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Bram Moolenaar21cf8232004-07-16 20:18:37 +00001*starting.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2004 Jul 13
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Starting Vim *starting*
8
91. Vim arguments |vim-arguments|
102. Vim on the Amiga |starting-amiga|
113. Running eVim |evim-keys|
124. Initialization |initialization|
135. $VIM and $VIMRUNTIME |$VIM|
146. Suspending |suspend|
157. Saving settings |save-settings|
168. Views and Sessions |views-sessions|
179. The viminfo file |viminfo-file|
18
19==============================================================================
201. Vim arguments *vim-arguments*
21
22Most often, Vim is started to edit a single file with the command
23
24 vim filename *-vim*
25
26More generally, Vim is started with:
27
28 vim [option | filename] ..
29
30Option arguments and file name arguments can be mixed, and any number of them
31can be given. However, watch out for options that take an argument.
32
33For compatibility with various Vi versions, see |cmdline-arguments|.
34
35Exactly one out of the following five items may be used to choose how to
36start editing:
37
38 *-file* *---*
39filename One or more file names. The first one will be the current
40 file and read into the buffer. The cursor will be positioned
41 on the first line of the buffer.
42 To avoid a file name starting with a '-' being interpreted as
43 an option, precede the arglist with "--", e.g.: >
44 vim -- -filename
45< All arguments after the "--" will be interpreted as file names,
46 no other options or "+command" argument can follow.
47
48 *--*
49- This argument can mean two things, depending on whether Ex
50 mode is to be used.
51
52 Starting in Normal mode: >
53 vim -
54 ex -v -
55< Start editing a new buffer, which is filled with text
56 that is read from stdin. The commands that would normally be
57 read from stdin will now be read from stderr. Example: >
58 find . -name "*.c" -print | vim -
59< The buffer will be marked modified, because it contains text
60 that needs to be saved. Except when in readonly mode, then
61 the buffer is not marked modified. Example: >
62 ls | view -
63<
64 Starting in Ex mode: >
65 ex -
66 vim -e -
67 exim -
68 vim -E
69< Start editing in silent mode. See |-s-ex|.
70
71 *-t* *-tag*
72-t {tag} A tag. "tag" is looked up in the tags file, the associated
73 file becomes the current file, and the associated command is
74 executed. Mostly this is used for C programs, in which case
75 "tag" often is a function name. The effect is that the file
76 containing that function becomes the current file and the
77 cursor is positioned on the start of the function (see
78 |tags|).
79
80 *-q* *-qf*
81-q [errorfile] QuickFix mode. The file with the name [errorfile] is read
82 and the first error is displayed. See |quickfix|.
83 If [errorfile] is not given, the 'errorfile' option is used
84 for the file name. See 'errorfile' for the default value.
85 {not in Vi}
86
87(nothing) Without one of the four items above, Vim will start editing a
88 new buffer. It's empty and doesn't have a file name.
89
90
91The startup mode can be changed by using another name instead of "vim", which
92is equal to giving options:
93ex vim -e Start in Ex mode (see |Ex-mode|). *ex*
94exim vim -E Start in improved Ex mode (see |Ex-mode|). *exim*
95 (normally not installed)
96view vim -R Start in read-only mode (see |-R|). *view*
97gvim vim -g Start the GUI (see |gui|). *gvim*
98gex vim -eg Start the GUI in Ex mode. *gex*
99gview vim -Rg Start the GUI in read-only mode. *gview*
100rvim vim -Z Like "vim", but in restricted mode (see |-Z|) *rvim*
101rview vim -RZ Like "view", but in restricted mode. *rview*
102rgvim vim -gZ Like "gvim", but in restricted mode. *rgvim*
103rgview vim -RgZ Like "gview", but in restricted mode. *rgview*
104evim vim -y Easy Vim: set 'insertmode' (see |-y|) *evim*
105eview vim -yR Like "evim" in read-only mode *eview*
106vimdiff vim -d Start in diff mode |diff-mode|
107gvimdiff vim -gd Start in diff mode |diff-mode|
108
109Additional characters may follow, they are ignored. For example, you can have
110"gvim-5" to start the GUI. You must have an executable by that name then, of
111course.
112
113On Unix, you would normally have one executable called Vim, and links from the
114different startup-names to that executable. If your system does not support
115links and you do not want to have several copies of the executable, you could
116use an alias instead. For example: >
117 alias view vim -R
118 alias gvim vim -g
119<
120 *startup-options*
121The option arguments may be given in any order. Single-letter options can be
122combined after one dash. There can be no option arguments after the "--"
123argument.
124
125On VMS all option arguments are assumed to be lowercase, unless preceded with
126a slash. Thus "-R" means recovery and "-/R" readonly.
127
128--help *-h* *--help*
129-h Give usage (help) message and exit. {not in Vi}
130 See |info-message| about capturing the text.
131
132 *--version*
133--version Print version information and exit. Same output as for
134 |:version| command. {not in Vi}
135 See |info-message| about capturing the text.
136
137 *--noplugin*
138--noplugin Skip loading plugins. Resets the 'loadplugins' option.
139 {not in Vi}
140 Note that the |-u| argument may also disable loading plugins:
141 argument load vimrc files load plugins ~
142 (nothing) yes yes
143 -u NONE no no
144 -u NORC no yes
145 --noplugin yes no
146
147 *--literal*
148--literal Take file names literally, don't expand wildcards. Not needed
149 for Unix, because Vim always takes file names literally (the
150 shell expands wildcards).
151 Applies to all the names, also the ones that come before this
152 argument.
153
154 *-+*
155+[num] The cursor will be positioned on line "num" for the first
156 file being edited. If "num" is missing, the cursor will be
157 positioned on the last line.
158
159 *-+/*
160+/{pat} The cursor will be positioned on the first line containing
161 "pat" in the first file being edited (see |pattern| for the
162 available search patterns).
163
164+{command} *-+c* *-c*
165-c {command} {command} will be executed after the first file has been
166 read (and after autocommands and modelines for that file have
167 been processed). "command" is interpreted as an Ex command.
168 If the "command" contains spaces, it must be enclosed in
169 double quotes (this depends on the shell that is used).
170 Example: >
171 vim "+set si" main.c
172 vim "+find stdio.h"
173 vim -c "set ff=dos" -c wq mine.mak
174<
175 Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" arguments in a Vim
176 command. They are executed in the order given. A "-S"
177 argument counts as a "-c" argument as well.
178 {Vi only allows one command}
179
180--cmd {command} *--cmd*
181 {command} will be executed before processing any vimrc file.
182 Otherwise it acts like -c {command}. You can use up to 10 of
183 these commands, independently from "-c" commands.
184 {not in Vi}
185
186 *-S*
187-S {file} The {file} will be sourced after the first file has been read.
188 This is an easy way to do the equivalent of: >
189 -c "source {file}"
190< It can be mixed with "-c" arguments and repeated like "-c".
191 The limit of 10 "-c" arguments applies here as well.
192 {file} cannot start with a "-".
193 {not in Vi}
194
195-S Works like "-S Session.vim". Only when used as the last
196 argument or when another "-" option follows.
197
198 *-r*
199-r Recovery mode. Without a file name argument, a list of
200 existing swap files is given. With a file name, a swap file
201 is read to recover a crashed editing session. See
202 |crash-recovery|.
203
204 *-L*
205-L Same as -r. {only in some versions of Vi: "List recoverable
206 edit sessions"}
207
208 *-R*
209-R Readonly mode. The 'readonly' option will be set for all the
210 files being edited. You can still edit the buffer, but will
211 be prevented from accidentally overwriting a file. If you
212 forgot that you are in View mode and did make some changes,
213 you can overwrite a file by adding an exclamation mark to
214 the Ex command, as in ":w!". The 'readonly' option can be
215 reset with ":set noro" (see the options chapter, |options|).
216 Subsequent edits will not be done in readonly mode. Calling
217 the executable "view" has the same effect as the -R argument.
218 The 'updatecount' option will be set to 10000, meaning that
219 the swap file will not be updated automatically very often.
220
221 *-m*
222-m Modifications not allowed to be written. The 'write' option
223 will be reset, so that writing files is disabled. However,
224 the 'write' option can be set to enable writing again.
225 {not in Vi}
226
227 *-M*
228-M Modifications not allowed. The 'modifiable' option will be
229 reset, so that changes are not allowed. The 'write' option
230 will be reset, so that writing files is disabled. However,
231 the 'modifiable' and 'write' options can be set to enable
232 changes and writing.
233 {not in Vi}
234
235 *-Z* *restricted-mode* *E145*
236-Z Restricted mode. All commands that make use of an external
237 shell are disabled. This includes suspending with CTRL-Z,
238 ":sh", filtering, the system() function, backtick expansion,
239 etc.
240 {not in Vi}
241
242 *-g*
243-g Start Vim in GUI mode. See |gui|. {not in Vi}
244
245 *-v*
246-v Start Ex in Vi mode. Only makes a difference when the
247 executable is called "ex" or "gvim". For gvim the GUI is not
248 started if possible.
249
250 *-e*
251-e Start Vim in Ex mode |Q|. Only makes a difference when the
252 executable is not called "ex".
253
254 *-E*
255-E Start Vim in improved Ex mode |gQ|. Only makes a difference
256 when the executable is not called "exim".
257 {not in Vi}
258
259 *-s-ex*
260-s Silent or batch mode. Only when Vim was started as "ex" or
261 when preceded with the "-e" argument. Otherwise see |-s|,
262 which does take an argument while this use of "-s" doesn't.
263 To be used when Vim is used to execute Ex commands from a file
264 instead of a terminal. Switches off most prompts and
265 informative messages. Also warnings and error messages.
266 But ":print" output is displayed. And when 'verbose' is
267 non-zero messages are printed (for debugging).
268 If Vim appears to be stuck try typing "qa!<Enter>". You don't
269 get a prompt thus you can't see Vim is waiting for you to type
270 something.
271 Initializations are skipped (except the ones given with the
272 "-u" argument).
273 Example: >
274 vim -e -s < thefilter thefile
275<
276 *-b*
277-b Binary mode. File I/O will only recognize <NL> to separate
278 lines. The 'expandtab' option will be reset. The 'textwidth'
279 option is set to 0. 'modeline' is reset. The 'binary' option
280 is set. This is done after reading the vimrc/exrc files but
281 before reading any file in the arglist. See also
282 |edit-binary|. {not in Vi}
283
284 *-l*
285-l Lisp mode. Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options on.
286
287 *-A*
288-A Arabic mode. Sets the 'arabic' option on. (Only when
289 compiled with the |+arabic| features (which include
290 |+rightleft|), otherwise Vim gives an error message
291 and exits. {not in Vi}
292
293 *-F*
294-F Farsi mode. Sets the 'fkmap' and 'rightleft' options on.
295 (Only when compiled with |+rightleft| and |+farsi| features,
296 otherwise Vim gives an error message and exits). {not in Vi}
297
298 *-H*
299-H Hebrew mode. Sets the 'hkmap' and 'rightleft' options on.
300 (Only when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature, otherwise
301 Vim gives an error message and exits). {not in Vi}
302
303 *-V* *verbose*
304-V[N] Verbose. Sets the 'verbose' option to [N] (default: 10).
305 Messages will be given for each file that is ":source"d and
306 for reading or writing a viminfo file. Can be used to find
307 out what is happening upon startup and exit. {not in Vi}
308
309 *-D*
310-D Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first
311 command from a script. |debug-mode|
312 {not available when compiled without the |+eval| feature}
313 {not in Vi}
314
315 *-C*
316-C Compatible mode. Sets the 'compatible' option. You can use
317 this to get 'compatible', even though a .vimrc file exists.
318 But the command ":set nocompatible" overrules it anyway.
319 Also see |compatible-default|. {not in Vi}
320
321 *-N*
322-N Not compatible mode. Resets the 'compatible' option. You can
323 use this to get 'nocompatible', when there is no .vimrc file.
324 Also see |compatible-default|. {not in Vi}
325
326 *-y* *easy*
327-y Easy mode. Implied for |evim| and |eview|. Starts with
328 'insertmode' set and behaves like a click-and-type editor.
329 This sources the script $VIMRUNTIME/evim.vim. Mappings are
330 set up to work like most click-and-type editors, see
331 |evim-keys|. The GUI is started when available.
332 {not in Vi}
333
334 *-n*
335-n No swap file will be used. Recovery after a crash will be
336 impossible. Handy if you want to view or edit a file on a
337 very slow medium (e.g., a floppy).
338 Can also be done with ":set updatecount=0". You can switch it
339 on again by setting the 'updatecount' option to some value,
340 e.g., ":set uc=100".
341 'updatecount' is set to 0 AFTER executing commands from a
342 vimrc file, but before the GUI initializations. Thus it
343 overrides a setting for 'updatecount' in a vimrc file, but not
344 in a gvimrc file. See |startup|.
345 When you want to reduce accesses to the disk (e.g., for a
346 laptop), don't use "-n", but set 'updatetime' and
347 'updatecount' to very big numbers, and type ":preserve" when
348 you want to save your work. This way you keep the possibility
349 for crash recovery.
350 {not in Vi}
351
352 *-o*
353-o[N] Open N windows, split horizontally. If [N] is not given,
354 one window is opened for every file given as argument. If
355 there is not enough room, only the first few files get a
356 window. If there are more windows than arguments, the last
357 few windows will be editing an empty file.
358 {not in Vi}
359
360 *-O*
361-O[N] Open N windows, split vertically. Otherwise it's like -o.
362 If both the -o and the -O option are given, the last one on
363 the command line determines how the windows will be split.
364 {not in Vi}
365
366 *-T*
367-T {terminal} Set the terminal type to "terminal". This influences the
368 codes that Vim will send to your terminal. This is normally
369 not needed, because Vim will be able to find out what type
370 of terminal you are using (See |terminal-info|). {not in Vi}
371
372 *-d*
373-d Start in diff mode, like |vimdiff|.
374 {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
375 feature}
376
377-d {device} Only on the Amiga and when not compiled with the |+diff|
378 feature. Works like "-dev".
379 *-dev*
380-dev {device} Only on the Amiga: The {device} is opened to be used for
381 editing.
382 Normally you would use this to set the window position and
383 size: "-d con:x/y/width/height", e.g.,
384 "-d con:30/10/600/150". But you can also use it to start
385 editing on another device, e.g., AUX:. {not in Vi}
386 *-f*
387-f Amiga: Do not restart Vim to open a new window. This
388 option should be used when Vim is started by a program that
389 will wait for the edit session to finish (e.g., mail or
390 readnews). See |amiga-window|.
391
392 GUI: Do not disconnect from the program that started Vim.
393 'f' stands for "foreground". If omitted, the GUI forks a new
394 process and exits the current one. "-f" should be used when
395 gvim is started by a program that will wait for the edit
396 session to finish (e.g., mail or readnews). If you want gvim
397 never to fork, include 'f' in 'guioptions' in your .gvimrc.
398 Careful: You can use "-gf" to start the GUI in the foreground,
399 but "-fg" is used to specify the foreground color. |gui-fork|
400 {not in Vi}
401
402 *--nofork*
403--nofork GUI: Do not fork. Same as |-f|.
404 *-u* *E282*
405-u {vimrc} The file {vimrc} is read for initializations. Most other
406 initializations are skipped; see |initialization|. This can
407 be used to start Vim in a special mode, with special
408 mappings and settings. A shell alias can be used to make
409 this easy to use. For example: >
410 alias vimc vim -u ~/.c_vimrc !*
411< Also consider using autocommands; see |autocommand|.
412 When {vimrc} is equal to "NONE" (all uppercase), all
413 initializations from files and environment variables are
414 skipped, including reading the .gvimrc file when the GUI
415 starts. Loading plugins is also skipped.
416 When {vimrc} is equal to "NORC" (all uppercase), this has the
417 same effect as "NONE", but loading plugins is not skipped.
418 Using the "-u" argument has the side effect that the
419 'compatible' option will be on by default. This can have
420 unexpected effects. See |'compatible'|.
421 {not in Vi}
422
423 *-U* *E230*
424-U {gvimrc} The file "gvimrc" is read for initializations when the GUI
425 starts. Other GUI initializations are skipped. When {gvimrc}
426 is equal to "NONE", no file is read for initializations at
427 all.
428 Exception: Reading the system-wide menu file is always done.
429 {not in Vi}
430
431 *-i*
432-i {viminfo} The file "viminfo" is used instead of the default viminfo
433 file. If the name "NONE" is used (all uppercase), no viminfo
434 file is read or written, even if 'viminfo' is set or when
435 ":rv" or ":wv" are used. See also |viminfo-file|.
436 {not in Vi}
437
438 *-x*
439-x Use encryption to read/write files. Will prompt for a key,
440 which is then stored in the 'key' option. All writes will
441 then use this key to encrypt the text. The '-x' argument is
442 not needed when reading a file, because there is a check if
443 the file that is being read has been encrypted, and Vim asks
444 for a key automatically. |encryption|
445
446 *-X*
447-X Do not try connecting to the X server to get the current
448 window title and copy/paste using the X clipboard. This
449 avoids a long startup time when running Vim in a terminal
450 emulator and the connection to the X server is slow.
451 Only makes a difference on Unix or VMS, when compiled with the
452 |+X11| feature. Otherwise it's ignored.
453 To disable the connection only for specific terminals, see the
454 'clipboard' option.
455 When the X11 Session Management Protocol (XSMP) handler has
456 been built in, the -X option also disables that connection as
457 it, too, may have undesirable delays.
458 When the connection is desired later anyway (e.g., for
459 client-server messages), call the |serverlist()| function.
460 This does not enable the XSMP handler though.
461 {not in Vi}
462
463 *-s*
464-s {scriptin} The script file "scriptin" is read. The characters in the
465 file are interpreted as if you had typed them. The same can
466 be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}". If the end
467 of the file is reached before the editor exits, further
468 characters are read from the keyboard. Only works when not
469 started in Ex mode, see |-s-ex|. See also |complex-repeat|.
470 {not in Vi}
471
472 *-w*
473-w {scriptout} All the characters that you type are recorded in the file
474 "scriptout", until you exit Vim. This is useful if you want
475 to create a script file to be used with "vim -s" or
476 ":source!". When the "scriptout" file already exists, new
477 characters are appended. See also |complex-repeat|.
478 {not in Vi}
479
480 *-W*
481-W {scriptout} Like -w, but do not append, overwrite an existing file.
482 {not in Vi}
483
484 *-w_nr*
485-w{number} Does nothing. This was included for Vi-compatibility. In Vi
486 it sets the 'window' option, which is not implemented in Vim.
487
488--remote [+{cmd}] {file} ...
489 Open the {file} in another Vim that functions as a server.
490 Any non-file arguments must come before this.
491 See |--remote|. {not in Vi}
492
493--remote-silent [+{cmd}] {file} ...
494 Like --remote, but don't complain if there is no server.
495 See |--remote-silent|. {not in Vi}
496
497--remote-wait [+{cmd}] {file} ...
498 Like --remote, but wait for the server to finish editing the
499 file(s).
500 See |--remote-wait|. {not in Vi}
501
502--remote-wait-silent [+{cmd}] {file} ...
503 Like --remote-wait, but don't complain if there is no server.
504 See |--remote-wait-silent|. {not in Vi}
505
506--servername {name}
507 Specify the name of the Vim server to send to or to become.
508 See |--servername|. {not in Vi}
509
510--remote-send {keys}
511 Send {keys} to a Vim server and exit.
512 See |--remote-send|. {not in Vi}
513
514--remote-expr {expr}
515 Evaluate {expr} in another Vim that functions as a server.
516 The result is printed on stdout.
517 See |--remote-expr|. {not in Vi}
518
519--serverlist Output a list of Vim server names and exit. See
520 See |--serverlist|. {not in Vi}
521
522--socketid {id} *--socketid*
523 GTK+ GUI Vim only. Make gvim try to use GtkPlug mechanism, so
524 that it runs inside another window. See |gui-gtk-socketid|
525 for details. {not in Vi}
526
527--echo-wid *--echo-wid*
528 GTK+ GUI Vim only. Make gvim echo the Window ID on stdout,
529 which can be used to run gvim in a kpart widget. The format
530 of the output is: >
531 WID: 12345\n
532< {not in Vi}
533
534--role {role} *--role*
535 GTK+ 2 GUI only. Set the role of the main window to {role}.
536 The window role can be used by a window manager to uniquely
537 identify a window, in order to restore window placement and
538 such. The --role argument is passed automatically when
539 restoring the session on login. See |gui-gnome-session|
540 {not in Vi}
541
542-P {parent-title} *-P* *MDI* *E671* *E672*
543 Win32 only: Specify the title of the parent application. When
544 possible, Vim will run in an MDI window inside the
545 application.
546 {parent-title} must appear in the window title of the parent
547 application. Make sure that it is specific enough.
548 Note that the implementation is still primitive. It won't
549 work with all applications and the menu doesn't work.
550
551-nb *-nb*
552-nb={fname}
553-nb:{hostname}:{addr}:{password}
554 Attempt connecting to Netbeans and become an editor server for
555 it. The second form specifies a file to read connection info
556 from. The third form specifies the hostname, address and
557 password for connecting to Netbeans. |netbeans-run|
558
559Example for using a script file to change a name in several files:
560 Create a file "subs.vi" containing substitute commands and a :wq
561 command: >
562 :%s/Jones/Smith/g
563 :%s/Allen/Peter/g
564 :wq
565<
566 Execute Vim on all files you want to change: >
567
568 foreach i ( *.let ) vim -s subs.vi $i
569
570If the executable is called "view", Vim will start in Readonly mode. This is
571useful if you can make a hard or symbolic link from "view" to "vim".
572Starting in Readonly mode can also be done with "vim -R".
573
574If the executable is called "ex", Vim will start in "Ex" mode. This means it
575will accept only ":" commands. But when the "-v" argument is given, Vim will
576start in Normal mode anyway.
577
578Additional arguments are available on unix like systems when compiled with
579X11 GUI support. See |gui-resources|.
580
581==============================================================================
5822. Vim on the Amiga *starting-amiga*
583
584Starting Vim from the Workbench *workbench*
585-------------------------------
586
587Vim can be started from the Workbench by clicking on its icon twice. It will
588then start with an empty buffer.
589
590Vim can be started to edit one or more files by using a "Project" icon. The
591"Default Tool" of the icon must be the full pathname of the Vim executable.
592The name of the ".info" file must be the same as the name of the text file.
593By clicking on this icon twice, Vim will be started with the file name as
594current file name, which will be read into the buffer (if it exists). You can
595edit multiple files by pressing the shift key while clicking on icons, and
596clicking twice on the last one. The "Default Tool" for all these icons must
597be the same.
598
599It is not possible to give arguments to Vim, other than file names, from the
600workbench.
601
602Vim window *amiga-window*
603----------
604
605Vim will run in the CLI window where it was started. If Vim was started with
606the "run" or "runback" command, or if Vim was started from the workbench, it
607will open a window of its own.
608
609Technical detail:
610 To open the new window a little trick is used. As soon as Vim
611 recognizes that it does not run in a normal CLI window, it will
612 create a script file in "t:". This script file contains the same
613 command as the one Vim was started with, and an "endcli" command.
614 This script file is then executed with a "newcli" command (the "c:run"
615 and "c:newcli" commands are required for this to work). The script
616 file will hang around until reboot, or until you delete it. This
617 method is required to get the ":sh" and ":!" commands to work
618 correctly. But when Vim was started with the -f option (foreground
619 mode), this method is not used. The reason for this is that
620 when a program starts Vim with the -f option it will wait for Vim to
621 exit. With the script trick, the calling program does not know when
622 Vim exits. The -f option can be used when Vim is started by a mail
623 program which also waits for the edit session to finish. As a
624 consequence, the ":sh" and ":!" commands are not available when the
625 -f option is used.
626
627Vim will automatically recognize the window size and react to window
628resizing. Under Amiga DOS 1.3, it is advised to use the fastfonts program,
629"FF", to speed up display redrawing.
630
631==============================================================================
6323. Running eVim *evim-keys*
633
634EVim runs Vim as click-and-type editor. This is very unlike the original Vi
635idea. But it helps for people that don't use Vim often enough to learn the
636commands. Hopefully they will find out that learning to use Normal mode
637commands will make their editing much more effective.
638
639In Evim these options are changed from their default value:
640
641 :set nocompatible Use Vim improvements
642 :set insertmode Remain in Insert mode most of the time
643 :set hidden Keep invisible buffers loaded
644 :set backup Keep backup files (not for VMS)
645 :set backspace=2 Backspace over everything
646 :set autoindent auto-indent new lines
647 :set history=50 keep 50 lines of Ex commands
648 :set ruler show the cursor position
649 :set incsearch show matches halfway typing a pattern
650 :set mouse=a use the mouse in all modes
651 :set hlsearch highlight all matches for a search pattern
652 :set whichwrap+=<,>,[,] <Left> and <Right> wrap around line breaks
653 :set guioptions-=a non-Unix only: don't do auto-select
654
655Key mappings:
656 <Down> moves by screen lines rather than file lines
657 <Up> idem
658 Q does "gq", formatting, instead of Ex mode
659 <BS> in Visual mode: deletes the selection
660 CTRL-X in Visual mode: Cut to clipboard
661 <S-Del> idem
662 CTRL-C in Visual mode: Copy to clipboard
663 <C-Insert> idem
664 CTRL-V Pastes from the clipboard (in any mode)
665 <S-Insert> idem
666 CTRL-Q do what CTRL-V used to do
667 CTRL-Z undo
668 CTRL-Y redo
669 <M-Space> system menu
670 CTRL-A select all
671 <C-Tab> next window, CTRL-W w
672 <C-F4> close window, CTRL-W c
673
674Additionally:
675- ":behave mswin" is used |:behave|
676- syntax highlighting is enabled
677- filetype detection is enabled, filetype plugins and indenting is enabled
678- in a text file 'textwidth' is set to 78
679
680One hint: If you want to go to Normal mode to be able to type a sequence of
681commands, use CTRL-L. |i_CTRL-L|
682
683==============================================================================
6844. Initialization *initialization* *startup*
685
686This section is about the non-GUI version of Vim. See |gui-fork| for
687additional initialization when starting the GUI.
688
689At startup, Vim checks environment variables and files and sets values
690accordingly. Vim proceeds in this order:
691
6921. Set the 'shell' and 'term' option *SHELL* *COMSPEC* *TERM*
693 The environment variable SHELL, if it exists, is used to set the
694 'shell' option. On MS-DOS and Win32, the COMSPEC variable is used
695 if SHELL is not set.
696 The environment variable TERM, if it exists, is used to set the 'term'
697 option.
698
6992. Process the arguments
700 The options and file names from the command that start Vim are
701 inspected. Buffers are created for all files (but not loaded yet).
702
7033. Execute Ex commands, from environment variables and/or files
704 An environment variable is read as one Ex command line, where multiple
705 commands must be separated with '|' or "<NL>".
706 *vimrc* *exrc*
707 A file that contains initialization commands is called a "vimrc" file.
708 Each line in a vimrc file is executed as an Ex command line. It is
709 sometimes also referred to as "exrc" file. They are the same type of
710 file, but "exrc" is what Vi always used, "vimrc" is a Vim specific
711 name. Also see |vimrc-intro|.
712
713 Recommended place for your personal initializations:
714 Unix $HOME/.vimrc
715 OS/2 $HOME/.vimrc or $VIM/.vimrc (or _vimrc)
716 MS-DOS and Win32 $HOME/_vimrc or $VIM/_vimrc
717 Amiga s:.vimrc or $VIM/.vimrc
718
719 If Vim was started with "-u filename", the file "filename" is used.
720 All following initializations until 4. are skipped.
721 "vim -u NORC" can be used to skip these initializations without
722 reading a file. "vim -u NONE" also skips loading plugins. |-u|
723
724 If Vim was started in Ex mode with the "-s" argument, all following
725 initializations until 4. are skipped. Only the "-u" option is
726 interpreted.
727 *evim.vim*
728 a. If vim was started as |evim| or |eview| or with the |-y| argument, the
729 script $VIMRUNTIME/evim.vim will be loaded.
730 *system-vimrc*
731 b. For Unix, MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2, VMS, Macintosh, RISC-OS and Amiga
732 the system vimrc file is read for initializations. The path of this
733 file is shown with the ":version" command. Mostly it's "$VIM/vimrc".
734 Note that this file is ALWAYS read in 'compatible' mode, since the
735 automatic resetting of 'compatible' is only done later. Add a ":set
736 nocp" command if you like.
737
738 *VIMINIT* *.vimrc* *_vimrc* *EXINIT* *.exrc* *_exrc*
739 c. Four places are searched for initializations. The first that exists
740 is used, the others are ignored.
741 - The environment variable VIMINIT (see also |compatible-default|) (*)
742 The value of $VIMINIT is used as an Ex command line.
743 - The user vimrc file(s):
744 "$HOME/.vimrc" (for Unix and OS/2) (*)
745 "s:.vimrc" (for Amiga) (*)
746 "home:.vimrc" (for Amiga) (*)
747 "$VIM/.vimrc" (for OS/2 and Amiga) (*)
748 "$HOME/_vimrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32) (*)
Bram Moolenaar21cf8232004-07-16 20:18:37 +0000749 "$VIM/_vimrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32) (*)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000750 Note: For Unix, OS/2 and Amiga, when ".vimrc" does not exist,
751 "_vimrc" is also tried, in case an MS-DOS compatible file
752 system is used. For MS-DOS and Win32 ".vimrc" is checked
753 after "_vimrc", in case long file names are used.
754 Note: For MS-DOS and Win32, "$HOME" is checked first. If no
755 "_vimrc" or ".vimrc" is found there, "$VIM" is tried.
756 See |$VIM| for when $VIM is not set.
757 - The environment variable EXINIT.
758 The value of $EXINIT is used as an Ex command line.
759 - The user exrc file(s). Same as for the user vimrc file, but with
760 "vimrc" replaced by "exrc". But without the (*)!
761
762 d. If the 'exrc' option is on (which is not the default), the current
763 directory is searched for four files. The first that exists is used,
764 the others are ignored.
765 - The file ".vimrc" (for Unix, Amiga and OS/2) (*)
766 "_vimrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32) (*)
767 - The file "_vimrc" (for Unix, Amiga and OS/2) (*)
768 ".vimrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32) (*)
769 - The file ".exrc" (for Unix, Amiga and OS/2)
770 "_exrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32)
771 - The file "_exrc" (for Unix, Amiga and OS/2)
772 ".exrc" (for MS-DOS and Win32)
773
774 (*) Using this file or environment variable will cause 'compatible' to be
775 off by default. See |compatible-default|.
776
7774. Load the plugin scripts. *load-plugins*
778 This does the same as the command: >
779 :runtime! plugin/*.vim
780< The result is that all directories in the 'runtimepath' option will be
781 searched for the "plugin" sub-directory and all files ending in ".vim"
782 will be sourced (in alphabetical order per directory).
783 Loading plugins won't be done when:
784 - The 'loadplugins' option was reset in a vimrc file.
785 - The |--noplugin| command line argument is used.
786 - The "-u NONE" command line argument is used |-u|.
787 - When Vim was compiled without the |+eval| feature.
788 Note that using "-c set noloadplugins" doesn't work, because the
789 commands from the command line have not been executed yet.
790
7915. Set 'shellpipe' and 'shellredir'
792 The 'shellpipe' and 'shellredir' options are set according to the
793 value of the 'shell' option, unless they have been set before.
794 This means that Vim will figure out the values of 'shellpipe' and
795 'shellredir' for you, unless you have set them yourself.
796
7976. Set 'updatecount' to zero, if "-n" command argument used
798
7997. Set binary options
800 If the "-b" flag was given to Vim, the options for binary editing will
801 be set now. See |-b|.
802
8038. Perform GUI initializations
804 Only when starting "gvim", the GUI initializations will be done. See
805 |gui-init|.
806
8079. Read the viminfo file
808 If the 'viminfo' option is not empty, the viminfo file is read. See
809 |viminfo-file|.
810
81110. Read the quickfix file
812 If the "-q" flag was given to Vim, the quickfix file is read. If this
813 fails, Vim exits.
814
81511. Open all windows
816 When the |-o| flag was given, windows will be opened (but not
817 displayed yet).
818 When switching screens, it happens now. Redrawing starts.
819 If the "-q" flag was given to Vim, the first error is jumped to.
820 Buffers for all windows will be loaded.
821
82212. Execute startup commands
823 If a "-t" flag was given to Vim, the tag is jumped to.
824 The commands given with the |-c| and |+cmd| arguments are executed.
825 If the 'insertmode' option is set, Insert mode is entered.
826 The |VimEnter| autocommands are executed.
827
828Some hints on using initializations:
829
830Standard setup:
831Create a vimrc file to set the default settings and mappings for all your edit
832sessions. Put it in a place so that it will be found by 3b:
833 ~/.vimrc (Unix and OS/2)
834 s:.vimrc (Amiga)
835 $VIM\_vimrc (MS-DOS and Win32)
836Note that creating a vimrc file will cause the 'compatible' option to be off
837by default. See |compatible-default|.
838
839Local setup:
840Put all commands that you need for editing a specific directory only into a
841vimrc file and place it in that directory under the name ".vimrc" ("_vimrc"
842for MS-DOS and Win32). NOTE: To make Vim look for these special files you
843have to turn on the option 'exrc'. See |trojan-horse| too.
844
845System setup:
846This only applies if you are managing a Unix system with several users and
847want to set the defaults for all users. Create a vimrc file with commands
848for default settings and mappings and put it in the place that is given with
849the ":version" command.
850
851Saving the current state of Vim to a file:
852Whenever you have changed values of options or when you have created a
853mapping, then you may want to save them in a vimrc file for later use. See
854|save-settings| about saving the current state of settings to a file.
855
856Avoiding setup problems for Vi users:
857Vi uses the variable EXINIT and the file "~/.exrc". So if you do not want to
858interfere with Vi, then use the variable VIMINIT and the file "vimrc" instead.
859
860Amiga environment variables:
861On the Amiga, two types of environment variables exist. The ones set with the
862DOS 1.3 (or later) setenv command are recognized. See the AmigaDos 1.3
863manual. The environment variables set with the old Manx Set command (before
864version 5.0) are not recognized.
865
866MS-DOS line separators:
867On MS-DOS-like systems (MS-DOS itself, Win32, and OS/2), Vim assumes that all
868the vimrc files have <CR> <NL> pairs as line separators. This will give
869problems if you have a file with only <NL>s and have a line like
870":map xx yy^M". The trailing ^M will be ignored.
871
872 *compatible-default*
873When Vim starts, the 'compatible' option is on. This will be used when Vim
874starts its initializations. But as soon as a user vimrc file is found, or a
875vimrc file in the current directory, or the "VIMINIT" environment variable is
876set, it will be set to 'nocompatible'. This has the side effect of setting or
877resetting other options (see 'compatible'). But only the options that have
878not been set or reset will be changed. This has the same effect like the
879value of 'compatible' had this value when starting Vim. Note that this
880doesn't happen for the system-wide vimrc file.
881
882But there is a side effect of setting or resetting 'compatible' at the moment
883a .vimrc file is found: Mappings are interpreted the moment they are
884encountered. This makes a difference when using things like "<CR>". If the
885mappings depend on a certain value of 'compatible', set or reset it before
886giving the mapping.
887
888The above behavior can be overridden in these ways:
889- If the "-N" command line argument is given, 'nocompatible' will be used,
890 even when no vimrc file exists.
891- If the "-C" command line argument is given, 'compatible' will be used, even
892 when a vimrc file exists.
893- If the "-u {vimrc}" argument is used, 'compatible' will be used.
894- When the name of the executable ends in "ex", then this works like the "-C"
895 argument was given: 'compatible' will be used, even when a vimrc file
896 exists. This has been done to make Vim behave like "ex", when it is started
897 as "ex".
898
899Avoiding trojan horses: *trojan-horse*
900While reading the "vimrc" or the "exrc" file in the current directory, some
901commands can be disabled for security reasons by setting the 'secure' option.
902This is always done when executing the command from a tags file. Otherwise it
903would be possible that you accidentally use a vimrc or tags file that somebody
904else created and contains nasty commands. The disabled commands are the ones
905that start a shell, the ones that write to a file, and ":autocmd". The ":map"
906commands are echoed, so you can see which keys are being mapped.
907 If you want Vim to execute all commands in a local vimrc file, you
908can reset the 'secure' option in the EXINIT or VIMINIT environment variable or
909in the global "exrc" or "vimrc" file. This is not possible in "vimrc" or
910"exrc" in the current directory, for obvious reasons.
911 On Unix systems, this only happens if you are not the owner of the
912vimrc file. Warning: If you unpack an archive that contains a vimrc or exrc
913file, it will be owned by you. You won't have the security protection. Check
914the vimrc file before you start Vim in that directory, or reset the 'exrc'
915option. Some Unix systems allow a user to do "chown" on a file. This makes
916it possible for another user to create a nasty vimrc and make you the owner.
917Be careful!
918 When using tag search commands, executing the search command (the last
919part of the line in the tags file) is always done in secure mode. This works
920just like executing a command from a vimrc/exrc in the current directory.
921
922 *slow-start*
923If Vim takes a long time to start up, there may be a few causes:
924- If the Unix version was compiled with the GUI and/or X11 (check the output
925 of ":version" for "+GUI" and "+X11"), it may need to load shared libraries
926 and connect to the X11 server. Try compiling a version with GUI and X11
927 disabled. This also should make the executable smaller.
928 Use the |-X| command line argument to avoid connecting to the X server when
929 running in a terminal.
930- If you have "viminfo" enabled, the loading of the viminfo file may take a
931 while. You can find out if this is the problem by disabling viminfo for a
932 moment (use the Vim argument "-i NONE", |-i|). Try reducing the number of
933 lines stored in a register with ":set viminfo='20,<50,s10". |viminfo-file|.
934
935 *:intro*
936When Vim starts without a file name, an introductory message is displayed (for
937those who don't know what Vim is). It is removed as soon as the display is
938redrawn in any way. To see the message again, use the ":intro" command (if
939there is not enough room, you will see only part of it).
940 To avoid the intro message on startup, add the 'I' flag to 'shortmess'.
941
942 *info-message*
943The |--help| and |--version| arguments cause Vim to print a message and then
944exit. Normally the message is send to stdout, thus can be redirected to a
945file with: >
946
947 vim --help >file
948
949From inside Vim: >
950
951 :read !vim --help
952
953When using gvim, it detects that it might have been started from the desktop,
954without a terminal to show messages on. This is detected when both stdout and
955stderr are not a tty. This breaks the ":read" command, as used in the example
956above. To make it work again, set 'shellredir' to ">" instead of the default
957">&": >
958
959 :set shellredir=>
960 :read !gvim --help
961
962This still won't work for systems where gvim does not use stdout at all
963though.
964
965==============================================================================
9665. $VIM and $VIMRUNTIME
967 *$VIM*
968The environment variable "$VIM" is used to locate various user files for Vim,
969such as the user startup script ".vimrc". This depends on the system, see
970|startup|.
971
972To avoid the need for every user to set the $VIM environment variable, Vim
973will try to get the value for $VIM in this order:
9741. The value defined by the $VIM environment variable. You can use this to
975 make Vim look in a specific directory for its support files. Example: >
976 setenv VIM /home/paul/vim
9772. The path from 'helpfile' is used, unless it contains some environment
978 variable too (the default is "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt": chicken-egg
979 problem). The file name ("help.txt" or any other) is removed. Then
980 trailing directory names are removed, in this order: "doc", "runtime" and
981 "vim{version}" (e.g., "vim54").
9823. For MSDOS, Win32 and OS/2 Vim tries to use the directory name of the
983 executable. If it ends in "/src", this is removed. This is useful if you
984 unpacked the .zip file in some directory, and adjusted the search path to
985 find the vim executable. Trailing directory names are removed, in this
986 order: "runtime" and "vim{version}" (e.g., "vim54").
9874. For Unix the compile-time defined installation directory is used (see the
988 output of ":version").
989
990Once Vim has done this once, it will set the $VIM environment variable. To
991change it later, use a ":let" command like this: >
992 :let $VIM = "/home/paul/vim/"
993<
994 *$VIMRUNTIME*
995The environment variable "$VIMRUNTIME" is used to locate various support
996files, such as the on-line documentation and files used for syntax
997highlighting. For example, the main help file is normally
998"$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt".
999You don't normally set $VIMRUNTIME yourself, but let Vim figure it out. This
1000is the order used to find the value of $VIMRUNTIME:
10011. If the environment variable $VIMRUNTIME is set, it is used. You can use
1002 this when the runtime files are in an unusual location.
10032. If "$VIM/vim{version}" exists, it is used. {version} is the version
1004 number of Vim, without any '-' or '.'. For example: "$VIM/vim54". This is
1005 the normal value for $VIMRUNTIME.
10063. If "$VIM/runtime" exists, it is used.
10074. The value of $VIM is used. This is for backwards compatibility with older
1008 versions.
10095. When the 'helpfile' option is set and doesn't contain a '$', its value is
1010 used, with "doc/help.txt" removed from the end.
1011
1012For Unix, when there is a compiled-in default for $VIMRUNTIME (check the
1013output of ":version"), steps 2, 3 and 4 are skipped, and the compiled-in
1014default is used after step 5. This means that the compiled-in default
1015overrules the value of $VIM. This is useful if $VIM is "/etc" and the runtime
1016files are in "/usr/share/vim/vim54".
1017
1018Once Vim has done this once, it will set the $VIMRUNTIME environment variable.
1019To change it later, use a ":let" command like this: >
1020 :let $VIMRUNTIME = "/home/piet/vim/vim54"
1021
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001022In case you need the value of $VIMRUNTIME in a shell (e.g., for a script that
1023greps in the help files) you might be able to use this: >
1024
1025 VIMRUNTIME=`vim -e -T dumb --cmd 'exe "set t_cm=\<C-M>"|echo $VIMRUNTIME|quit' | tr -d '\015' `
1026
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001027==============================================================================
10286. Suspending *suspend*
1029
1030 *iconize* *iconise* *CTRL-Z* *v_CTRL-Z*
1031CTRL-Z Suspend Vim, like ":stop".
1032 Works in Normal and in Visual mode. In Insert and
1033 Command-line mode, the CTRL-Z is inserted as a normal
1034 character. In Visual mode Vim goes back to Normal
1035 mode.
1036
1037
1038:sus[pend][!] or *:sus* *:suspend* *:st* *:stop*
1039:st[op][!] Suspend Vim.
1040 If the '!' is not given and 'autowrite' is set, every
1041 buffer with changes and a file name is written out.
1042 If the '!' is given or 'autowrite' is not set, changed
1043 buffers are not written, don't forget to bring Vim
1044 back to the foreground later!
1045
1046In the GUI, suspending is implemented as iconising gvim. In Windows 95/NT,
1047gvim is minimized.
1048
1049On many Unix systems, it is possible to suspend Vim with CTRL-Z. This is only
1050possible in Normal and Visual mode (see next chapter, |vim-modes|). Vim will
1051continue if you make it the foreground job again. On other systems, CTRL-Z
1052will start a new shell. This is the same as the ":sh" command. Vim will
1053continue if you exit from the shell.
1054
1055In X-windows the selection is disowned when Vim suspends. this means you
1056can't paste it in another application (since Vim is going to sleep an attempt
1057to get the selection would make the program hang).
1058
1059==============================================================================
10607. Saving settings *save-settings*
1061
1062Mostly you will edit your vimrc files manually. This gives you the greatest
1063flexibility. There are a few commands to generate a vimrc file automatically.
1064You can use these files as they are, or copy/paste lines to include in another
1065vimrc file.
1066
1067 *:mk* *:mkexrc*
1068:mk[exrc] [file] Write current key mappings and changed options to
1069 [file] (default ".exrc" in the current directory),
1070 unless it already exists. {not in Vi}
1071
1072:mk[exrc]! [file] Always write current key mappings and changed
1073 options to [file] (default ".exrc" in the current
1074 directory). {not in Vi}
1075
1076 *:mkv* *:mkvimrc*
1077:mkv[imrc][!] [file] Like ":mkexrc", but the default is ".vimrc" in the
1078 current directory. The ":version" command is also
1079 written to the file. {not in Vi}
1080
1081These commands will write ":map" and ":set" commands to a file, in such a way
1082that when these commands are executed, the current key mappings and options
1083will be set to the same values. The options 'columns', 'endofline',
1084'fileformat', 'key', 'lines', 'modified', 'scroll', 'term', 'textmode',
1085'ttyfast' and 'ttymouse' are not included, because these are terminal or file
1086dependent. Note that the options 'binary', 'paste' and 'readonly' are
1087included, this might not always be what you want.
1088
1089When special keys are used in mappings, The 'cpoptions' option will be
1090temporarily set to its Vim default, to avoid the mappings to be
1091misinterpreted. This makes the file incompatible with Vi, but makes sure it
1092can be used with different terminals.
1093
1094Only global mappings are stored, not mappings local to a buffer.
1095
1096A common method is to use a default ".vimrc" file, make some modifications
1097with ":map" and ":set" commands and write the modified file. First read the
1098default ".vimrc" in with a command like ":source ~piet/.vimrc.Cprogs", change
1099the settings and then save them in the current directory with ":mkvimrc!". If
1100you want to make this file your default .vimrc, move it to your home directory
1101(on Unix), s: (Amiga) or $VIM directory (MS-DOS). You could also use
1102autocommands |autocommand| and/or modelines |modeline|.
1103
1104If you only want to add a single option setting to your vimrc, you can use
1105these steps:
11061. Edit your vimrc file with Vim.
11072. Play with the option until it's right. E.g., try out different values for
1108 'guifont'.
11093. Append a line to set the value of the option, using the expression register
1110 '=' to enter the value. E.g., for the 'guifont' option: >
1111 o:set guifont=<C-R>=&guifont<CR><Esc>
1112< [<C-R> is a CTRL-R, <CR> is a return, <Esc> is the escape key]
1113
1114Note that when you create a .vimrc file, this can influence the 'compatible'
1115option, which has several side effects. See |'compatible'|.
1116":mkvimrc", ":mkexrc" and ":mksession" write the command to set or reset the
1117'compatible' option to the output file first, because of these side effects.
1118
1119==============================================================================
11208. Views and Sessions *views-sessions*
1121
1122This is introduced in sections |21.4| and |21.5| of the user manual.
1123
1124 *View* *view-file*
1125A View is a collection of settings that apply to one window. You can save a
1126View and when you restore it later, the text is displayed in the same way.
1127The options and mappings in this window will also be restored, so that you can
1128continue editing like when the View was saved.
1129
1130 *Session* *session-file*
1131A Session keeps the Views for all windows, plus the global settings. You can
1132save a Session and when you restore it later the window layout looks the same.
1133You can use a Session to quickly switch between different projects,
1134automatically loading the files you were last working on in that project.
1135
1136Views and Sessions are a nice addition to viminfo-files, which are used to
1137remember information for all Views and Sessions together |viminfo-file|.
1138
1139You can quickly start editing with a previously saved View or Session with the
1140|-S| argument: >
1141 vim -S Session.vim
1142<
1143All this is {not in Vi} and {not available when compiled without the
1144|+mksession| feature}.
1145
1146 *:mks* *:mksession*
1147:mks[ession][!] [file] Write a Vim script that restores the current editing
1148 session.
1149 When [!] is included an existing file is overwritten.
1150 When [file] is omitted "Session.vim" is used.
1151
1152The output of ":mksession" is like ":mkvimrc", but additional commands are
1153added to the file. Which ones depends on the 'sessionoptions' option. The
1154resulting file, when executed with a ":source" command:
11551. Restores global mappings and options, if 'sessionoptions' contains
1156 "options". Script-local mappings will not be written.
11572. Restores global variables that start with an uppercase letter and contain
1158 at least one lowercase letter, if 'sessionoptions' contains "globals".
11593. Unloads all currently loaded buffers.
11604. Restores the current directory if 'sessionoptions' contains "curdir", or
1161 sets the current directory to where the Session file is if 'sessionoptions'
1162 contains "sesdir".
11635. Restores GUI Vim window position, if 'sessionoptions' contains "winpos".
11646. Restores screen size, if 'sessionoptions' contains "resize".
11657. Reloads the buffer list, with the last cursor positions. If
1166 'sessionoptions' contains "buffers" then all buffers are restored,
1167 including hidden and unloaded buffers. Otherwise only buffers in windows
1168 are restored.
11698. Restores all windows with the same layout. If 'sessionoptions' contains
1170 contains "help", help windows are restored. If 'sessionoptions' contains
1171 "blank", windows editing a buffer without a name will be restored.
1172 If 'sessionoptions' contains "winsize" and no (help/blank) windows were
1173 left out, the window sizes are restored (relative to the screen size).
1174 Otherwise, the windows are just given sensible sizes.
11759. Restores the Views for all the windows, as with |:mkview|. But
1176 'sessionoptions' is used instead of 'viewoptions'.
117710. If a file exists with the same name as the Session file, but ending in
1178 "x.vim" (for eXtra), executes that as well. You can use *x.vim files to
1179 specify additional settings and actions associated with a given Session,
1180 such as creating menu items in the GUI version.
1181
1182After restoring the Session, the full filename of your current Session is
1183available in the internal variable "v:this_session" |this_session-variable|.
1184An example mapping: >
1185 :nmap <F2> :wa<Bar>exe "mksession! " . v:this_session<CR>:so ~/sessions/
1186This saves the current Session, and starts off the command to load another.
1187
1188 *:mkvie* *:mkview*
1189:mkvie[w][!] [file] Write a Vim script that restores the contents of the
1190 current window.
1191 When [!] is included an existing file is overwritten.
1192 When [file] is omitted or is a number from 1 to 9, a
1193 name is generated and 'viewdir' prepended. When last
1194 directory name in 'viewdir' does not exist, this
1195 directory is created.
1196 An existing file is always overwritten then. Use
1197 |:loadview| to load this view again.
1198 When [file] is the name of a file ('viewdir' is not
1199 used), a command to edit the file is added to the
1200 generated file.
1201
1202The output of ":mkview" contains these items:
12031. The argument list used in the window. When the global argument list is
1204 used it is reset to the global list.
1205 The index in the argument list is also restored.
12062. The file being edited in the window. If there is no file, the window is
1207 made empty.
12083. Restore mappings, abbreviations and options local to the window if
1209 'viewoptions' contains "options" or "localoptions". For the options it
1210 restores only values that are local to the current buffer and values local
1211 to the window.
1212 When storing the view as part of a session and "options" is in
1213 'sessionoptions', global values for local options will be stored too.
12144. Restore folds when using manual folding and 'viewoptions' contains
1215 "folds". Restore manually opened and closed folds.
12165. The scroll position and the cursor position in the file. Doesn't work very
1217 well when there are closed folds.
12186. The local current directory, if it is different from the global current
1219 directory.
1220
1221Note that Views and Sessions are not perfect:
1222- They don't restore everything. For example, defined functions, autocommands
1223 and ":syntax on" are not included. Things like register contents and
1224 command line history are in viminfo, not in Sessions or Views.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001225- Global option values are only set when they differ from the default value.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001226 When the current value is not the default value, loading a Session will not
1227 set it back to the default value. Local options will be set back to the
1228 default value though.
1229- Existing mappings will be overwritten without warning. An existing mapping
1230 may cause an error for ambiguity.
1231- When storing manual folds and when storing manually opened/closed folds,
1232 changes in the file between saving and loading the view will mess it up.
1233- The Vim script is not very efficient. But still faster than typing the
1234 commands yourself!
1235
1236 *:lo* *:loadview*
1237:lo[adview] [nr] Load the view for the current file. When [nr] is
1238 omitted, the view stored with ":mkview" is loaded.
1239 When [nr] is specified, the view stored with ":mkview
1240 [nr]" is loaded.
1241
1242The combination of ":mkview" and ":loadview" can be used to store up to ten
1243different views of a file. These are remembered in the directory specified
1244with the 'viewdir' option. The views are stored using the file name. If a
1245file is renamed or accessed through a (symbolic) link the view will not be
1246found.
1247
1248You might want to clean up your 'viewdir' directory now and then.
1249
1250To automatically save and restore views for *.c files: >
1251 au BufWinLeave *.c mkview
1252 au BufWinEnter *.c silent loadview
1253
1254==============================================================================
12559. The viminfo file *viminfo* *viminfo-file* *E136*
1256 *E575* *E576* *E577*
1257If you exit Vim and later start it again, you would normally lose a lot of
1258information. The viminfo file can be used to remember that information, which
1259enables you to continue where you left off.
1260
1261This is introduced in section |21.3| of the user manual.
1262
1263The viminfo file is used to store:
1264- The command line history.
1265- The search string history.
1266- The input-line history.
1267- Contents of registers.
1268- Marks for several files.
1269- File marks, pointing to locations in files.
1270- Last search/substitute pattern (for 'n' and '&').
1271- The buffer list.
1272- Global variables.
1273
1274The viminfo file is not supported when the |+viminfo| feature has been
1275disabled at compile time.
1276
1277You could also use a Session file. The difference is that the viminfo file
1278does not depend on what you are working on. There normally is only one
1279viminfo file. Session files are used to save the state of a specific editing
1280Session. You could have several Session files, one for each project you are
1281working on. Viminfo and Session files together can be used to effectively
1282enter Vim and directly start working in your desired setup. |session-file|
1283
1284 *viminfo-read*
1285When Vim is started and the 'viminfo' option is non-empty, the contents of
1286the viminfo file are read and the info can be used in the appropriate places.
1287The marks are not read in at startup (but file marks are). See
1288|initialization| for how to set the 'viminfo' option upon startup.
1289
1290 *viminfo-write*
1291When Vim exits and 'viminfo' is non-empty, the info is stored in the viminfo
1292file (it's actually merged with the existing one, if one exists). The
1293'viminfo' option is a string containing information about what info should be
1294stored, and contains limits on how much should be stored (see 'viminfo').
1295
1296Notes for Unix:
1297- The file protection for the viminfo file will be set to prevent other users
1298 from being able to read it, because it may contain any text or commands that
1299 you have worked with.
1300- If you want to share the viminfo file with other users (e.g. when you "su"
1301 to another user), you can make the file writable for the group or everybody.
1302 Vim will preserve this when writing new viminfo files. Be careful, don't
1303 allow just anybody to read and write your viminfo file!
1304- Vim will not overwrite a viminfo file that is not writable by the current
1305 "real" user. This helps for when you did "su" to become root, but your
1306 $HOME is still set to a normal user's home directory. Otherwise Vim would
1307 create a viminfo file owned by root that nobody else can read.
1308
1309Marks are stored for each file separately. When a file is read and 'viminfo'
1310is non-empty, the marks for that file are read from the viminfo file. NOTE:
1311The marks are only written when exiting Vim, which is fine because marks are
1312remembered for all the files you have opened in the current editing session,
1313unless ":bdel" is used. If you want to save the marks for a file that you are
1314about to abandon with ":bdel", use ":wv". The '[' and ']' marks are not
1315stored, but the '"' mark is. The '"' mark is very useful for jumping to the
1316cursor position when the file was last exited. No marks are saved for files
1317that start with any string given with the "r" flag in 'viminfo'. This can be
1318used to avoid saving marks for files on removable media (for MS-DOS you would
1319use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:").
1320
1321 *viminfo-file-marks*
1322Uppercase marks ('A to 'Z) are stored when writing the viminfo file. The
1323numbered marks ('0 to '9) are a bit special. When the viminfo file is written
1324(when exiting or with the ":wviminfo" command), '0 is set to the current cursor
1325position and file. The old '0 is moved to '1, '1 to '2, etc. This
1326resembles what happens with the "1 to "9 delete registers. If the current
1327cursor position is already present in '0 to '9, it is moved to '0, to avoid
1328having the same position twice. The result is that with "'0", you can jump
1329back to the file and line where you exited Vim. To do that right away, try
1330using this command: >
1331
1332 vim -c "normal '0"
1333
1334In a shell you could make an alias for it: >
1335
1336 alias lvim vim -c '"'normal "'"0'"'
1337
1338Use the "r" flag in 'viminfo' to specify for which files no marks should be
1339remembered.
1340
1341
1342VIMINFO FILE NAME *viminfo-file-name*
1343
1344- The default name of the viminfo file is "$HOME/.viminfo" for Unix and OS/2,
1345 "s:.viminfo" for Amiga, "$HOME\_viminfo" for MS-DOS and Win32. For the last
1346 two, when $HOME is not set, "$VIM\_viminfo" is used. When $VIM is also not
1347 set, "c:\_viminfo" is used. For OS/2 "$VIM/.viminfo" is used when $HOME is
1348 not set and $VIM is set.
1349- The 'n' flag in the 'viminfo' option can be used to specify another viminfo
1350 file name |'viminfo'|.
1351- The "-i" Vim argument can be used to set another file name, |-i|. When the
1352 file name given is "NONE" (all uppercase), no viminfo file is ever read or
1353 written. Also not for the commands below!
1354- For the commands below, another file name can be given, overriding the
1355 default and the name given with 'viminfo' or "-i" (unless it's NONE).
1356
1357
1358CHARACTER ENCODING *viminfo-encoding*
1359
1360The text in the viminfo file is encoded as specified with the 'encoding'
1361option. Normally you will always work with the same 'encoding' value, and
1362this works just fine. However, if you read the viminfo file with another
1363value for 'encoding' than what it was written with, some of the text
1364(non-ASCII characters) may be invalid. If this is unacceptable, add the 'c'
1365flag to the 'viminfo' option: >
1366 :set viminfo+=c
1367Vim will then attempt to convert the text in the viminfo file from the
1368'encoding' value it was written with to the current 'encoding' value. This
1369requires Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv| feature. Filenames are not
1370converted.
1371
1372
1373MANUALLY READING AND WRITING
1374
1375Two commands can be used to read and write the viminfo file manually. This
1376can be used to exchange registers between two running Vim programs: First
1377type ":wv" in one and then ":rv" in the other. Note that if the register
1378already contained something, then ":rv!" would be required. Also note
1379however that this means everything will be overwritten with information from
1380the first Vim, including the command line history, etc.
1381
1382The viminfo file itself can be edited by hand too, although we suggest you
1383start with an existing one to get the format right. It is reasonably
1384self-explanatory once you're in there. This can be useful in order to
1385create a second file, say "~/.my_viminfo" which could contain certain
1386settings that you always want when you first start Vim. For example, you
1387can preload registers with particular data, or put certain commands in the
1388command line history. A line in your .vimrc file like >
1389 :rviminfo! ~/.my_viminfo
1390can be used to load this information. You could even have different viminfos
1391for different types of files (e.g., C code) and load them based on the file
1392name, using the ":autocmd" command (see |:autocmd|).
1393
1394 *viminfo-errors*
1395When Vim detects an error while reading a viminfo file, it will not overwrite
1396that file. If there are more than 10 errors, Vim stops reading the viminfo
1397file. This was done to avoid accidentally destroying a file when the file
1398name of the viminfo file is wrong. This could happen when accidentally typing
1399"vim -i file" when you wanted "vim -R file" (yes, somebody accidentally did
1400that!). If you want to overwrite a viminfo file with an error in it, you will
1401either have to fix the error, or delete the file (while Vim is running, so
1402most of the information will be restored).
1403
1404 *:rv* *:rviminfo* *E195*
1405:rv[iminfo][!] [file] Read from viminfo file [file] (default: see above).
1406 If [!] is given, then any information that is
1407 already set (registers, marks, etc.) will be
1408 overwritten. {not in Vi}
1409
1410 *:wv* *:wviminfo* *E137* *E138* *E574*
1411:wv[iminfo][!] [file] Write to viminfo file [file] (default: see above).
1412 The information in the file is first read in to make
1413 a merge between old and new info. When [!] is used,
1414 the old information is not read first, only the
1415 internal info is written. If 'viminfo' is empty, marks
1416 for up to 100 files will be written.
1417 When you get error "E138: Can't write viminfo file"
1418 check that no old temp files were left behind (e.g.
1419 ~/.viminf*) and that you can write in the directory of
1420 the .viminfo file.
1421 {not in Vi}
1422
1423 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: