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vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
vim [options] [file
..]
vim [options] -t tag
vim [options] -e [errorfile]
Vim is a text editor that is upwards
compatible to vi. It can be used to edit any ASCII text. It is especially
useful for editing programs.
There are a lot of enhancements above vi: multi
level undo, multi windows and buffers, command line editing, filename completion,
on-line help, visual selection, etc.. Read vim_diff.txt for a summary of the
differences between Vim and vi.
While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained
from the on-line help system. See ON-LINE HELP below.
Most often Vim is started
to edit a single file with the command
vim file
More generally Vim is started with:
vim [options] [filelist]
If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
Otherwise exactly one out of the following three may be used to choose
one or more files to be edited.
- file ..
- A list of file names. The first one
will be the current file and read into the buffer. The cursor will be positioned
on the first line of the buffer. You can get to the other files with the
":next" command. To edit a file that starts with a dash, precede the filelist
with "--".
- -t {tag}
- The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends
on a "tag", a sort of goto label. {tag} is looked up in the tags file, the
associated file becomes the current file and the associated command is
executed. Mostly this is used for C programs. {tag} then should be a function
name. The effect is that the file containing that function becomes the current
file and the cursor is positioned on the start of the function. See ":help
tag_commands".
- -e [errorfile]
- Start in quickFix mode. The file [errorfile]
is read and the first error is displayed. If [errorfile] is omitted the
file name is obtained from the 'errorfile' option (defaults to "AztecC.Err"
for the Amiga, "errors.vim" on other systems). Further errors can be jumped
to with the ":cn" command. See ":help quickfix".
The options, if present,
must precede the filelist. The options may be given in any order. Options
can mostly be combined after a single dash.
- +[num]
- For the first file the
cursor will be positioned on line "num". If "num" is missing, the cursor
will be positioned on the last line.
- +/{pat}
- For the first file the cursor
will be positioned on the first occurrence of {pat}. See ":help search_pattern"
for the available search patterns.
- +{command}
- -c {command}
- {command} will
be executed after the first file has been read. {command} is interpreted
as an Ex command. If the {command} contains spaces it must be enclosed in
double quotes (this depends on the shell that is used). Example: Vim "+set
si" main.c
Note: You can use only one "+" or "-c" argument.
- -b
- Binary mode. A few options
will be set that makes it possible to edit a binary or executable file.
- -d {device}
- Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga. Example:
"-d con:20/30/600/150".
- -i {viminfo}
- When using the viminfo file is enabled,
this option sets the file name to use, instead of the default "~/.viminfo".
This can also be used to skip the use of the .viminfo file, by giving the
name "NONE".
- -g
- If Vim has been compiled with GUI support, this option turns
the GUI on. If no GUI support was compiled in, an error message is given
and Vim aborts.
- -H
- If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing
right-to-left oriented files and Hebrew keyboard mapping, this option starts
Vim in Hebrew mode, i.e. hkmap and rightleft are set. Otherwise an error message
is given and Vim aborts.
- -n
- No swap file will be used. Recovery after a crash
will be impossible. Handy if you want to edit a file on a very slow medium
(e.g. floppy). Can also be done with ":set uc=0". Can be undone with ":set
uc=200".
- -o[N]
- Open N windows. When N is omitted, open one window for each
file.
- -r
- List swap files, with information about using them for recovery.
- -r {file}
- Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover a crashed editing
session. The swap file is a file with the same file name as the text file
with ".swp" appended. See ":help recovery".
- -s {scriptin}
- The script file {scriptin}
is read. The characters in the file are interpreted as if you had typed
them. The same can be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}". If the
end of the file is reached before the editor exits, further characters
are read from the keyboard.
- -T {terminal}
- Tells Vim the name of the terminal
you are using. Should be a terminal known to Vim (builtin) or defined in
the termcap or terminfo file.
- -u {vimrc}
- Use the commands in the file "vimrc"
for initializations. All the other initializations are skipped. Use this
to edit a special kind of files. It can also be used to skip all initializations
by giving the name "NONE". See ":help initialization" within vim for more
details.
- -v
- View mode. The 'readonly' option will be set. You can still edit
the buffer, but will be prevented from accidently overwriting a file. If
you do want to overwrite a file, add an exclamation mark to the Ex command,
as in ":w!". The -v option also implies the -n option (see below). The 'readonly'
option can be reset with ":set noro". See ":help 'readonly'".
- -w {scriptout}
- All the characters that you type are recorded in the file {scriptout},
until you exit Vim. This is useful if you want to create a script file to
be used with "vim -s" or ":source!". If the {scriptout} file exists, characters
are appended.
- -W {scriptout}
- Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
- -x
- (Amiga only) Vim is not restarted to open a new window. This option should
be used when Vim is executed by a program that will wait for the edit session
to finish (e.g. mail). The ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
- --
- Denotes
the end of the options, arguments after this will be handled as a file
name. This can be used to edit a file name that starts with a '-'.
Type
":help" in Vim to get started. Type ":help subject" to get help on a specific
subject. For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the "ZZ" command. Use <Tab>
and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmdline_completion"). Tags are present
to jump from one place to another (sort of hypertext links, see ":help").
All files mentioned below can be viewed in this way, for example ":help
vim_ref.txt".
Vim documentation (in /usr/local/lib/vim).
- vim_ref.txt
- A
complete reference of Vim (long).
- vim_help.txt
- File used by the on-line help
(short), contains links to all other files.
- vim_win.txt
- Explanation of the
multi windows and buffers commands and options.
- vim_idx.txt
- Overview of all
command characters (useful when adding new mappings).
- vim_tips.txt
- Some useful
tips about using Vim for specific file types.
- vim_digr.txt
- Overview of the
available digraphs.
- vim_kcc.txt
- About copying Vim and Uganda.
- vim_diff.txt
- Overview of the differences between Vim and vi.
- vim_<machine>.txt
- Machine specific
comments. <machine> can be ami (Amiga), arch (Archimedes), unix, w32 (Windows
95/NT), dos (MS-DOS), mint (Atari MiNT) and mac (Macintosh).
- vim_gui.txt
- Specific
comments about the GUI version.
- vim_rlh.txt
- Information about using Vim for
editing right-to-left oriented files.
- /usr/local/lib/vim/vimrc
- System wide
Vim initializations
- /usr/local/lib/vim/gvimrc
- System wide gvim initializations
For recent info read the VIM home page:
<URL:http://www.math.fu-berlin.de/~guckes/vim/
>
Most of Vim was made by
Bram Moolenaar.
Vim is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony Andrews and G.R.
(Fred) Walter
Probably. See the "todo" file that comes with the distribution.
Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some, are
in fact caused by a too-faithful reproduction of vi's behaviour. Other people
may think other things are bugs "because vi does it differently". Those
people should take a closer look at the vim_diff.txt file (or type :help
vim_diff.txt when in Vim). Also have a look at the 'compatible' option.
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