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Bram Moolenaar426e5c92008-01-11 20:02:02 +00001*various.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2008 Jan 11
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Various commands *various*
8
91. Various commands |various-cmds|
102. Online help |online-help|
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +0000113. Using Vim like less or more |less|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000012
13==============================================================================
141. Various commands *various-cmds*
15
16 *CTRL-L*
Bram Moolenaar30abd282005-06-22 22:35:10 +000017CTRL-L Clear and redraw the screen. The redraw may happen
18 later, after processing typeahead.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000019
20 *:redr* *:redraw*
21:redr[aw][!] Redraw the screen right now. When ! is included it is
22 cleared first.
23 Useful to update the screen halfway executing a script
24 or function. Also when halfway a mapping and
25 'lazyredraw' is set.
26
27 *:redraws* *:redrawstatus*
28:redraws[tatus][!] Redraw the status line of the current window. When !
29 is included all status lines are redrawn.
30 Useful to update the status line(s) when 'statusline'
31 includes an item that doesn't cause automatic
32 updating.
33
34 *N<Del>*
35<Del> When entering a number: Remove the last digit.
36 Note: if you like to use <BS> for this, add this
37 mapping to your .vimrc: >
38 :map CTRL-V <BS> CTRL-V <Del>
39< See |:fixdel| if your <Del> key does not do what you
40 want.
41
42:as[cii] or *ga* *:as* *:ascii*
43ga Print the ascii value of the character under the
44 cursor in decimal, hexadecimal and octal. For
45 example, when the cursor is on a 'R':
46 <R> 82, Hex 52, Octal 122 ~
47 When the character is a non-standard ASCII character,
48 but printable according to the 'isprint' option, the
49 non-printable version is also given. When the
50 character is larger than 127, the <M-x> form is also
51 printed. For example:
52 <~A> <M-^A> 129, Hex 81, Octal 201 ~
53 <p> <|~> <M-~> 254, Hex fe, Octal 376 ~
54 (where <p> is a special character)
55 The <Nul> character in a file is stored internally as
56 <NL>, but it will be shown as:
57 <^@> 0, Hex 00, Octal 000 ~
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +000058 If the character has composing characters these are
59 also shown. The value of 'maxcombine' doesn't matter.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060 Mnemonic: Get Ascii value. {not in Vi}
61
62 *g8*
63g8 Print the hex values of the bytes used in the
64 character under the cursor, assuming it is in |UTF-8|
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +000065 encoding. This also shows composing characters. The
66 value of 'maxcombine' doesn't matter.
67 Example of a character with two composing characters:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000068 e0 b8 81 + e0 b8 b9 + e0 b9 89 ~
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +000069 {not in Vi} {only when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
70 feature}
71
72 *8g8*
738g8 Find an illegal UTF-8 byte sequence at or after the
74 cursor. This works in two situations:
75 1. when 'encoding' is any 8-bit encoding
76 2. when 'encoding' is "utf-8" and 'fileencoding' is
77 any 8-bit encoding
78 Thus it can be used when editing a file that was
79 supposed to be UTF-8 but was read as if it is an 8-bit
80 encoding because it contains illegal bytes.
81 Does not wrap around the end of the file.
82 Note that when the cursor is on an illegal byte or the
83 cursor is halfway a multi-byte character the command
84 won't move the cursor.
85 {not in Vi} {only when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
86 feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000087
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +000088 *:p* *:pr* *:print* *E749*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +000089:[range]p[rint] [flags]
90 Print [range] lines (default current line).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000091 Note: If you are looking for a way to print your text
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +000092 on paper see |:hardcopy|. In the GUI you can use the
93 File.Print menu entry.
94 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000095
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +000096:[range]p[rint] {count} [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000097 Print {count} lines, starting with [range] (default
98 current line |cmdline-ranges|).
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +000099 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000100
101 *:P* *:Print*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000102:[range]P[rint] [count] [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000103 Just as ":print". Was apparently added to Vi for
104 people that keep the shift key pressed too long...
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000105 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000106
107 *:l* *:list*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000108:[range]l[ist] [count] [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000109 Same as :print, but display unprintable characters
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000110 with '^' and put $ after the line.
111 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000112
113 *:nu* *:number*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000114:[range]nu[mber] [count] [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000115 Same as :print, but precede each line with its line
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +0000116 number. (See also 'highlight' and 'numberwidth'
117 option).
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000118 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000119
120 *:#*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000121:[range]# [count] [flags]
122 synonym for :number.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000123
Bram Moolenaarc81e5e72007-05-05 18:24:42 +0000124 *:#!*
125:#!{anything} Ignored, so that you can start a Vim script with: >
126 #!/usr/bin/env vim -S
127 echo "this is a Vim script"
128 quit
129<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000130 *:z* *E144*
131:{range}z[+-^.=]{count} Display several lines of text surrounding the line
132 specified with {range}, or around the current line
133 if there is no {range}. If there is a {count}, that's
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +0000134 how many lines you'll see; if there is only one window
135 then the 'window' option is used, otherwise the
136 current window size is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000137
138 :z can be used either alone or followed by any of
139 several punctuation marks. These have the following
140 effect:
141
142 mark first line last line new location ~
143 ---- ---------- --------- ------------
144 + current line 1 scr forward 1 scr forward
145 - 1 scr back current line current line
146 ^ 2 scr back 1 scr back 1 scr back
Bram Moolenaar2a8d1f82005-02-05 21:43:56 +0000147 . 1/2 scr back 1/2 scr fwd 1/2 scr fwd
148 = 1/2 scr back 1/2 scr fwd current line
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000149
150 Specifying no mark at all is the same as "+".
151 If the mark is "=", a line of dashes is printed
152 around the current line.
153
154:{range}z#[+-^.=]{count} *:z#*
155 Like ":z", but number the lines.
156 {not in all versions of Vi, not with these arguments}
157
158 *:=*
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000159:= [flags] Print the last line number.
160 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000161
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000162:{range}= [flags] Prints the last line number in {range}. For example,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000163 this prints the current line number: >
164 :.=
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000165< See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000166
167:norm[al][!] {commands} *:norm* *:normal*
168 Execute Normal mode commands {commands}. This makes
169 it possible to execute Normal mode commands typed on
170 the command-line. {commands} is executed like it is
171 typed. For undo all commands are undone together.
Bram Moolenaarc81e5e72007-05-05 18:24:42 +0000172 Execution stops when an error is encountered.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000173 If the [!] is given, mappings will not be used.
174 {commands} should be a complete command. If
175 {commands} does not finish a command, the last one
176 will be aborted as if <Esc> or <C-C> was typed.
177 The display isn't updated while ":normal" is busy.
178 This implies that an insert command must be completed
179 (to start Insert mode, see |:startinsert|). A ":"
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000180 command must be completed as well. And you can't use
181 "Q" or "gQ" to start Ex mode.
Bram Moolenaar13fcaaf2005-04-15 21:13:42 +0000182 {commands} cannot start with a space. Put a 1 (one)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000183 before it, 1 space is one space.
184 The 'insertmode' option is ignored for {commands}.
185 This command cannot be followed by another command,
186 since any '|' is considered part of the command.
187 This command can be used recursively, but the depth is
188 limited by 'maxmapdepth'.
189 When this command is called from a non-remappable
190 mapping |:noremap|, the argument can be mapped anyway.
191 An alternative is to use |:execute|, which uses an
192 expression as argument. This allows the use of
193 printable characters. Example: >
194 :exe "normal \<c-w>\<c-w>"
195< {not in Vi, of course}
196 {not available when the |+ex_extra| feature was
197 disabled at compile time}
198
199:{range}norm[al][!] {commands} *:normal-range*
200 Execute Normal mode commands {commands} for each line
201 in the {range}. Before executing the {commands}, the
202 cursor is positioned in the first column of the range,
203 for each line. Otherwise it's the same as the
204 ":normal" command without a range.
205 {not in Vi}
206 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
207 compile time.
208
209 *:sh* *:shell* *E371*
210:sh[ell] This command starts a shell. When the shell exits
211 (after the "exit" command) you return to Vim. The
212 name for the shell command comes from 'shell' option.
213 *E360*
214 Note: This doesn't work when Vim on the Amiga was
215 started in QuickFix mode from a compiler, because the
216 compiler will have set stdin to a non-interactive
217 mode.
218
219 *:!cmd* *:!* *E34*
220:!{cmd} Execute {cmd} with the shell. See also the 'shell'
221 and 'shelltype' option.
222 Any '!' in {cmd} is replaced with the previous
223 external command (see also 'cpoptions'). But not when
224 there is a backslash before the '!', then that
225 backslash is removed. Example: ":!ls" followed by
226 ":!echo ! \! \\!" executes "echo ls ! \!".
227 After the command has been executed, the timestamp of
228 the current file is checked |timestamp|.
229 There cannot be a '|' in {cmd}, see |:bar|.
230 A newline character ends {cmd}, what follows is
231 interpreted as a following ":" command. However, if
232 there is a backslash before the newline it is removed
233 and {cmd} continues. It doesn't matter how many
234 backslashes are before the newline, only one is
235 removed.
236 On Unix the command normally runs in a non-interactive
237 shell. If you want an interactive shell to be used
238 (to use aliases) set 'shellcmdflag' to "-ic".
239 For Win32 also see |:!start|.
240 Vim redraws the screen after the command is finished,
241 because it may have printed any text. This requires a
242 hit-enter prompt, so that you can read any messages.
243 To avoid this use: >
244 :silent !{cmd}
245< The screen is not redrawn then, thus you have to use
246 CTRL-L or ":redraw!" if the command did display
247 something.
248 Also see |shell-window|.
249
250 *:!!*
251:!! Repeat last ":!{cmd}".
252
253 *:ve* *:version*
254:ve[rsion] Print the version number of the editor. If the
255 compiler used understands "__DATE__" the compilation
256 date is mentioned. Otherwise a fixed release-date is
257 shown.
258 The following lines contain information about which
259 features were enabled when Vim was compiled. When
260 there is a preceding '+', the feature is included,
261 when there is a '-' it is excluded. To change this,
262 you have to edit feature.h and recompile Vim.
263 To check for this in an expression, see |has()|.
264 Here is an overview of the features.
265 The first column shows the smallest version in which
266 they are included:
267 T tiny
268 S small
269 N normal
270 B big
271 H huge
272 m manually enabled or depends on other features
273 (none) system dependent
274 Thus if a feature is marked with "N", it is included
275 in the normal, big and huge versions of Vim.
276
277 *+feature-list*
278 *+ARP* Amiga only: ARP support included
279B *+arabic* |Arabic| language support
280N *+autocmd* |:autocmd|, automatic commands
Bram Moolenaar4d34b432005-03-07 23:22:00 +0000281m *+balloon_eval* |balloon-eval| support. Included when compiling with
282 supported GUI (Motif, GTK, GUI) and either
283 Netbeans/Sun Workshop integration or |+eval| feature.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000284N *+browse* |:browse| command
285N *+builtin_terms* some terminals builtin |builtin-terms|
286B *++builtin_terms* maximal terminals builtin |builtin-terms|
287N *+byte_offset* support for 'o' flag in 'statusline' option, "go"
288 and ":goto" commands.
289N *+cindent* |'cindent'|, C indenting
290N *+clientserver* Unix and Win32: Remote invocation |clientserver|
291 *+clipboard* |clipboard| support
292N *+cmdline_compl* command line completion |cmdline-completion|
293N *+cmdline_hist* command line history |cmdline-history|
294N *+cmdline_info* |'showcmd'| and |'ruler'|
295N *+comments* |'comments'| support
296N *+cryptv* encryption support |encryption|
297B *+cscope* |cscope| support
Bram Moolenaarac6e65f2005-08-29 22:25:38 +0000298m *+cursorshape* |termcap-cursor-shape| support
299m *+debug* Compiled for debugging.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000300N *+dialog_gui* Support for |:confirm| with GUI dialog.
301N *+dialog_con* Support for |:confirm| with console dialog.
302N *+dialog_con_gui* Support for |:confirm| with GUI and console dialog.
303N *+diff* |vimdiff| and 'diff'
304N *+digraphs* |digraphs| *E196*
305 *+dnd* Support for DnD into the "~ register |quote_~|.
306B *+emacs_tags* |emacs-tags| files
307N *+eval* expression evaluation |eval.txt|
308N *+ex_extra* Vim's extra Ex commands: |:center|, |:left|,
309 |:normal|, |:retab| and |:right|
310N *+extra_search* |'hlsearch'| and |'incsearch'| options.
311B *+farsi* |farsi| language
312N *+file_in_path* |gf|, |CTRL-W_f| and |<cfile>|
313N *+find_in_path* include file searches: |[I|, |:isearch|,
314 |CTRL-W_CTRL-I|, |:checkpath|, etc.
315N *+folding* |folding|
316 *+footer* |gui-footer|
317 *+fork* Unix only: |fork| shell commands
318N *+gettext* message translations |multi-lang|
319 *+GUI_Athena* Unix only: Athena |GUI|
320 *+GUI_neXtaw* Unix only: neXtaw |GUI|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000321 *+GUI_GTK* Unix only: GTK+ |GUI|
322 *+GUI_Motif* Unix only: Motif |GUI|
323 *+GUI_Photon* QNX only: Photon |GUI|
324m *+hangul_input* Hangul input support |hangul|
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000325 *+iconv* Compiled with the |iconv()| function
326 *+iconv/dyn* Likewise |iconv-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000327N *+insert_expand* |insert_expand| Insert mode completion
328N *+jumplist* |jumplist|
329B *+keymap* |'keymap'|
330B *+langmap* |'langmap'|
331N *+libcall* |libcall()|
332N *+linebreak* |'linebreak'|, |'breakat'| and |'showbreak'|
333N *+lispindent* |'lisp'|
334N *+listcmds* Vim commands for the list of buffers |buffer-hidden|
335 and argument list |:argdelete|
336N *+localmap* Support for mappings local to a buffer |:map-local|
337N *+menu* |:menu|
338N *+mksession* |:mksession|
339N *+modify_fname* |filename-modifiers|
340N *+mouse* Mouse handling |mouse-using|
341N *+mouseshape* |'mouseshape'|
342B *+mouse_dec* Unix only: Dec terminal mouse handling |dec-mouse|
343N *+mouse_gpm* Unix only: Linux console mouse handling |gpm-mouse|
344B *+mouse_netterm* Unix only: netterm mouse handling |netterm-mouse|
345N *+mouse_pterm* QNX only: pterm mouse handling |qnx-terminal|
346N *+mouse_xterm* Unix only: xterm mouse handling |xterm-mouse|
347B *+multi_byte* Korean and other languages |multibyte|
348 *+multi_byte_ime* Win32 input method for multibyte chars |multibyte-ime|
349N *+multi_lang* non-English language support |multi-lang|
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +0000350m *+mzscheme* Mzscheme interface |mzscheme|
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +0000351m *+mzscheme/dyn* Mzscheme interface |mzscheme-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000352m *+netbeans_intg* |netbeans|
353m *+ole* Win32 GUI only: |ole-interface|
354 *+osfiletype* Support for the 'osfiletype' option and filetype
355 checking in automatic commands. |autocmd-osfiletypes|
356N *+path_extra* Up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000357m *+perl* Perl interface |perl|
358m *+perl/dyn* Perl interface |perl-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000359 *+postscript* |:hardcopy| writes a PostScript file
360N *+printer* |:hardcopy| command
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +0000361H *+profile* |:profile| command
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000362m *+python* Python interface |python|
363m *+python/dyn* Python interface |python-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000364N *+quickfix* |:make| and |quickfix| commands
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +0000365N *+reltime* |reltime()| function
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000366B *+rightleft* Right to left typing |'rightleft'|
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000367m *+ruby* Ruby interface |ruby|
368m *+ruby/dyn* Ruby interface |ruby-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000369N *+scrollbind* |'scrollbind'|
370B *+signs* |:sign|
371N *+smartindent* |'smartindent'|
372m *+sniff* SniFF interface |sniff|
373N *+statusline* Options 'statusline', 'rulerformat' and special
374 formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'
375m *+sun_workshop* |workshop|
376N *+syntax* Syntax highlighting |syntax|
377 *+system()* Unix only: opposite of |+fork|
378N *+tag_binary* binary searching in tags file |tag-binary-search|
379N *+tag_old_static* old method for static tags |tag-old-static|
380m *+tag_any_white* any white space allowed in tags file |tag-any-white|
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +0000381m *+tcl* Tcl interface |tcl|
382m *+tcl/dyn* Tcl interface |tcl-dynamic| |/dyn|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000383 *+terminfo* uses |terminfo| instead of termcap
384N *+termresponse* support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|
385N *+textobjects* |text-objects| selection
386 *+tgetent* non-Unix only: able to use external termcap
Bram Moolenaarc81e5e72007-05-05 18:24:42 +0000387N *+title* Setting the window 'title' and 'icon'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000388N *+toolbar* |gui-toolbar|
389N *+user_commands* User-defined commands. |user-commands|
390N *+viminfo* |'viminfo'|
391N *+vertsplit* Vertically split windows |:vsplit|
392N *+virtualedit* |'virtualedit'|
393S *+visual* Visual mode |Visual-mode|
394N *+visualextra* extra Visual mode commands |blockwise-operators|
395N *+vreplace* |gR| and |gr|
396N *+wildignore* |'wildignore'|
397N *+wildmenu* |'wildmenu'|
398S *+windows* more than one window
399m *+writebackup* |'writebackup'| is default on
400m *+xim* X input method |xim|
401 *+xfontset* X fontset support |xfontset|
402 *+xsmp* XSMP (X session management) support
403 *+xsmp_interact* interactive XSMP (X session management) support
404N *+xterm_clipboard* Unix only: xterm clipboard handling
405m *+xterm_save* save and restore xterm screen |xterm-screens|
406N *+X11* Unix only: can restore window title |X11|
407
408 */dyn* *E370* *E448*
409 To some of the features "/dyn" is added when the
410 feature is only available when the related library can
411 be dynamically loaded.
412
413:ve[rsion] {nr} Is now ignored. This was previously used to check the
414 version number of a .vimrc file. It was removed,
415 because you can now use the ":if" command for
416 version-dependent behavior. {not in Vi}
417
418 *:redi* *:redir*
419:redi[r][!] > {file} Redirect messages to file {file}. The messages which
420 are the output of commands are written to that file,
421 until redirection ends. The messages are also still
422 shown on the screen. When [!] is included, an
423 existing file is overwritten. When [!] is omitted,
424 and {file} exists, this command fails.
425 Only one ":redir" can be active at a time. Calls to
426 ":redir" will close any active redirection before
427 starting redirection to the new target.
428 To stop the messages and commands from being echoed to
429 the screen, put the commands in a function and call it
430 with ":silent call Function()".
Bram Moolenaar54ee7752005-05-31 22:22:17 +0000431 An alternative is to use the 'verbosefile' option,
432 this can be used in combination with ":redir".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000433 {not in Vi}
434
435:redi[r] >> {file} Redirect messages to file {file}. Append if {file}
436 already exists. {not in Vi}
437
Bram Moolenaar6c0b44b2005-06-01 21:56:33 +0000438:redi[r] @{a-zA-Z}> Redirect messages to register {a-z}. Append to the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000439 contents of the register if its name is given
Bram Moolenaar6c0b44b2005-06-01 21:56:33 +0000440 uppercase {A-Z}. For backward compatibility, the ">"
441 after the register name can be omitted. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar34cdc3e2005-05-18 22:24:46 +0000442:redi[r] @{a-z}>> Append messages to register {a-z}. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000443
Bram Moolenaarc81e5e72007-05-05 18:24:42 +0000444:redi[r] @*>
445:redi[r] @+> Redirect messages to the selection or clipboard. For
446 backward compatibility, the ">" after the register
447 name can be omitted. See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|.
448 {not in Vi}
449:redi[r] @*>>
450:redi[r] @+>> Append messages to the selection or clipboard.
451 {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000452
Bram Moolenaar6c0b44b2005-06-01 21:56:33 +0000453:redi[r] @"> Redirect messages to the unnamed register. For
454 backward compatibility, the ">" after the register
455 name can be omitted. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar34cdc3e2005-05-18 22:24:46 +0000456:redi[r] @">> Append messages to the unnamed register. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000457
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000458:redi[r] => {var} Redirect messages to a variable. If the variable
459 doesn't exist, then it is created. If the variable
460 exists, then it is initialized to an empty string.
Bram Moolenaarc81e5e72007-05-05 18:24:42 +0000461 The variable will remain empty until redirection ends.
Bram Moolenaar5313dcb2005-02-22 08:56:13 +0000462 Only string variables can be used. After the
463 redirection starts, if the variable is removed or
464 locked or the variable type is changed, then further
465 command output messages will cause errors. {not in Vi}
466
467:redi[r] =>> {var} Append messages to an existing variable. Only string
468 variables can be used. {not in Vi}
469
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000470:redi[r] END End redirecting messages. {not in Vi}
471
472 *:sil* *:silent*
473:sil[ent][!] {command} Execute {command} silently. Normal messages will not
474 be given or added to the message history.
475 When [!] is added, error messages will also be
476 skipped, and commands and mappings will not be aborted
477 when an error is detected. |v:errmsg| is still set.
478 When [!] is not used, an error message will cause
479 further messages to be displayed normally.
480 Redirection, started with |:redir|, will continue as
481 usual, although there might be small differences.
482 This will allow redirecting the output of a command
483 without seeing it on the screen. Example: >
484 :redir >/tmp/foobar
485 :silent g/Aap/p
486 :redir END
487< To execute a Normal mode command silently, use the
488 |:normal| command. For example, to search for a
489 string without messages: >
490 :silent exe "normal /path\<CR>"
491< ":silent!" is useful to execute a command that may
492 fail, but the failure is to be ignored. Example: >
493 :let v:errmsg = ""
494 :silent! /^begin
495 :if v:errmsg != ""
496 : ... pattern was not found
497< ":silent" will also avoid the hit-enter prompt. When
498 using this for an external command, this may cause the
499 screen to be messed up. Use |CTRL-L| to clean it up
500 then.
501 ":silent menu ..." defines a menu that will not echo a
502 Command-line command. The command will still produce
503 messages though. Use ":silent" in the command itself
504 to avoid that: ":silent menu .... :silent command".
505
506 *:verb* *:verbose*
507:[count]verb[ose] {command}
508 Execute {command} with 'verbose' set to [count]. If
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +0000509 [count] is omitted one is used. ":0verbose" can be
510 used to set 'verbose' to zero.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000511 The additional use of ":silent" makes messages
512 generated but not displayed.
513 The combination of ":silent" and ":verbose" can be
514 used to generate messages and check them with
515 |v:statusmsg| and friends. For example: >
516 :let v:statusmsg = ""
517 :silent verbose runtime foobar.vim
518 :if v:statusmsg != ""
519 : " foobar.vim could not be found
520 :endif
521< When concatenating another command, the ":verbose"
522 only applies to the first one: >
523 :4verbose set verbose | set verbose
524< verbose=4 ~
525 verbose=0 ~
Bram Moolenaar54ee7752005-05-31 22:22:17 +0000526 For logging verbose messages in a file use the
527 'verbosefile' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000528
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +0000529 *:verbose-cmd*
530When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing the value of a Vim option or a key map or
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +0000531an abbreviation or a user-defined function or a command or a highlight group
532or an autocommand will also display where it was last defined. If it was
533defined manually then there will be no "Last set" message. When it was
534defined while executing a function, user command or autocommand, the script in
535which it was defined is reported.
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +0000536{not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
537
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000538 *K*
539K Run a program to lookup the keyword under the
540 cursor. The name of the program is given with the
541 'keywordprg' (kp) option (default is "man"). The
542 keyword is formed of letters, numbers and the
543 characters in 'iskeyword'. The keyword under or
544 right of the cursor is used. The same can be done
545 with the command >
546 :!{program} {keyword}
547< There is an example of a program to use in the tools
548 directory of Vim. It is called 'ref' and does a
549 simple spelling check.
550 Special cases:
551 - If 'keywordprg' is empty, the ":help" command is
552 used. It's a good idea to include more characters
553 in 'iskeyword' then, to be able to find more help.
554 - When 'keywordprg' is equal to "man", a count before
555 "K" is inserted after the "man" command and before
556 the keyword. For example, using "2K" while the
557 cursor is on "mkdir", results in: >
558 !man 2 mkdir
559< - When 'keywordprg' is equal to "man -s", a count
560 before "K" is inserted after the "-s". If there is
561 no count, the "-s" is removed.
562 {not in Vi}
563
564 *v_K*
565{Visual}K Like "K", but use the visually highlighted text for
566 the keyword. Only works when the highlighted text is
567 not more than one line. {not in Vi}
568
569[N]gs *gs* *:sl* *:sleep*
570:[N]sl[eep] [N] [m] Do nothing for [N] seconds. When [m] is included,
Bram Moolenaar13fcaaf2005-04-15 21:13:42 +0000571 sleep for [N] milliseconds. The count for "gs" always
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000572 uses seconds. The default is one second. >
573 :sleep "sleep for one second
574 :5sleep "sleep for five seconds
575 :sleep 100m "sleep for a hundred milliseconds
576 10gs "sleep for ten seconds
577< Can be interrupted with CTRL-C (CTRL-Break on MS-DOS).
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +0000578 "gs" stands for "goto sleep".
579 While sleeping the cursor is positioned in the text,
580 if at a visible position. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000581
582 *g_CTRL-A*
583g CTRL-A Only when Vim was compiled with MEM_PROFILING defined
584 (which is very rare): print memory usage statistics.
585 Only useful for debugging Vim.
586
587==============================================================================
5882. Online help *online-help*
589
590 *help* *<Help>* *:h* *:help* *<F1>* *i_<F1>* *i_<Help>*
591<Help> or
592:h[elp] Open a window and display the help file in read-only
593 mode. If there is a help window open already, use
594 that one. Otherwise, if the current window uses the
595 full width of the screen or is at least 80 characters
596 wide, the help window will appear just above the
597 current window. Otherwise the new window is put at
598 the very top.
599 The 'helplang' option is used to select a language, if
600 the main help file is available in several languages.
601 {not in Vi}
602
603 *{subject}* *E149* *E661*
604:h[elp] {subject} Like ":help", additionally jump to the tag {subject}.
605 {subject} can include wildcards like "*", "?" and
606 "[a-z]":
607 :help z? jump to help for any "z" command
608 :help z. jump to the help for "z."
609 If there is no full match for the pattern, or there
610 are several matches, the "best" match will be used.
611 A sophisticated algorithm is used to decide which
612 match is better than another one. These items are
613 considered in the computation:
614 - A match with same case is much better than a match
615 with different case.
616 - A match that starts after a non-alphanumeric
617 character is better than a match in the middle of a
618 word.
619 - A match at or near the beginning of the tag is
620 better than a match further on.
621 - The more alphanumeric characters match, the better.
622 - The shorter the length of the match, the better.
623
624 The 'helplang' option is used to select a language, if
625 the {subject} is available in several languages.
626 To find a tag in a specific language, append "@ab",
627 where "ab" is the two-letter language code. See
628 |help-translated|.
629
630 Note that the longer the {subject} you give, the less
631 matches will be found. You can get an idea how this
632 all works by using commandline completion (type CTRL-D
633 after ":help subject").
634 If there are several matches, you can have them listed
635 by hitting CTRL-D. Example: >
636 :help cont<Ctrl-D>
637< To use a regexp |pattern|, first do ":help" and then
638 use ":tag {pattern}" in the help window. The
639 ":tnext" command can then be used to jump to other
640 matches, "tselect" to list matches and choose one. >
641 :help index| :tse z.
642< This command can be followed by '|' and another
643 command, but you don't need to escape the '|' inside a
644 help command. So these both work: >
645 :help |
646 :help k| only
647< Note that a space before the '|' is seen as part of
648 the ":help" argument.
649 You can also use <LF> or <CR> to separate the help
650 command from a following command. You need to type
651 CTRL-V first to insert the <LF> or <CR>. Example: >
652 :help so<C-V><CR>only
653< {not in Vi}
654
655:h[elp]! [subject] Like ":help", but in non-English help files prefer to
656 find a tag in a file with the same language as the
657 current file. See |help-translated|.
658
659 *:helpg* *:helpgrep*
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000660:helpg[rep] {pattern}[@xx]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000661 Search all help text files and make a list of lines
662 in which {pattern} matches. Jumps to the first match.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000663 The optional [@xx] specifies that only matches in the
664 "xx" language are to be found.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000665 You can navigate through the matches with the
666 |quickfix| commands, e.g., |:cnext| to jump to the
667 next one. Or use |:cwindow| to get the list of
668 matches in the quickfix window.
669 {pattern} is used as a Vim regexp |pattern|.
670 'ignorecase' is not used, add "\c" to ignore case.
671 Example for case sensitive search: >
672 :helpgrep Uganda
673< Example for case ignoring search: >
674 :helpgrep uganda\c
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +0000675< Example for searching in French help: >
676 :helpgrep backspace@fr
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000677< Cannot be followed by another command, everything is
678 used as part of the pattern. But you can use
679 |:execute| when needed.
680 Compressed help files will not be searched (Debian
681 compresses the help files).
682 {not in Vi}
683
Bram Moolenaar8b6144b2006-02-08 09:20:24 +0000684 *:lh* *:lhelpgrep*
685:lh[elpgrep] {pattern}[@xx]
686 Same as ":helpgrep", except the location list is used
687 instead of the quickfix list. If the help window is
688 already opened, then the location list for that window
689 is used. Otherwise, a new help window is opened and
690 the location list for that window is set. The
691 location list for the current window is not changed.
692
Bram Moolenaarb5bf5b82004-12-24 14:35:23 +0000693 *:exu* *:exusage*
694:exu[sage] Show help on Ex commands. Added to simulate the Nvi
695 command. {not in Vi}
696
697 *:viu* *:viusage*
698:viu[sage] Show help on Normal mode commands. Added to simulate
699 the Nvi command. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000700
701When no argument is given to |:help| the file given with the 'helpfile' option
702will be opened. Otherwise the specified tag is searched for in all "doc/tags"
703files in the directories specified in the 'runtimepath' option.
704
705The initial height of the help window can be set with the 'helpheight' option
706(default 20).
707
708Jump to specific subjects by using tags. This can be done in two ways:
709- Use the "CTRL-]" command while standing on the name of a command or option.
710 This only works when the tag is a keyword. "<C-Leftmouse>" and
711 "g<LeftMouse>" work just like "CTRL-]".
712- use the ":ta {subject}" command. This also works with non-keyword
713 characters.
714
715Use CTRL-T or CTRL-O to jump back.
716Use ":q" to close the help window.
717
718If there are several matches for an item you are looking for, this is how you
719can jump to each one of them:
7201. Open a help window
7212. Use the ":tag" command with a slash prepended to the tag. E.g.: >
722 :tag /min
7233. Use ":tnext" to jump to the next matching tag.
724
725It is possible to add help files for plugins and other items. You don't need
726to change the distributed help files for that. See |add-local-help|.
727
728To write a local help file, see |write-local-help|.
729
730Note that the title lines from the local help files are automagically added to
731the "LOCAL ADDITIONS" section in the "help.txt" help file |local-additions|.
732This is done when viewing the file in Vim, the file itself is not changed. It
733is done by going through all help files and obtaining the first line of each
734file. The files in $VIMRUNTIME/doc are skipped.
735
736 *help-xterm-window*
737If you want to have the help in another xterm window, you could use this
738command: >
739 :!xterm -e vim +help &
740<
741
742 *:helpfind* *:helpf*
743:helpf[ind] Like |:help|, but use a dialog to enter the argument.
744 Only for backwards compatibility. It now executes the
745 ToolBar.FindHelp menu entry instead of using a builtin
746 dialog. {only when compiled with |+GUI_GTK|}
747< {not in Vi}
748
749 *:helpt* *:helptags*
750 *E154* *E150* *E151* *E152* *E153* *E670*
Bram Moolenaar426e5c92008-01-11 20:02:02 +0000751:helpt[ags] [++t] {dir}
752 Generate the help tags file(s) for directory {dir}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000753 All "*.txt" and "*.??x" files in the directory are
754 scanned for a help tag definition in between stars.
755 The "*.??x" files are for translated docs, they
756 generate the "tags-??" file, see |help-translated|.
757 The generated tags files are sorted.
758 When there are duplicates an error message is given.
759 An existing tags file is silently overwritten.
Bram Moolenaar426e5c92008-01-11 20:02:02 +0000760 The optional "++t" argument forces adding the
761 "help-tags" tag. This is also done when the {dir} is
762 equal to $VIMRUNTIME/doc.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000763 To rebuild the help tags in the runtime directory
764 (requires write permission there): >
765 :helptags $VIMRUNTIME/doc
766< {not in Vi}
767
768
769TRANSLATED HELP *help-translated*
770
771It is possible to add translated help files, next to the original English help
772files. Vim will search for all help in "doc" directories in 'runtimepath'.
773This is only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang| feature.
774
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +0000775At this moment translations are available for:
776 Chinese - multiple authors
777 French - translated by David Blanchet
778 Italian - translated by Antonio Colombo
Bram Moolenaar42bbef42006-03-25 22:02:07 +0000779 Polish - translated by Mikolaj Machowski
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +0000780 Russian - translated by Vassily Ragosin
781See the Vim website to find them: http://www.vim.org/translations.php
782
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000783A set of translated help files consists of these files:
784
785 help.abx
786 howto.abx
787 ...
788 tags-ab
789
790"ab" is the two-letter language code. Thus for Italian the names are:
791
792 help.itx
793 howto.itx
794 ...
795 tags-it
796
797The 'helplang' option can be set to the preferred language(s). The default is
798set according to the environment. Vim will first try to find a matching tag
799in the preferred language(s). English is used when it cannot be found.
800
801To find a tag in a specific language, append "@ab" to a tag, where "ab" is the
802two-letter language code. Example: >
803 :he user-manual@it
804 :he user-manual@en
805The first one finds the Italian user manual, even when 'helplang' is empty.
806The second one finds the English user manual, even when 'helplang' is set to
807"it".
808
809When using command-line completion for the ":help" command, the "@en"
810extention is only shown when a tag exists for multiple languages. When the
811tag only exists for English "@en" is omitted.
812
813When using |CTRL-]| or ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will try to
814find the tag in the same language. If not found then 'helplang' will be used
815to select a language.
816
817Help files must use latin1 or utf-8 encoding. Vim assumes the encoding is
818utf-8 when finding non-ASCII characters in the first line. Thus you must
819translate the header with "For Vim version".
820
821The same encoding must be used for the help files of one language in one
822directory. You can use a different encoding for different languages and use
823a different encoding for help files of the same language but in a different
824directory.
825
826Hints for translators:
827- Do not translate the tags. This makes it possible to use 'helplang' to
828 specify the preferred language. You may add new tags in your language.
829- When you do not translate a part of a file, add tags to the English version,
830 using the "tag@en" notation.
831- Make a package with all the files and the tags file available for download.
832 Users can drop it in one of the "doc" directories and start use it.
833 Report this to Bram, so that he can add a link on www.vim.org.
834- Use the |:helptags| command to generate the tags files. It will find all
835 languages in the specified directory.
836
837==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaareb3593b2006-04-22 22:33:57 +00008383. Using Vim like less or more *less*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000839
840If you use the less or more program to view a file, you don't get syntax
841highlighting. Thus you would like to use Vim instead. You can do this by
842using the shell script "$VIMRUNTIME/macros/less.sh".
843
844This shell script uses the Vim script "$VIMRUNTIME/macros/less.vim". It sets
845up mappings to simulate the commands that less supports. Otherwise, you can
846still use the Vim commands.
847
848This isn't perfect. For example, when viewing a short file Vim will still use
849the whole screen. But it works good enough for most uses, and you get syntax
850highlighting.
851
852The "h" key will give you a short overview of the available commands.
853
854 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: