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Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001*vi_diff.txt* For Vim version 8.1. Last change: 2019 May 05
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Differences between Vim and Vi *vi-differences*
8
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02009This file lists the differences between Vim and Vi/Ex and gives an overview of
10what is in Vim that is not in Vi.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000011
12Vim is mostly POSIX 1003.2-1 compliant. The only command known to be missing
13is ":open". There are probably a lot of small differences (either because Vim
14is missing something or because Posix is beside the mark).
15
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +0000161. Simulated command |simulated-command|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000172. Missing options |missing-options|
183. Limits |limits|
194. The most interesting additions |vim-additions|
205. Other vim features |other-features|
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200216. Supported Vi features |vi-features|
227. Command-line arguments |cmdline-arguments|
238. POSIX compliance |posix-compliance|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000024
25==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +0000261. Simulated command *simulated-command*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000027
Bram Moolenaardd2a3cd2007-05-05 17:10:09 +000028This command is in Vi, but Vim only simulates it:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000029
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +000030 *:o* *:op* *:open*
31:[range]o[pen] Works like |:visual|: end Ex mode.
32 {Vi: start editing in open mode}
33
34:[range]o[pen] /pattern/ As above, additionally move the cursor to the
35 column where "pattern" matches in the cursor
36 line.
37
38Vim does not support open mode, since it's not really useful. For those
39situations where ":open" would start open mode Vim will leave Ex mode, which
40allows executing the same commands, but updates the whole screen instead of
41only one line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000042
43==============================================================================
442. Missing options *missing-options*
45
46These options are in the Unix Vi, but not in Vim. If you try to set one of
47them you won't get an error message, but the value is not used and cannot be
48printed.
49
50autoprint (ap) boolean (default on) *'autoprint'* *'ap'*
51beautify (bf) boolean (default off) *'beautify'* *'bf'*
52flash (fl) boolean (default ??) *'flash'* *'fl'*
53graphic (gr) boolean (default off) *'graphic'* *'gr'*
54hardtabs (ht) number (default 8) *'hardtabs'* *'ht'*
55 number of spaces that a <Tab> moves on the display
56mesg boolean (default on) *'mesg'*
57novice boolean (default off) *'novice'*
58open boolean (default on) *'open'*
59optimize (op) boolean (default off) *'optimize'* *'op'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060redraw boolean (default off) *'redraw'*
61slowopen (slow) boolean (default off) *'slowopen'* *'slow'*
62sourceany boolean (default off) *'sourceany'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000063w300 number (default 23) *'w300'*
64w1200 number (default 23) *'w1200'*
65w9600 number (default 23) *'w9600'*
66
67==============================================================================
683. Limits *limits*
69
70Vim has only a few limits for the files that can be edited {Vi: can not handle
71<Nul> characters and characters above 128, has limited line length, many other
72limits}.
73 *E340*
74Maximum line length On machines with 16-bit ints (Amiga and MS-DOS real
75 mode): 32767, otherwise 2147483647 characters.
76 Longer lines are split.
77Maximum number of lines 2147483647 lines.
78Maximum file size 2147483647 bytes (2 Gbyte) when a long integer is
79 32 bits. Much more for 64 bit longs. Also limited
80 by available disk space for the |swap-file|.
81 *E75*
82Length of a file path Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
83 characters (or as much as the system supports).
84Length of an expanded string option
85 Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256
86 characters
87Maximum display width Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 255
88 characters
89Maximum lhs of a mapping 50 characters.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +000090Number of different highlighting types: over 30000
Bram Moolenaar5302d9e2011-09-14 17:55:08 +020091Range of a Number variable: -2147483648 to 2147483647 (might be more on 64
92 bit systems)
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +020093Maximum length of a line in a tags file: 512 bytes.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000094
95Information for undo and text in registers is kept in memory, thus when making
96(big) changes the amount of (virtual) memory available limits the number of
97undo levels and the text that can be kept in registers. Other things are also
98kept in memory: Command-line history, error messages for Quickfix mode, etc.
99
100Memory usage limits
101-------------------
102
103The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximum memory used for one
104buffer (in kilobytes). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximum memory used for
105all buffers (in kilobytes). The defaults depend on the system used. For the
106Amiga and MS-DOS, 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000107available.
108These are not hard limits, but tell Vim when to move text into a swap file.
109If you don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a
110very large value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you
111don't want a swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n"
112argument when starting Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000113
114==============================================================================
1154. The most interesting additions *vim-additions*
116
117Vi compatibility. |'compatible'|
118 Although Vim is 99% Vi compatible, some things in Vi can be
119 considered to be a bug, or at least need improvement. But still, Vim
120 starts in a mode which behaves like the "real" Vi as much as possible.
121 To make Vim behave a little bit better, try resetting the 'compatible'
122 option:
123 :set nocompatible
124 Or start Vim with the "-N" argument:
125 vim -N
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000126 Vim starts with 'nocompatible' automatically if you have a .vimrc
127 file. See |startup|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000128 The 'cpoptions' option can be used to set Vi compatibility on/off for
129 a number of specific items.
130
131Support for different systems.
132 Vim can be used on:
133 - All Unix systems (it works on all systems it was tested on, although
134 the GUI and Perl interface may not work everywhere).
135 - Amiga (500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000, ...).
136 - MS-DOS in real-mode (no additional drivers required).
137 - In protected mode on Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS (DPMI driver required).
138 - Windows 95 and Windows NT, with support for long file names.
139 - OS/2 (needs emx.dll)
140 - Atari MiNT
141 - VMS
142 - BeOS
143 - Macintosh
144 - Risc OS
145 - IBM OS/390
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000146 Note that on some systems features need to be disabled to reduce
147 resource usage, esp. on MS-DOS. For some outdated systems you need to
148 use an older Vim version.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000149
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200150Multi level persistent undo. |undo|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000151 'u' goes backward in time, 'CTRL-R' goes forward again. Set option
152 'undolevels' to the number of changes to be remembered (default 1000).
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +0200153 Set 'undolevels' to 0 for a Vi-compatible one level undo. Set it to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000154 -1 for no undo at all.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000155 When all changes in a buffer have been undone, the buffer is not
156 considered changed anymore. You can exit it with :q, without <!>.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000157 When undoing a few changes and then making a new change Vim will
158 create a branch in the undo tree. This means you can go back to any
Bram Moolenaar143c38c2007-05-10 16:41:10 +0000159 state of the text, there is no risk of a change causing text to be
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000160 lost forever. |undo-tree|
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200161 The undo information is stored in a file when the 'undofile' option is
162 set. This means you can exit Vim, start Vim on a previously edited
163 file and undo changes that were made before exiting Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000164
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000165Graphical User Interface (GUI). |gui|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000166 Included support for GUI: menu's, mouse, scrollbars, etc. You can
167 define your own menus. Better support for CTRL/SHIFT/ALT keys in
168 combination with special keys and mouse. Supported for various
169 platforms, such as X11 (with Motif and Athena interfaces), GTK, Win32
170 (Windows 95 and later), BeOS, Amiga and Macintosh.
171
172Multiple windows and buffers. |windows.txt|
173 Vim can split the screen into several windows, each editing a
174 different buffer or the same buffer at a different location. Buffers
175 can still be loaded (and changed) but not displayed in a window. This
176 is called a hidden buffer. Many commands and options have been added
177 for this facility.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000178 Vim can also use multiple tab pages, each with one or more windows. A
179 line with tab labels can be used to quickly switch between these pages.
180 |tab-page|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000181
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200182Terminal window. |:terminal|
183 Vim can create a window in which a terminal emulator runs. This can
184 be used to execute an arbitrary command, a shell or a debugger.
185
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000186Syntax highlighting. |:syntax|
187 Vim can highlight keywords, patterns and other things. This is
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000188 defined by a number of |:syntax| commands, and can be made to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000189 highlight most languages and file types. A number of files are
190 included for highlighting the most common languages, like C, C++,
191 Java, Pascal, Makefiles, shell scripts, etc. The colors used for
192 highlighting can be defined for ordinary terminals, color terminals
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000193 and the GUI with the |:highlight| command. A convenient way to do
194 this is using a |:colorscheme| command.
195 The highlighted text can be exported as HTML. |convert-to-HTML|
196 Other items that can be highlighted are matches with the search string
197 |'hlsearch'|, matching parens |matchparen| and the cursor line and
198 column |'cursorline'| |'cursorcolumn'|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000199
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200200Text properties |textprop.txt|
201 Vim supports highlighting text by a plugin. Property types can be
202 specificed with |prop_type_add()| and properties can be placed with
203 |prop_add()|.
204
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000205Spell checking. |spell|
206 When the 'spell' option is set Vim will highlight spelling mistakes.
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200207 About 50 languages are currently supported, selected with the
Bram Moolenaarf2330482008-06-24 20:19:36 +0000208 'spelllang' option. In source code only comments and strings are
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000209 checked for spelling.
210
211Folding. |folding|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000212 A range of lines can be shown as one "folded" line. This allows
213 overviewing a file and moving blocks of text around quickly.
214 Folds can be created manually, from the syntax of the file, by indent,
215 etc.
216
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000217Diff mode. |diff|
218 Vim can show two versions of a file with the differences highlighted.
219 Parts of the text that are equal are folded away. Commands can be
220 used to move text from one version to the other.
221
222Plugins. |add-plugin|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000223 The functionality can be extended by dropping a plugin file in the
224 right directory. That's an easy way to start using Vim scripts
225 written by others. Plugins can be for all kind of files, or
226 specifically for a filetype.
Bram Moolenaardc1f1642016-08-16 18:33:43 +0200227 Packages make this even easier. |packages|
228
229Asynchronous communication and timers. |channel| |job| |timer|
230 Vim can exchange messages with other processes in the background.
231 This makes it possible to have servers do work and send back the
232 results to Vim. |channel|
233 Vim can start a job, communicate with it and stop it. |job|
234 Timers can fire once or repeatedly and invoke a function to do any
235 work. |timer|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000236
237Repeat a series of commands. |q|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000238 "q{c}" starts recording typed characters into named register {c}.
239 A subsequent "q" stops recording. The register can then be executed
240 with the "@{c}" command. This is very useful to repeat a complex
241 action.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000242
243Flexible insert mode. |ins-special-special|
244 The arrow keys can be used in insert mode to move around in the file.
245 This breaks the insert in two parts as far as undo and redo is
246 concerned.
247
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000248 CTRL-O can be used to execute a single Normal mode command. This is
249 almost the same as hitting <Esc>, typing the command and doing |a|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000250
251Visual mode. |Visual-mode|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000252 Visual mode can be used to first highlight a piece of text and then
253 give a command to do something with it. This is an (easy to use)
254 alternative to first giving the operator and then moving to the end of
255 the text to be operated upon.
256 |v| and |V| are used to start Visual mode. |v| works on characters
257 and |V| on lines. Move the cursor to extend the Visual area. It is
258 shown highlighted on the screen. By typing "o" the other end of the
259 Visual area can be moved. The Visual area can be affected by an
260 operator:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000261 d delete
262 c change
263 y yank
264 > or < insert or delete indent
265 ! filter through external program
266 = filter through indent
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000267 : start |:| command for the Visual lines.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000268 gq format text to 'textwidth' columns
269 J join lines
270 ~ swap case
271 u make lowercase
272 U make uppercase
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200273 {Vi has no Visual mode, the name "visual" is used for Normal mode, to
274 distinguish it from Ex mode}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000275
276Block operators. |visual-block|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000277 With Visual mode a rectangular block of text can be selected. Start
278 Visual mode with CTRL-V. The block can be deleted ("d"), yanked ("y")
279 or its case can be changed ("~", "u" and "U"). A deleted or yanked
280 block can be put into the text with the "p" and "P" commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000281
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000282Help system. |:help|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000283 Help is displayed in a window. The usual commands can be used to
284 move around, search for a string, etc. Tags can be used to jump
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000285 around in the help files, just like hypertext links. The |:help|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000286 command takes an argument to quickly jump to the info on a subject.
287 <F1> is the quick access to the help system. The name of the help
288 index file can be set with the 'helpfile' option.
289
290Command-line editing and history. |cmdline-editing|
291 You can insert or delete at any place in the command-line using the
292 cursor keys. The right/left cursor keys can be used to move
293 forward/backward one character. The shifted right/left cursor keys
294 can be used to move forward/backward one word. CTRL-B/CTRL-E can be
295 used to go to the begin/end of the command-line.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000296 |cmdline-history|
297 The command-lines are remembered. The up/down cursor keys can be used
298 to recall previous command-lines. The 'history' option can be set to
299 the number of lines that will be remembered. There is a separate
300 history for commands and for search patterns.
301
302Command-line completion. |cmdline-completion|
303 While entering a command-line (on the bottom line of the screen)
304 <Tab> can be typed to complete
305 what example ~
306 - command :e<Tab>
307 - tag :ta scr<Tab>
308 - option :set sc<Tab>
309 - option value :set hf=<Tab>
310 - file name :e ve<Tab>
311 - etc.
312
313 If there are multiple matches, CTRL-N (next) and CTRL-P (previous)
314 will walk through the matches. <Tab> works like CTRL-N, but wraps
315 around to the first match.
316
317 The 'wildchar' option can be set to the character for command-line
318 completion, <Tab> is the default. CTRL-D can be typed after an
319 (incomplete) wildcard; all matches will be listed. CTRL-A will insert
320 all matches. CTRL-L will insert the longest common part of the
321 matches.
322
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000323Insert-mode completion. |ins-completion|
324 In Insert mode the CTRL-N and CTRL-P keys can be used to complete a
325 word that appears elsewhere. |i_CTRL-N|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000326 With CTRL-X another mode is entered, through which completion can be
327 done for:
328 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F| file names
329 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K| words from 'dictionary' files
330 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T| words from 'thesaurus' files
331 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I| words from included files
332 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L| whole lines
333 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| words from the tags file
334 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D| definitions or macros
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000335 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O| Omni completion: clever completion
336 specifically for a file type
337 etc.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000338
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000339Long line support. |'wrap'| |'linebreak'|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000340 If the 'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap and only part
341 of them will be shown. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not
342 shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The minimum number of
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000343 columns to scroll can be set with the 'sidescroll' option. The |zh|
344 and |zl| commands can be used to scroll sideways.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000345 Alternatively, long lines are broken in between words when the
346 'linebreak' option is set. This allows editing a single-line
347 paragraph conveniently (e.g. when the text is later read into a DTP
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000348 program). Move the cursor up/down with the |gk| and |gj| commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000349
350Text formatting. |formatting|
351 The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically limit the line
352 length. This supplements the 'wrapmargin' option of Vi, which was not
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000353 very useful. The |gq| operator can be used to format a piece of text
354 (for example, |gqap| formats the current paragraph). Commands for
355 text alignment: |:center|, |:left| and |:right|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000356
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000357Extended search patterns. |pattern|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000358 There are many extra items to match various text items. Examples:
359 A "\n" can be used in a search pattern to match a line break.
360 "x\{2,4}" matches "x" 2 to 4 times.
361 "\s" matches a white space character.
362
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000363Directory, remote and archive browsing. |netrw|
364 Vim can browse the file system. Simply edit a directory. Move around
365 in the list with the usual commands and press <Enter> to go to the
366 directory or file under the cursor.
367 This also works for remote files over ftp, http, ssh, etc.
368 Zip and tar archives can also be browsed. |tar| |zip|
369
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000370Edit-compile-edit speedup. |quickfix|
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000371 The |:make| command can be used to run the compilation and jump to the
372 first error. A file with compiler error messages is interpreted. Vim
373 jumps to the first error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000374
375 Each line in the error file is scanned for the name of a file, line
376 number and error message. The 'errorformat' option can be set to a
377 list of scanf-like strings to handle output from many compilers.
378
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000379 The |:cn| command can be used to jump to the next error.
380 |:cl| lists all the error messages. Other commands are available.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000381 The 'makeef' option has the name of the file with error messages.
382 The 'makeprg' option contains the name of the program to be executed
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000383 with the |:make| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000384 The 'shellpipe' option contains the string to be used to put the
385 output of the compiler into the errorfile.
386
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000387Finding matches in files. |:vimgrep|
388 Vim can search for a pattern in multiple files. This uses the
389 advanced Vim regexp pattern, works on all systems and also works to
390 search in compressed files.
391
392Improved indenting for programs. |'cindent'|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000393 When the 'cindent' option is on the indent of each line is
394 automatically adjusted. C syntax is mostly recognized. The indent
395 for various styles can be set with 'cinoptions'. The keys to trigger
396 indenting can be set with 'cinkeys'.
397
398 Comments can be automatically formatted. The 'comments' option can be
399 set to the characters that start and end a comment. This works best
400 for C code, but also works for e-mail (">" at start of the line) and
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000401 other types of text. The |=| operator can be used to re-indent
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000402 lines.
403
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000404 For many other languages an indent plugin is present to support
405 automatic indenting. |30.3|
406
407Searching for words in included files. |include-search|
408 The |[i| command can be used to search for a match of the word under
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000409 the cursor in the current and included files. The 'include' option
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000410 can be set to a pattern that describes a command to include a file
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000411 (the default is for C programs).
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000412 The |[I| command lists all matches, the |[_CTRL-I| command jumps to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000413 a match.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000414 The |[d|, |[D| and |[_CTRL-D| commands do the same, but only for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000415 lines where the pattern given with the 'define' option matches.
416
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000417Automatic commands. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000418 Commands can be automatically executed when reading a file, writing a
419 file, jumping to another buffer, etc., depending on the file name.
420 This is useful to set options and mappings for C programs,
421 documentation, plain text, e-mail, etc. This also makes it possible
422 to edit compressed files.
423
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000424Scripts and Expressions. |expression|
425 Commands have been added to form up a powerful script language.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000426 |:if| Conditional execution, which can be used for example
427 to set options depending on the value of $TERM.
428 |:while| Repeat a number of commands.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000429 |:for| Loop over a list.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000430 |:echo| Print the result of an expression.
431 |:let| Assign a value to an internal variable, option, etc.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000432 Variable types are Number, String, List and Dictionary.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000433 |:execute| Execute a command formed by an expression.
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000434 |:try| Catch exceptions.
435 etc., etc. See |eval|.
436 Debugging and profiling are supported. |debug-scripts| |profile|
437 If this is not enough, an interface is provided to |Python|, |Ruby|,
Bram Moolenaar0ba04292010-07-14 23:23:17 +0200438 |Tcl|, |Lua|, |Perl| and |MzScheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000439
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000440Viminfo. |viminfo-file|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000441 The command-line history, marks and registers can be stored in a file
442 that is read on startup. This can be used to repeat a search command
443 or command-line command after exiting and restarting Vim. It is also
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000444 possible to jump right back to where the last edit stopped with |'0|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000445 The 'viminfo' option can be set to select which items to store in the
446 .viminfo file. This is off by default.
447
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000448Printing. |printing|
449 The |:hardcopy| command sends text to the printer. This can include
450 syntax highlighting.
451
452Mouse support. |mouse-using|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000453 The mouse is supported in the GUI version, in an xterm for Unix, for
Bram Moolenaarf2330482008-06-24 20:19:36 +0000454 BSDs with sysmouse, for Linux with gpm, for MS-DOS, and Win32. It
455 can be used to position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a
456 register, etc.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000457
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000458Usage of key names. |<>| |key-notation|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000459 Special keys now all have a name like <Up>, <End>, etc.
460 This name can be used in mappings, to make it easy to edit them.
461
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000462Editing binary files. |edit-binary|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000463 Vim can edit binary files. You can change a few characters in an
464 executable file, without corrupting it. Vim doesn't remove NUL
465 characters (they are represented as <NL> internally).
466 |-b| command-line argument to start editing a binary file
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000467 |'binary'| Option set by |-b|. Prevents adding an <EOL> for the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000468 last line in the file.
469
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000470Multi-language support. |multi-lang|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000471 Files in double-byte or multi-byte encodings can be edited. There is
472 UTF-8 support to be able to edit various languages at the same time,
473 without switching fonts. |UTF-8|
474 Messages and menus are available in different languages.
475
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +0000476Move cursor beyond lines.
477 When the 'virtualedit' option is set the cursor can move all over the
478 screen, also where there is no text. This is useful to edit tables
479 and figures easily.
480
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000481==============================================================================
4825. Other vim features *other-features*
483
484A random collection of nice extra features.
485
486
487When Vim is started with "-s scriptfile", the characters read from
488"scriptfile" are treated as if you typed them. If end of file is reached
489before the editor exits, further characters are read from the console.
490
491The "-w" option can be used to record all typed characters in a script file.
492This file can then be used to redo the editing, possibly on another file or
493after changing some commands in the script file.
494
495The "-o" option opens a window for each argument. "-o4" opens four windows.
496
497Vi requires several termcap entries to be able to work full-screen. Vim only
498requires the "cm" entry (cursor motion).
499
500
501In command mode:
502
503When the 'showcmd' option is set, the command characters are shown in the last
504line of the screen. They are removed when the command is finished.
505
506If the 'ruler' option is set, the current cursor position is shown in the
507last line of the screen.
508
509"U" still works after having moved off the last changed line and after "u".
510
511Characters with the 8th bit set are displayed. The characters between '~' and
5120xa0 are displayed as "~?", "~@", "~A", etc., unless they are included in the
513'isprint' option.
514
515"][" goes to the next ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
516"[]" goes to the previous ending of a C function ('}' in column 1).
517
518"]f", "[f" and "gf" start editing the file whose name is under the cursor.
519CTRL-W f splits the window and starts editing the file whose name is under
520the cursor.
521
522"*" searches forward for the identifier under the cursor, "#" backward.
523"K" runs the program defined by the 'keywordprg' option, with the identifier
524under the cursor as argument.
525
526"%" can be preceded with a count. The cursor jumps to the line that
527percentage down in the file. The normal "%" function to jump to the matching
528brace skips braces inside quotes.
529
530With the CTRL-] command, the cursor may be in the middle of the identifier.
531
532The used tags are remembered. Commands that can be used with the tag stack
533are CTRL-T, ":pop" and ":tag". ":tags" lists the tag stack.
534
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200535Vi uses 'wrapscan' when searching for a tag. When jumping to a tag Vi starts
536searching in line 2 of another file. It does not find a tag in line 1 of
537another file when 'wrapscan' is not set.
538
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000539The 'tags' option can be set to a list of tag file names. Thus multiple
540tag files can be used. For file names that start with "./", the "./" is
541replaced with the path of the current file. This makes it possible to use a
542tags file in the same directory as the file being edited.
543
544Previously used file names are remembered in the alternate file name list.
545CTRL-^ accepts a count, which is an index in this list.
546":files" command shows the list of alternate file names.
547"#<N>" is replaced with the <N>th alternate file name in the list.
548"#<" is replaced with the current file name without extension.
549
550Search patterns have more features. The <NL> character is seen as part of the
551search pattern and the substitute string of ":s". Vi sees it as the end of
552the command.
553
554Searches can put the cursor on the end of a match and may include a character
555offset.
556
557Count added to "~", ":next", ":Next", "n" and "N".
558
559The command ":next!" with 'autowrite' set does not write the file. In vi the
560file was written, but this is considered to be a bug, because one does not
561expect it and the file is not written with ":rewind!".
562
563In Vi when entering a <CR> in replace mode deletes a character only when 'ai'
564is set (but does not show it until you hit <Esc>). Vim always deletes a
565character (and shows it immediately).
566
567Added :wnext command. Same as ":write" followed by ":next".
568
569The ":w!" command always writes, also when the file is write protected. In Vi
Bram Moolenaar26df0922014-02-23 23:39:13 +0100570you would have to do ":!chmod +w %:S" and ":set noro".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000571
572When 'tildeop' has been set, "~" is an operator (must be followed by a
573movement command).
574
575With the "J" (join) command you can reset the 'joinspaces' option to have only
576one space after a period (Vi inserts two spaces).
577
578"cw" can be used to change white space formed by several characters (Vi is
579confusing: "cw" only changes one space, while "dw" deletes all white space).
580
581"o" and "O" accept a count for repeating the insert (Vi clears a part of
582display).
583
584Flags after Ex commands not supported (no plans to include it).
585
586On non-UNIX systems ":cd" command shows current directory instead of going to
587the home directory (there isn't one). ":pwd" prints the current directory on
588all systems.
589
590After a ":cd" command the file names (in the argument list, opened files)
591still point to the same files. In Vi ":cd" is not allowed in a changed file;
592otherwise the meaning of file names change.
593
594":source!" command reads Vi commands from a file.
595
596":mkexrc" command writes current modified options and mappings to a ".exrc"
597file. ":mkvimrc" writes to a ".vimrc" file.
598
599No check for "tail recursion" with mappings. This allows things like
600":map! foo ^]foo".
601
602When a mapping starts with number, vi loses the count typed before it (e.g.
603when using the mapping ":map g 4G" the command "7g" goes to line 4). This is
604considered a vi bug. Vim concatenates the counts (in the example it becomes
605"74G"), as most people would expect.
606
607The :put! command inserts the contents of a register above the current line.
608
609The "p" and "P" commands of vi cannot be repeated with "." when the putted
610text is less than a line. In Vim they can always be repeated.
611
612":noremap" command can be used to enter a mapping that will not be remapped.
613This is useful to exchange the meaning of two keys. ":cmap", ":cunmap" and
614":cnoremap" can be used for mapping in command-line editing only. ":imap",
615":iunmap" and ":inoremap" can be used for mapping in insert mode only.
616Similar commands exist for abbreviations: ":noreabbrev", ":iabbrev"
617":cabbrev", ":iunabbrev", ":cunabbrev", ":inoreabbrev", ":cnoreabbrev".
618
619In Vi the command ":map foo bar" would remove a previous mapping
620":map bug foo". This is considered a bug, so it is not included in Vim.
621":unmap! foo" does remove ":map! bug foo", because unmapping would be very
622difficult otherwise (this is vi compatible).
623
624The ':' register contains the last command-line.
625The '%' register contains the current file name.
626The '.' register contains the last inserted text.
627
628":dis" command shows the contents of the yank registers.
629
630CTRL-O/CTRL-I can be used to jump to older/newer positions. These are the
631same positions as used with the '' command, but may be in another file. The
632":jumps" command lists the older positions.
633
634If the 'shiftround' option is set, an indent is rounded to a multiple of
635'shiftwidth' with ">" and "<" commands.
636
637The 'scrolljump' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to scroll
638when the cursor gets off the screen. Use this when scrolling is slow.
639
640The 'scrolloff' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to keep
641above and below the cursor. This gives some context to where you are
642editing. When set to a large number the cursor line is always in the middle
643of the window.
644
645Uppercase marks can be used to jump between files. The ":marks" command lists
646all currently set marks. The commands "']" and "`]" jump to the end of the
647previous operator or end of the text inserted with the put command. "'[" and
648"`[" do jump to the start.
649
650The 'shelltype' option can be set to reflect the type of shell used on the
651Amiga.
652
653The 'highlight' option can be set for the highlight mode to be used for
654several commands.
655
656The CTRL-A (add) and CTRL-X (subtract) commands are new. The count to the
657command (default 1) is added to/subtracted from the number at or after the
658cursor. That number may be decimal, octal (starts with a '0') or hexadecimal
659(starts with '0x'). Very useful in macros.
660
661With the :set command the prefix "inv" can be used to invert boolean options.
662
663In both Vi and Vim you can create a line break with the ":substitute" command
664by using a CTRL-M. For Vi this means you cannot insert a real CTRL-M in the
665text. With Vim you can put a real CTRL-M in the text by preceding it with a
666CTRL-V.
667
668
669In Insert mode:
670
671If the 'revins' option is set, insert happens backwards. This is for typing
672Hebrew. When inserting normal characters the cursor will not be shifted and
673the text moves rightwards. Backspace, CTRL-W and CTRL-U will also work in
674the opposite direction. CTRL-B toggles the 'revins' option. In replace mode
675'revins' has no effect. Only when enabled at compile time.
676
677The backspace key can be used just like CTRL-D to remove auto-indents.
678
679You can backspace, CTRL-U and CTRL-W over line breaks if the 'backspace' (bs)
680option includes "eol". You can backspace over the start of insert if the
681'backspace' option includes "start".
682
Bram Moolenaar9b451252012-08-15 17:43:31 +0200683When the 'paste' option is set, a few options are reset and mapping in insert
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000684mode and abbreviation are disabled. This allows for pasting text in windowing
685systems without unexpected results. When the 'paste' option is reset, the old
686option values are restored.
687
688CTRL-T/CTRL-D always insert/delete an indent in the current line, no matter
689what column the cursor is in.
690
691CTRL-@ (insert previously inserted text) works always (Vi: only when typed as
692first character).
693
694CTRL-A works like CTRL-@ but does not leave insert mode.
695
696CTRL-R {0-9a-z..} can be used to insert the contents of a register.
697
698When the 'smartindent' option is set, C programs will be better auto-indented.
699With 'cindent' even more.
700
701CTRL-Y and CTRL-E can be used to copy a character from above/below the
702current cursor position.
703
704After CTRL-V you can enter a three digit decimal number. This byte value is
705inserted in the text as a single character. Useful for international
706characters that are not on your keyboard.
707
708When the 'expandtab' (et) option is set, a <Tab> is expanded to the
709appropriate number of spaces.
710
711The window always reflects the contents of the buffer (Vi does not do this
712when changing text and in some other cases).
713
714If Vim is compiled with DIGRAPHS defined, digraphs are supported. A set of
715normal digraphs is included. They are shown with the ":digraph" command.
716More can be added with ":digraph {char1}{char2} {number}". A digraph is
717entered with "CTRL-K {char1} {char2}" or "{char1} BS {char2}" (only when
718'digraph' option is set).
719
720When repeating an insert, e.g. "10atest <Esc>" vi would only handle wrapmargin
721for the first insert. Vim does it for all.
722
723A count to the "i" or "a" command is used for all the text. Vi uses the count
724only for one line. "3iabc<NL>def<Esc>" would insert "abcabcabc<NL>def" in Vi
725but "abc<NL>defabc<NL>defabc<NL>def" in Vim.
726
727
728In Command-line mode:
729
Bram Moolenaar4499d2e2005-04-15 20:41:38 +0000730<Esc> terminates the command-line without executing it. In vi the command
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000731line would be executed, which is not what most people expect (hitting <Esc>
732should always get you back to command mode). To avoid problems with some
733obscure macros, an <Esc> in a macro will execute the command. If you want a
734typed <Esc> to execute the command like vi does you can fix this with
735 ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V<CR>"
736
737General:
738
739The 'ttimeout' option is like 'timeout', but only works for cursor and
740function keys, not for ordinary mapped characters. The 'timeoutlen' option
741gives the number of milliseconds that is waited for. If the 'esckeys' option
742is not set, cursor and function keys that start with <Esc> are not recognized
743in insert mode.
744
745There is an option for each terminal string. Can be used when termcap is not
746supported or to change individual strings.
747
748The 'fileformat' option can be set to select the <EOL>: "dos" <CR><NL>, "unix"
749<NL> or "mac" <CR>.
750When the 'fileformats' option is not empty, Vim tries to detect the type of
751<EOL> automatically. The 'fileformat' option is set accordingly.
752
753On systems that have no job control (older Unix systems and non-Unix systems)
754the CTRL-Z, ":stop" or ":suspend" command starts a new shell.
755
756If Vim is started on the Amiga without an interactive window for output, a
757window is opened (and :sh still works). You can give a device to use for
758editing with the |-d| argument, e.g. "-d con:20/20/600/150".
759
760The 'columns' and 'lines' options are used to set or get the width and height
761of the display.
762
763Option settings are read from the first and last few lines of the file.
764Option 'modelines' determines how many lines are tried (default is 5). Note
765that this is different from the Vi versions that can execute any Ex command
766in a modeline (a major security problem). |trojan-horse|
767
768If the 'insertmode' option is set (e.g. in .exrc), Vim starts in insert mode.
769And it comes back there, when pressing <Esc>.
770
771Undo information is kept in memory. Available memory limits the number and
772size of change that can be undone. This may be a problem with MS-DOS, is
773hardly a problem on the Amiga and almost never with Unix and Win32.
774
775If the 'backup' or 'writebackup' option is set: Before a file is overwritten,
776a backup file (.bak) is made. If the "backup" option is set it is left
777behind.
778
779Vim creates a file ending in ".swp" to store parts of the file that have been
780changed or that do not fit in memory. This file can be used to recover from
781an aborted editing session with "vim -r file". Using the swap file can be
782switched off by setting the 'updatecount' option to 0 or starting Vim with
783the "-n" option. Use the 'directory' option for placing the .swp file
784somewhere else.
785
786Vim is able to work correctly on filesystems with 8.3 file names, also when
787using messydos or crossdos filesystems on the Amiga, or any 8.3 mounted
788filesystem under Unix. See |'shortname'|.
789
790Error messages are shown at least one second (Vi overwrites error messages).
791
792If Vim gives the |hit-enter| prompt, you can hit any key. Characters other
793than <CR>, <NL> and <Space> are interpreted as the (start of) a command. (Vi
794only accepts a command starting with ':').
795
796The contents of the numbered and unnamed registers is remembered when
797changing files.
798
799The "No lines in buffer" message is a normal message instead of an error
800message, since that may cause a mapping to be aborted.
801
802The AUX: device of the Amiga is supported.
803
804==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02008056. Supported Vi features *vi-features*
806
807Vim supports nearly all Vi commands and mostly in the same way. That is when
808the 'compatible' option is set and 'cpoptions' contains all flags. What the
809effect is of resetting 'compatible' and removing flags from 'cpoptions' can be
810found at the help for the specific command.
811
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200812The help files used to mark features that are in Vim but not in Vi with {not
813in Vi}. However, since these remarks cluttered the help files we now do it
814the other way around: Below is listed what Vi already supported. Anything
815else has been added by Vim.
816
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200817
818The following Ex commands are supported by Vi: ~
819
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200820`:abbreviate` enter abbreviation
821`:append` append text
822`:args` print the argument list
823`:cd` change directory; Vi: no "cd -"
824`:change` replace a line or series of lines
825`:chdir` change directory
826`:copy` copy lines
827`:delete` delete lines
828`:edit` edit a file
829`:exit` same as ":xit"
830`:file` show or set the current file name; Vi: without the column number
831`:global` execute commands for matching lines
832`:insert` insert text
833`:join` join lines; Vi: not :join!
834`:k` set a mark
835`:list` print lines
836`:map` show or enter a mapping
837`:mark` set a mark
838`:move` move lines
839`:Next` go to previous file in the argument list; no count or ++opt
840`:next` go to next file in the argument list; no count or ++opt
841`:number` print lines with line number
842`:open` start open mode (not implemented in Vim)
843`:pop` jump to older entry in tag stack (only in some versions)
844`:preserve` write all text to swap file
845`:print` print lines
846`:put` insert contents of register in the text
847`:quit` quit Vi
848`:read` read file into the text
849`:recover` recover a file from a swap file
850`:rewind` go to the first file in the argument list; no ++opt
851`:set` set option; but not `:set inv{option}`, `:set option&`,
852 `:set all&`, `:set option+=value`, `:set option^=value`
853 `:set option-=value` `:set option<`
854`:shell` escape to a shell
855`:source` read Vim or Ex commands from a file
856`:stop` suspend the editor or escape to a shell
857`:substitute` find and replace text; Vi: no '&', 'i', 's', 'r' or 'I' flag,
858 confirm prompt only supports 'y' and 'n', no highlighting
859`:suspend` same as ":stop"
860`:t` same as ":copy"
861`:tag` jump to tag
862`:unabbreviate` remove abbreviation
863`:undo` undo last change {Vi: only one level}
864`:unmap` remove mapping
865`:vglobal` execute commands for not matching lines
866`:version` print version number and other info
867`:visual` same as ":edit", but turns off "Ex" mode
868`:wq` write to a file and quit Vi
869`:write` write to a file
870`:xit` write if buffer changed and quit Vi
871`:yank` yank lines into a register
872`:z` print some lines {not in all versions of Vi}
873`:!` filter lines or execute an external command
874`:"` comment
875`:#` same as ":number"
876`:*` execute contents of a register
877`:&` repeat last ":substitute"
878`:<` shift lines one 'shiftwidth' left
879`:=` print the cursor line number
880`:>` shift lines one 'shiftwidth' right
881`:@` execute contents of a register; but not `:@`; `:@@` only in
882 some versions
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +0200883
884
885The following Normal mode commands are supported by Vi: ~
886
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200887|CTRL-B| scroll N screens Backwards
888|CTRL-C| interrupt current (search) command
889|CTRL-D| scroll Down N lines (default: half a screen); Vim scrolls
890 'scroll' screen lines, Vi scrolls file lines; makes a
891 difference when lines wrap
892|CTRL-E| scroll N lines upwards (N lines Extra)
893|CTRL-F| scroll N screens Forward
894|CTRL-G| display current file name and position
895|<BS>| same as "h"
896|CTRL-H| same as "h"
897|<NL>| same as "j"
898|CTRL-J| same as "j"
899|CTRL-L| redraw screen
900|<CR>| cursor to the first CHAR N lines lower
901|CTRL-M| same as <CR>
902|CTRL-N| same as "j"
903|CTRL-P| same as "k"
904|CTRL-R| in some Vi versions: same as CTRL-L
905|CTRL-T| jump to N older Tag in tag list
906|CTRL-U| N lines Upwards (default: half a screen)
907|CTRL-Y| scroll N lines downwards
908|CTRL-Z| suspend program (or start new shell)
909|CTRL-]| :ta to ident under cursor
910|CTRL-^| edit alternate file; Vi: no count
911|<Space>| same as "l"
912|!| filter Nmove text through the {filter} command
913|!!| filter N lines through the {filter} command
914" use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank or put
915 (uppercase to append) ({.%#:} only work with put)
916|$| cursor to the end of Nth next line
917|%| find the next (curly/square) bracket on this line and go to
918 its match, or go to matching comment bracket, or go to
919 matching preprocessor directive (Vi: no count supported)
920|&| repeat last :s
921|'| jump to mark (Vi: only lowercase marks)
922|(| cursor N sentences backward
923|)| cursor N sentences forward
924|+| same as <CR>
925|,| repeat latest f, t, F or T in opposite direction N times
926|-| cursor to the first CHAR N lines higher
927|.| repeat last change with count replaced with N
928|/| search forward for the Nth occurrence of {pattern}
929|0| cursor to the first char of the line
930|:| start entering an Ex command
931|;| repeat latest f, t, F or T N times
932|<| shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards
933|<<| shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards
934|=| filter Nmove lines through "indent"
935|==| filter N lines through "indent"
936|>| shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards
937|>>| shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards
938|?| search backward for the Nth previous occurrence of {pattern}
939|@| execute the contents of register {a-z} N times
940|@@| repeat the previous @{a-z} N times
941|A| append text after the end of the line N times
942|B| cursor N WORDS backward
943|C| change from the cursor position to the end of the line
944|D| delete the characters under the cursor until the end of the
945 line and N-1 more lines [into register x]; synonym for "d$"
946|E| cursor forward to the end of WORD N
947|F| cursor to the Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
948|G| cursor to line N, default last line
949|H| cursor to line N from top of screen
950|I| insert text before the first CHAR on the line N times
951|J| Join N lines; default is 2
952|L| cursor to line N from bottom of screen
953|M| cursor to middle line of screen
954|N| repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times in opposite direction
955|O| begin a new line above the cursor and insert text, repeat N
956 times
957|P| put the text [from register x] before the cursor N times
958|Q| switch to "Ex" mode
959|R| enter replace mode: overtype existing characters, repeat the
960 entered text N-1 times
961|S| delete N lines [into register x] and start insert; synonym for
962 "cc".
963|T| cursor till after Nth occurrence of {char} to the left
964|U| undo all latest changes on one line
965|W| cursor N WORDS forward
966|X| delete N characters before the cursor [into register x]
967|Y| yank N lines [into register x]; synonym for "yy"
968|ZZ| store current file if modified, and exit
969|[[| cursor N sections backward
970|]]| cursor N sections forward
971|^| cursor to the first CHAR of the line
972|_| cursor to the first CHAR N - 1 lines lower
973|`| cursor to the mark {a-zA-Z0-9}
974|a| append text after the cursor N times
975|b| cursor N words backward
976|c| delete Nmove text [into register x] and start insert
977|cc| delete N lines [into register x] and start insert
978|d| delete Nmove text [into register x]
979|dd| delete N lines [into register x]
980|e| cursor forward to the end of word N
981|f| cursor to Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
982|h| cursor N chars to the left
983|i| insert text before the cursor N times
984|j| cursor N lines downward
985|k| cursor N lines upward
986|l| cursor N chars to the right
987|m| set mark {A-Za-z} at cursor position
988|n| repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times
989|o| begin a new line below the cursor and insert text
990|p| put the text [from register x] after the cursor N times
991|r| replace N chars with {char}
992|s| (substitute) delete N characters [into register x] and start
993 insert
994|t| cursor till before Nth occurrence of {char} to the right
995|u| undo changes {Vi: only one level}
996|w| cursor N words forward
997|x| delete N characters under and after the cursor [into register
998 x]
999|y| yank Nmove text [into register x]
1000|yy| yank N lines [into register x]
1001|z<CR>| current line to the top
1002|z-| current line to the bottom
1003|z+| cursor on line N
1004|z^| cursor on line N
1005|{| cursor N paragraphs backward
1006| cursor to column N
1007|}| cursor N paragraphs forward
1008|~| switch case of N characters under the cursor; Vim: depends on
1009 'tildeop'
1010|<Del>| same as "x"
1011
1012
1013The following commands are supported in Insert mode by Vi: ~
1014
1015CTRL-@ insert previously inserted text and stop insert
1016CTRL-C quit insert mode, without checking for abbreviation, unless
1017 'insertmode' set.
1018CTRL-D delete one shiftwidth of indent in the current line
1019<BS> delete character before the cursor
1020CTRL-H same as <BS>
1021<Tab> insert a <Tab> character
1022CTRL-I same as <Tab>
1023<NL> same as <CR>
1024CTRL-J same as <CR>
1025<CR> begin new line
1026CTRL-M same as <CR>
1027CTRL-T insert one shiftwidth of indent in current line
1028CTRL-V {char} insert next non-digit literally
1029CTRL-W delete word before the cursor
1030CTRL-Z when 'insertmode' set: suspend Vim
1031<Esc> end insert mode (unless 'insertmode' set)
1032CTRL-[ same as <Esc>
10330 CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line
1034^ CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line, restore it in the next
1035 line
1036<Del> delete character under the cursor
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001037
1038
1039The following options are supported by Vi: ~
1040
1041'autoindent' 'ai' take indent for new line from previous line
1042'autowrite' 'aw' automatically write file if changed
1043'directory' 'dir' list of directory names for the swap file
1044'edcompatible' 'ed' toggle flags of ":substitute" command
1045'errorbells' 'eb' ring the bell for error messages
1046'ignorecase' 'ic' ignore case in search patterns
1047'lines' number of lines in the display
1048'lisp' automatic indenting for Lisp
1049'list' show <Tab> and <EOL>
1050'magic' changes special characters in search patterns
1051'modeline' 'ml' recognize 'modelines' at start or end of file
1052 {called modelines in some Vi versions}
1053'number' 'nu' print the line number in front of each line
1054'paragraphs' 'para' nroff macros that separate paragraphs
1055'prompt' 'prompt' enable prompt in Ex mode
1056'readonly' 'ro' disallow writing the buffer {Vim sets 'readonly'
1057 when editing a file with `:view`}
1058'remap' allow mappings to work recursively
1059'report' threshold for reporting nr. of lines changed
1060'scroll' 'scr' lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D
1061'sections' 'sect' nroff macros that separate sections
1062'shell' 'sh' name of shell to use for external commands
1063'shiftwidth' 'sw' number of spaces to use for (auto)indent step
1064'showmatch' 'sm' briefly jump to matching bracket if insert one
1065'showmode' 'smd' message on status line to show current mode
1066'tabstop' 'ts' number of spaces that <Tab> in file uses
1067'taglength' 'tl' number of significant characters for a tag
1068'tags' 'tag' list of file names used by the tag command
1069'tagstack' 'tgst' push tags onto the tag stack {not in all versions
1070 of Vi}
1071'term' name of the terminal
1072'terse' shorten some messages
1073'timeout' 'to' time out on mappings and key codes
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001074'timeoutlen' 'tm' time for 'timeout' {only in some Vi versions}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001075'ttytype' 'tty' alias for 'term'
1076'verbose' 'vbs' give informative messages {only in some Vi
1077 versions as a boolean option}
1078'warn' warn for shell command when buffer was changed
1079'window' 'wi' nr of lines to scroll for CTRL-F and CTRL-B
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001080 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of
1081 displayed lines}
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +02001082'wrapmargin' 'wm' chars from the right where wrapping starts
1083'wrapscan' 'ws' searches wrap around the end of the file
1084'writeany' 'wa' write to file with no need for "!" override
1085
1086Also see |missing-options|.
1087
1088==============================================================================
10897. Command-line arguments *cmdline-arguments*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001090
1091Different versions of Vi have different command-line arguments. This can be
1092confusing. To help you, this section gives an overview of the differences.
1093
1094Five variants of Vi will be considered here:
1095 Elvis Elvis version 2.1b
1096 Nvi Nvi version 1.79
1097 Posix Posix 1003.2
1098 Vi Vi version 3.7 (for Sun 4.1.x)
1099 Vile Vile version 7.4 (incomplete)
1100 Vim Vim version 5.2
1101
1102Only Vim is able to accept options in between and after the file names.
1103
1104+{command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Same as "-c {command}".
1105
1106- Nvi, Posix, Vi: Run Ex in batch mode.
1107 Vim: Read file from stdin (use -s for batch mode).
1108
1109-- Vim: End of options, only file names are following.
1110
1111--cmd {command} Vim: execute {command} before sourcing vimrc files.
1112
1113--echo-wid Vim: GTK+ echoes the Window ID on stdout
1114
1115--help Vim: show help message and exit.
1116
1117--literal Vim: take file names literally, don't expand wildcards.
1118
1119--nofork Vim: same as |-f|
1120
1121--noplugin[s] Vim: Skip loading plugins.
1122
1123--remote Vim: edit the files in another Vim server
1124
1125--remote-expr {expr} Vim: evaluate {expr} in another Vim server
1126
1127--remote-send {keys} Vim: send {keys} to a Vim server and exit
1128
1129--remote-silent {file} Vim: edit the files in another Vim server if possible
1130
1131--remote-wait Vim: edit the files in another Vim server and wait for it
1132
1133--remote-wait-silent Vim: like --remote-wait, no complaints if not possible
1134
1135--role {role} Vim: GTK+ 2: set role of main window
1136
1137--serverlist Vim: Output a list of Vim servers and exit
1138
1139--servername {name} Vim: Specify Vim server name
1140
1141--socketid {id} Vim: GTK window socket to run Vim in
1142
Bram Moolenaar78e17622007-08-30 10:26:19 +00001143--windowid {id} Vim: Win32 window ID to run Vim in
1144
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001145--version Vim: show version message and exit.
1146
1147-? Vile: print usage summary and exit.
1148
1149-a Elvis: Load all specified file names into a window (use -o for
1150 Vim).
1151
1152-A Vim: Start in Arabic mode (when compiled with Arabic).
1153
1154-b {blksize} Elvis: Use {blksize} blocksize for the session file.
1155-b Vim: set 'binary' mode.
1156
1157-C Vim: Compatible mode.
1158
1159-c {command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vim: run {command} as an Ex command after
1160 loading the edit buffer.
1161 Vim: allow up to 10 "-c" arguments
1162
1163-d {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). {only when compiled
1164 without the |+diff| feature}
1165-d Vim: start with 'diff' set. |vimdiff|
1166
1167-dev {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only).
1168
1169-D Vim: debug mode.
1170
1171-e Elvis, Nvi, Vim: Start in Ex mode, as if the executable is
1172 called "ex".
1173
1174-E Vim: Start in improved Ex mode |gQ|, like "exim".
1175
1176-f Vim: Run GUI in foreground (Amiga: don't open new window).
1177-f {session} Elvis: Use {session} as the session file.
1178
1179-F Vim: Start in Farsi mode (when compiled with Farsi).
1180 Nvi: Fast start, don't read the entire file when editing
1181 starts.
1182
1183-G {gui} Elvis: Use the {gui} as user interface.
1184
1185-g Vim: Start GUI.
1186-g N Vile: start editing at line N
1187
1188-h Vim: Give help message.
1189 Vile: edit the help file
1190
1191-H Vim: start Hebrew mode (when compiled with it).
1192
1193-i Elvis: Start each window in Insert mode.
1194-i {viminfo} Vim: Use {viminfo} for viminfo file.
1195
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001196-L Vim: Same as "-r" {only in some versions of Vi: "List
1197 recoverable edit sessions"}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001198
1199-l Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options.
1200
1201-m Vim: Modifications not allowed to be written, resets 'write'
1202 option.
1203
1204-M Vim: Modifications not allowed, resets 'modifiable' and the
1205 'write' option.
1206
1207-N Vim: No-compatible mode.
1208
1209-n Vim: No swap file used.
1210
1211-nb[args] Vim: open a NetBeans interface connection
1212
1213-O[N] Vim: Like -o, but use vertically split windows.
1214
1215-o[N] Vim: Open [N] windows, or one for each file.
1216
Bram Moolenaar18144c82006-04-12 21:52:12 +00001217-p[N] Vim: Open [N] tab pages, or one for each file.
1218
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001219-P {parent-title} Win32 Vim: open Vim inside a parent application window
1220
1221-q {name} Vim: Use {name} for quickfix error file.
1222-q{name} Vim: Idem.
1223
1224-R Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vile, Vim: Set the 'readonly' option.
1225
1226-r Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Recovery mode.
1227
1228-S Nvi: Set 'secure' option.
1229-S {script} Vim: source script after starting up.
1230
1231-s Nvi, Posix, Vim: Same as "-" (silent mode), when in Ex mode.
1232 Elvis: Sets the 'safer' option.
1233-s {scriptin} Vim: Read from script file {scriptin}; only when not in Ex
1234 mode.
1235-s {pattern} Vile: search for {pattern}
1236
1237-t {tag} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Edit the file containing {tag}.
1238-t{tag} Vim: Idem.
1239
1240-T {term} Vim: Set terminal name to {term}.
1241
1242-u {vimrc} Vim: Read initializations from {vimrc} file.
1243
1244-U {gvimrc} Vim: Read GUI initializations from {gvimrc} file.
1245
1246-v Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Begin in Normal mode (visual mode, in Vi
1247 terms).
1248 Vile: View mode, no changes possible.
1249
1250-V Elvis, Vim: Verbose mode.
1251-V{nr} Vim: Verbose mode with specified level.
1252
1253-w {size} Elvis, Posix, Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set value of 'window' to {size}.
1254-w{size} Nvi, Vi: Same as "-w {size}".
1255-w {name} Vim: Write to script file {name} (must start with non-digit).
1256
1257-W {name} Vim: Append to script file {name}.
1258
1259-x Vi, Vim: Ask for encryption key. See |encryption|.
1260
1261-X Vim: Don't connect to the X server.
1262
1263-y Vim: Start in easy mode, like |evim|.
1264
1265-Z Vim: restricted mode
1266
1267@{cmdfile} Vile: use {cmdfile} as startup file.
1268
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001269==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar6c60f472019-04-28 16:00:35 +020012708. POSIX compliance *posix* *posix-compliance*
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001271
Bram Moolenaardd2a3cd2007-05-05 17:10:09 +00001272In 2005 the POSIX test suite was run to check the compatibility of Vim. Most
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001273of the test was executed properly. There are the few things where Vim
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001274is not POSIX compliant, even when run in Vi compatibility mode.
Bram Moolenaar38a55632016-02-15 22:07:32 +01001275 *$VIM_POSIX*
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001276Set the $VIM_POSIX environment variable to have 'cpoptions' include the POSIX
1277flags when Vim starts up. This makes Vim run as POSIX as it can. That's
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001278a bit different from being Vi compatible.
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001279
1280This is where Vim does not behave as POSIX specifies and why:
1281
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001282 *posix-screen-size*
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001283 The $COLUMNS and $LINES environment variables are ignored by Vim if
1284 the size can be obtained from the terminal in a more reliable way.
1285 Add the '|' flag to 'cpoptions' to have $COLUMNS and $LINES overrule
1286 sizes obtained in another way.
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001287
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001288 The "{" and "}" commands don't stop at a "{" in the original Vi, but
1289 POSIX specifies it does. Add the '{' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want
1290 it the POSIX way.
1291
1292 The "D", "o" and "O" commands accept a count. Also when repeated.
1293 Add the '#' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want to ignore the count.
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001294
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001295 The ":cd" command fails if the current buffer is modified when the '.'
1296 flag is present in 'cpoptions'.
1297
1298 There is no ATTENTION message, the "A" flag is added to 'shortmess'.
1299
1300These are remarks about running the POSIX test suite:
1301- vi test 33 sometimes fails for unknown reasons
1302- vi test 250 fails; behavior will be changed in a new revision
1303 http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg01710.html
Bram Moolenaar483c5d82010-10-20 18:45:33 +02001304 (link no longer works, perhaps it's now:
1305 https://www.opengroup.org/sophocles/show_mail.tpl?CALLER=show_archive.tpl&source=L&listname=austin-review-l&id=1711)
Bram Moolenaar6bdcfc02005-02-22 08:28:13 +00001306- vi test 310 fails; exit code non-zero when any error occurred?
1307- ex test 24 fails because test is wrong. Changed between SUSv2 and SUSv3.
1308- ex tests 47, 48, 49, 72, 73 fail because .exrc file isn't read in silent
1309 mode and $EXINIT isn't used.
1310- ex tests 76, 78 fail because echo is used instead of printf. (fixed)
1311 Also: problem with \s not changed to space.
1312- ex test 355 fails because 'window' isn't used for "30z".
1313- ex test 368 fails because shell command isn't echoed in silent mode.
1314- ex test 394 fails because "=" command output isn't visible in silent mode.
1315- ex test 411 fails because test file is wrong, contains stray ':'.
1316- ex test 475 and 476 fail because reprint output isn't visible in silent mode.
1317- ex test 480 and 481 fail because the tags file has spaces instead of a tab.
1318- ex test 502 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1319- ex test 509 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. and exit code is
1320 1 instead of 2.
1321- ex test 534 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode.
1322
Bram Moolenaarf97ca8f2005-02-07 21:49:25 +00001323
Bram Moolenaard473c8c2018-08-11 18:00:22 +02001324 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: