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Bram Moolenaard799daa2022-06-20 11:17:32 +01001*map.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2022 Jun 18
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Key mapping, abbreviations and user-defined commands.
8
Bram Moolenaar2f0936c2022-01-08 21:51:59 +00009This subject is introduced in sections |05.4|, |24.7| and |40.1| of the user
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000010manual.
11
121. Key mapping |key-mapping|
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +000013 1.1 MAP COMMANDS |:map-commands|
14 1.2 Special arguments |:map-arguments|
15 1.3 Mapping and modes |:map-modes|
16 1.4 Listing mappings |map-listing|
17 1.5 Mapping special keys |:map-special-keys|
18 1.6 Special characters |:map-special-chars|
19 1.7 What keys to map |map-which-keys|
20 1.8 Examples |map-examples|
21 1.9 Using mappings |map-typing|
22 1.10 Mapping alt-keys |:map-alt-keys|
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +020023 1.11 Mapping in modifyOtherKeys mode |modifyOtherKeys|
24 1.12 Mapping an operator |:map-operator|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000252. Abbreviations |abbreviations|
263. Local mappings and functions |script-local|
274. User-defined commands |user-commands|
28
29==============================================================================
301. Key mapping *key-mapping* *mapping* *macro*
31
32Key mapping is used to change the meaning of typed keys. The most common use
Bram Moolenaar24a98a02017-09-27 22:23:55 +020033is to define a sequence of commands for a function key. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000034
35 :map <F2> a<C-R>=strftime("%c")<CR><Esc>
36
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +000037This appends the current date and time after the cursor (in <> notation |<>|).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000038
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +000039
401.1 MAP COMMANDS *:map-commands*
41
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000042There are commands to enter new mappings, remove mappings and list mappings.
43See |map-overview| for the various forms of "map" and their relationships with
44modes.
45
46{lhs} means left-hand-side *{lhs}*
47{rhs} means right-hand-side *{rhs}*
48
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +000049:map {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-nvo| *:map*
50:nm[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-n| *:nm* *:nmap*
51:vm[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-v| *:vm* *:vmap*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +000052:xm[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-x| *:xm* *:xmap*
Bram Moolenaar531da592013-05-06 05:58:55 +020053:smap {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-s| *:smap*
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +000054:om[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-o| *:om* *:omap*
55:map! {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-ic| *:map!*
56:im[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-i| *:im* *:imap*
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +020057:lm[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-l| *:lm* *:lma* *:lmap*
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +000058:cm[ap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-c| *:cm* *:cmap*
Bram Moolenaar37c64c72017-09-19 22:06:03 +020059:tma[p] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-t| *:tma* *:tmap*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060 Map the key sequence {lhs} to {rhs} for the modes
61 where the map command applies. The result, including
62 {rhs}, is then further scanned for mappings. This
63 allows for nested and recursive use of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar519cc552021-11-16 19:18:26 +000064 Note: Trailing spaces are included in the {rhs},
65 because space is a valid Normal mode command.
Bram Moolenaarcfa8f9a2022-06-03 21:59:47 +010066 See |map-trailing-white|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000067
Bram Moolenaar822ff862014-06-12 21:46:14 +020068 *:nore* *:norem*
69:no[remap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-nvo| *:no* *:noremap* *:nor*
70:nn[oremap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-n| *:nn* *:nnoremap*
71:vn[oremap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-v| *:vn* *:vnoremap*
72:xn[oremap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-x| *:xn* *:xnoremap*
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +020073:snor[emap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-s| *:snor* *:snore* *:snoremap*
Bram Moolenaar822ff862014-06-12 21:46:14 +020074:ono[remap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-o| *:ono* *:onoremap*
75:no[remap]! {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-ic| *:no!* *:noremap!*
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +020076:ino[remap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-i| *:ino* *:inor* *:inoremap*
Bram Moolenaar822ff862014-06-12 21:46:14 +020077:ln[oremap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-l| *:ln* *:lnoremap*
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +020078:cno[remap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-c| *:cno* *:cnor* *:cnoremap*
Bram Moolenaar69fbc9e2017-09-14 20:37:57 +020079:tno[remap] {lhs} {rhs} |mapmode-t| *:tno* *:tnoremap*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000080 Map the key sequence {lhs} to {rhs} for the modes
81 where the map command applies. Disallow mapping of
82 {rhs}, to avoid nested and recursive mappings. Often
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +020083 used to redefine a command.
Bram Moolenaar1fc34222022-03-03 13:56:24 +000084 Note: When <Plug> appears in the {rhs} this part is
85 always applied even if remapping is disallowed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000086
87
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +000088:unm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-nvo| *:unm* *:unmap*
89:nun[map] {lhs} |mapmode-n| *:nun* *:nunmap*
90:vu[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-v| *:vu* *:vunmap*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +000091:xu[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-x| *:xu* *:xunmap*
92:sunm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-s| *:sunm* *:sunmap*
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +000093:ou[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-o| *:ou* *:ounmap*
94:unm[ap]! {lhs} |mapmode-ic| *:unm!* *:unmap!*
95:iu[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-i| *:iu* *:iunmap*
96:lu[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-l| *:lu* *:lunmap*
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +020097:cu[nmap] {lhs} |mapmode-c| *:cu* *:cun* *:cunmap*
Bram Moolenaar37c64c72017-09-19 22:06:03 +020098:tunma[p] {lhs} |mapmode-t| *:tunma* *:tunmap*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000099 Remove the mapping of {lhs} for the modes where the
100 map command applies. The mapping may remain defined
101 for other modes where it applies.
Bram Moolenaar88a42052021-11-21 21:13:36 +0000102 It also works when {lhs} matches the {rhs} of a
Bram Moolenaar2f0936c2022-01-08 21:51:59 +0000103 mapping. This is for when an abbreviation applied.
Bram Moolenaarcfa8f9a2022-06-03 21:59:47 +0100104 Note: Trailing spaces are included in the {lhs}.
105 See |map-trailing-white|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000106
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000107:mapc[lear] |mapmode-nvo| *:mapc* *:mapclear*
108:nmapc[lear] |mapmode-n| *:nmapc* *:nmapclear*
109:vmapc[lear] |mapmode-v| *:vmapc* *:vmapclear*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000110:xmapc[lear] |mapmode-x| *:xmapc* *:xmapclear*
111:smapc[lear] |mapmode-s| *:smapc* *:smapclear*
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000112:omapc[lear] |mapmode-o| *:omapc* *:omapclear*
113:mapc[lear]! |mapmode-ic| *:mapc!* *:mapclear!*
114:imapc[lear] |mapmode-i| *:imapc* *:imapclear*
115:lmapc[lear] |mapmode-l| *:lmapc* *:lmapclear*
116:cmapc[lear] |mapmode-c| *:cmapc* *:cmapclear*
Bram Moolenaar69fbc9e2017-09-14 20:37:57 +0200117:tmapc[lear] |mapmode-t| *:tmapc* *:tmapclear*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000118 Remove ALL mappings for the modes where the map
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +0200119 command applies.
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +0200120 Use the <buffer> argument to remove buffer-local
121 mappings |:map-<buffer>|
Bram Moolenaar921bde82022-05-09 19:50:35 +0100122 Warning: This also removes the |mac-standard-mappings|
123 and the |dos-standard-mappings|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000124
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000125:map |mapmode-nvo|
126:nm[ap] |mapmode-n|
127:vm[ap] |mapmode-v|
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000128:xm[ap] |mapmode-x|
129:sm[ap] |mapmode-s|
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000130:om[ap] |mapmode-o|
131:map! |mapmode-ic|
132:im[ap] |mapmode-i|
133:lm[ap] |mapmode-l|
134:cm[ap] |mapmode-c|
Bram Moolenaar37c64c72017-09-19 22:06:03 +0200135:tma[p] |mapmode-t|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000136 List all key mappings for the modes where the map
137 command applies. Note that ":map" and ":map!" are
138 used most often, because they include the other modes.
139
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000140:map {lhs} |mapmode-nvo| *:map_l*
141:nm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-n| *:nmap_l*
142:vm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-v| *:vmap_l*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000143:xm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-x| *:xmap_l*
144:sm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-s| *:smap_l*
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000145:om[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-o| *:omap_l*
146:map! {lhs} |mapmode-ic| *:map_l!*
147:im[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-i| *:imap_l*
148:lm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-l| *:lmap_l*
149:cm[ap] {lhs} |mapmode-c| *:cmap_l*
Bram Moolenaar37c64c72017-09-19 22:06:03 +0200150:tma[p] {lhs} |mapmode-t| *:tmap_l*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000151 List the key mappings for the key sequences starting
152 with {lhs} in the modes where the map command applies.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000153
154These commands are used to map a key or key sequence to a string of
155characters. You can use this to put command sequences under function keys,
156translate one key into another, etc. See |:mkexrc| for how to save and
157restore the current mappings.
158
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000159 *map-ambiguous*
160When two mappings start with the same sequence of characters, they are
161ambiguous. Example: >
162 :imap aa foo
163 :imap aaa bar
164When Vim has read "aa", it will need to get another character to be able to
165decide if "aa" or "aaa" should be mapped. This means that after typing "aa"
166that mapping won't get expanded yet, Vim is waiting for another character.
167If you type a space, then "foo" will get inserted, plus the space. If you
168type "a", then "bar" will get inserted.
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000169
Bram Moolenaarcfa8f9a2022-06-03 21:59:47 +0100170Trailing white space ~
171 *map-trailing-white*
172This unmap command does NOT work: >
173 :map @@ foo
174 :unmap @@ | print
175
176Because it tries to unmap "@@ ", including the white space before the command
177separator "|". Other examples with trailing white space: >
178 unmap @@
179 unmap @@ # Vim9 script comment
Bram Moolenaar8a3b8052022-06-26 12:21:15 +0100180 unmap @@ " legacy script comment
Bram Moolenaarcfa8f9a2022-06-03 21:59:47 +0100181
182An error will be issued, which is very hard to identify, because the ending
183whitespace character in `unmap @@ ` is not visible.
184
185A generic solution is to put the command separator "|" right after the mapped
186keys. After that white space and a comment may follow: >
187
Bram Moolenaar8a3b8052022-06-26 12:21:15 +0100188 unmap @@| # Vim9 script comment
189 unmap @@| " legacy script comment
Bram Moolenaarcfa8f9a2022-06-03 21:59:47 +0100190
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000191
1921.2 SPECIAL ARGUMENTS *:map-arguments*
193
Bram Moolenaar72179e12013-06-29 13:58:31 +0200194"<buffer>", "<nowait>", "<silent>", "<special>", "<script>", "<expr>" and
195"<unique>" can be used in any order. They must appear right after the
196command, before any other arguments.
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000197
Bram Moolenaar8a3b8052022-06-26 12:21:15 +0100198 *:map-local* *:map-<buffer>* *:map-buffer*
199 *E224* *E225*
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +0000200If the first argument to one of these commands is "<buffer>" the mapping will
201be effective in the current buffer only. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000202 :map <buffer> ,w /[.,;]<CR>
203Then you can map ",w" to something else in another buffer: >
204 :map <buffer> ,w /[#&!]<CR>
Bram Moolenaar72179e12013-06-29 13:58:31 +0200205The local buffer mappings are used before the global ones. See <nowait> below
206to make a short local mapping not taking effect when a longer global one
207exists.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000208The "<buffer>" argument can also be used to clear mappings: >
209 :unmap <buffer> ,w
210 :mapclear <buffer>
211Local mappings are also cleared when a buffer is deleted, but not when it is
212unloaded. Just like local option values.
Bram Moolenaarec7944a2013-06-12 21:29:15 +0200213Also see |map-precedence|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000214
Bram Moolenaar72179e12013-06-29 13:58:31 +0200215 *:map-<nowait>* *:map-nowait*
216When defining a buffer-local mapping for "," there may be a global mapping
217that starts with ",". Then you need to type another character for Vim to know
218whether to use the "," mapping or the longer one. To avoid this add the
219<nowait> argument. Then the mapping will be used when it matches, Vim does
220not wait for more characters to be typed. However, if the characters were
Bram Moolenaar6aa8cea2017-06-05 14:44:35 +0200221already typed they are used.
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +0200222Note that this works when the <nowait> mapping fully matches and is found
223before any partial matches. This works when:
224- There is only one matching buffer-local mapping, since these are always
225 found before global mappings.
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +0200226- There is another buffer-local mapping that partly matches, but it is
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +0200227 defined earlier (last defined mapping is found first).
Bram Moolenaar72179e12013-06-29 13:58:31 +0200228
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000229 *:map-<silent>* *:map-silent*
230To define a mapping which will not be echoed on the command line, add
231"<silent>" as the first argument. Example: >
232 :map <silent> ,h /Header<CR>
233The search string will not be echoed when using this mapping. Messages from
234the executed command are still given though. To shut them up too, add a
235":silent" in the executed command: >
236 :map <silent> ,h :exe ":silent normal /Header\r"<CR>
237Prompts will still be given, e.g., for inputdialog().
238Using "<silent>" for an abbreviation is possible, but will cause redrawing of
239the command line to fail.
240
Bram Moolenaar9c102382006-05-03 21:26:49 +0000241 *:map-<special>* *:map-special*
242Define a mapping with <> notation for special keys, even though the "<" flag
243may appear in 'cpoptions'. This is useful if the side effect of setting
244'cpoptions' is not desired. Example: >
245 :map <special> <F12> /Header<CR>
246<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000247 *:map-<script>* *:map-script*
248If the first argument to one of these commands is "<script>" and it is used to
249define a new mapping or abbreviation, the mapping will only remap characters
250in the {rhs} using mappings that were defined local to a script, starting with
251"<SID>". This can be used to avoid that mappings from outside a script
252interfere (e.g., when CTRL-V is remapped in mswin.vim), but do use other
253mappings defined in the script.
254Note: ":map <script>" and ":noremap <script>" do the same thing. The
255"<script>" overrules the command name. Using ":noremap <script>" is
256preferred, because it's clearer that remapping is (mostly) disabled.
257
Bram Moolenaar0e6adf82021-12-16 14:41:10 +0000258 *:map-<unique>* *:map-unique* *E226* *E227*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000259If the first argument to one of these commands is "<unique>" and it is used to
260define a new mapping or abbreviation, the command will fail if the mapping or
261abbreviation already exists. Example: >
262 :map <unique> ,w /[#&!]<CR>
263When defining a local mapping, there will also be a check if a global map
264already exists which is equal.
265Example of what will fail: >
266 :map ,w /[#&!]<CR>
267 :map <buffer> <unique> ,w /[.,;]<CR>
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +0000268If you want to map a key and then have it do what it was originally mapped to,
269have a look at |maparg()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000270
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000271 *:map-<expr>* *:map-expression*
272If the first argument to one of these commands is "<expr>" and it is used to
273define a new mapping or abbreviation, the argument is an expression. The
274expression is evaluated to obtain the {rhs} that is used. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar4c295022021-05-02 17:19:11 +0200275 :inoremap <expr> . <SID>InsertDot()
276The result of the s:InsertDot() function will be inserted. It could check the
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000277text before the cursor and start omni completion when some condition is met.
Bram Moolenaar4c295022021-05-02 17:19:11 +0200278Using a script-local function is preferred, to avoid polluting the global
279namespace. Use <SID> in the RHS so that the script that the mapping was
280defined in can be found.
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000281
Bram Moolenaarda9591e2009-09-30 13:17:02 +0000282For abbreviations |v:char| is set to the character that was typed to trigger
283the abbreviation. You can use this to decide how to expand the {lhs}. You
Bram Moolenaar5302d9e2011-09-14 17:55:08 +0200284should not either insert or change the v:char.
Bram Moolenaarda9591e2009-09-30 13:17:02 +0000285
Bram Moolenaar4f4d51a2020-10-11 13:57:40 +0200286In case you want the mapping to not do anything, you can have the expression
287evaluate to an empty string. If something changed that requires Vim to
288go through the main loop (e.g. to update the display), return "\<Ignore>".
289This is similar to "nothing" but makes Vim return from the loop that waits for
290input. Example: >
291 func s:OpenPopup()
292 call popup_create(... arguments ...)
293 return "\<Ignore>"
294 endfunc
Bram Moolenaar4c295022021-05-02 17:19:11 +0200295 nnoremap <expr> <F3> <SID>OpenPopup()
Bram Moolenaar4f4d51a2020-10-11 13:57:40 +0200296
Bram Moolenaarfd31be22022-01-16 14:46:06 +0000297Keep in mind that the expression may be evaluated when looking for
Bram Moolenaar18b7d862021-03-17 13:28:05 +0100298typeahead, before the previous command has been executed. For example: >
299 func StoreColumn()
300 let g:column = col('.')
301 return 'x'
302 endfunc
303 nnoremap <expr> x StoreColumn()
304 nmap ! f!x
Bram Moolenaardad44732021-03-31 20:07:33 +0200305You will notice that g:column has the value from before executing "f!",
306because "x" is evaluated before "f!" is executed.
Bram Moolenaar18b7d862021-03-17 13:28:05 +0100307This can be solved by inserting <Ignore> before the character that is
308expression-mapped: >
309 nmap ! f!<Ignore>x
310
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000311When defining a mapping in a |Vim9| script, the expression will be evaluated
312in the context of that script. This means that script-local items can be
313accessed in the expression.
314
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000315Be very careful about side effects! The expression is evaluated while
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000316obtaining characters, you may very well make the command dysfunctional.
317For this reason the following is blocked:
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +0000318- Changing the buffer text |textlock|.
319- Editing another buffer.
320- The |:normal| command.
321- Moving the cursor is allowed, but it is restored afterwards.
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000322If you want the mapping to do any of these let the returned characters do
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100323that, or use a |<Cmd>| mapping instead.
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000324
Bram Moolenaar15146672011-10-20 22:22:38 +0200325You can use getchar(), it consumes typeahead if there is any. E.g., if you
326have these mappings: >
327 inoremap <expr> <C-L> nr2char(getchar())
328 inoremap <expr> <C-L>x "foo"
329If you now type CTRL-L nothing happens yet, Vim needs the next character to
330decide what mapping to use. If you type 'x' the second mapping is used and
Bram Moolenaarf1568ec2011-12-14 21:17:39 +0100331"foo" is inserted. If you type any other key the first mapping is used,
332getchar() gets the typed key and returns it.
Bram Moolenaar15146672011-10-20 22:22:38 +0200333
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000334Here is an example that inserts a list number that increases: >
335 let counter = 0
336 inoremap <expr> <C-L> ListItem()
337 inoremap <expr> <C-R> ListReset()
338
339 func ListItem()
340 let g:counter += 1
Bram Moolenaarc51cf032022-02-26 12:25:45 +0000341 return g:counter .. '. '
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000342 endfunc
343
344 func ListReset()
345 let g:counter = 0
346 return ''
347 endfunc
348
Bram Moolenaard9967712006-03-11 21:18:15 +0000349CTRL-L inserts the next number, CTRL-R resets the count. CTRL-R returns an
Bram Moolenaar4e427192006-03-10 21:34:27 +0000350empty string, so that nothing is inserted.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000351
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +0200352Note that using 0x80 as a single byte before other text does not work, it will
353be seen as a special key.
Bram Moolenaar8424a622006-04-19 21:23:36 +0000354
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100355 *<Cmd>* *:map-cmd*
356The special text <Cmd> begins a "command mapping", it executes the command
357directly without changing modes. Where you might use ":...<CR>" in the
358{rhs} of a mapping, you can instead use "<Cmd>...<CR>".
359Example: >
360 noremap x <Cmd>echo mode(1)<CR>
361<
362This is more flexible than `:<C-U>` in Visual and Operator-pending mode, or
363`<C-O>:` in Insert mode, because the commands are executed directly in the
364current mode, instead of always going to Normal mode. Visual mode is
365preserved, so tricks with |gv| are not needed. Commands can be invoked
366directly in Command-line mode (which would otherwise require timer hacks).
367Example of using <Cmd> halfway Insert mode: >
368 nnoremap <F3> aText <Cmd>echo mode(1)<CR> Added<Esc>
369
370Unlike <expr> mappings, there are no special restrictions on the <Cmd>
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +0100371command: it is executed as if an (unrestricted) |autocommand| was invoked.
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100372
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000373 *<ScriptCmd>*
374<ScriptCmd> is like <Cmd> but sets the context to the script the mapping was
375defined in, for the duration of the command execution. This is especially
376useful for |Vim9| script. It also works to access an import, which is useful
377in a plugin using an autoload script: >
378 vim9script
379 import autoload 'implementation.vim' as impl
Bram Moolenaarfd31be22022-01-16 14:46:06 +0000380 nnoremap <F4> <ScriptCmd>impl.DoTheWork()<CR>
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000381
382No matter where <F4> is typed, the "impl" import will be found in the script
383context of where the mapping was defined. And since it's an autoload import,
384the "implementation.vim" script will only be loaded once <F4> is typed, not
385when the mapping is defined.
386
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100387Note:
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000388- Because <Cmd> and <ScriptCmd> avoid mode-changes it does not trigger
389 |CmdlineEnter| and |CmdlineLeave| events, because no user interaction is
390 expected.
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100391- For the same reason, |keycodes| like <C-R><C-W> are interpreted as plain,
392 unmapped keys.
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +0100393- The command is not echo'ed, no need for <silent>.
Bram Moolenaar88a42052021-11-21 21:13:36 +0000394- The {rhs} is not subject to abbreviations nor to other mappings, even if the
395 mapping is recursive.
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +0100396- In Visual mode you can use `line('v')` and `col('v')` to get one end of the
397 Visual area, the cursor is at the other end.
Bram Moolenaard799daa2022-06-20 11:17:32 +0100398
Bram Moolenaara4d131d2021-12-27 21:33:07 +0000399 *E1255* *E1136*
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000400<Cmd> and <ScriptCmd> commands must terminate, that is, they must be followed
401by <CR> in the {rhs} of the mapping definition. |Command-line| mode is never
402entered.
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100403
404 *E1137*
Bram Moolenaare32c3c42022-01-15 18:26:04 +0000405<Cmd> and <ScriptCmd> commands can have only normal characters and cannot
406contain special characters like function keys.
Bram Moolenaar957cf672020-11-12 14:21:06 +0100407
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000408
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00004091.3 MAPPING AND MODES *:map-modes*
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +0000410 *mapmode-nvo* *mapmode-n* *mapmode-v* *mapmode-o*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000411
Bram Moolenaar1588bc82022-03-08 21:35:07 +0000412There are seven sets of mappings
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000413- For Normal mode: When typing commands.
414- For Visual mode: When typing commands while the Visual area is highlighted.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100415- For Select mode: like Visual mode but typing text replaces the selection.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000416- For Operator-pending mode: When an operator is pending (after "d", "y", "c",
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +0000417 etc.). See below: |omap-info|.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +0000418- For Insert mode. These are also used in Replace mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000419- For Command-line mode: When entering a ":" or "/" command.
Bram Moolenaar1588bc82022-03-08 21:35:07 +0000420- For Terminal mode: When typing in a |:terminal| buffer.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000421
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000422Special case: While typing a count for a command in Normal mode, mapping zero
423is disabled. This makes it possible to map zero without making it impossible
424to type a count with a zero.
425
426 *map-overview* *map-modes*
Bram Moolenaare968e362014-05-13 20:23:24 +0200427Overview of which map command works in which mode. More details below.
428 COMMANDS MODES ~
429:map :noremap :unmap Normal, Visual, Select, Operator-pending
430:nmap :nnoremap :nunmap Normal
431:vmap :vnoremap :vunmap Visual and Select
432:smap :snoremap :sunmap Select
433:xmap :xnoremap :xunmap Visual
434:omap :onoremap :ounmap Operator-pending
435:map! :noremap! :unmap! Insert and Command-line
436:imap :inoremap :iunmap Insert
437:lmap :lnoremap :lunmap Insert, Command-line, Lang-Arg
438:cmap :cnoremap :cunmap Command-line
Bram Moolenaar69fbc9e2017-09-14 20:37:57 +0200439:tmap :tnoremap :tunmap Terminal-Job
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000440
Bram Moolenaar3ec32172021-05-16 12:39:47 +0200441Same information in a table:
442 *map-table*
443 Mode | Norm | Ins | Cmd | Vis | Sel | Opr | Term | Lang | ~
444Command +------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+------+ ~
445[nore]map | yes | - | - | yes | yes | yes | - | - |
446n[nore]map | yes | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
447[nore]map! | - | yes | yes | - | - | - | - | - |
448i[nore]map | - | yes | - | - | - | - | - | - |
449c[nore]map | - | - | yes | - | - | - | - | - |
450v[nore]map | - | - | - | yes | yes | - | - | - |
451x[nore]map | - | - | - | yes | - | - | - | - |
452s[nore]map | - | - | - | - | yes | - | - | - |
453o[nore]map | - | - | - | - | - | yes | - | - |
454t[nore]map | - | - | - | - | - | - | yes | - |
455l[nore]map | - | yes | yes | - | - | - | - | yes |
456
Bram Moolenaare968e362014-05-13 20:23:24 +0200457
458 COMMANDS MODES ~
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000459 Normal Visual+Select Operator-pending ~
460:map :noremap :unmap :mapclear yes yes yes
461:nmap :nnoremap :nunmap :nmapclear yes - -
462:vmap :vnoremap :vunmap :vmapclear - yes -
463:omap :onoremap :ounmap :omapclear - - yes
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000464
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +0000465:nunmap can also be used outside of a monastery.
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000466 *mapmode-x* *mapmode-s*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000467Some commands work both in Visual and Select mode, some in only one. Note
468that quite often "Visual" is mentioned where both Visual and Select mode
469apply. |Select-mode-mapping|
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100470NOTE: Mapping a printable character in Select mode may confuse the user. It's
471better to explicitly use :xmap and :smap for printable characters. Or use
472:sunmap after defining the mapping.
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000473
Bram Moolenaare968e362014-05-13 20:23:24 +0200474 COMMANDS MODES ~
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000475 Visual Select ~
476:vmap :vnoremap :vunmap :vmapclear yes yes
477:xmap :xnoremap :xunmap :xmapclear yes -
478:smap :snoremap :sunmap :smapclear - yes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000479
Bram Moolenaar06b5db92006-02-10 23:11:56 +0000480 *mapmode-ic* *mapmode-i* *mapmode-c* *mapmode-l*
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +0000481Some commands work both in Insert mode and Command-line mode, some not:
482
Bram Moolenaare968e362014-05-13 20:23:24 +0200483 COMMANDS MODES ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000484 Insert Command-line Lang-Arg ~
485:map! :noremap! :unmap! :mapclear! yes yes -
486:imap :inoremap :iunmap :imapclear yes - -
487:cmap :cnoremap :cunmap :cmapclear - yes -
488:lmap :lnoremap :lunmap :lmapclear yes* yes* yes*
489
Bram Moolenaar5ef1c6a2019-11-10 22:09:11 +0100490* If 'iminsert' is 1, see |language-mapping| below.
491
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000492The original Vi did not have separate mappings for
493Normal/Visual/Operator-pending mode and for Insert/Command-line mode.
494Therefore the ":map" and ":map!" commands enter and display mappings for
495several modes. In Vim you can use the ":nmap", ":vmap", ":omap", ":cmap" and
496":imap" commands to enter mappings for each mode separately.
497
Bram Moolenaar69fbc9e2017-09-14 20:37:57 +0200498 *mapmode-t*
499The terminal mappings are used in a terminal window, when typing keys for the
500job running in the terminal. See |terminal-typing|.
501
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +0000502 *omap-info*
503Operator-pending mappings can be used to define a movement command that can be
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200504used with any operator. Simple example: >
505 :omap { w
506makes "y{" work like "yw" and "d{" like "dw".
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +0000507
508To ignore the starting cursor position and select different text, you can have
509the omap start Visual mode to select the text to be operated upon. Example
510that operates on a function name in the current line: >
511 onoremap <silent> F :<C-U>normal! 0f(hviw<CR>
512The CTRL-U (<C-U>) is used to remove the range that Vim may insert. The
513Normal mode commands find the first '(' character and select the first word
514before it. That usually is the function name.
515
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000516To enter a mapping for Normal and Visual mode, but not Operator-pending mode,
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200517first define it for all three modes, then unmap it for
518Operator-pending mode: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000519 :map xx something-difficult
520 :ounmap xx
Bram Moolenaar95bafa22018-10-02 13:26:25 +0200521
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000522Likewise for a mapping for Visual and Operator-pending mode or Normal and
523Operator-pending mode.
524
525 *language-mapping*
526":lmap" defines a mapping that applies to:
527- Insert mode
528- Command-line mode
529- when entering a search pattern
530- the argument of the commands that accept a text character, such as "r" and
531 "f"
532- for the input() line
533Generally: Whenever a character is to be typed that is part of the text in the
534buffer, not a Vim command character. "Lang-Arg" isn't really another mode,
535it's just used here for this situation.
536 The simplest way to load a set of related language mappings is by using the
537'keymap' option. See |45.5|.
538 In Insert mode and in Command-line mode the mappings can be disabled with
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +0200539the CTRL-^ command |i_CTRL-^| |c_CTRL-^|. These commands change the value of
Bram Moolenaar3b1db362013-08-10 15:00:24 +0200540the 'iminsert' option. When starting to enter a normal command line (not a
541search pattern) the mappings are disabled until a CTRL-^ is typed. The state
542last used is remembered for Insert mode and Search patterns separately. The
543state for Insert mode is also used when typing a character as an argument to
544command like "f" or "t".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000545 Language mappings will never be applied to already mapped characters. They
546are only used for typed characters. This assumes that the language mapping
547was already done when typing the mapping.
548
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000549
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00005501.4 LISTING MAPPINGS *map-listing*
551
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000552When listing mappings the characters in the first two columns are:
553
554 CHAR MODE ~
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +0000555 <Space> Normal, Visual, Select and Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000556 n Normal
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +0000557 v Visual and Select
558 s Select
559 x Visual
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000560 o Operator-pending
561 ! Insert and Command-line
562 i Insert
563 l ":lmap" mappings for Insert, Command-line and Lang-Arg
564 c Command-line
Bram Moolenaar63c4e8a2017-09-17 20:32:20 +0200565 t Terminal-Job
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000566
567Just before the {rhs} a special character can appear:
568 * indicates that it is not remappable
569 & indicates that only script-local mappings are remappable
570 @ indicates a buffer-local mapping
571
572Everything from the first non-blank after {lhs} up to the end of the line
573(or '|') is considered to be part of {rhs}. This allows the {rhs} to end
574with a space.
575
576Note: When using mappings for Visual mode, you can use the "'<" mark, which
577is the start of the last selected Visual area in the current buffer |'<|.
578
Bram Moolenaar818078d2016-08-27 21:58:42 +0200579The |:filter| command can be used to select what mappings to list. The
580pattern is matched against the {lhs} and {rhs} in the raw form.
581
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +0000582 *:map-verbose*
583When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a key map will also display where it was
584last defined. Example: >
585
586 :verbose map <C-W>*
587 n <C-W>* * <C-W><C-S>*
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +0000588 Last set from /home/abcd/.vimrc
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +0000589
Bram Moolenaar5195e452005-08-19 20:32:47 +0000590See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaarae5bce12005-08-15 21:41:48 +0000591
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000592
5931.5 MAPPING SPECIAL KEYS *:map-special-keys*
594
595There are three ways to map a special key:
5961. The Vi-compatible method: Map the key code. Often this is a sequence that
597 starts with <Esc>. To enter a mapping like this you type ":map " and then
598 you have to type CTRL-V before hitting the function key. Note that when
599 the key code for the key is in the termcap (the t_ options), it will
600 automatically be translated into the internal code and become the second
601 way of mapping (unless the 'k' flag is included in 'cpoptions').
6022. The second method is to use the internal code for the function key. To
603 enter such a mapping type CTRL-K and then hit the function key, or use
604 the form "#1", "#2", .. "#9", "#0", "<Up>", "<S-Down>", "<S-F7>", etc.
605 (see table of keys |key-notation|, all keys from <Up> can be used). The
606 first ten function keys can be defined in two ways: Just the number, like
607 "#2", and with "<F>", like "<F2>". Both stand for function key 2. "#0"
608 refers to function key 10, defined with option 't_f10', which may be
609 function key zero on some keyboards. The <> form cannot be used when
610 'cpoptions' includes the '<' flag.
6113. Use the termcap entry, with the form <t_xx>, where "xx" is the name of the
612 termcap entry. Any string entry can be used. For example: >
613 :map <t_F3> G
614< Maps function key 13 to "G". This does not work if 'cpoptions' includes
615 the '<' flag.
616
617The advantage of the second and third method is that the mapping will work on
618different terminals without modification (the function key will be
619translated into the same internal code or the actual key code, no matter what
620terminal you are using. The termcap must be correct for this to work, and you
621must use the same mappings).
622
623DETAIL: Vim first checks if a sequence from the keyboard is mapped. If it
624isn't the terminal key codes are tried (see |terminal-options|). If a
625terminal code is found it is replaced with the internal code. Then the check
626for a mapping is done again (so you can map an internal code to something
627else). What is written into the script file depends on what is recognized.
628If the terminal key code was recognized as a mapping the key code itself is
629written to the script file. If it was recognized as a terminal code the
630internal code is written to the script file.
631
632
6331.6 SPECIAL CHARACTERS *:map-special-chars*
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100634 *map_backslash* *map-backslash*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000635Note that only CTRL-V is mentioned here as a special character for mappings
636and abbreviations. When 'cpoptions' does not contain 'B', a backslash can
637also be used like CTRL-V. The <> notation can be fully used then |<>|. But
638you cannot use "<C-V>" like CTRL-V to escape the special meaning of what
639follows.
640
641To map a backslash, or use a backslash literally in the {rhs}, the special
642sequence "<Bslash>" can be used. This avoids the need to double backslashes
643when using nested mappings.
644
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100645 *map_CTRL-C* *map-CTRL-C*
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +0000646Using CTRL-C in the {lhs} is possible, but it will only work when Vim is
647waiting for a key, not when Vim is busy with something. When Vim is busy
648CTRL-C interrupts/breaks the command.
649When using the GUI version on MS-Windows CTRL-C can be mapped to allow a Copy
650command to the clipboard. Use CTRL-Break to interrupt Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000651
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100652 *map_space_in_lhs* *map-space_in_lhs*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000653To include a space in {lhs} precede it with a CTRL-V (type two CTRL-Vs for
654each space).
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100655 *map_space_in_rhs* *map-space_in_rhs*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000656If you want a {rhs} that starts with a space, use "<Space>". To be fully Vi
657compatible (but unreadable) don't use the |<>| notation, precede {rhs} with a
658single CTRL-V (you have to type CTRL-V two times).
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100659 *map_empty_rhs* *map-empty-rhs*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000660You can create an empty {rhs} by typing nothing after a single CTRL-V (you
661have to type CTRL-V two times). Unfortunately, you cannot do this in a vimrc
662file.
663 *<Nop>*
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +0200664An easier way to get a mapping that doesn't produce anything, is to use
665"<Nop>" for the {rhs}. This only works when the |<>| notation is enabled.
666For example, to make sure that function key 8 does nothing at all: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000667 :map <F8> <Nop>
668 :map! <F8> <Nop>
669<
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000670 *map-multibyte*
671It is possible to map multibyte characters, but only the whole character. You
672cannot map the first byte only. This was done to prevent problems in this
673scenario: >
674 :set encoding=latin1
675 :imap <M-C> foo
676 :set encoding=utf-8
677The mapping for <M-C> is defined with the latin1 encoding, resulting in a 0xc3
Bram Moolenaar85eee132018-05-06 17:57:30 +0200678byte. If you type the character á (0xe1 <M-a>) in UTF-8 encoding this is the
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +0200679two bytes 0xc3 0xa1. You don't want the 0xc3 byte to be mapped then or
Bram Moolenaar85eee132018-05-06 17:57:30 +0200680otherwise it would be impossible to type the á character.
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000681
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000682 *<Leader>* *mapleader*
683To define a mapping which uses the "mapleader" variable, the special string
684"<Leader>" can be used. It is replaced with the string value of "mapleader".
685If "mapleader" is not set or empty, a backslash is used instead. Example: >
686 :map <Leader>A oanother line<Esc>
687Works like: >
688 :map \A oanother line<Esc>
689But after: >
690 :let mapleader = ","
691It works like: >
692 :map ,A oanother line<Esc>
693
694Note that the value of "mapleader" is used at the moment the mapping is
695defined. Changing "mapleader" after that has no effect for already defined
696mappings.
697
698 *<LocalLeader>* *maplocalleader*
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +0000699<LocalLeader> is just like <Leader>, except that it uses "maplocalleader"
700instead of "mapleader". <LocalLeader> is to be used for mappings which are
701local to a buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarb8ff1fb2012-02-04 21:59:01 +0100702 :map <buffer> <LocalLeader>A oanother line<Esc>
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703<
704In a global plugin <Leader> should be used and in a filetype plugin
705<LocalLeader>. "mapleader" and "maplocalleader" can be equal. Although, if
706you make them different, there is a smaller chance of mappings from global
707plugins to clash with mappings for filetype plugins. For example, you could
708keep "mapleader" at the default backslash, and set "maplocalleader" to an
709underscore.
710
711 *map-<SID>*
712In a script the special key name "<SID>" can be used to define a mapping
713that's local to the script. See |<SID>| for details.
714
715 *<Plug>*
716The special key name "<Plug>" can be used for an internal mapping, which is
717not to be matched with any key sequence. This is useful in plugins
718|using-<Plug>|.
719
Bram Moolenaarcbaff5e2022-04-08 17:45:08 +0100720 *<MouseMove>*
721The special key name "<MouseMove>" can be used to handle mouse movement. It
722needs to be enabled with 'mousemoveevent'. Currently only works in the GUI.
Bram Moolenaar2d8ed022022-05-21 13:08:16 +0100723The |getmousepos()| function can be used to obtain the mouse position.
Bram Moolenaarcbaff5e2022-04-08 17:45:08 +0100724
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000725 *<Char>* *<Char->*
726To map a character by its decimal, octal or hexadecimal number the <Char>
727construct can be used:
728 <Char-123> character 123
729 <Char-033> character 27
730 <Char-0x7f> character 127
Bram Moolenaar5302d9e2011-09-14 17:55:08 +0200731 <S-Char-114> character 114 ('r') shifted ('R')
Bram Moolenaar207f0092020-08-30 17:20:20 +0200732This is useful to specify a (multibyte) character in a 'keymap' file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000733Upper and lowercase differences are ignored.
734
735 *map-comments*
736It is not possible to put a comment after these commands, because the '"'
Bram Moolenaar036986f2017-03-16 17:41:02 +0100737character is considered to be part of the {lhs} or {rhs}. However, one can
738use |", since this starts a new, empty command with a comment.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000739
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100740 *map_bar* *map-bar*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000741Since the '|' character is used to separate a map command from the next
742command, you will have to do something special to include a '|' in {rhs}.
743There are three methods:
744 use works when example ~
745 <Bar> '<' is not in 'cpoptions' :map _l :!ls <Bar> more^M
746 \| 'b' is not in 'cpoptions' :map _l :!ls \| more^M
747 ^V| always, in Vim and Vi :map _l :!ls ^V| more^M
748
749(here ^V stands for CTRL-V; to get one CTRL-V you have to type it twice; you
750cannot use the <> notation "<C-V>" here).
751
752All three work when you use the default setting for 'cpoptions'.
753
754When 'b' is present in 'cpoptions', "\|" will be recognized as a mapping
755ending in a '\' and then another command. This is Vi compatible, but
756illogical when compared to other commands.
757
Bram Moolenaar345efa02016-01-15 20:57:49 +0100758 *map_return* *map-return*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000759When you have a mapping that contains an Ex command, you need to put a line
760terminator after it to have it executed. The use of <CR> is recommended for
761this (see |<>|). Example: >
Bram Moolenaar251835e2014-02-24 02:51:51 +0100762 :map _ls :!ls -l %:S<CR>:echo "the end"<CR>
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000763
764To avoid mapping of the characters you type in insert or Command-line mode,
765type a CTRL-V first. The mapping in Insert mode is disabled if the 'paste'
766option is on.
Bram Moolenaare2db6952013-07-24 19:53:36 +0200767 *map-error*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000768Note that when an error is encountered (that causes an error message or beep)
769the rest of the mapping is not executed. This is Vi-compatible.
770
771Note that the second character (argument) of the commands @zZtTfF[]rm'`"v
772and CTRL-X is not mapped. This was done to be able to use all the named
773registers and marks, even when the command with the same name has been
774mapped.
775
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000776
7771.7 WHAT KEYS TO MAP *map-which-keys*
778
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000779If you are going to map something, you will need to choose which key(s) to use
780for the {lhs}. You will have to avoid keys that are used for Vim commands,
781otherwise you would not be able to use those commands anymore. Here are a few
782suggestions:
783- Function keys <F2>, <F3>, etc.. Also the shifted function keys <S-F1>,
784 <S-F2>, etc. Note that <F1> is already used for the help command.
Bram Moolenaarf91787c2010-07-17 12:47:16 +0200785- Meta-keys (with the ALT key pressed). Depending on your keyboard accented
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100786 characters may be used as well. |:map-alt-keys|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000787- Use the '_' or ',' character and then any other character. The "_" and ","
788 commands do exist in Vim (see |_| and |,|), but you probably never use them.
789- Use a key that is a synonym for another command. For example: CTRL-P and
790 CTRL-N. Use an extra character to allow more mappings.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100791- The key defined by <Leader> and one or more other keys. This is especially
792 useful in scripts. |mapleader|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000793
794See the file "index" for keys that are not used and thus can be mapped without
795losing any builtin function. You can also use ":help {key}^D" to find out if
796a key is used for some command. ({key} is the specific key you want to find
797out about, ^D is CTRL-D).
798
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000799
8001.8 EXAMPLES *map-examples*
801
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000802A few examples (given as you type them, for "<CR>" you type four characters;
803the '<' flag must not be present in 'cpoptions' for this to work). >
804
805 :map <F3> o#include
806 :map <M-g> /foo<CR>cwbar<Esc>
807 :map _x d/END/e<CR>
808 :map! qq quadrillion questions
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +0000809
810
811Multiplying a count
812
813When you type a count before triggering a mapping, it's like the count was
814typed before the {lhs}. For example, with this mapping: >
815 :map <F4> 3w
816Typing 2<F4> will result in "23w". Thus not moving 2 * 3 words but 23 words.
817If you want to multiply counts use the expression register: >
818 :map <F4> @='3w'<CR>
819The part between quotes is the expression being executed. |@=|
820
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000821
8221.9 USING MAPPINGS *map-typing*
823
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000824Vim will compare what you type with the start of a mapped sequence. If there
825is an incomplete match, it will get more characters until there either is a
826complete match or until there is no match at all. Example: If you map! "qq",
827the first 'q' will not appear on the screen until you type another
828character. This is because Vim cannot know if the next character will be a
829'q' or not. If the 'timeout' option is on (which is the default) Vim will
830only wait for one second (or as long as specified with the 'timeoutlen'
831option). After that it assumes that the 'q' is to be interpreted as such. If
832you type slowly, or your system is slow, reset the 'timeout' option. Then you
833might want to set the 'ttimeout' option.
834
Bram Moolenaar37c64c72017-09-19 22:06:03 +0200835 *map-precedence*
Bram Moolenaarec7944a2013-06-12 21:29:15 +0200836Buffer-local mappings (defined using |:map-<buffer>|) take precedence over
837global mappings. When a buffer-local mapping is the same as a global mapping,
838Vim will use the buffer-local mapping. In addition, Vim will use a complete
Bram Moolenaar14b69452013-06-29 23:05:20 +0200839mapping immediately if it was defined with <nowait>, even if a longer mapping
840has the same prefix. For example, given the following two mappings: >
841 :map <buffer> <nowait> \a :echo "Local \a"<CR>
842 :map \abc :echo "Global \abc"<CR>
843When typing \a the buffer-local mapping will be used immediately. Vim will
844not wait for more characters to see if the user might be typing \abc.
Bram Moolenaarec7944a2013-06-12 21:29:15 +0200845
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000846 *map-keys-fails*
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000847There are situations where key codes might not be recognized:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000848- Vim can only read part of the key code. Mostly this is only the first
849 character. This happens on some Unix versions in an xterm.
850- The key code is after character(s) that are mapped. E.g., "<F1><F1>" or
851 "g<F1>".
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000852
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000853The result is that the key code is not recognized in this situation, and the
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000854mapping fails. There are two actions needed to avoid this problem:
855
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000856- Remove the 'K' flag from 'cpoptions'. This will make Vim wait for the rest
857 of the characters of the function key.
858- When using <F1> to <F4> the actual key code generated may correspond to
859 <xF1> to <xF4>. There are mappings from <xF1> to <F1>, <xF2> to <F2>, etc.,
860 but these are not recognized after another half a mapping. Make sure the
861 key codes for <F1> to <F4> are correct: >
862 :set <F1>=<type CTRL-V><type F1>
863< Type the <F1> as four characters. The part after the "=" must be done with
864 the actual keys, not the literal text.
865Another solution is to use the actual key code in the mapping for the second
866special key: >
867 :map <F1><Esc>OP :echo "yes"<CR>
868Don't type a real <Esc>, Vim will recognize the key code and replace it with
869<F1> anyway.
870
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000871Another problem may be that when keeping ALT or Meta pressed the terminal
872prepends ESC instead of setting the 8th bit. See |:map-alt-keys|.
873
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000874 *recursive_mapping*
875If you include the {lhs} in the {rhs} you have a recursive mapping. When
876{lhs} is typed, it will be replaced with {rhs}. When the {lhs} which is
877included in {rhs} is encountered it will be replaced with {rhs}, and so on.
878This makes it possible to repeat a command an infinite number of times. The
879only problem is that the only way to stop this is by causing an error. The
880macros to solve a maze uses this, look there for an example. There is one
881exception: If the {rhs} starts with {lhs}, the first character is not mapped
882again (this is Vi compatible).
883For example: >
884 :map ab abcd
885will execute the "a" command and insert "bcd" in the text. The "ab" in the
886{rhs} will not be mapped again.
887
888If you want to exchange the meaning of two keys you should use the :noremap
889command. For example: >
890 :noremap k j
891 :noremap j k
892This will exchange the cursor up and down commands.
893
894With the normal :map command, when the 'remap' option is on, mapping takes
895place until the text is found not to be a part of a {lhs}. For example, if
896you use: >
897 :map x y
898 :map y x
899Vim will replace x with y, and then y with x, etc. When this has happened
900'maxmapdepth' times (default 1000), Vim will give the error message
901"recursive mapping".
902
903 *:map-undo*
904If you include an undo command inside a mapped sequence, this will bring the
905text back in the state before executing the macro. This is compatible with
906the original Vi, as long as there is only one undo command in the mapped
907sequence (having two undo commands in a mapped sequence did not make sense
908in the original Vi, you would get back the text before the first undo).
909
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000910
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00009111.10 MAPPING ALT-KEYS *:map-alt-keys*
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000912
913In the GUI Vim handles the Alt key itself, thus mapping keys with ALT should
914always work. But in a terminal Vim gets a sequence of bytes and has to figure
915out whether ALT was pressed or not.
916
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +0200917If the terminal supports the modifyOtherKeys mode and it has been enabled,
918then Vim can recognize more key combinations, see |modifyOtherKeys| below.
919
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000920By default Vim assumes that pressing the ALT key sets the 8th bit of a typed
Bram Moolenaar97d29a12005-12-17 22:02:57 +0000921character. Most decent terminals can work that way, such as xterm, aterm and
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000922rxvt. If your <A-k> mappings don't work it might be that the terminal is
923prefixing the character with an ESC character. But you can just as well type
924ESC before a character, thus Vim doesn't know what happened (except for
925checking the delay between characters, which is not reliable).
926
927As of this writing, some mainstream terminals like gnome-terminal and konsole
928use the ESC prefix. There doesn't appear a way to have them use the 8th bit
Bram Moolenaar97d29a12005-12-17 22:02:57 +0000929instead. Xterm should work well by default. Aterm and rxvt should work well
930when started with the "--meta8" argument. You can also tweak resources like
931"metaSendsEscape", "eightBitInput" and "eightBitOutput".
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000932
933On the Linux console, this behavior can be toggled with the "setmetamode"
934command. Bear in mind that not using an ESC prefix could get you in trouble
935with other programs. You should make sure that bash has the "convert-meta"
936option set to "on" in order for your Meta keybindings to still work on it
937(it's the default readline behavior, unless changed by specific system
938configuration). For that, you can add the line: >
939
940 set convert-meta on
941
942to your ~/.inputrc file. If you're creating the file, you might want to use: >
943
944 $include /etc/inputrc
945
946as the first line, if that file exists on your system, to keep global options.
947This may cause a problem for entering special characters, such as the umlaut.
948Then you should use CTRL-V before that character.
949
950Bear in mind that convert-meta has been reported to have troubles when used in
951UTF-8 locales. On terminals like xterm, the "metaSendsEscape" resource can be
952toggled on the fly through the "Main Options" menu, by pressing Ctrl-LeftClick
953on the terminal; that's a good last resource in case you want to send ESC when
Bram Moolenaar6aa8cea2017-06-05 14:44:35 +0200954using other applications but not when inside Vim.
Bram Moolenaarcdbac1e2005-12-11 21:27:22 +0000955
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000956
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +02009571.11 MAPPING IN modifyOtherKeys mode *modifyOtherKeys*
958
959Xterm and a few other terminals can be put in a mode where keys with modifiers
960are sent with a special escape code. Vim recognizes these codes and can then
961make a difference between CTRL-H and Backspace, even when Backspace sends the
962character 8. And many more special keys.
963
964For xterm modifyOtherKeys is enabled in the builtin termcap entry. If this is
965not used you can enable modifyOtherKeys with these lines in your vimrc: >
966 let &t_TI = "\<Esc>[>4;2m"
967 let &t_TE = "\<Esc>[>4;m"
968
969In case the modifyOtherKeys mode causes problems you can disable it: >
970 let &t_TI = ""
971 let &t_TE = ""
972It does not take effect immediately. To have this work without restarting Vim
Bram Moolenaar5ef1c6a2019-11-10 22:09:11 +0100973execute a shell command, e.g.: `!ls` Or put the lines in your |vimrc|.
974
975When modifyOtherKeys is enabled you can map <C-[> and <C-S-{>: >
976 imap <C-[> [[[
Bram Moolenaar9a033d72020-10-07 17:29:48 +0200977 imap <C-{> {{{
978Without modifyOtherKeys <C-[> and <C-{> are indistinguishable from Esc.
979Note that <C-{> is used and not <C-S-[> or <C-S-{>. This works on most
980keyboards. Similarly, <C-}> is used instead of <C-S-]> or <C-S-}> and
981<C-|> instead of <C-S-\> or <C-S-|>. Note that '|' has a special meaning in a
982mapping, see |map-bar|.
983
984WARNING: if you map <C-[> you may very well break any key codes that start
985with Esc. Make sure it comes AFTER other mappings.
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +0200986
Bram Moolenaar2547aa92020-07-26 17:00:44 +0200987A known side effect is that in Insert mode the raw escape sequence is inserted
988after the CTRL-V key. This can be used to check whether modifyOtherKeys is
989enabled: In Insert mode type CTRL-SHIFT-V CTRL-V, if you get one byte then
990modifyOtherKeys is off, if you get <1b>27;5;118~ then it is on.
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +0200991
Bram Moolenaar5ef1c6a2019-11-10 22:09:11 +0100992When the 'esckeys' option is off, then modifyOtherKeys will be disabled in
993Insert mode to avoid every key with a modifier causing Insert mode to end.
994
Bram Moolenaar4b570182019-10-20 19:53:22 +0200995
9961.12 MAPPING AN OPERATOR *:map-operator*
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +0000997
998An operator is used before a {motion} command. To define your own operator
Bram Moolenaar1b884a02020-12-10 21:11:27 +0100999you must create a mapping that first sets the 'operatorfunc' option and then
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001000invoke the |g@| operator. After the user types the {motion} command the
1001specified function will be called.
1002
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +00001003 *g@* *E774* *E775*
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001004g@{motion} Call the function set by the 'operatorfunc' option.
1005 The '[ mark is positioned at the start of the text
1006 moved over by {motion}, the '] mark on the last
1007 character of the text.
1008 The function is called with one String argument:
1009 "line" {motion} was |linewise|
1010 "char" {motion} was |characterwise|
Bram Moolenaarf91787c2010-07-17 12:47:16 +02001011 "block" {motion} was |blockwise-visual|
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001012 The type can be forced, see |forced-motion|.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02001013 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001014 feature}
1015
1016Here is an example that counts the number of spaces with <F4>: >
1017
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001018 nnoremap <expr> <F4> CountSpaces()
1019 xnoremap <expr> <F4> CountSpaces()
1020 " doubling <F4> works on a line
1021 nnoremap <expr> <F4><F4> CountSpaces() .. '_'
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001022
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001023 function CountSpaces(context = {}, type = '') abort
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001024 if a:type == ''
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001025 let context = #{
1026 \ dot_command: v:false,
1027 \ extend_block: '',
1028 \ virtualedit: [&l:virtualedit, &g:virtualedit],
1029 \ }
1030 let &operatorfunc = function('CountSpaces', [context])
Bram Moolenaar0e6adf82021-12-16 14:41:10 +00001031 set virtualedit=block
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001032 return 'g@'
Bram Moolenaar0e6adf82021-12-16 14:41:10 +00001033 endif
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001034
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001035 let save = #{
1036 \ clipboard: &clipboard,
1037 \ selection: &selection,
1038 \ virtualedit: [&l:virtualedit, &g:virtualedit],
1039 \ register: getreginfo('"'),
1040 \ visual_marks: [getpos("'<"), getpos("'>")],
1041 \ }
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001042
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001043 try
Bram Moolenaar0e6adf82021-12-16 14:41:10 +00001044 set clipboard= selection=inclusive virtualedit=
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001045 let commands = #{
1046 \ line: "'[V']",
1047 \ char: "`[v`]",
1048 \ block: "`[\<C-V>`]",
1049 \ }[a:type]
1050 let [_, _, col, off] = getpos("']")
1051 if off != 0
1052 let vcol = getline("'[")->strpart(0, col + off)->strdisplaywidth()
1053 if vcol >= [line("'["), '$']->virtcol() - 1
1054 let a:context.extend_block = '$'
1055 else
1056 let a:context.extend_block = vcol .. '|'
1057 endif
1058 endif
1059 if a:context.extend_block != ''
1060 let commands ..= 'oO' .. a:context.extend_block
Bram Moolenaar0e6adf82021-12-16 14:41:10 +00001061 endif
1062 let commands ..= 'y'
1063 execute 'silent noautocmd keepjumps normal! ' .. commands
1064 echomsg getreg('"')->count(' ')
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001065 finally
Bram Moolenaarfa3b7232021-12-24 13:18:38 +00001066 call setreg('"', save.register)
1067 call setpos("'<", save.visual_marks[0])
1068 call setpos("'>", save.visual_marks[1])
1069 let &clipboard = save.clipboard
1070 let &selection = save.selection
1071 let [&l:virtualedit, &g:virtualedit] = get(a:context.dot_command ? save : a:context, 'virtualedit')
1072 let a:context.dot_command = v:true
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001073 endtry
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001074 endfunction
1075
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001076An <expr> mapping is used to be able to fetch any prefixed count and register.
1077This also avoids using a command line, which would trigger CmdlineEnter and
1078CmdlineLeave autocommands.
1079
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001080Note that the 'selection' option is temporarily set to "inclusive" to be able
1081to yank exactly the right text by using Visual mode from the '[ to the ']
1082mark.
1083
Bram Moolenaar1c6737b2020-09-07 22:18:52 +02001084Also note that the 'clipboard' option is temporarily emptied to avoid
1085clobbering the `"*` or `"+` registers, if its value contains the item `unnamed`
1086or `unnamedplus`.
Bram Moolenaar5b962cf2005-12-12 21:58:40 +00001087
Bram Moolenaar079ba762021-10-23 12:08:41 +01001088The `mode()` function will return the state as it will be after applying the
1089operator.
1090
Yegappan Lakshmanan777175b2021-11-18 22:08:57 +00001091Here is an example for using a lambda function to create a normal-mode
1092operator to add quotes around text in the current line: >
1093
1094 nnoremap <F4> <Cmd>let &opfunc='{t ->
1095 \ getline(".")
1096 \ ->split("\\zs")
1097 \ ->insert("\"", col("'']"))
1098 \ ->insert("\"", col("''[") - 1)
1099 \ ->join("")
1100 \ ->setline(".")}'<CR>g@
1101
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001102==============================================================================
11032. Abbreviations *abbreviations* *Abbreviations*
1104
1105Abbreviations are used in Insert mode, Replace mode and Command-line mode.
1106If you enter a word that is an abbreviation, it is replaced with the word it
1107stands for. This can be used to save typing for often used long words. And
1108you can use it to automatically correct obvious spelling errors.
1109Examples:
1110
Bram Moolenaarc1762cc2007-05-10 16:56:30 +00001111 :iab ms Microsoft
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001112 :iab tihs this
1113
1114There are three types of abbreviations:
1115
1116full-id The "full-id" type consists entirely of keyword characters (letters
1117 and characters from 'iskeyword' option). This is the most common
1118 abbreviation.
1119
1120 Examples: "foo", "g3", "-1"
1121
1122end-id The "end-id" type ends in a keyword character, but all the other
1123 characters are not keyword characters.
1124
1125 Examples: "#i", "..f", "$/7"
1126
1127non-id The "non-id" type ends in a non-keyword character, the other
Bram Moolenaar34162142007-05-12 13:12:19 +00001128 characters may be of any type, excluding space and tab. {this type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001129 is not supported by Vi}
1130
1131 Examples: "def#", "4/7$"
1132
1133Examples of strings that cannot be abbreviations: "a.b", "#def", "a b", "_$r"
1134
1135An abbreviation is only recognized when you type a non-keyword character.
1136This can also be the <Esc> that ends insert mode or the <CR> that ends a
1137command. The non-keyword character which ends the abbreviation is inserted
1138after the expanded abbreviation. An exception to this is the character <C-]>,
1139which is used to expand an abbreviation without inserting any extra
1140characters.
1141
1142Example: >
1143 :ab hh hello
1144< "hh<Space>" is expanded to "hello<Space>"
1145 "hh<C-]>" is expanded to "hello"
1146
1147The characters before the cursor must match the abbreviation. Each type has
1148an additional rule:
1149
1150full-id In front of the match is a non-keyword character, or this is where
1151 the line or insertion starts. Exception: When the abbreviation is
1152 only one character, it is not recognized if there is a non-keyword
Bram Moolenaareb3dc872018-05-13 22:34:24 +02001153 character in front of it, other than a space or a tab. However, for
1154 the command line "'<,'>" (or any other marks) is ignored, as if the
1155 command line starts after it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001156
Bram Moolenaar34162142007-05-12 13:12:19 +00001157end-id In front of the match is a keyword character, or a space or a tab,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001158 or this is where the line or insertion starts.
1159
Bram Moolenaar34162142007-05-12 13:12:19 +00001160non-id In front of the match is a space, tab or the start of the line or
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001161 the insertion.
1162
1163Examples: ({CURSOR} is where you type a non-keyword character) >
1164 :ab foo four old otters
1165< " foo{CURSOR}" is expanded to " four old otters"
1166 " foobar{CURSOR}" is not expanded
1167 "barfoo{CURSOR}" is not expanded
1168>
1169 :ab #i #include
1170< "#i{CURSOR}" is expanded to "#include"
1171 ">#i{CURSOR}" is not expanded
1172>
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001173 :ab ;; <endofline>
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001174< "test;;" is not expanded
1175 "test ;;" is expanded to "test <endofline>"
1176
Bram Moolenaar7d76c802014-10-15 22:51:52 +02001177To avoid the abbreviation in Insert mode: Type CTRL-V before the character
1178that would trigger the abbreviation. E.g. CTRL-V <Space>. Or type part of
1179the abbreviation, exit insert mode with <Esc>, re-enter insert mode with "a"
1180and type the rest.
1181
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001182To avoid the abbreviation in Command-line mode: Type CTRL-V twice somewhere in
1183the abbreviation to avoid it to be replaced. A CTRL-V in front of a normal
1184character is mostly ignored otherwise.
1185
1186It is possible to move the cursor after an abbreviation: >
1187 :iab if if ()<Left>
1188This does not work if 'cpoptions' includes the '<' flag. |<>|
1189
1190You can even do more complicated things. For example, to consume the space
1191typed after an abbreviation: >
1192 func Eatchar(pat)
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001193 let c = nr2char(getchar(0))
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001194 return (c =~ a:pat) ? '' : c
1195 endfunc
1196 iabbr <silent> if if ()<Left><C-R>=Eatchar('\s')<CR>
1197
1198There are no default abbreviations.
1199
1200Abbreviations are never recursive. You can use ":ab f f-o-o" without any
1201problem. But abbreviations can be mapped. {some versions of Vi support
1202recursive abbreviations, for no apparent reason}
1203
1204Abbreviations are disabled if the 'paste' option is on.
1205
1206 *:abbreviate-local* *:abbreviate-<buffer>*
1207Just like mappings, abbreviations can be local to a buffer. This is mostly
1208used in a |filetype-plugin| file. Example for a C plugin file: >
1209 :abb <buffer> FF for (i = 0; i < ; ++i)
1210<
1211 *:ab* *:abbreviate*
1212:ab[breviate] list all abbreviations. The character in the first
1213 column indicates the mode where the abbreviation is
1214 used: 'i' for insert mode, 'c' for Command-line
1215 mode, '!' for both. These are the same as for
1216 mappings, see |map-listing|.
1217
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00001218 *:abbreviate-verbose*
1219When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing an abbreviation will also display where it
1220was last defined. Example: >
1221
1222 :verbose abbreviate
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001223 ! teh the
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00001224 Last set from /home/abcd/vim/abbr.vim
1225
1226See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
1227
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001228:ab[breviate] {lhs} list the abbreviations that start with {lhs}
1229 You may need to insert a CTRL-V (type it twice) to
1230 avoid that a typed {lhs} is expanded, since
1231 command-line abbreviations apply here.
1232
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001233:ab[breviate] [<expr>] [<buffer>] {lhs} {rhs}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001234 add abbreviation for {lhs} to {rhs}. If {lhs} already
1235 existed it is replaced with the new {rhs}. {rhs} may
1236 contain spaces.
Bram Moolenaarfc1421e2006-04-20 22:17:20 +00001237 See |:map-<expr>| for the optional <expr> argument.
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001238 See |:map-<buffer>| for the optional <buffer> argument.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001239
1240 *:una* *:unabbreviate*
Bram Moolenaar95a9dd12019-12-19 22:12:03 +01001241:una[bbreviate] [<buffer>] {lhs}
1242 Remove abbreviation for {lhs} from the list. If none
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001243 is found, remove abbreviations in which {lhs} matches
1244 with the {rhs}. This is done so that you can even
1245 remove abbreviations after expansion. To avoid
1246 expansion insert a CTRL-V (type it twice).
1247
1248 *:norea* *:noreabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001249:norea[bbrev] [<expr>] [<buffer>] [lhs] [rhs]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001250 Same as ":ab", but no remapping for this {rhs}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001251
Bram Moolenaar61da1bf2019-06-06 12:14:49 +02001252 *:ca* *:cab* *:cabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001253:ca[bbrev] [<expr>] [<buffer>] [lhs] [rhs]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001254 Same as ":ab", but for Command-line mode only.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001255
1256 *:cuna* *:cunabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar95a9dd12019-12-19 22:12:03 +01001257:cuna[bbrev] [<buffer>] {lhs}
1258 Same as ":una", but for Command-line mode only.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001259
1260 *:cnorea* *:cnoreabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001261:cnorea[bbrev] [<expr>] [<buffer>] [lhs] [rhs]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001262 same as ":ab", but for Command-line mode only and no
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001263 remapping for this {rhs}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001264
1265 *:ia* *:iabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001266:ia[bbrev] [<expr>] [<buffer>] [lhs] [rhs]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001267 Same as ":ab", but for Insert mode only.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001268
1269 *:iuna* *:iunabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar95a9dd12019-12-19 22:12:03 +01001270:iuna[bbrev] [<buffer>] {lhs}
1271 Same as ":una", but for insert mode only.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001272
1273 *:inorea* *:inoreabbrev*
Bram Moolenaar251e1912011-06-19 05:09:16 +02001274:inorea[bbrev] [<expr>] [<buffer>] [lhs] [rhs]
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001275 Same as ":ab", but for Insert mode only and no
1276 remapping for this {rhs}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001277
1278 *:abc* *:abclear*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001279:abc[lear] [<buffer>] Remove all abbreviations.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001280
1281 *:iabc* *:iabclear*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001282:iabc[lear] [<buffer>] Remove all abbreviations for Insert mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001283
1284 *:cabc* *:cabclear*
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001285:cabc[lear] [<buffer>] Remove all abbreviations for Command-line mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001286
1287 *using_CTRL-V*
1288It is possible to use special characters in the rhs of an abbreviation.
1289CTRL-V has to be used to avoid the special meaning of most non printable
1290characters. How many CTRL-Vs need to be typed depends on how you enter the
1291abbreviation. This also applies to mappings. Let's use an example here.
1292
1293Suppose you want to abbreviate "esc" to enter an <Esc> character. When you
1294type the ":ab" command in Vim, you have to enter this: (here ^V is a CTRL-V
1295and ^[ is <Esc>)
1296
1297You type: ab esc ^V^V^V^V^V^[
1298
1299 All keyboard input is subjected to ^V quote interpretation, so
1300 the first, third, and fifth ^V characters simply allow the second,
1301 and fourth ^Vs, and the ^[, to be entered into the command-line.
1302
1303You see: ab esc ^V^V^[
1304
1305 The command-line contains two actual ^Vs before the ^[. This is
1306 how it should appear in your .exrc file, if you choose to go that
1307 route. The first ^V is there to quote the second ^V; the :ab
1308 command uses ^V as its own quote character, so you can include quoted
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001309 whitespace or the | character in the abbreviation. The :ab command
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001310 doesn't do anything special with the ^[ character, so it doesn't need
1311 to be quoted. (Although quoting isn't harmful; that's why typing 7
1312 [but not 8!] ^Vs works.)
1313
1314Stored as: esc ^V^[
1315
1316 After parsing, the abbreviation's short form ("esc") and long form
1317 (the two characters "^V^[") are stored in the abbreviation table.
1318 If you give the :ab command with no arguments, this is how the
1319 abbreviation will be displayed.
1320
1321 Later, when the abbreviation is expanded because the user typed in
1322 the word "esc", the long form is subjected to the same type of
1323 ^V interpretation as keyboard input. So the ^V protects the ^[
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001324 character from being interpreted as the "exit Insert mode" character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001325 Instead, the ^[ is inserted into the text.
1326
1327Expands to: ^[
1328
1329[example given by Steve Kirkendall]
1330
1331==============================================================================
13323. Local mappings and functions *script-local*
1333
1334When using several Vim script files, there is the danger that mappings and
1335functions used in one script use the same name as in other scripts. To avoid
1336this, they can be made local to the script.
1337
1338 *<SID>* *<SNR>* *E81*
1339The string "<SID>" can be used in a mapping or menu. This requires that the
1340'<' flag is not present in 'cpoptions'.
1341 When executing the map command, Vim will replace "<SID>" with the special
1342key code <SNR>, followed by a number that's unique for the script, and an
1343underscore. Example: >
1344 :map <SID>Add
1345could define a mapping "<SNR>23_Add".
1346
1347When defining a function in a script, "s:" can be prepended to the name to
Bram Moolenaar75ab5902022-04-18 15:36:40 +01001348make it local to the script (in |Vim9| script functions without a prefix are
1349local to the script). But when a mapping is executed from outside of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001350the script, it doesn't know in which script the function was defined. To
1351avoid this problem, use "<SID>" instead of "s:". The same translation is done
1352as for mappings. This makes it possible to define a call to the function in
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001353a mapping.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001354
1355When a local function is executed, it runs in the context of the script it was
1356defined in. This means that new functions and mappings it defines can also
1357use "s:" or "<SID>" and it will use the same unique number as when the
1358function itself was defined. Also, the "s:var" local script variables can be
1359used.
1360
1361When executing an autocommand or a user command, it will run in the context of
1362the script it was defined in. This makes it possible that the command calls a
1363local function or uses a local mapping.
1364
Bram Moolenaar90944302020-08-01 20:45:11 +02001365In case the value is used in a context where <SID> cannot be correctly
1366expanded, use the expand() function: >
1367 let &includexpr = expand('<SID>') .. 'My_includeexpr()'
1368
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001369Otherwise, using "<SID>" outside of a script context is an error.
1370
1371If you need to get the script number to use in a complicated script, you can
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00001372use this function: >
Bram Moolenaar4466ad62020-11-21 13:16:30 +01001373 func s:ScriptNumber()
1374 return matchstr(expand('<SID>'), '<SNR>\zs\d\+\ze_')
1375 endfunc
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001376
1377The "<SNR>" will be shown when listing functions and mappings. This is useful
1378to find out what they are defined to.
1379
1380The |:scriptnames| command can be used to see which scripts have been sourced
1381and what their <SNR> number is.
1382
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001383This is all {not available when compiled without the |+eval| feature}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001384
1385==============================================================================
13864. User-defined commands *user-commands*
1387
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001388It is possible to define your own Ex commands. A user-defined command can act
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001389just like a built-in command (it can have a range or arguments, arguments can
1390be completed as filenames or buffer names, etc), except that when the command
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001391is executed, it is transformed into a normal Ex command and then executed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001392
1393For starters: See section |40.2| in the user manual.
1394
Bram Moolenaar166af9b2010-11-16 20:34:40 +01001395 *E183* *E841* *user-cmd-ambiguous*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001396All user defined commands must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid
Bram Moolenaar166af9b2010-11-16 20:34:40 +01001397confusion with builtin commands. Exceptions are these builtin commands:
1398 :Next
1399 :X
1400They cannot be used for a user defined command. ":Print" is also an existing
1401command, but it is deprecated and can be overruled.
1402
1403The other characters of the user command can be uppercase letters, lowercase
1404letters or digits. When using digits, note that other commands that take a
1405numeric argument may become ambiguous. For example, the command ":Cc2" could
1406be the user command ":Cc2" without an argument, or the command ":Cc" with
1407argument "2". It is advised to put a space between the command name and the
1408argument to avoid these problems.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001409
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001410When using a user-defined command, the command can be abbreviated. However, if
1411an abbreviation is not unique, an error will be issued. Furthermore, a
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001412built-in command will always take precedence.
1413
1414Example: >
1415 :command Rename ...
1416 :command Renumber ...
1417 :Rena " Means "Rename"
1418 :Renu " Means "Renumber"
1419 :Ren " Error - ambiguous
1420 :command Paste ...
1421 :P " The built-in :Print
1422
1423It is recommended that full names for user-defined commands are used in
1424scripts.
1425
1426:com[mand] *:com* *:command*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001427 List all user-defined commands. When listing commands,
Bram Moolenaara561a412019-04-25 21:27:58 +02001428 the characters in the first columns are:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001429 ! Command has the -bang attribute
1430 " Command has the -register attribute
Bram Moolenaara561a412019-04-25 21:27:58 +02001431 | Command has the -bar attribute
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001432 b Command is local to current buffer
1433 (see below for details on attributes)
Bram Moolenaar818078d2016-08-27 21:58:42 +02001434 The list can be filtered on command name with
1435 |:filter|, e.g., to list all commands with "Pyth" in
1436 the name: >
1437 filter Pyth command
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001438
1439:com[mand] {cmd} List the user-defined commands that start with {cmd}
1440
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00001441 *:command-verbose*
1442When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a command will also display where it was
Bram Moolenaar6f4754b2022-01-23 12:07:04 +00001443last defined and any completion argument. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00001444
1445 :verbose command TOhtml
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001446< Name Args Range Complete Definition ~
1447 TOhtml 0 % :call Convert2HTML(<line1>, <line2>) ~
1448 Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/plugin/tohtml.vim ~
1449
Bram Moolenaar5195e452005-08-19 20:32:47 +00001450See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00001451
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001452 *E174* *E182*
Bram Moolenaar1b884a02020-12-10 21:11:27 +01001453:com[mand][!] [{attr}...] {cmd} {repl}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001454 Define a user command. The name of the command is
Bram Moolenaar1b884a02020-12-10 21:11:27 +01001455 {cmd} and its replacement text is {repl}. The
1456 command's attributes (see below) are {attr}. If the
1457 command already exists, an error is reported, unless a
1458 ! is specified, in which case the command is
1459 redefined. There is one exception: When sourcing a
1460 script again, a command that was previously defined in
1461 that script will be silently replaced.
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001462
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001463
1464:delc[ommand] {cmd} *:delc* *:delcommand* *E184*
1465 Delete the user-defined command {cmd}.
1466
Bram Moolenaarbdcba242021-09-12 20:58:02 +02001467:delc[ommand] -buffer {cmd} *E1237*
1468 Delete the user-defined command {cmd} that was defined
1469 for the current buffer.
1470
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001471:comc[lear] *:comc* *:comclear*
1472 Delete all user-defined commands.
1473
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001474
1475Command attributes ~
Bram Moolenaar1588bc82022-03-08 21:35:07 +00001476 *command-attributes*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001477User-defined commands are treated by Vim just like any other Ex commands. They
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001478can have arguments, or have a range specified. Arguments are subject to
1479completion as filenames, buffers, etc. Exactly how this works depends upon the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001480command's attributes, which are specified when the command is defined.
1481
1482There are a number of attributes, split into four categories: argument
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001483handling, completion behavior, range handling, and special cases. The
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001484attributes are described below, by category.
1485
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001487Argument handling ~
1488 *E175* *E176* *:command-nargs*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001489By default, a user defined command will take no arguments (and an error is
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001490reported if any are supplied). However, it is possible to specify that the
1491command can take arguments, using the -nargs attribute. Valid cases are:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001492
1493 -nargs=0 No arguments are allowed (the default)
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +01001494 -nargs=1 Exactly one argument is required, it includes spaces
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001495 -nargs=* Any number of arguments are allowed (0, 1, or many),
1496 separated by white space
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001497 -nargs=? 0 or 1 arguments are allowed
1498 -nargs=+ Arguments must be supplied, but any number are allowed
1499
Bram Moolenaar34162142007-05-12 13:12:19 +00001500Arguments are considered to be separated by (unescaped) spaces or tabs in this
Bram Moolenaar446beb42011-05-10 17:18:44 +02001501context, except when there is one argument, then the white space is part of
1502the argument.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001503
1504Note that arguments are used as text, not as expressions. Specifically,
1505"s:var" will use the script-local variable in the script where the command was
1506defined, not where it is invoked! Example:
1507 script1.vim: >
1508 :let s:error = "None"
1509 :command -nargs=1 Error echoerr <args>
1510< script2.vim: >
1511 :source script1.vim
1512 :let s:error = "Wrong!"
1513 :Error s:error
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +00001514Executing script2.vim will result in "None" being echoed. Not what you
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001515intended! Calling a function may be an alternative.
1516
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001517
1518Completion behavior ~
Bram Moolenaar9d87a372018-12-18 21:41:50 +01001519 *:command-completion* *E179* *E180* *E181*
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001520 *:command-complete*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001521By default, the arguments of user defined commands do not undergo completion.
1522However, by specifying one or the other of the following attributes, argument
1523completion can be enabled:
1524
Bram Moolenaarcd43eff2018-03-29 15:55:38 +02001525 -complete=arglist file names in argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001526 -complete=augroup autocmd groups
1527 -complete=buffer buffer names
Bram Moolenaar5ae636b2012-04-30 18:48:53 +02001528 -complete=behave :behave suboptions
Bram Moolenaare9edd7f2011-07-20 16:37:24 +02001529 -complete=color color schemes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530 -complete=command Ex command (and arguments)
Bram Moolenaare9edd7f2011-07-20 16:37:24 +02001531 -complete=compiler compilers
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +02001532 -complete=cscope |:cscope| suboptions
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001533 -complete=dir directory names
1534 -complete=environment environment variable names
1535 -complete=event autocommand events
1536 -complete=expression Vim expression
1537 -complete=file file and directory names
Bram Moolenaare9edd7f2011-07-20 16:37:24 +02001538 -complete=file_in_path file and directory names in |'path'|
Bram Moolenaara26559b2010-07-31 14:59:19 +02001539 -complete=filetype filetype names |'filetype'|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001540 -complete=function function name
1541 -complete=help help subjects
1542 -complete=highlight highlight groups
Bram Moolenaar5ae636b2012-04-30 18:48:53 +02001543 -complete=history :history suboptions
Bram Moolenaare9edd7f2011-07-20 16:37:24 +02001544 -complete=locale locale names (as output of locale -a)
Bram Moolenaarcae92dc2017-08-06 15:22:15 +02001545 -complete=mapclear buffer argument
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001546 -complete=mapping mapping name
1547 -complete=menu menus
Bram Moolenaar9e507ca2016-10-15 15:39:39 +02001548 -complete=messages |:messages| suboptions
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001549 -complete=option options
Bram Moolenaar063b9d12016-07-09 20:21:48 +02001550 -complete=packadd optional package |pack-add| names
Bram Moolenaara26559b2010-07-31 14:59:19 +02001551 -complete=shellcmd Shell command
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +02001552 -complete=sign |:sign| suboptions
Bram Moolenaara26559b2010-07-31 14:59:19 +02001553 -complete=syntax syntax file names |'syntax'|
Bram Moolenaarcd9c4622013-06-08 15:24:48 +02001554 -complete=syntime |:syntime| suboptions
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001555 -complete=tag tags
1556 -complete=tag_listfiles tags, file names are shown when CTRL-D is hit
Bram Moolenaar24305862012-08-15 14:05:05 +02001557 -complete=user user names
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001558 -complete=var user variables
1559 -complete=custom,{func} custom completion, defined via {func}
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001560 -complete=customlist,{func} custom completion, defined via {func}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001561
Bram Moolenaar6f4754b2022-01-23 12:07:04 +00001562If you specify completion while there is nothing to complete (-nargs=0, the
1563default) then you get error *E1208* .
Bram Moolenaar3a991dd2014-10-02 01:41:41 +02001564Note: That some completion methods might expand environment variables.
1565
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00001566
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001567Custom completion ~
1568 *:command-completion-custom*
1569 *:command-completion-customlist* *E467* *E468*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001570It is possible to define customized completion schemes via the "custom,{func}"
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001571or the "customlist,{func}" completion argument. The {func} part should be a
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +00001572function with the following signature: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001573
1574 :function {func}(ArgLead, CmdLine, CursorPos)
1575
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001576The function need not use all these arguments. The function should provide the
1577completion candidates as the return value.
1578
1579For the "custom" argument, the function should return the completion
1580candidates one per line in a newline separated string.
1581
1582For the "customlist" argument, the function should return the completion
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00001583candidates as a Vim List. Non-string items in the list are ignored.
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001584
1585The function arguments are:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001586 ArgLead the leading portion of the argument currently being
1587 completed on
1588 CmdLine the entire command line
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00001589 CursorPos the cursor position in it (byte index)
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001590The function may use these for determining context. For the "custom"
1591argument, it is not necessary to filter candidates against the (implicit
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001592pattern in) ArgLead. Vim will filter the candidates with its regexp engine
Bram Moolenaar1588bc82022-03-08 21:35:07 +00001593after function return, and this is probably more efficient in most cases. If
1594'wildoptions' contains "fuzzy", then the candidates will be filtered using
1595|fuzzy-matching|. For the "customlist" argument, Vim will not
1596filter the returned completion candidates and the user supplied function
1597should filter the candidates.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001598
1599The following example lists user names to a Finger command >
1600 :com -complete=custom,ListUsers -nargs=1 Finger !finger <args>
1601 :fun ListUsers(A,L,P)
1602 : return system("cut -d: -f1 /etc/passwd")
1603 :endfun
1604
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001605The following example completes filenames from the directories specified in
1606the 'path' option: >
1607 :com -nargs=1 -bang -complete=customlist,EditFileComplete
1608 \ EditFile edit<bang> <args>
1609 :fun EditFileComplete(A,L,P)
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001610 : return split(globpath(&path, a:A), "\n")
Bram Moolenaara466c992005-07-09 21:03:22 +00001611 :endfun
1612<
Bram Moolenaar5ac3b1a2010-07-27 22:50:36 +02001613This example does not work for file names with spaces!
1614
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00001615
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001616Range handling ~
1617 *E177* *E178* *:command-range* *:command-count*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001618By default, user-defined commands do not accept a line number range. However,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001619it is possible to specify that the command does take a range (the -range
1620attribute), or that it takes an arbitrary count value, either in the line
1621number position (-range=N, like the |:split| command) or as a "count"
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +00001622argument (-count=N, like the |:Next| command). The count will then be
1623available in the argument with |<count>|.
1624
1625Possible attributes are:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001626
1627 -range Range allowed, default is current line
1628 -range=% Range allowed, default is whole file (1,$)
1629 -range=N A count (default N) which is specified in the line
Bram Moolenaar8e5af3e2011-04-28 19:02:44 +02001630 number position (like |:split|); allows for zero line
1631 number.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001632 -count=N A count (default N) which is specified either in the line
Bram Moolenaar32e7b2d2005-02-27 22:36:47 +00001633 number position, or as an initial argument (like |:Next|).
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001634 -count acts like -count=0
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001635
1636Note that -range=N and -count=N are mutually exclusive - only one should be
1637specified.
1638
Bram Moolenaaraa3b15d2016-04-21 08:53:19 +02001639 *:command-addr*
Bram Moolenaarf1d6ccf2014-12-08 04:16:44 +01001640It is possible that the special characters in the range like ., $ or % which
1641by default correspond to the current line, last line and the whole buffer,
1642relate to arguments, (loaded) buffers, windows or tab pages.
1643
Bram Moolenaara561a412019-04-25 21:27:58 +02001644Possible values are (second column is the short name used in listing):
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001645 -addr=lines Range of lines (this is the default for -range)
Bram Moolenaara561a412019-04-25 21:27:58 +02001646 -addr=arguments arg Range for arguments
1647 -addr=buffers buf Range for buffers (also not loaded buffers)
1648 -addr=loaded_buffers load Range for loaded buffers
1649 -addr=windows win Range for windows
1650 -addr=tabs tab Range for tab pages
1651 -addr=quickfix qf Range for quickfix entries
Bram Moolenaar25c9c682019-05-05 18:13:34 +02001652 -addr=other ? other kind of range; can use ".", "$" and "%"
1653 as with "lines" (this is the default for
1654 -count)
Bram Moolenaarf1d6ccf2014-12-08 04:16:44 +01001655
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001656
1657Special cases ~
1658 *:command-bang* *:command-bar*
Bram Moolenaar5c5b0942007-05-06 12:07:59 +00001659 *:command-register* *:command-buffer*
Bram Moolenaar519cc552021-11-16 19:18:26 +00001660 *:command-keepscript*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001661There are some special cases as well:
1662
1663 -bang The command can take a ! modifier (like :q or :w)
1664 -bar The command can be followed by a "|" and another command.
1665 A "|" inside the command argument is not allowed then.
1666 Also checks for a " to start a comment.
1667 -register The first argument to the command can be an optional
1668 register name (like :del, :put, :yank).
1669 -buffer The command will only be available in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar58ef8a32021-11-12 11:25:11 +00001670 -keepscript Do not use the location of where the user command was
1671 defined for verbose messages, use the location of where
1672 the user command was invoked.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001673
1674In the cases of the -count and -register attributes, if the optional argument
1675is supplied, it is removed from the argument list and is available to the
1676replacement text separately.
Bram Moolenaar7cba6c02013-09-05 22:13:31 +02001677Note that these arguments can be abbreviated, but that is a deprecated
1678feature. Use the full name for new scripts.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001679
Bram Moolenaar55d46912018-12-08 16:03:28 +01001680
1681Replacement text ~
Bram Moolenaar73b8b0a2021-08-01 14:52:32 +02001682 *:command-repl*
Bram Moolenaar5d7c2df2021-07-27 21:17:32 +02001683The {repl} argument is normally one long string, possibly with "|" separated
1684commands. A special case is when the argument is "{", then the following
1685lines, up to a line starting with "}" are used and |Vim9| syntax applies.
1686Example: >
1687 :command MyCommand {
1688 echo 'hello'
1689 g:calledMyCommand = true
1690 }
Bram Moolenaar63b91732021-08-05 20:40:03 +02001691< *E1231*
1692There must be white space before the "{". No nesting is supported, inline
1693functions cannot be used. Commands where a "|" may appear in the argument,
1694such as commands with an expression argument, cannot be followed by a "|" and
1695another command.
Bram Moolenaar5d7c2df2021-07-27 21:17:32 +02001696
Bram Moolenaar1b884a02020-12-10 21:11:27 +01001697The replacement text {repl} for a user defined command is scanned for special
1698escape sequences, using <...> notation. Escape sequences are replaced with
1699values from the entered command line, and all other text is copied unchanged.
1700The resulting string is executed as an Ex command. To avoid the replacement
1701use <lt> in place of the initial <. Thus to include "<bang>" literally use
Bram Moolenaar371d5402006-03-20 21:47:49 +00001702"<lt>bang>".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001703
1704The valid escape sequences are
1705
1706 *<line1>*
1707 <line1> The starting line of the command range.
1708 *<line2>*
1709 <line2> The final line of the command range.
Bram Moolenaarc168bd42017-09-10 17:34:35 +02001710 *<range>*
1711 <range> The number of items in the command range: 0, 1 or 2
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001712 *<count>*
1713 <count> Any count supplied (as described for the '-range'
1714 and '-count' attributes).
1715 *<bang>*
1716 <bang> (See the '-bang' attribute) Expands to a ! if the
1717 command was executed with a ! modifier, otherwise
1718 expands to nothing.
Bram Moolenaar1d59aa12020-09-19 18:50:13 +02001719 *<mods>* *<q-mods>* *:command-modifiers*
Bram Moolenaar63a60de2016-06-04 22:08:55 +02001720 <mods> The command modifiers, if specified. Otherwise, expands to
Bram Moolenaarc95a3022016-06-12 23:01:46 +02001721 nothing. Supported modifiers are |:aboveleft|, |:belowright|,
1722 |:botright|, |:browse|, |:confirm|, |:hide|, |:keepalt|,
Bram Moolenaarbc8801c2016-08-02 21:04:33 +02001723 |:keepjumps|, |:keepmarks|, |:keeppatterns|, |:leftabove|,
1724 |:lockmarks|, |:noswapfile| |:rightbelow|, |:silent|, |:tab|,
1725 |:topleft|, |:verbose|, and |:vertical|.
1726 Note that these are not yet supported: |:noautocmd|,
1727 |:sandbox| and |:unsilent|.
Bram Moolenaar63a60de2016-06-04 22:08:55 +02001728 Examples: >
1729 command! -nargs=+ -complete=file MyEdit
1730 \ for f in expand(<q-args>, 0, 1) |
Bram Moolenaarc51cf032022-02-26 12:25:45 +00001731 \ exe '<mods> split ' .. f |
Bram Moolenaar63a60de2016-06-04 22:08:55 +02001732 \ endfor
1733
1734 function! SpecialEdit(files, mods)
1735 for f in expand(a:files, 0, 1)
Bram Moolenaarc51cf032022-02-26 12:25:45 +00001736 exe a:mods .. ' split ' .. f
Bram Moolenaar63a60de2016-06-04 22:08:55 +02001737 endfor
1738 endfunction
1739 command! -nargs=+ -complete=file Sedit
1740 \ call SpecialEdit(<q-args>, <q-mods>)
1741<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001742 *<reg>* *<register>*
1743 <reg> (See the '-register' attribute) The optional register,
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001744 if specified. Otherwise, expands to nothing. <register>
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001745 is a synonym for this.
1746 *<args>*
1747 <args> The command arguments, exactly as supplied (but as
1748 noted above, any count or register can consume some
1749 of the arguments, which are then not part of <args>).
1750 <lt> A single '<' (Less-Than) character. This is needed if you
1751 want to get a literal copy of one of these escape sequences
1752 into the expansion - for example, to get <bang>, use
1753 <lt>bang>.
1754
1755 *<q-args>*
1756If the first two characters of an escape sequence are "q-" (for example,
1757<q-args>) then the value is quoted in such a way as to make it a valid value
1758for use in an expression. This uses the argument as one single value.
Bram Moolenaar51485f02005-06-04 21:55:20 +00001759When there is no argument <q-args> is an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar552f8a12007-03-08 17:12:08 +00001760 *<f-args>*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001761To allow commands to pass their arguments on to a user-defined function, there
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001762is a special form <f-args> ("function args"). This splits the command
Bram Moolenaar34162142007-05-12 13:12:19 +00001763arguments at spaces and tabs, quotes each argument individually, and the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001764<f-args> sequence is replaced by the comma-separated list of quoted arguments.
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001765See the Mycmd example below. If no arguments are given <f-args> is removed.
Bram Moolenaar552f8a12007-03-08 17:12:08 +00001766 To embed whitespace into an argument of <f-args>, prepend a backslash.
1767<f-args> replaces every pair of backslashes (\\) with one backslash. A
1768backslash followed by a character other than white space or a backslash
1769remains unmodified. Overview:
1770
1771 command <f-args> ~
1772 XX ab 'ab'
1773 XX a\b 'a\b'
1774 XX a\ b 'a b'
1775 XX a\ b 'a ', 'b'
1776 XX a\\b 'a\b'
1777 XX a\\ b 'a\', 'b'
1778 XX a\\\b 'a\\b'
1779 XX a\\\ b 'a\ b'
1780 XX a\\\\b 'a\\b'
1781 XX a\\\\ b 'a\\', 'b'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001782
1783Examples >
1784
1785 " Delete everything after here to the end
1786 :com Ddel +,$d
1787
1788 " Rename the current buffer
1789 :com -nargs=1 -bang -complete=file Ren f <args>|w<bang>
1790
1791 " Replace a range with the contents of a file
1792 " (Enter this all as one line)
1793 :com -range -nargs=1 -complete=file
1794 Replace <line1>-pu_|<line1>,<line2>d|r <args>|<line1>d
1795
1796 " Count the number of lines in the range
Bram Moolenaar81695252004-12-29 20:58:21 +00001797 :com! -range -nargs=0 Lines echo <line2> - <line1> + 1 "lines"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001798
1799 " Call a user function (example of <f-args>)
1800 :com -nargs=* Mycmd call Myfunc(<f-args>)
1801
1802When executed as: >
1803 :Mycmd arg1 arg2
1804This will invoke: >
1805 :call Myfunc("arg1","arg2")
1806
1807 :" A more substantial example
1808 :function Allargs(command)
Bram Moolenaara7241f52008-06-24 20:39:31 +00001809 : let i = 0
1810 : while i < argc()
1811 : if filereadable(argv(i))
Bram Moolenaarc51cf032022-02-26 12:25:45 +00001812 : execute "e " .. argv(i)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001813 : execute a:command
1814 : endif
1815 : let i = i + 1
1816 : endwhile
1817 :endfunction
1818 :command -nargs=+ -complete=command Allargs call Allargs(<q-args>)
1819
1820The command Allargs takes any Vim command(s) as argument and executes it on all
1821files in the argument list. Usage example (note use of the "e" flag to ignore
1822errors and the "update" command to write modified buffers): >
1823 :Allargs %s/foo/bar/ge|update
1824This will invoke: >
1825 :call Allargs("%s/foo/bar/ge|update")
1826<
Bram Moolenaar1b884a02020-12-10 21:11:27 +01001827If the command is defined in Vim9 script (a script that starts with
1828`:vim9script` and in a `:def` function) then {repl} will be executed as in Vim9
1829script. Thus this depends on where the command is defined, not where it is
1830used.
1831
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001832When defining a user command in a script, it will be able to call functions
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001833local to the script and use mappings local to the script. When the user
1834invokes the user command, it will run in the context of the script it was
1835defined in. This matters if |<SID>| is used in a command.
1836
Bram Moolenaar91f84f62018-07-29 15:07:52 +02001837 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: