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Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001*change.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2015 Feb 10
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This file describes commands that delete or change text. In this context,
8changing text means deleting the text and replacing it with other text using
9one command. You can undo all of these commands. You can repeat the non-Ex
10commands with the "." command.
11
121. Deleting text |deleting|
132. Delete and insert |delete-insert|
143. Simple changes |simple-change| *changing*
154. Complex changes |complex-change|
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +000016 4.1 Filter commands |filter|
17 4.2 Substitute |:substitute|
18 4.3 Search and replace |search-replace|
19 4.4 Changing tabs |change-tabs|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000205. Copying and moving text |copy-move|
216. Formatting text |formatting|
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +0000227. Sorting text |sorting|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000023
24For inserting text see |insert.txt|.
25
26==============================================================================
271. Deleting text *deleting* *E470*
28
29["x]<Del> or *<Del>* *x* *dl*
30["x]x Delete [count] characters under and after the cursor
31 [into register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as
32 "dl".
33 The <Del> key does not take a [count]. Instead, it
34 deletes the last character of the count.
35 See |:fixdel| if the <Del> key does not do what you
36 want. See |'whichwrap'| for deleting a line break
37 (join lines). {Vi does not support <Del>}
38
39 *X* *dh*
40["x]X Delete [count] characters before the cursor [into
41 register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as "dh".
42 Also see |'whichwrap'|.
43
44 *d*
45["x]d{motion} Delete text that {motion} moves over [into register
46 x]. See below for exceptions.
47
48 *dd*
49["x]dd Delete [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
50
51 *D*
52["x]D Delete the characters under the cursor until the end
53 of the line and [count]-1 more lines [into register
54 x]; synonym for "d$".
55 (not |linewise|)
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +000056 When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
57 ignored.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000058
59{Visual}["x]x or *v_x* *v_d* *v_<Del>*
60{Visual}["x]d or
61{Visual}["x]<Del> Delete the highlighted text [into register x] (for
62 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
63
64{Visual}["x]CTRL-H or *v_CTRL-H* *v_<BS>*
65{Visual}["x]<BS> When in Select mode: Delete the highlighted text [into
66 register x].
67
68{Visual}["x]X or *v_X* *v_D* *v_b_D*
69{Visual}["x]D Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
70 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). In Visual block mode,
71 "D" deletes the highlighted text plus all text until
72 the end of the line. {not in Vi}
73
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020074 *:d* *:de* *:del* *:delete* *:dl* *:dp*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000075:[range]d[elete] [x] Delete [range] lines (default: current line) [into
76 register x].
Bram Moolenaar9ba7e172013-07-17 22:37:26 +020077 Note these weird abbreviations:
78 :dl delete and list
79 :dell idem
80 :delel idem
81 :deletl idem
82 :deletel idem
83 :dp delete and print
84 :dep idem
85 :delp idem
86 :delep idem
87 :deletp idem
88 :deletep idem
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000089
90:[range]d[elete] [x] {count}
91 Delete {count} lines, starting with [range]
92 (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|) [into
93 register x].
94
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +020095These commands delete text. You can repeat them with the `.` command
96(except `:d`) and undo them. Use Visual mode to delete blocks of text. See
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000097|registers| for an explanation of registers.
98
99An exception for the d{motion} command: If the motion is not linewise, the
100start and end of the motion are not in the same line, and there are only
101blanks before the start and after the end of the motion, the delete becomes
102linewise. This means that the delete also removes the line of blanks that you
Bram Moolenaar6ee8d892012-01-10 14:55:01 +0100103might expect to remain. Use the |o_v| operator to force the motion to be
104characterwise.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000105
106Trying to delete an empty region of text (e.g., "d0" in the first column)
107is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag.
108
109 *J*
110J Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
111 Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces (see
112 below).
113
114 *v_J*
115{Visual}J Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
116 lines. Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces
117 (see below). {not in Vi}
118
119 *gJ*
120gJ Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
121 Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in Vi}
122
123 *v_gJ*
124{Visual}gJ Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
125 lines. Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in
126 Vi}
127
128 *:j* *:join*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000129:[range]j[oin][!] [flags]
130 Join [range] lines. Same as "J", except with [!]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000131 the join does not insert or delete any spaces.
132 If a [range] has equal start and end values, this
133 command does nothing. The default behavior is to
134 join the current line with the line below it.
135 {not in Vi: !}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000136 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000137
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000138:[range]j[oin][!] {count} [flags]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000139 Join {count} lines, starting with [range] (default:
140 current line |cmdline-ranges|). Same as "J", except
141 with [!] the join does not insert or delete any
142 spaces.
143 {not in Vi: !}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000144 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000145
146These commands delete the <EOL> between lines. This has the effect of joining
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200147multiple lines into one line. You can repeat these commands (except `:j`) and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000148undo them.
149
150These commands, except "gJ", insert one space in place of the <EOL> unless
151there is trailing white space or the next line starts with a ')'. These
152commands, except "gJ", delete any leading white space on the next line. If
153the 'joinspaces' option is on, these commands insert two spaces after a '.',
154'!' or '?' (but if 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, they insert two spaces
155only after a '.').
156The 'B' and 'M' flags in 'formatoptions' change the behavior for inserting
157spaces before and after a multi-byte character |fo-table|.
158
Bram Moolenaar251835e2014-02-24 02:51:51 +0100159The '[ mark is set at the end of the first line that was joined, '] at the end
160of the resulting line.
161
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000162
163==============================================================================
1642. Delete and insert *delete-insert* *replacing*
165
166 *R*
167R Enter Replace mode: Each character you type replaces
168 an existing character, starting with the character
169 under the cursor. Repeat the entered text [count]-1
170 times. See |Replace-mode| for more details.
171
172 *gR*
173gR Enter Virtual Replace mode: Each character you type
174 replaces existing characters in screen space. So a
175 <Tab> may replace several characters at once.
176 Repeat the entered text [count]-1 times. See
177 |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more details.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200178 {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000179 feature}
180
181 *c*
182["x]c{motion} Delete {motion} text [into register x] and start
183 insert. When 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag and
184 there is no text to delete (e.g., with "cTx" when the
185 cursor is just after an 'x'), an error occurs and
186 insert mode does not start (this is Vi compatible).
187 When 'cpoptions' does not include the 'E' flag, the
188 "c" command always starts insert mode, even if there
189 is no text to delete.
190
191 *cc*
192["x]cc Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
193 insert |linewise|. If 'autoindent' is on, preserve
194 the indent of the first line.
195
196 *C*
197["x]C Delete from the cursor position to the end of the
198 line and [count]-1 more lines [into register x], and
199 start insert. Synonym for c$ (not |linewise|).
200
201 *s*
202["x]s Delete [count] characters [into register x] and start
203 insert (s stands for Substitute). Synonym for "cl"
204 (not |linewise|).
205
206 *S*
207["x]S Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
208 insert. Synonym for "cc" |linewise|.
209
210{Visual}["x]c or *v_c* *v_s*
211{Visual}["x]s Delete the highlighted text [into register x] and
212 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not
213 in Vi}
214
215 *v_r*
216{Visual}["x]r{char} Replace all selected characters by {char}.
217
218 *v_C*
219{Visual}["x]C Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
220 start insert. In Visual block mode it works
221 differently |v_b_C|. {not in Vi}
222 *v_S*
223{Visual}["x]S Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
224 start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not
225 in Vi}
226 *v_R*
227{Visual}["x]R Currently just like {Visual}["x]S. In a next version
228 it might work differently. {not in Vi}
229
230Notes:
231- You can end Insert and Replace mode with <Esc>.
232- See the section "Insert and Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl| for the other
233 special characters in these modes.
234- The effect of [count] takes place after Vim exits Insert or Replace mode.
235- When the 'cpoptions' option contains '$' and the change is within one line,
236 Vim continues to show the text to be deleted and puts a '$' at the last
237 deleted character.
238
239See |registers| for an explanation of registers.
240
241Replace mode is just like Insert mode, except that every character you enter
242deletes one character. If you reach the end of a line, Vim appends any
243further characters (just like Insert mode). In Replace mode, the backspace
244key restores the original text (if there was any). (See section "Insert and
245Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl|).
246
247 *cw* *cW*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000248Special case: When the cursor is in a word, "cw" and "cW" do not include the
249white space after a word, they only change up to the end of the word. This is
250because Vim interprets "cw" as change-word, and a word does not include the
251following white space.
252{Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first
253blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks; use the
254'w' flag in 'cpoptions' to make it work like Vi anyway}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000255
256If you prefer "cw" to include the space after a word, use this mapping: >
257 :map cw dwi
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000258Or use "caw" (see |aw|).
259
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000260 *:c* *:ch* *:change*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000261:{range}c[hange][!] Replace lines of text with some different text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000262 Type a line containing only "." to stop replacing.
263 Without {range}, this command changes only the current
264 line.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000265 Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
266 command is executed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000267
268==============================================================================
2693. Simple changes *simple-change*
270
271 *r*
272r{char} Replace the character under the cursor with {char}.
273 If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the
274 character. To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V
275 <CR>. CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>.
276 {Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces with a line break,
277 cannot replace something with a <CR>}
Bram Moolenaar80716072012-05-01 21:14:34 +0200278
279 If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the
280 line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E|
281 and |i_CTRL-Y|. This also works with a count, thus
282 `10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below.
283
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000284 If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters
285 with [count] {char}s. When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>,
286 however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces
287 five characters with a single line break.
288 When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs
289 autoindenting. This works just like deleting the
290 characters that are replaced and then doing
291 "i<CR><Esc>".
292 {char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|.
293 |:lmap| mappings apply to {char}. The CTRL-^ command
294 in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off
295 |i_CTRL-^|. See |utf-8-char-arg| about using
296 composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode.
297
298 *gr*
299gr{char} Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with
300 {char}. This replaces in screen space, not file
301 space. See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more
302 details. As with |r| a count may be given.
303 {char} can be entered like with |r|.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200304 {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000305 feature}
306
307 *digraph-arg*
308The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character.
309When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered
310like |digraphs|. First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters.
311{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
312
313 *case*
314The following commands change the case of letters. The currently active
315|locale| is used. See |:language|. The LC_CTYPE value matters here.
316
317 *~*
318~ 'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character
319 under the cursor and move the cursor to the right.
320 If a [count] is given, do that many characters. {Vi:
321 no count}
322
323~{motion} 'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text. {Vi:
324 tilde cannot be used as an operator}
325
326 *g~*
327g~{motion} Switch case of {motion} text. {not in Vi}
328
329g~g~ *g~g~* *g~~*
330g~~ Switch case of current line. {not in Vi}.
331
332 *v_~*
333{Visual}~ Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see
334 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
335
336 *v_U*
337{Visual}U Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see
338 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
339
340 *gU* *uppercase*
341gU{motion} Make {motion} text uppercase. {not in Vi}
342 Example: >
343 :map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a
344< This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the
345 word before the cursor uppercase. Handy to type
346 words in lowercase and then make them uppercase.
347
348
349gUgU *gUgU* *gUU*
350gUU Make current line uppercase. {not in Vi}.
351
352 *v_u*
353{Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see
354 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
355
356 *gu* *lowercase*
357gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase. {not in Vi}
358
359gugu *gugu* *guu*
360guu Make current line lowercase. {not in Vi}.
361
362 *g?* *rot13*
363g?{motion} Rot13 encode {motion} text. {not in Vi}
364
365 *v_g?*
366{Visual}g? Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see
367 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
368
369g?g? *g?g?* *g??*
370g?? Rot13 encode current line. {not in Vi}.
371
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000372To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word
373uppercase: >
374 :s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g
375
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000376
377Adding and subtracting ~
378 *CTRL-A*
379CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at
380 or after the cursor. {not in Vi}
381
382 *CTRL-X*
383CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
384 character at or after the cursor. {not in Vi}
385
386The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands work for (signed) decimal numbers, unsigned
387octal and hexadecimal numbers and alphabetic characters. This depends on the
388'nrformats' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000389- When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0'
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000390 to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'. Other numbers are
391 decimal and may have a preceding minus sign.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000392 If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise
393 Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000394- When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or
395 '0X' are hexadecimal. The case of the rightmost letter in the number
396 determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number. If there is no
397 letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case.
398- When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character
399 under or after the cursor. This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic
400 index.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000401
402For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers),
403Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible. CTRL-A on
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000404"0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000405There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to
406be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal",
407leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an
408octal number.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000409
410Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading
Bram Moolenaar1cd871b2004-12-19 22:46:22 +0000411zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000412
413The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro. Example: Use the following
414steps to make a numbered list.
415
4161. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004172. qa - start recording into register 'a'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004183. Y - yank the entry
4194. p - put a copy of the entry below the first one
4205. CTRL-A - increment the number
4216. q - stop recording
4227. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times
423
424
425SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT *shift-left-right*
426
427 *<*
428<{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
429
430 *<<*
431<< Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
432
433 *v_<*
434{Visual}[count]< Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
435 leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in
436 Vi}
437
438 *>*
439 >{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
440
441 *>>*
442 >> Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
443
444 *v_>*
445{Visual}[count]> Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
446 rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in
447 Vi}
448
449 *:<*
450:[range]< Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left. Repeat '<'
451 for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
452
453:[range]< {count} Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting
454 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
455 Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
456
457:[range]le[ft] [indent] left align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
458 lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi}
459
460 *:>*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000461:[range]> [flags] Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000462 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000463 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000464
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000465:[range]> {count} [flags]
466 Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000467 with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
468 Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000469 See |ex-flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000470
471The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within
472programs. Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space
473which these commands insert or delete. Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8,
474but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents. The shift leftwards
475stops when there is no indent. The shift right does not affect empty lines.
476
477If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of
478'shiftwidth'.
479
480If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains
Bram Moolenaar8e69b4a2013-11-09 03:41:58 +0100481'#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#'
482(these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000483
484When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as
485much as possible to make the indent. You can use ">><<" to replace an indent
486made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces
487if necessary). If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces. Then
488you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200489`:retab!`).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000490
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200491To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000492For example: >
493 Vjj4> move three lines 4 indents to the right
494 :<<< move current line 3 indents to the left
495 :>> 5 move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
496 :5>> move line 5 2 indents to the right
497
498==============================================================================
4994. Complex changes *complex-change*
500
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005014.1 Filter commands *filter*
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000502
503A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some
504way, and sends it to standard output. You can use the commands below to send
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000505some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000506Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and
507"indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that
508works like a filter; not all versions do). The 'shell' option specifies the
509shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype'
510option). You can repeat filter commands with ".". Vim does not recognize a
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200511comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000512
513 *!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000514!{motion}{filter} Filter {motion} text lines through the external
515 program {filter}.
516
517 *!!*
518!!{filter} Filter [count] lines through the external program
519 {filter}.
520
521 *v_!*
522{Visual}!{filter} Filter the highlighted lines through the external
523 program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
524 {not in Vi}
525
526:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg] *:range!*
527 Filter {range} lines through the external program
528 {filter}. Vim replaces the optional bangs with the
529 latest given command and appends the optional [arg].
530 Vim saves the output of the filter command in a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100531 temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer
532 |tempfile|. Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to
533 redirect the filter output to the temporary file.
Bram Moolenaar83c465c2005-12-16 21:53:56 +0000534 However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes
535 are used when possible (on Unix).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000536 When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in
537 the filtered lines are deleted, unless the
538 |:keepmarks| command is used. Example: >
539 :keepmarks '<,'>!sort
540< When the number of lines after filtering is less than
541 before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway.
542
543 *=*
544={motion} Filter {motion} lines through the external program
545 given with the 'equalprg' option. When the 'equalprg'
546 option is empty (this is the default), use the
Bram Moolenaar20f90cf2011-05-19 12:22:51 +0200547 internal formatting function |C-indenting| and
548 |'lisp'|. But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will
549 be used instead |indent-expression|. When Vim was
550 compiled without internal formatting then the "indent"
551 program is used as a last resort.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000552
553 *==*
554== Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}.
555
556 *v_=*
557{Visual}= Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}.
558 {not in Vi}
559
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000560
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100561 *tempfile* *setuid*
562Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for
563tempname(). For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
564accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink
565attack or other people reading your file). When Vim exits the directory and
566all files in it are deleted. When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause
567problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command
568probably runs as the original user.
569On MS-DOS and OS/2 the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP,
570$TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP.
571For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME.
572For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used.
573For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used.
574
575
576
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00005774.2 Substitute *:substitute*
578 *:s* *:su*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000579:[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000580 For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern}
581 with {string}.
582 For the {pattern} see |pattern|.
583 {string} can be a literal string, or something
584 special; see |sub-replace-special|.
585 When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the
586 current line only.
587 When [count] is given, replace in [count] lines,
588 starting with the last line in [range]. When [range]
589 is omitted start in the current line.
590 Also see |cmdline-ranges|.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000591 See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000592
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000593:[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count]
594:[range]&[&][flags] [count] *:&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000595 Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and
596 substitute string, but without the same flags. You
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000597 may add [flags], see |:s_flags|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200598 Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000599 used, it's recognized as a pattern separator.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200600 The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g' and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000601 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts it's a good
602 idea to keep it to avoid confusion.
603
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000604:[range]~[&][flags] [count] *:~*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000605 Repeat last substitute with same substitute string
606 but with last used search pattern. This is like
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200607 `:&r`. See |:s_flags| for [flags].
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000608
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000609 *&*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200610& Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute). Note
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000611 that the flags are not remembered, thus it might
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200612 actually work differently. You can use `:&&` to keep
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000613 the flags.
614
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000615 *g&*
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100616g& Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with
617 last search pattern on all lines with the same flags).
Bram Moolenaar34700a62013-03-07 13:20:54 +0100618 For example, when you first do a substitution with
Bram Moolenaar97d62492012-11-15 21:28:22 +0100619 `:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for
620 something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000621 Mnemonic: global substitute. {not in Vi}
622
623 *:snomagic* *:sno*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200624:[range]sno[magic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000625 {not in Vi}
626
627 *:smagic* *:sm*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200628:[range]sm[agic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000629 {not in Vi}
630
631 *:s_flags*
632The flags that you can use for the substitute commands:
633
634[&] Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute
635 command. Examples: >
636 :&&
637 :s/this/that/&
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200638< Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000639 {not in Vi}
640
641[c] Confirm each substitution. Vim highlights the matching string (with
642 |hl-IncSearch|). You can type: *:s_c*
643 'y' to substitute this match
644 'l' to substitute this match and then quit ("last")
645 'n' to skip this match
646 <Esc> to quit substituting
647 'a' to substitute this and all remaining matches {not in Vi}
648 'q' to quit substituting {not in Vi}
649 CTRL-E to scroll the screen up {not in Vi, not available when
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200650 compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000651 CTRL-Y to scroll the screen down {not in Vi, not available when
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +0200652 compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000653 If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and
654 toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new
655 search pattern.
656 {not in Vi: highlighting of the match, other responses than 'y' or 'n'}
657
658[e] When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in
659 particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred. This is most
660 useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping. Vim
661 does not suppress the following error messages, however:
662 Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters
663 \ should be followed by /, ? or &
664 No previous substitute regular expression
665 Trailing characters
666 Interrupted
667 {not in Vi}
668
669[g] Replace all occurrences in the line. Without this argument,
670 replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line. If
671 the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles
672 it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search
673 pattern. If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default
674 and the [g] argument switches it off.
675
676[i] Ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options
677 are not used.
678 {not in Vi}
679
680[I] Don't ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase'
681 options are not used.
682 {not in Vi}
683
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000684[n] Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute. The [c]
685 flag is ignored. The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero.
686 Useful to |count-items|.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200687 If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be
688 evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000689
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000690[p] Print the line containing the last substitute.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000691
692[#] Like [p] and prepend the line number.
693
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000694[l] Like [p] but print the text like |:list|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000695
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200696[r] Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments. `:&r`
697 works the same way as `:~`: When the search pattern is empty, use the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000698 previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200699 last substitute or `:global`. If the last command that did a search
700 was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect. If the last
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000701 command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that
702 command.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200703 For `:s` with an argument this already happens: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000704 :s/blue/red/
705 /green
706 :s//red/ or :~ or :&r
707< The last commands will replace "green" with "red". >
708 :s/blue/red/
709 /green
710 :&
711< The last command will replace "blue" with "red".
712 {not in Vi}
713
714Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern. A
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000715different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends. The
716reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in
717order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known. Catch 22!
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000718
719If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200720pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command. If there is none, but
Bram Moolenaar662db672011-03-22 14:05:35 +0100721there is a previous search pattern, that one is used. With the [r] flag, the
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200722command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000723command.
724
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000725If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty. Thus the
726matched pattern is deleted. The separator after {pattern} can also be left
727out then. Example: >
728 :%s/TESTING
729This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line.
730
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000731For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed:
732"\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r".
733"\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/".
734 *E146*
735Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +0000736can use any other single-byte character, but not an alphanumeric character,
737'\', '"' or '|'. This is useful if you want to include a '/' in the search
738pattern or replacement string. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000739 :s+/+//+
740
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000741For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|. In Visual block mode, use
742|/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only.
743Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000744
745 *sub-replace-special* *:s\=*
746When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200747|sub-replace-expression|. You can use that for complex replacement or special
748characters.
749
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000750Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning:
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +0000751 *:s%*
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +0000752When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option,
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200753then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000754
755magic nomagic action ~
756 & \& replaced with the whole matched pattern *s/\&*
757 \& & replaced with &
758 \0 replaced with the whole matched pattern *\0* *s/\0*
759 \1 replaced with the matched pattern in the first
760 pair of () *s/\1*
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000761 \2 replaced with the matched pattern in the second
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000762 pair of () *s/\2*
763 .. .. *s/\3*
764 \9 replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth
765 pair of () *s/\9*
766 ~ \~ replaced with the {string} of the previous
767 substitute *s~*
768 \~ ~ replaced with ~ *s/\~*
769 \u next character made uppercase *s/\u*
770 \U following characters made uppercase, until \E *s/\U*
771 \l next character made lowercase *s/\l*
772 \L following characters made lowercase, until \E *s/\L*
773 \e end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!) *s/\e*
774 \E end of \u, \U, \l and \L *s/\E*
775 <CR> split line in two at this point
776 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s<CR>*
777 \r idem *s/\r*
778 \<CR> insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M)
779 (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s/\<CR>*
780 \n insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file)
781 (does NOT break the line) *s/\n*
782 \b insert a <BS> *s/\b*
783 \t insert a <Tab> *s/\t*
784 \\ insert a single backslash *s/\\*
785 \x where x is any character not mentioned above:
786 Reserved for future expansion
787
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200788The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of
789the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions:
790 - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'.
791 - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'.
792 - A ~ inserts a tilde literally.
793 - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M).
794 - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. it's just one of \x.
795
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000796Examples: >
797 :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g modifies "a b" to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx"
798 :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb"
799 :s/abcde/abc^Mde/ modifies "abcde" to "abc", "de" (two lines)
800 :s/$/\^M/ modifies "abcde" to "abcde^M"
Bram Moolenaarefd2bf12006-03-16 21:41:35 +0000801 :s/\w\+/\u\0/g modifies "bla bla" to "Bla Bla"
Bram Moolenaarbf884932013-04-05 22:26:15 +0200802 :s/\w\+/\L\u/g modifies "BLA bla" to "Bla Bla"
803
804Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word. This is
805not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel
806out the "\L". Same for "\U\l".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000807
808Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way. Since this is
809not Vi compatible, this was removed. Use a backslash instead.
810
811command text result ~
812:s/aa/a^Ma/ aa a<line-break>a
813:s/aa/a\^Ma/ aa a^Ma
814:s/aa/a\\^Ma/ aa a\<line-break>a
815
816(you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here)
817
818The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in
819the pattern (going left to right). When a parentheses group matches several
820times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc. Example: >
821 :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/ modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x"
822
823When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\),
824either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either
825\1 or \2 is empty. Example: >
826 :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g modifies "a b c d" to "ax bx x x"
827<
828
829Substitute with an expression *sub-replace-expression*
Bram Moolenaar92dff182014-02-11 19:15:50 +0100830 *sub-replace-\=* *s/\=*
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000831When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200832expression. This does not work recursively: a |substitute()| function inside
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000833the expression cannot use "\=" for the substitute string.
834
835The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200836not apply except for "<CR>". A <NL> character is used as a line break, you
837can get one with a double-quote string: "\n". Prepend a backslash to get a
838real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000839
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200840The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of
841|substitute()| function. In this case, the special meaning for characters as
842mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and
843<NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a
844new-line respectively.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000845
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +0000846When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line
847breaks. Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line
848breaks themselves.
849
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000850The whole matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)". The text matched
851with the first pair of () with "submatch(1)". Likewise for further
852sub-matches in ().
853
854Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression!
855Consider using a character like "@" or ":". There is no problem if the result
856of the expression contains the separation character.
857
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000858Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000859 :s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +0000860This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. >
861
862 s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000863This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign. Read more in |<Char->|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000864
865
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00008664.3 Search and replace *search-replace*
867
868 *:pro* *:promptfind*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000869:promptf[ind] [string]
870 Put up a Search dialog. When [string] is given, it is
871 used as the initial search string.
872 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
873
874 *:promptr* *:promptrepl*
875:promptr[epl] [string]
876 Put up a Search/Replace dialog. When [string] is
877 given, it is used as the initial search string.
878 {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
879
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +0000880
8814.4 Changing tabs *change-tabs*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200882 *:ret* *:retab* *:retab!*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000883:[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop]
884 Replace all sequences of white-space containing a
885 <Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new
886 tabstop value given. If you do not specify a new
887 tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value
888 of 'tabstop'.
889 The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to
890 compute the width of existing tabs.
891 With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal
892 spaces with tabs where appropriate.
893 With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the
894 appropriate number of spaces.
895 This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given,
896 and if performed on the whole file, which is default,
897 should not make any visible change.
898 Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters
899 inside of strings in a C program. Use "\t" to avoid
900 this (that's a good habit anyway).
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +0200901 `:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000902 <Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf().
903 {not in Vi}
904 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
905 compile time.
906
907 *retab-example*
908Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored
909with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4. Warning: white space
910inside of strings can change! Also see 'softtabstop' option. >
911
912 :auto BufReadPost *.xx retab! 4
913 :auto BufWritePre *.xx retab! 8
914 :auto BufWritePost *.xx retab! 4
915 :auto BufNewFile *.xx set ts=4
916
917==============================================================================
9185. Copying and moving text *copy-move*
919
920 *quote*
921"{a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} Use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank
922 or put (use uppercase character to append with
923 delete and yank) ({.%#:} only work with put).
924
925 *:reg* *:registers*
926:reg[isters] Display the contents of all numbered and named
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100927 registers. If a register is written to for |:redir|
928 it will not be listed.
929 {not in Vi}
930
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000931
932:reg[isters] {arg} Display the contents of the numbered and named
933 registers that are mentioned in {arg}. For example: >
934 :dis 1a
935< to display registers '1' and 'a'. Spaces are allowed
936 in {arg}. {not in Vi}
937
938 *:di* *:display*
939:di[splay] [arg] Same as :registers. {not in Vi}
940
941 *y* *yank*
942["x]y{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. When no
943 characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1),
944 this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E'
945 flag.
946
947 *yy*
948["x]yy Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
949
950 *Y*
951["x]Y yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for
952 yy, |linewise|). If you like "Y" to work from the
953 cursor to the end of line (which is more logical,
954 but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$".
955
956 *v_y*
957{Visual}["x]y Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for
958 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
959
960 *v_Y*
961{Visual}["x]Y Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
962 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
963
Bram Moolenaar85de2062011-05-05 14:26:41 +0200964 *:y* *:yank* *E850*
965:[range]y[ank] [x] Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +0200966 "* or "+ registers is possible only when the
967 |+clipboard| feature is included.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000968
969:[range]y[ank] [x] {count}
970 Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number
971 in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|),
972 [into register x].
973
974 *p* *put* *E353*
975["x]p Put the text [from register x] after the cursor
976 [count] times. {Vi: no count}
977
978 *P*
979["x]P Put the text [from register x] before the cursor
980 [count] times. {Vi: no count}
981
982 *<MiddleMouse>*
983["x]<MiddleMouse> Put the text from a register before the cursor [count]
984 times. Uses the "* register, unless another is
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000985 specified.
Bram Moolenaar293ee4d2004-12-09 21:34:53 +0000986 Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text.
987 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
988 or 'a'.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000989 {not in Vi}
990 If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste
991 text, you can use these mappings to disable the
992 pasting with the middle mouse button: >
993 :map <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
994 :imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
995< You might want to disable the multi-click versions
996 too, see |double-click|.
997
998 *gp*
999["x]gp Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new
1000 text. {not in Vi}
1001
1002 *gP*
1003["x]gP Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new
1004 text. {not in Vi}
1005
1006 *:pu* *:put*
1007:[line]pu[t] [x] Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default
1008 current line). This always works |linewise|, thus
1009 this command can be used to put a yanked block as new
1010 lines.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001011 If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb'
1012 option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the
1013 + register |quoteplus|. Otherwise, if 'cb' contains
Bram Moolenaarddbb5552012-04-26 20:17:03 +02001014 "unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001015 Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register
1016 |quote_quote|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001017 The register can also be '=' followed by an optional
1018 expression. The expression continues until the end of
1019 the command. You need to escape the '|' and '"'
1020 characters to prevent them from terminating the
1021 command. Example: >
1022 :put ='path' . \",/test\"
1023< If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the
1024 previous expression. You can see it with ":dis =".
1025
1026:[line]pu[t]! [x] Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default
1027 current line).
1028
1029["x]]p or *]p* *]<MiddleMouse>*
1030["x]]<MiddleMouse> Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1031 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1032 or 'a'. {not in Vi}
1033
1034["x][P or *[P*
1035["x]]P or *]P*
1036["x][p or *[p* *[<MiddleMouse>*
1037["x][<MiddleMouse> Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1038 Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1039 or 'a'. {not in Vi}
1040
1041You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another. Do this
1042by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change
1043command, then inserting the register contents with a put command. You can
1044also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim
1045preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick
1046way to toggle between two files).
1047
1048 *linewise-register* *characterwise-register*
1049You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them. If
1050the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|,
1051Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is.
1052Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor. With
1053the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line. You can
1054exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp". You can exchange two
1055lines with the command sequence "ddp". You can exchange two words with the
1056command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the
1057first word). You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to
1058move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move
1059the cursor to the start.
1060
1061 *put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P*
1062When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to
1063replace the selected text with the contents of the register. Whether this
1064works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the
1065register. With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001066and whether the corners are on an existing character. (Implementation detail:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001067it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001068deleting the selection.)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001069The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register. If you want to
1070put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use
1071another register. E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to
1072replace and use "0p . You can repeat this as many times as you like, the
1073unnamed register will be changed each time.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001074
Bram Moolenaarec11aef2013-09-22 15:23:44 +02001075When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into
1076a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on
1077each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a
1078block of the pasted line).
1079
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001080 *blockwise-register*
1081If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register,
1082the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor
1083column in the current and next lines. Vim makes the whole block of text start
1084in the same column. Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was
1085yanked or deleted. Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make
1086this happen. However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab>
1087width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be
1088misaligned.
1089
1090Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the
1091first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer. This means
1092that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character
1093left.
1094Rationale: In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would
1095 sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character,
1096 because redisplaying was skipped. In Vim it always moves to
1097 the first character, as specified by Posix.
1098With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the
1099column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character.
1100
1101There are nine types of registers: *registers* *E354*
11021. The unnamed register ""
11032. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9
11043. The small delete register "-
11054. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011065. three read-only registers ":, "., "%
Bram Moolenaar0122c402015-02-03 19:13:34 +010011076. alternate buffer register "#
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011087. the expression register "=
11098. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
11109. The black hole register "_
111110. Last search pattern register "/
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001112
11131. Unnamed register "" *quote_quote* *quotequote*
1114Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands
1115or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific
Bram Moolenaared203462004-06-16 11:19:22 +00001116register was used (e.g. "xdd). This is like the unnamed register is pointing
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001117to the last used register. Thus when appending using an uppercase register
1118name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register.
1119An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any
1120register.
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001121Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P)
1122which does not specify a register. Additionally you can access it with the
1123name '"'. This means you have to type two double quotes. Writing to the ""
1124register writes to register "0.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001125{Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'}
1126
11272. Numbered registers "0 to "9 *quote_number* *quote0* *quote1*
1128 *quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9*
1129Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands.
1130 Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command,
1131unless the command specified another register with ["x].
1132 Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or
1133change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is
1134less than one line (the small delete register is used then). An exception is
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001135made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|,
1136|/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|. Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi
1137compatible). The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line.
Bram Moolenaarbaca7f72013-09-22 14:42:24 +02001138Note that these characters may be mapped. E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +02001139plugin.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001140 With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents
1141of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous
1142contents of register 9.
1143{Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does
1144not exist}
1145
11463. Small delete register "- *quote_-* *quote-*
1147This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line,
1148except when the command specifies a register with ["x].
1149{not in Vi}
1150
11514. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z *quote_alpha* *quotea*
1152Vim fills these registers only when you say so. Specify them as lowercase
1153letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001154to their previous contents. When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then
1155a line break is inserted before the appended text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001156
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011575. Read-only registers ":, ". and "%
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001158These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'. You can use them only with the "p", "P",
1159and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R. {not in Vi}
1160 *quote_.* *quote.* *E29*
1161 ". Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted
1162 with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@). Note: this
1163 doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line. It works a bit
1164 differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it
1165 ('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted).
1166 *quote_%* *quote%*
1167 "% Contains the name of the current file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001168 *quote_:* *quote:* *E30*
1169 ": Contains the most recent executed command-line. Example: Use
1170 "@:" to repeat the previous command-line command.
1171 The command-line is only stored in this register when at least
1172 one character of it was typed. Thus it remains unchanged if
1173 the command was completely from a mapping.
1174 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist|
1175 feature}
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +01001176 *quote_#* *quote#*
11776. Alternate file register "#
1178Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window. It will
1179change how the |CTRL-^| command works.
1180This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has
1181changed it. It accepts buffer number: >
1182 let altbuf = bufnr(@#)
1183 ...
1184 let @# = altbuf
1185It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not
1186exist.
1187It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: >
1188 let @# = 'buffer_name'
1189Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94|
1190if none of buffers matches the given name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001191
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010011927. Expression register "= *quote_=* *quote=* *@=*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001193This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an
1194expression in commands which use a register. The expression register is
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001195read-write.
1196
1197When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line,
1198where you can enter any expression (see |expression|). All normal
1199command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for
1200expressions. When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the
1201result of the expression. If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the
1202expression. If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001203expression (like with the "/" command).
1204
1205The expression must evaluate to a String. A Number is always automatically
1206converted to a String. For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a
1207Float it's converted into a String. If the result is a List each element is
1208turned into a String and used as a line. A Dictionary or FuncRef results in
1209an error message (use string() to convert).
1210
1211If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL>
1212characters. If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise
Bram Moolenaar6bab4d12005-06-16 21:53:56 +00001213register. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001214
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012158. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001216Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001217See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|. When the clipboard is not available or not
Bram Moolenaarf4d11452005-12-02 00:46:37 +00001218working, the unnamed register is used instead. For Unix systems the clipboard
1219is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001220
1221Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems. For
1222an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|. Under MS-Windows, use
1223of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|.
1224
1225 *quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>*
1226The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop
1227operation. When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is
1228filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification. You can remap
1229this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the
1230contents of the "~ register at the cursor position. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001231{only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001232GTK GUI}
1233
1234Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim.
1235Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally.
1236
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +010012379. Black hole register "_ *quote_*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001238When writing to this register, nothing happens. This can be used to delete
1239text without affecting the normal registers. When reading from this register,
1240nothing is returned. {not in Vi}
1241
Bram Moolenaar3b3a9492015-01-27 18:44:16 +0100124210. Last search pattern register "/ *quote_/* *quote/*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001243Contains the most recent search-pattern. This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'.
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001244It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001245other matches without actually searching. You can't yank or delete into this
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001246register. The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|.
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001247Note that the value is restored when returning from a function
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001248|function-search-undo|.
1249{not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001250
1251 *@/*
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001252You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001253 :let @/ = "the"
1254
1255If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register
1256that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register). If
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001257you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001258command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is
1259labelled '"').
1260
1261The next three commands always work on whole lines.
1262
1263:[range]co[py] {address} *:co* *:copy*
1264 Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line
1265 given by {address}.
1266
1267 *:t*
1268:t Synonym for copy.
1269
1270:[range]m[ove] {address} *:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134*
1271 Move the lines given by [range] to below the line
1272 given by {address}.
1273
1274==============================================================================
12756. Formatting text *formatting*
1276
1277:[range]ce[nter] [width] *:ce* *:center*
1278 Center lines in [range] between [width] columns
1279 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1280 {not in Vi}
1281 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1282 compile time.
1283
1284:[range]ri[ght] [width] *:ri* *:right*
1285 Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns
1286 (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1287 {not in Vi}
1288 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1289 compile time.
1290
1291 *:le* *:left*
1292:[range]le[ft] [indent]
1293 Left-align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the
1294 lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi}
1295 Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1296 compile time.
1297
1298 *gq*
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001299gq{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001300 Formatting is done with one of three methods:
1301 1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is
1302 evaluated. This can differ for each buffer.
Bram Moolenaar4c7ed462006-02-15 22:18:42 +00001303 2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001304 is used.
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00001305 3. Otherwise formatting is done internally.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001306
1307 In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the
1308 length of each formatted line (see below).
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001309 If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line
1310 length is the screen width (with a maximum width of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001311 79).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001312 The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of
1313 formatting |fo-table|.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00001314 The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last
1315 formatted line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001316 NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this
1317 function. If you still want to use "Q" for
1318 formatting, use this mapping: >
1319 :nnoremap Q gq
1320
1321gqgq *gqgq* *gqq*
Bram Moolenaar40af4e32010-07-29 22:33:18 +02001322gqq Format the current line. With a count format that
1323 many lines. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001324
1325 *v_gq*
1326{Visual}gq Format the highlighted text. (for {Visual} see
1327 |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1328
1329 *gw*
1330gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. Similar to
1331 |gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001332 the text. However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are
1333 not used. {not in Vi}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001334
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001335gwgw *gwgw* *gww*
1336gww Format the current line as with "gw". {not in Vi}
1337
1338 *v_gw*
1339{Visual}gw Format the highlighted text as with "gw". (for
1340 {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
1341
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001342Example: To format the current paragraph use: *gqap* >
1343 gqap
1344
1345The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes
1346the cursor. This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".". This
1347works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until
1348end of paragraph). Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on
1349the first formatted line (as with using a filter command).
1350
1351If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: >
1352 gwap
1353If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a'
1354flag to 'formatoptions'. See |auto-format|.
1355
1356If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for
1357the following lines.
1358
1359Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only
1360white space!).
1361
1362The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together.
1363
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001364You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option
1365to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting. The
1366'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external
1367program.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001368
1369 *right-justify*
1370There is no command in Vim to right justify text. You can do it with
1371an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the
1372paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par".
1373
1374 *format-comments*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001375An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual.
1376
1377Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way. Vim
1378recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring
1379white space). Three types of comments can be used:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001380
1381- A comment string that repeats at the start of each line. An example is the
1382 type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#".
1383- A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following
1384 lines. An example is this list with dashes.
1385- Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional
1386 lines in between. The strings for the start, middle and end are different.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001387 An example is the C style comment:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001388 /*
1389 * this is a C comment
1390 */
1391
1392The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part defines a
1393type of comment string. A part consists of:
1394 {flags}:{string}
1395
1396{string} is the literal text that must appear.
1397
1398{flags}:
1399 n Nested comment. Nesting with mixed parts is allowed. If 'comments'
1400 is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment.
1401
1402 b Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}.
1403
1404 f Only the first line has the comment string. Do not repeat comment on
1405 the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list).
1406
1407 s Start of three-piece comment
1408
1409 m Middle of a three-piece comment
1410
1411 e End of a three-piece comment
1412
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001413 l Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of
1414 start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle.
1415 This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001416
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001417 r Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See
1418 below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001419
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001420 O Don't consider this comment for the "O" command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001421
1422 x Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001423 character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new
1424 line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically.
1425 See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001426
1427 {digits}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001428 When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an
1429 automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins
1430 from a left alignment. See below for more details.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001431
1432 -{digits}
1433 Like {digits} but reduce the indent. This only works when there is
1434 some indent for the start or end part that can be removed.
1435
1436When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the
1437comment string repeats at the start of each line. The flags field may be
1438empty.
1439
1440Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the
1441{string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a
1442required part of the comment string.
1443
1444When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole.
1445For example, to include both "-" and "->", use >
1446 :set comments=f:->,f:-
1447
1448A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other
1449parts in between. An example of a three-piece comment is >
1450 sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/
1451for C-comments. To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string
1452includes the 'b' flag. For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after
1453the start and middle strings for the end string. If Vim finds the end string,
1454the comment does not continue on the next line. Three-piece comments must
1455have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines.
1456
1457Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition.
1458When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001459for the new line: " * ". To close this comment you just have to type "/"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001460before typing anything else on the new line. This will replace the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001461middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001462alignment, leaving just " */". There is no need to hit Backspace first.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001463
Bram Moolenaar2b8388b2015-02-28 13:11:45 +01001464When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end
1465part which is longer, the end part is used. This makes a C style comment work
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001466without requiring the middle part to end with a space.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001467
1468Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001469(kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: >
1470 :set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/
1471<
1472 /*** ~
1473 **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~
1474 ** ~
1475offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~
1476 ******/ ~
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001477In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times,
1478then "/" was pressed to end the comment.
1479
1480Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when
1481alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line
1482after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and
1483automatically ending a three-piece comment. The end alignment flag has a
1484backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with
1485"s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces.
1486Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number
1487will override the "r" and "l" flag.
1488
1489Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases.
1490Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult
1491alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other
1492formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options
1493for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001494indent alignments. However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with
1495three piece comments.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001496
1497Other examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001498 "b:*" Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is
1499 followed by a non-blank. This avoids a pointer dereference
1500 like "*str" to be recognized as a comment.
1501 "n:>" Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc.
1502 "fb:-" Format a list that starts with "- ".
1503
1504By default, "b:#" is included. This means that a line that starts with
1505"#include" is not recognized as a comment line. But a line that starts with
1506"# define" is recognized. This is a compromise.
1507
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001508{not available when compiled without the |+comments| feature}
1509
1510 *fo-table*
1511You can use the 'formatoptions' option to influence how Vim formats text.
1512'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below. The
1513default setting is "tcq". You can separate the option letters with commas for
1514readability.
1515
1516letter meaning when present in 'formatoptions' ~
1517
Bram Moolenaar9964e462007-05-05 17:54:07 +00001518t Auto-wrap text using textwidth
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001519c Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment
1520 leader automatically.
1521r Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting
1522 <Enter> in Insert mode.
1523o Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or
1524 'O' in Normal mode.
1525q Allow formatting of comments with "gq".
1526 Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing
1527 only the comment leader. A new paragraph starts after such a line,
1528 or when the comment leader changes.
1529w Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line.
1530 A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph.
1531a Automatic formatting of paragraphs. Every time text is inserted or
1532 deleted the paragraph will be reformatted. See |auto-format|.
1533 When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized
1534 comments.
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001535n When formatting text, recognize numbered lists. This actually uses
1536 the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used. The
1537 indent of the text after the number is used for the next line. The
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001538 default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')',
Bram Moolenaar86b68352004-12-27 21:59:20 +00001539 ']' or '}'. Note that 'autoindent' must be set too. Doesn't work
1540 well together with "2".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001541 Example: >
1542 1. the first item
1543 wraps
1544 2. the second item
15452 When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph
1546 for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first
1547 line. This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a
1548 different indent than the rest. Note that 'autoindent' must be set
1549 too. Example: >
1550 first line of a paragraph
1551 second line of the same paragraph
1552 third line.
Bram Moolenaar30b65812012-07-12 22:01:11 +02001553< This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001554v Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a
1555 blank that you have entered during the current insert command. (Note:
1556 this is not 100% Vi compatible. Vi has some "unexpected features" or
1557 bugs in this area. It uses the screen column instead of the line
1558 column.)
1559b Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before
1560 the wrap margin. If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you
1561 started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before
1562 reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping.
1563l Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than
1564 'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not
1565 automatically format it.
1566m Also break at a multi-byte character above 255. This is useful for
1567 Asian text where every character is a word on its own.
1568M When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multi-byte
1569 character. Overrules the 'B' flag.
1570B When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multi-byte
1571 characters. Overruled by the 'M' flag.
15721 Don't break a line after a one-letter word. It's broken before it
1573 instead (if possible).
Bram Moolenaar81340392012-06-06 16:12:59 +02001574j Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines. For
1575 example, joining:
1576 int i; // the index ~
1577 // in the list ~
1578 Becomes:
1579 int i; // the index in the list ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001580
1581
1582With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping:
1583value action ~
1584"" no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting)
1585"t" automatic formatting of text, but not comments
1586"c" automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code)
1587"tc" automatic formatting for text and comments
1588
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001589Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but
1590does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option). An exception
1591is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001592
1593Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all.
1594
1595Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping;
1596'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq".
1597
1598If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some
1599built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly.
1600Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in
1601'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically. The same
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001602happens with formatting and auto-wrapping. Opening a line after a line
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001603starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to
1604be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing
1605the start of the comment.
1606E.g.:
1607 /* ~
1608 * Your typical comment. ~
1609 */ ~
1610 The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above
1611 comment.
1612
1613All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new
1614:autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file.
1615
1616Some examples:
1617 for C code (only format comments): >
1618 :set fo=croq
1619< for Mail/news (format all, don't start comment with "o" command): >
1620 :set fo=tcrq
1621<
1622
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001623Automatic formatting *auto-format* *autoformat*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001624
1625When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted
1626automatically when inserting text or deleting text. This works nice for
1627editing text paragraphs. A few hints on how to use this:
1628
1629- You need to properly define paragraphs. The simplest is paragraphs that are
1630 separated by a blank line. When there is no separating blank line, consider
1631 using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the
1632 paragraphs except the last one.
1633
1634- You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or
1635 specifically for one file with a |modeline|.
1636
1637- Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this:
1638
1639 bla bla foobar bla
1640 bla foobar bla foobar bla
1641 bla bla foobar bla
1642 bla foobar bla bla foobar
1643
1644- Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments. Useful in source code.
1645
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00001646- Set 'textwidth' to the desired width. If it is zero then 79 is used, or the
1647 width of the screen if this is smaller.
1648
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001649And a few warnings:
1650
1651- When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making
1652 changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway. Consider doing >
1653
1654 :set fo-=a
1655
1656- When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and
1657 deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be
1658 joined with the next one.
1659
1660- Changed text is saved for undo. Formatting is also a change. Thus each
1661 format action saves text for undo. This may consume quite a lot of memory.
1662
1663- Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow.
1664
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001665==============================================================================
16667. Sorting text *sorting*
1667
1668Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command. The sorting function can be
Bram Moolenaar327aa022014-03-25 18:24:23 +01001669found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001670
1671 *:sor* *:sort*
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001672:[range]sor[t][!] [i][u][r][n][x][o] [/{pattern}/]
Bram Moolenaare5180522005-12-10 20:19:46 +00001673 Sort lines in [range]. When no range is given all
1674 lines are sorted.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001675
1676 With [!] the order is reversed.
1677
1678 With [i] case is ignored.
1679
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001680 With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001681 in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001682 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001683
1684 With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001685 number in the line (after or inside a {pattern}
1686 match). A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00001687 One leading '-' is included in the number.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001688
1689 With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001690 the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001691
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001692 With [u] only keep the first of a sequence of
1693 identical lines (ignoring case when [i] is used).
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001694 Without this flag, a sequence of identical lines
1695 will be kept in their original order.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001696 Note that leading and trailing white space may cause
1697 lines to be different.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001698
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001699 When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag
1700 the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that
1701 you sort on what comes after the match.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001702 Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used.
1703 For example, to sort on the second comma-separated
1704 field: >
1705 :sort /[^,]*,/
1706< To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus
1707 ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): >
1708 :sort /.*\%10v/
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001709< To sort on the first number in the line, no matter
1710 what is in front of it: >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001711 :sort /.\{-}\ze\d/
1712< (Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the
1713 end of the match and \d matches a digit.)
1714 With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001715 instead of skipping past it as described above.
1716 For example, to sort on only the first three letters
1717 of each line: >
1718 :sort /\a\a\a/ r
1719
1720< If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a
1721 match for {pattern} are kept in their current order,
1722 but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}.
1723 If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse
1724 order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be
1725 in their original order, right before the sorted
1726 lines.
1727
Bram Moolenaar1256e722007-07-10 15:26:20 +00001728 If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the
1729 last search pattern is used. This allows trying out
1730 a pattern first.
1731
Bram Moolenaard38b0552012-04-25 19:07:41 +02001732Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00001733quite useless.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001734
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001735The details about sorting depend on the library function used. There is no
Bram Moolenaar8bb1c3e2014-07-04 16:43:17 +02001736guarantee that sorting obeys the current locale. You will have to try it out.
1737Vim does do a "stable" sort.
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00001738
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00001739The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the
1740process you may end up with duplicated lines. This also depends on the system
1741library function used.
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +00001742
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001743 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: