands below to send
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000542some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000543Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and
544"indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that
545works like a filter; not all versions do). The 'shell' option specifies the
546shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype'
547option). You can repeat filter commands with ".". Vim does not recognize a
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200548comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000549
550 *!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000551!{motion}{filter} Filter {motion} text lines through the external
552 program {filter}.
553
554 *!!*
555!!{filter} Filter [count] lines through the external program
556 {filter}.
557
558 *v_!*
559{Visual}!{filter} Filter the highlighted lines through the external
560 program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
561 {not in Vi}
562
563:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg] *:range!*
564 Filter {range} lines through the external program
565 {filter}. Vim replaces the optional bangs with the
566 latest given command and appends the optional [arg].
567 Vim saves the output of the filter command in a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100568 temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer
569 |tempfile|. Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to
570 redirect the filter output to the temporary file.
Bram Moolenaar83c465c2005-12-16 21:53:56 +0000571 However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes
572 are used when possible (on Unix).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000573 When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in
574 the filtered lines are deleted, unless the
575 |:keepmarks| command is used. Example: >
576 :keepmarks '<,'>!sort
577< When the number of lines after filtering is less than
578 before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway.
579
580 *=*
581={motion} Filter {motion} lines through the external program
582 given with the 'equalprg' option. When the 'equalprg'
583 option is empty (this is the default), use the
Bram Moolenaar20f90cf2011-05-19 12:22:51 +0200584 internal formatting function |C-indenting| and
585 |'lisp'|. But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will
586 be used instead |indent-expression|. When Vim was
587 compiled without internal formatting then the "indent"
588 program is used as a last resort.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000589
590 *==*
591== Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}.
592
593 *v_=*
594{Visual}= Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}.
595 {not in Vi}
596
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000597
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100598 *tempfile* *setuid*
599Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for
600tempname(). For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
601accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink
602attack or other people reading your file). When Vim exits the directory and
603all files in it are deleted. When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause
604problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command
605probably runs as the original user.
606On MS-DOS and OS/2 the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP,
607$TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP.
608For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME.
609For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used.
610For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used.
611
612
613
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00006144.2 Substitute *:substitute*
615 *:s* *:su*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000616:[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000617 For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern}
618 with {string}.
619 For the {pattern} see |pattern|.
620 {string} can be a literal string, or something
621 special; see |sub-replace-special|.
622 When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the
623 current line only.
624 When [count] is given, replace in [count] lines,
625 starting with the last line in [range]. When [range]
626 is omitted start in the current line.
627 Also see |cmdline-ranges|.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000628 See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000629
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000630:[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count]
631:[range]&[&][flags] [count] *:&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000632 Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and
633 substitute string, but without the same flags. You
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000634 may add [flags], see |:s_flags|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200635 Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000636 used, it's recognized as a pattern separator.
Bram Moolenaarfc39ecf2015-08-11 20:34:49 +0200637 The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g',
638 'i', 'I' and 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts
639 it's a good idea to keep it to avoid confusion.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000640
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000641:[range]~[&][flags] [count] *:~*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000642 Repeat last substitute with same substitute string
643 but with last used search pattern. This is like
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200644 `:&r`. See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000645
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000646 *&*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200647& Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute). Note
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000648 that the flags are not remembered, thus it might
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200649 actually work differently. You can use `:&&` to keep
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000650 the flags.
651
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000652 *g&*
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100653g& Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with
654 last search pattern on all lines with the same flags).
Bram Moolenaar34700a62013-03-07 13:20:54 +0100655 For example, when you first do a substitution with
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100656 `:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for
657 something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000658 Mnemonic: global substitute. {not in Vi}
659
660 *:snomagic* *:sno*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200661:[range]sno[magic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000662 {not in Vi}
663
664 *:smagic* *:sm*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200665:[range]sm[agic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000666 {not in Vi}
667
668 *:s_flags*
669The flags that you can use for the substitute commands:
670
671[&] Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute
672 command. Examples: >
673 :&&
674 :s/this/that/&
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200675< Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676 {not in Vi}
677
678[c] Confirm each substitution. Vim highlights the matching string (with
679 |hl-IncSearch|). You can type: *:s_c*
680 'y' to substitute this match
681 'l' to substitute this match and then quit ("last")
682 'n' to skip this match
683 <Esc> to quit substituting
684 'a' to substitute this and all remaining matches {not in Vi}
685 'q' to quit substituting {not in Vi}
686 CTRL-E to scroll the screen up {not in Vi, not available when
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200687 compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000688 CTRL-Y to scroll the screen down {not in Vi, not available when
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200689 compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000690 If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and
691 toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new
692 search pattern.
693 {not in Vi: highlighting of the match, other responses than 'y' or 'n'}
694
695[e] When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in
696 particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred. This is most
697 useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping. Vim
698 does not suppress the following error messages, however:
699 Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters
700 \ should be followed by /, ? or &
701 No previous substitute regular expression
702 Trailing characters
703 Interrupted
704 {not in Vi}
705
706[g] Replace all occurrences in the line. Without this argument,
707 replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line. If
708 the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles
709 it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search
710 pattern. If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default
711 and the [g] argument switches it off.
712
713[i] Ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options
714 are not used.
715 {not in Vi}
716
717[I] Don't ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase'
718 options are not used.
719 {not in Vi}
720
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000721[n] Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute. The [c]
722 flag is ignored. The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero.
723 Useful to |count-items|.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200724 If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be
725 evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000726
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000727[p] Print the line containing the last substitute.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000728
729[#] Like [p] and prepend the line number.
730
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000731[l] Like [p] but print the text like |:list|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000732
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200733[r] Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments. `:&r`
734 works the same way as `:~`: When the search pattern is empty, use the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000735 previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200736 last substitute or `:global`. If the last command that did a search
737 was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect. If the last
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000738 command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that
739 command.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200740 For `:s` with an argument this already happens: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000741 :s/blue/red/
742 /green
743 :s//red/ or :~ or :&r
744< The last commands will replace "green" with "red". >
745 :s/blue/red/
746 /green
747 :&
748< The last command will replace "blue" with "red".
749 {not in Vi}
750
751Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern. A
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000752different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends. The
753reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in
754order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known. Catch 22!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000755
756If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200757pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command. If there is none, but
Bram Moolenaar662db672011-03-22 14:05:35 +0100758there is a previous search pattern, that one is used. With the [r] flag, the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200759command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000760command.
761
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000762If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty. Thus the
763matched pattern is deleted. The separator after {pattern} can also be left
764out then. Example: >
765 :%s/TESTING
766This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line.
767
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000768For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed:
769"\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r".
770"\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/".
771 *E146*
772Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000773can use any other single-byte character, but not an alphanumeric character,
774'\', '"' or '|'. This is useful if you want to include a '/' in the search
775pattern or replacement string. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000776 :s+/+//+
777
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000778For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|. In Visual block mode, use
779|/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only.
780Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000781
782 *sub-replace-special* *:s\=*
783When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200784|sub-replace-expression|. You can use that for complex replacement or special
785characters.
786
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000787Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning:
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000788 *:s%*
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +0000789When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option,
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200790then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000791
792magic nomagic action ~
793 & \& replaced with the whole matched pattern *s/\&*
794 \& & replaced with &
795 \0 replaced with the whole matched pattern *\0* *s/\0*
796 \1 replaced with the matched pattern in the first
797 pair of () *s/\1*
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000798 \2 replaced with the matched pattern in the second
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000799 pair of () *s/\2*
800 .. .. *s/\3*
801 \9 replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth
802 pair of () *s/\9*
803 ~ \~ replaced with the {string} of the previous
804 substitute *s~*
805 \~ ~ replaced with ~ *s/\~*
806 \u next character made uppercase *s/\u*
807 \U following characters made uppercase, until \E *s/\U*
808 \l next character made lowercase *s/\l*
809 \L following characters made lowercase, until \E *s/\L*
810 \e end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!) *s/\e*
811 \E end of \u, \U, \l and \L *s/\E*
812 <CR> split line in two at this point
813 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s<CR>*
814 \r idem *s/\r*
815 \<CR> insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M)
816 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s/\<CR>*
817 \n insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file)
818 (does NOT break the line) *s/\n*
819 \b insert a <BS> *s/\b*
820 \t insert a <Tab> *s/\t*
821 \\ insert a single backslash *s/\\*
822 \x where x is any character not mentioned above:
823 Reserved for future expansion
824
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200825The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of
826the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions:
827 - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'.
828 - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'.
829 - A ~ inserts a tilde literally.
830 - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M).
831 - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. it's just one of \x.
832
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000833Examples: >
834 :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g modifies "a b" to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx"
835 :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb"
836 :s/abcde/abc^Mde/ modifies "abcde" to "abc", "de" (two lines)
837 :s/$/\^M/ modifies "abcde" to "abcde^M"
Bram Moolenaarefd2bf12006-03-16 21:41:35 +0000838 :s/\w\+/\u\0/g modifies "bla bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaarbf884932013-04-05 22:26:15 +0200839 :s/\w\+/\L\u/g modifies "BLA bla" to "Bla Bla"
840
841Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word. This is
842not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel
843out the "\L". Same for "\U\l".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000844
845Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way. Since this is
846not Vi compatible, this was removed. Use a backslash instead.
847
848command text result ~
849:s/aa/a^Ma/ aa a<line-break>a
850:s/aa/a\^Ma/ aa a^Ma
851:s/aa/a\\^Ma/ aa a\<line-break>a
852
853(you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here)
854
855The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in
856the pattern (going left to right). When a parentheses group matches several
857times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc. Example: >
858 :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/ modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x"
859
860When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\),
861either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either
862\1 or \2 is empty. Example: >
863 :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g modifies "a b c d" to "ax bx x x"
864<
865
Bram Moolenaara0f849e2015-10-30 14:37:44 +0100866 *:sc* *:sce* *:scg* *:sci* *:scI* *:scl* *:scp* *:sg* *:sgc*
867 *:sge* *:sgi* *:sgI* *:sgl* *:sgn* *:sgp* *:sgr* *:sI* *:si*
868 *:sic* *:sIc* *:sie* *:sIe* *:sIg* *:sIl* *:sin* *:sIn* *:sIp*
869 *:sip* *:sIr* *:sir* *:sr* *:src* *:srg* *:sri* *:srI* *:srl*
870 *:srn* *:srp*
8712-letter and 3-letter :substitute commands ~
872
873 List of :substitute commands
874 | c e g i I n p l r
875 | c :sc :sce :scg :sci :scI :scn :scp :scl ---
876 | e
877 | g :sgc :sge :sg :sgi :sgI :sgn :sgp :sgl :sgr
878 | i :sic :sie --- :si :siI :sin :sip --- :sir
879 | I :sIc :sIe :sIg :sIi :sI :sIn :sIp :sIl :sIr
880 | n
881 | p
882 | l
883 | r :src --- :srg :sri :srI :srn :srp :srl :sr
884
885Exceptions:
886 :scr is `:scriptnames`
887 :se is `:set`
888 :sig is `:sign`
889 :sil is `:silent`
890 :sn is `:snext`
891 :sp is `:split`
892 :sl is `:sleep`
893 :sre is `:srewind`
894
895
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000896Substitute with an expression *sub-replace-expression*
Bram Moolenaar92dff182014-02-11 19:15:50 +0100897 *sub-replace-\=* *s/\=*
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000898When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200899expression. This does not work recursively: a |substitute()| function inside
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000900the expression cannot use "\=" for the substitute string.
901
902The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200903not apply except for "<CR>". A <NL> character is used as a line break, you
904can get one with a double-quote string: "\n". Prepend a backslash to get a
905real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000906
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200907The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of
908|substitute()| function. In this case, the special meaning for characters as
909mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and
910<NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a
911new-line respectively.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000912
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +0000913When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line
914breaks. Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line
915breaks themselves.
916
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000917The whole matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)". The text matched
918with the first pair of () with "submatch(1)". Likewise for further
919sub-matches in ().
920
921Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression!
922Consider using a character like "@" or ":". There is no problem if the result
923of the expression contains the separation character.
924
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000925Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000926 :s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000927This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. >
928
929 s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000930This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign. Read more in |<Char->|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000931
932
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00009334.3 Search and replace *search-replace*
934
935 *:pro* *:promptfind*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000936:promptf[ind] [string]
937 Put up a Search dialog. When [string] is given, it is
938 used as the initial search string.
939 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
940
941 *:promptr* *:promptrepl*
942:promptr[epl] [string]
943 Put up a Search/Replace dialog. When [string] is
944 given, it is used as the initial search string.
945 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
946
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000947
9484.4 Changing tabs *change-tabs*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200949 *:ret* *:retab* *:retab!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000950:[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop]
951 Replace all sequences of white-space containing a
952 <Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new
953 tabstop value given. If you do not specify a new
954 tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value
955 of 'tabstop'.
956 The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to
957 compute the width of existing tabs.
958 With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal
959 spaces with tabs where appropriate.
960 With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the
961 appropriate number of spaces.
962 This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given,
963 and if performed on the whole file, which is default,
964 should not make any visible change.
965 Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters
966 inside of strings in a C program. Use "\t" to avoid
967 this (that's a good habit anyway).
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200968 `:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000969 <Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf().
970 {not in Vi}
971 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
972 compile time.
973
974 *retab-example*
975Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored
976with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4. Warning: white space
977inside of strings can change! Also see 'softtabstop' option. >
978
979 :auto BufReadPost *.xx retab! 4
980 :auto BufWritePre *.xx retab! 8
981 :auto BufWritePost *.xx retab! 4
982 :auto BufNewFile *.xx set ts=4
983
984==============================================================================
9855. Copying and moving text *copy-move*
986
987 *quote*
988"{a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} Use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank
989 or put (use uppercase character to append with
990 delete and yank) ({.%#:} only work with put).
991
992 *:reg* *:registers*
993:reg[isters] Display the contents of all numbered and named
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100994 registers. If a register is written to for |:redir|
995 it will not be listed.
996 {not in Vi}
997
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000998
999:reg[isters] {arg} Display the contents of the numbered and named
1000 registers that are mentioned in {arg}. For example: >
1001 :dis 1a
1002< to display registers '1' and 'a'. Spaces are allowed
1003 in {arg}. {not in Vi}
1004
1005 *:di* *:display*
1006:di[splay] [arg] Same as :registers. {not in Vi}
1007
1008 *y* *yank*
1009["x]y{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. When no
1010 characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1),
1011 this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E'
1012 flag.
1013
1014 *yy*
1015["x]yy Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
1016
1017 *Y*
1018["x]Y yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for
1019 yy, |linewise|). If you like "Y" to work from the
1020 cursor to the end of line (which is more logical,
1021 but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$".
1022
1023 *v_y*
1024{Visual}["x]y Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for
1025 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1026
1027 *v_Y*
1028{Visual}["x]Y Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
1029 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1030
Bram Moolenaar85de2062011-05-05 14:26:41 +02001031 *:y* *:yank* *E850*
1032:[range]y[ank] [x] Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001033 "* or "+ registers is possible only when the
1034 |+clipboard| feature is included.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001035
1036:[range]y[ank] [x] {count}
1037 Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number
1038 in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|),
1039 [into register x].
1040
1041 *p* *put* *E353*
1042["x]p Put the text [from register x] after the cursor
1043 [count] times. {Vi: no count}
1044
1045 *P*
1046["x]P Put the text [from register x] before the cursor
1047 [count] times. {Vi: no count}
1048
1049 *<MiddleMouse>*
1050["x]<MiddleMouse> Put the text from a register before the cursor [count]
1051 times. Uses the "* register, unless another is
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001052 specified.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +00001053 Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text.
1054 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1055 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001056 {not in Vi}
1057 If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste
1058 text, you can use these mappings to disable the
1059 pasting with the middle mouse button: >
1060 :map <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1061 :imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1062< You might want to disable the multi-click versions
1063 too, see |double-click|.
1064
1065 *gp*
1066["x]gp Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new
1067 text. {not in Vi}
1068
1069 *gP*
1070["x]gP Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new
1071 text. {not in Vi}
1072
1073 *:pu* *:put*
1074:[line]pu[t] [x] Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default
1075 current line). This always works |linewise|, thus
1076 this command can be used to put a yanked block as new
1077 lines.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001078 If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb'
1079 option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the
1080 + register |quoteplus|. Otherwise, if 'cb' contains
Bram Moolenaarddbb5552012-04-26 20:17:03 +02001081 "unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001082 Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register
1083 |quote_quote|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001084 The register can also be '=' followed by an optional
1085 expression. The expression continues until the end of
1086 the command. You need to escape the '|' and '"'
1087 characters to prevent them from terminating the
1088 command. Example: >
1089 :put ='path' . \",/test\"
1090< If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the
1091 previous expression. You can see it with ":dis =".
1092
1093:[line]pu[t]! [x] Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default
1094 current line).
1095
1096["x]]p or *]p* *]<MiddleMouse>*
1097["x]]<MiddleMouse> Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1098 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1099 or 'a'. {not in Vi}
1100
1101["x][P or *[P*
1102["x]]P or *]P*
1103["x][p or *[p* *[<MiddleMouse>*
1104["x][<MiddleMouse> Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1105 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1106 or 'a'. {not in Vi}
1107
1108You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another. Do this
1109by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change
1110command, then inserting the register contents with a put command. You can
1111also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim
1112preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick
1113way to toggle between two files).
1114
1115 *linewise-register* *characterwise-register*
1116You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them. If
1117the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|,
1118Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is.
1119Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor. With
1120the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line. You can
1121exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp". You can exchange two
1122lines with the command sequence "ddp". You can exchange two words with the
1123command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the
1124first word). You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to
1125move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move
1126the cursor to the start.
1127
1128 *put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P*
1129When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to
1130replace the selected text with the contents of the register. Whether this
1131works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the
1132register. With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001133and whether the corners are on an existing character. (Implementation detail:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001134it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001135deleting the selection.)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001136The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register. If you want to
1137put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use
1138another register. E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to
1139replace and use "0p . You can repeat this as many times as you like, the
1140unnamed register will be changed each time.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001141
Bram Moolenaarec11aef2013-09-22 15:23:44 +02001142When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into
1143a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on
1144each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a
1145block of the pasted line).
1146
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001147 *blockwise-register*
1148If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register,
1149the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor
1150column in the current and next lines. Vim makes the whole block of text start
1151in the same column. Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was
1152yanked or deleted. Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make
1153this happen. However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab>
1154width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be
1155misaligned.
1156
1157Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the
1158first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer. This means
1159that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character
1160left.
1161Rationale: In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would
1162 sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character,
1163 because redisplaying was skipped. In Vim it always moves to
1164 the first character, as specified by Posix.
1165With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the
1166column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character.
1167
Bram Moolenaar12969c02015-09-08 23:36:10 +02001168There are ten types of registers: *registers* *E354*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000011691. The unnamed register ""
11702. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9
11713. The small delete register "-
11724. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011735. three read-only registers ":, "., "%
Bram Moolenaar0122c402015-02-03 19:13:34 +010011746. alternate buffer register "#
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011757. the expression register "=
11768. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
11779. The black hole register "_
117810. Last search pattern register "/
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001179
11801. Unnamed register "" *quote_quote* *quotequote*
1181Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands
1182or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001183register was used (e.g. "xdd). This is like the unnamed register is pointing
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001184to the last used register. Thus when appending using an uppercase register
1185name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register.
1186An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any
1187register.
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001188Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P)
1189which does not specify a register. Additionally you can access it with the
1190name '"'. This means you have to type two double quotes. Writing to the ""
1191register writes to register "0.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001192{Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'}
1193
11942. Numbered registers "0 to "9 *quote_number* *quote0* *quote1*
1195 *quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9*
1196Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands.
1197 Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command,
1198unless the command specified another register with ["x].
1199 Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or
1200change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is
1201less than one line (the small delete register is used then). An exception is
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001202made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|,
1203|/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|. Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi
1204compatible). The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line.
Bram Moolenaarbaca7f72013-09-22 14:42:24 +02001205Note that these characters may be mapped. E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +02001206plugin.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001207 With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents
1208of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous
1209contents of register 9.
1210{Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does
1211not exist}
1212
12133. Small delete register "- *quote_-* *quote-*
1214This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line,
1215except when the command specifies a register with ["x].
1216{not in Vi}
1217
12184. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z *quote_alpha* *quotea*
1219Vim fills these registers only when you say so. Specify them as lowercase
1220letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001221to their previous contents. When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then
1222a line break is inserted before the appended text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001223
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012245. Read-only registers ":, ". and "%
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001225These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'. You can use them only with the "p", "P",
1226and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R. {not in Vi}
1227 *quote_.* *quote.* *E29*
1228 ". Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted
1229 with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@). Note: this
1230 doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line. It works a bit
1231 differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it
1232 ('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted).
1233 *quote_%* *quote%*
1234 "% Contains the name of the current file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001235 *quote_:* *quote:* *E30*
1236 ": Contains the most recent executed command-line. Example: Use
1237 "@:" to repeat the previous command-line command.
1238 The command-line is only stored in this register when at least
1239 one character of it was typed. Thus it remains unchanged if
1240 the command was completely from a mapping.
1241 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist|
1242 feature}
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +01001243 *quote_#* *quote#*
12446. Alternate file register "#
1245Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window. It will
1246change how the |CTRL-^| command works.
1247This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has
1248changed it. It accepts buffer number: >
1249 let altbuf = bufnr(@#)
1250 ...
1251 let @# = altbuf
1252It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not
1253exist.
1254It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: >
1255 let @# = 'buffer_name'
1256Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94|
1257if none of buffers matches the given name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001258
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012597. Expression register "= *quote_=* *quote=* *@=*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001260This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an
1261expression in commands which use a register. The expression register is
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001262read-write.
1263
1264When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line,
1265where you can enter any expression (see |expression|). All normal
1266command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for
1267expressions. When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the
1268result of the expression. If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the
1269expression. If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001270expression (like with the "/" command).
1271
1272The expression must evaluate to a String. A Number is always automatically
1273converted to a String. For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a
1274Float it's converted into a String. If the result is a List each element is
1275turned into a String and used as a line. A Dictionary or FuncRef results in
1276an error message (use string() to convert).
1277
1278If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL>
1279characters. If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise
Bram Moolenaar6bab4d12005-06-16 21:53:56 +00001280register. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001281
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012828. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001283Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001284See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|. When the clipboard is not available or not
Bram Moolenaarf4d11452005-12-02 00:46:37 +00001285working, the unnamed register is used instead. For Unix systems the clipboard
1286is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001287
1288Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems. For
1289an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|. Under MS-Windows, use
1290of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|.
1291
1292 *quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>*
1293The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop
1294operation. When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is
1295filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification. You can remap
1296this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the
1297contents of the "~ register at the cursor position. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001298{only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001299GTK GUI}
1300
1301Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim.
1302Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally.
1303
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010013049. Black hole register "_ *quote_*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001305When writing to this register, nothing happens. This can be used to delete
1306text without affecting the normal registers. When reading from this register,
1307nothing is returned. {not in Vi}
1308
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +0100130910. Last search pattern register "/ *quote_/* *quote/*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001310Contains the most recent search-pattern. This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001311It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001312other matches without actually searching. You can't yank or delete into this
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001313register. The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|.
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001314Note that the value is restored when returning from a function
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001315|function-search-undo|.
1316{not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001317
1318 *@/*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001319You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001320 :let @/ = "the"
1321
1322If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register
1323that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register). If
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001324you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001325command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is
1326labelled '"').
1327
1328The next three commands always work on whole lines.
1329
1330:[range]co[py] {address} *:co* *:copy*
1331 Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line
1332 given by {address}.
1333
1334 *:t*
1335:t Synonym for copy.
1336
1337:[range]m[ove] {address} *:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134*
1338 Move the lines given by [range] to below the line
1339 given by {address}.
1340
1341==============================================================================
13426. Formatting text *formatting*
1343
1344:[range]ce[nter] [width] *:ce* *:center*
1345 Center lines in [range] between [width] columns
1346 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1347 {not in Vi}
1348 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1349 compile time.
1350
1351:[range]ri[ght] [width] *:ri* *:right*
1352 Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns
1353 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1354 {not in Vi}
1355 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1356 compile time.
1357
1358 *:le* *:left*
1359:[range]le[ft] [indent]
1360 Left-align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
1361 lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi}
1362 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1363 compile time.
1364
1365 *gq*
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001366gq{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001367 Formatting is done with one of three methods:
1368 1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is
1369 evaluated. This can differ for each buffer.
Bram Moolenaar4c7ed462006-02-15 22:18:42 +00001370 2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001371 is used.
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00001372 3. Otherwise formatting is done internally.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001373
1374 In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the
1375 length of each formatted line (see below).
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001376 If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line
1377 length is the screen width (with a maximum width of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001378 79).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001379 The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of
1380 formatting |fo-table|.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001381 The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last
1382 formatted line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001383 NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this
1384 function. If you still want to use "Q" for
1385 formatting, use this mapping: >
1386 :nnoremap Q gq
1387
1388gqgq *gqgq* *gqq*
Bram Moolenaar40af4e32010-07-29 22:33:18 +02001389gqq Format the current line. With a count format that
1390 many lines. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001391
1392 *v_gq*
1393{Visual}gq Format the highlighted text. (for {Visual} see
1394 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1395
1396 *gw*
1397gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. Similar to
1398 |gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001399 the text. However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are
1400 not used. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001401
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001402gwgw *gwgw* *gww*
1403gww Format the current line as with "gw". {not in Vi}
1404
1405 *v_gw*
1406{Visual}gw Format the highlighted text as with "gw". (for
1407 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1408
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001409Example: To format the current paragraph use: *gqap* >
1410 gqap
1411
1412The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes
1413the cursor. This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".". This
1414works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until
1415end of paragraph). Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on
1416the first formatted line (as with using a filter command).
1417
1418If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: >
1419 gwap
1420If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a'
1421flag to 'formatoptions'. See |auto-format|.
1422
1423If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for
1424the following lines.
1425
1426Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only
1427white space!).
1428
1429The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together.
1430
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001431You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option
1432to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting. The
1433'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external
1434program.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001435
1436 *right-justify*
1437There is no command in Vim to right justify text. You can do it with
1438an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the
1439paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par".
1440
1441 *format-comments*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001442An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual.
1443
1444Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way. Vim
1445recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring
1446white space). Three types of comments can be used:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001447
1448- A comment string that repeats at the start of each line. An example is the
1449 type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#".
1450- A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following
1451 lines. An example is this list with dashes.
1452- Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional
1453 lines in between. The strings for the start, middle and end are different.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001454 An example is the C style comment:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001455 /*
1456 * this is a C comment
1457 */
1458
1459The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part defines a
1460type of comment string. A part consists of:
1461 {flags}:{string}
1462
1463{string} is the literal text that must appear.
1464
1465{flags}:
1466 n Nested comment. Nesting with mixed parts is allowed. If 'comments'
1467 is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment.
1468
1469 b Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}.
1470
1471 f Only the first line has the comment string. Do not repeat comment on
1472 the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list).
1473
1474 s Start of three-piece comment
1475
1476 m Middle of a three-piece comment
1477
1478 e End of a three-piece comment
1479
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001480 l Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of
1481 start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle.
1482 This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001483
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001484 r Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See
1485 below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001487 O Don't consider this comment for the "O" command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001488
1489 x Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001490 character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new
1491 line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically.
1492 See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001493
1494 {digits}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001495 When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an
1496 automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins
1497 from a left alignment. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001498
1499 -{digits}
1500 Like {digits} but reduce the indent. This only works when there is
1501 some indent for the start or end part that can be removed.
1502
1503When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the
1504comment string repeats at the start of each line. The flags field may be
1505empty.
1506
1507Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the
1508{string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a
1509required part of the comment string.
1510
1511When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole.
1512For example, to include both "-" and "->", use >
1513 :set comments=f:->,f:-
1514
1515A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other
1516parts in between. An example of a three-piece comment is >
1517 sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/
1518for C-comments. To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string
1519includes the 'b' flag. For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after
1520the start and middle strings for the end string. If Vim finds the end string,
1521the comment does not continue on the next line. Three-piece comments must
1522have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines.
1523
1524Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition.
1525When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001526for the new line: " * ". To close this comment you just have to type "/"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001527before typing anything else on the new line. This will replace the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001528middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001529alignment, leaving just " */". There is no need to hit Backspace first.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001531When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end
1532part which is longer, the end part is used. This makes a C style comment work
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001533without requiring the middle part to end with a space.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001534
1535Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001536(kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: >
1537 :set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/
1538<
1539 /*** ~
1540 **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~
1541 ** ~
1542offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~
1543 ******/ ~
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001544In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times,
1545then "/" was pressed to end the comment.
1546
1547Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when
1548alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line
1549after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and
1550automatically ending a three-piece comment. The end alignment flag has a
1551backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with
1552"s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces.
1553Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number
1554will override the "r" and "l" flag.
1555
1556Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases.
1557Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult
1558alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other
1559formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options
1560for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001561indent alignments. However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with
1562three piece comments.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001563
1564Other examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001565 "b:*" Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is
1566 followed by a non-blank. This avoids a pointer dereference
1567 like "*str" to be recognized as a comment.
1568 "n:>" Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc.
1569 "fb:-" Format a list that starts with "- ".
1570
1571By default, "b:#" is included. This means that a line that starts with
1572"#include" is not recognized as a comment line. But a line that starts with
1573"# define" is recognized. This is a compromise.
1574
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001575{not available when compiled without the |+comments| feature}
1576
1577 *fo-table*
1578You can use the 'formatoptions' option to influence how Vim formats text.
1579'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below. The
1580default setting is "tcq". You can separate the option letters with commas for
1581readability.
1582
1583letter meaning when present in 'formatoptions' ~
1584
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +00001585t Auto-wrap text using textwidth
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001586c Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment
1587 leader automatically.
1588r Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting
1589 <Enter> in Insert mode.
1590o Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or
1591 'O' in Normal mode.
1592q Allow formatting of comments with "gq".
1593 Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing
1594 only the comment leader. A new paragraph starts after such a line,
1595 or when the comment leader changes.
1596w Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line.
1597 A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph.
1598a Automatic formatting of paragraphs. Every time text is inserted or
1599 deleted the paragraph will be reformatted. See |auto-format|.
1600 When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized
1601 comments.
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001602n When formatting text, recognize numbered lists. This actually uses
1603 the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used. The
1604 indent of the text after the number is used for the next line. The
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001605 default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')',
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001606 ']' or '}'. Note that 'autoindent' must be set too. Doesn't work
1607 well together with "2".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001608 Example: >
1609 1. the first item
1610 wraps
1611 2. the second item
16122 When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph
1613 for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first
1614 line. This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a
1615 different indent than the rest. Note that 'autoindent' must be set
1616 too. Example: >
1617 first line of a paragraph
1618 second line of the same paragraph
1619 third line.
Bram Moolenaar30b65812012-07-12 22:01:11 +02001620< This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001621v Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a
1622 blank that you have entered during the current insert command. (Note:
1623 this is not 100% Vi compatible. Vi has some "unexpected features" or
1624 bugs in this area. It uses the screen column instead of the line
1625 column.)
1626b Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before
1627 the wrap margin. If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you
1628 started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before
1629 reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping.
1630l Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than
1631 'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not
1632 automatically format it.
1633m Also break at a multi-byte character above 255. This is useful for
1634 Asian text where every character is a word on its own.
1635M When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multi-byte
1636 character. Overrules the 'B' flag.
1637B When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multi-byte
1638 characters. Overruled by the 'M' flag.
16391 Don't break a line after a one-letter word. It's broken before it
1640 instead (if possible).
Bram Moolenaar81340392012-06-06 16:12:59 +02001641j Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines. For
1642 example, joining:
1643 int i; // the index ~
1644 // in the list ~
1645 Becomes:
1646 int i; // the index in the list ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001647
1648
1649With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping:
1650value action ~
1651"" no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting)
1652"t" automatic formatting of text, but not comments
1653"c" automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code)
1654"tc" automatic formatting for text and comments
1655
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001656Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but
1657does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option). An exception
1658is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001659
1660Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all.
1661
1662Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping;
1663'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq".
1664
1665If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some
1666built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly.
1667Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in
1668'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically. The same
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001669happens with formatting and auto-wrapping. Opening a line after a line
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001670starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to
1671be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing
1672the start of the comment.
1673E.g.:
1674 /* ~
1675 * Your typical comment. ~
1676 */ ~
1677 The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above
1678 comment.
1679
1680All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new
1681:autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file.
1682
1683Some examples:
1684 for C code (only format comments): >
1685 :set fo=croq
1686< for Mail/news (format all, don't start comment with "o" command): >
1687 :set fo=tcrq
1688<
1689
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001690Automatic formatting *auto-format* *autoformat*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001691
1692When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted
1693automatically when inserting text or deleting text. This works nice for
1694editing text paragraphs. A few hints on how to use this:
1695
1696- You need to properly define paragraphs. The simplest is paragraphs that are
1697 separated by a blank line. When there is no separating blank line, consider
1698 using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the
1699 paragraphs except the last one.
1700
1701- You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or
1702 specifically for one file with a |modeline|.
1703
1704- Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this:
1705
1706 bla bla foobar bla
1707 bla foobar bla foobar bla
1708 bla bla foobar bla
1709 bla foobar bla bla foobar
1710
1711- Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments. Useful in source code.
1712
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001713- Set 'textwidth' to the desired width. If it is zero then 79 is used, or the
1714 width of the screen if this is smaller.
1715
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001716And a few warnings:
1717
1718- When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making
1719 changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway. Consider doing >
1720
1721 :set fo-=a
1722
1723- When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and
1724 deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be
1725 joined with the next one.
1726
1727- Changed text is saved for undo. Formatting is also a change. Thus each
1728 format action saves text for undo. This may consume quite a lot of memory.
1729
1730- Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow.
1731
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001732==============================================================================
17337. Sorting text *sorting*
1734
1735Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command. The sorting function can be
Bram Moolenaar327aa022014-03-25 18:24:23 +01001736found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001737
1738 *:sor* *:sort*
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001739:[range]sor[t][!] [i][u][r][n][x][o] [/{pattern}/]
Bram Moolenaare5180522005-12-10 20:19:46 +00001740 Sort lines in [range]. When no range is given all
1741 lines are sorted.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001742
1743 With [!] the order is reversed.
1744
1745 With [i] case is ignored.
1746
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001747 With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001748 in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001749 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001750
1751 With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001752 number in the line (after or inside a {pattern}
1753 match). A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001754 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001755
1756 With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001757 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001758
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001759 With [u] only keep the first of a sequence of
1760 identical lines (ignoring case when [i] is used).
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001761 Without this flag, a sequence of identical lines
1762 will be kept in their original order.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001763 Note that leading and trailing white space may cause
1764 lines to be different.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001765
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001766 When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag
1767 the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that
1768 you sort on what comes after the match.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001769 Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used.
1770 For example, to sort on the second comma-separated
1771 field: >
1772 :sort /[^,]*,/
1773< To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus
1774 ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): >
1775 :sort /.*\%10v/
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001776< To sort on the first number in the line, no matter
1777 what is in front of it: >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001778 :sort /.\{-}\ze\d/
1779< (Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the
1780 end of the match and \d matches a digit.)
1781 With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001782 instead of skipping past it as described above.
1783 For example, to sort on only the first three letters
1784 of each line: >
1785 :sort /\a\a\a/ r
1786
1787< If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a
1788 match for {pattern} are kept in their current order,
1789 but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}.
1790 If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse
1791 order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be
1792 in their original order, right before the sorted
1793 lines.
1794
Bram Moolenaar1256e722007-07-10 15:26:20 +00001795 If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the
1796 last search pattern is used. This allows trying out
1797 a pattern first.
1798
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001799Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001800quite useless.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001801
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001802The details about sorting depend on the library function used. There is no
Bram Moolenaar8bb1c3e2014-07-04 16:43:17 +02001803guarantee that sorting obeys the current locale. You will have to try it out.
1804Vim does do a "stable" sort.
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001805
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001806The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the
1807process you may end up with duplicated lines. This also depends on the system
1808library function used.
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +00001809
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001810 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: