


VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


NAME
       vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor

SYNOPSIS
       vim [options] [file ..]
       vim [options] -
       vim [options] -t tag
       vim [options] -q [errorfile]

       ex
       view
       gvim gview
       rvim rview rgvim rgview

DESCRIPTION
       Vim is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi.  It
       can be used to edit any ASCII text.  It is especially use-
       ful for editing programs.

       There  are  a  lot  of  enhancements above Vi: multi level
       undo, multi windows and buffers, syntax highlighting, com-
       mand  line  editing,  filename  completion,  on-line help,
       visual selection, etc..  See  ":help  vi_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, with the ":help"  command.   See  the
       ON-LINE HELP section 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
       four may be used to choose one or more files to be edited.

       file ..     A  list  of  filenames.  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 "--".

       -           The file to edit is read from stdin.  Commands
                   are read from stderr, which should be a tty.

       -t {tag}    The  file  to  edit  and  the  initial  cursor



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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


                   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, in which
                   case {tag} could  be  a  function  name.   The
                   effect  is that the file containing that func-
                   tion becomes the current file and  the  cursor
                   is  positioned  on  the start of the function.
                   See ":help tag-commands".

       -q [errorfile]
                   Start in quickFix mode.  The file  [errorfile]
                   is  read and the first error is displayed.  If
                   [errorfile]  is  omitted,  the   filename   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  quick-
                   fix".

       Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the com-
       mand (the executable may still be the same file).

       vim       The "normal" way, everything is default.

       ex        Start in Ex mode.  Go to Normal  mode  with  the
                 ":vi"  command.   Can also be done with the "-e"
                 argument.

       view      Start in read-only mode.  You will be  protected
                 from  writing  the files.  Can also be done with
                 the "-R" argument.

       gvim gview
                 The GUI version.  Starts a new window.  Can also
                 be done with the "-g" argument.

       rvim rview rgvim rgview
                 Like  the above, but with restrictions.  It will
                 not be possible to start shell commands, or sus-
                 pend  Vim.  Can also be done with the "-Z" argu-
                 ment.

OPTIONS
       The options may be given in any  order,  before  or  after
       filenames.   Options  without  an argument can be combined
       after a single dash.

       +[num]      For the first file the cursor  will  be  posi-
                   tioned  on  line  "num".  If "num" is missing,
                   the cursor will  be  positioned  on  the  last
                   line.




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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


       +/{pat}     For  the  first  file the cursor will be posi-
                   tioned 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 up to 10 "+" or "-c" com-
                   mands.

       -b          Binary mode.  A few options will be  set  that
                   makes  it  possible  to  edit a binary or exe-
                   cutable file.

       -C          Compatible.   Set  the  'compatible'   option.
                   This will make Vim behave mostly like Vi, even
                   though a .vimrc file exists.

       -d {device} Open {device} for use as a terminal.  Only  on
                   the Amiga.  Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".

       -e          Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable
                   was called "ex".

       -f          Foreground.  For the GUI version, Vim will not
                   fork  and detach from the shell it was started
                   in.  On the Amiga, 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).  On the Amiga the ":sh" and  ":!"  com-
                   mands will not work.

       -F          If  Vim  has  been compiled with FKMAP support
                   for editing right-to-left oriented  files  and
                   Farsi keyboard mapping, this option starts Vim
                   in Farsi mode, i.e.  'fkmap'  and  'rightleft'
                   are  set.  Otherwise an error message is given
                   and Vim aborts.

       -g          If Vim has been  compiled  with  GUI  support,
                   this  option  enables the GUI.  If no GUI sup-
                   port was compiled  in,  an  error  message  is
                   given and Vim aborts.

       -h          Give  a  bit  of  help  about the command line
                   arguments and options.  After this Vim  exits.



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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


       -H          If  Vim  has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT sup-
                   port 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 mes-
                   sage is given and Vim aborts.

       -i {viminfo}
                   When using the viminfo file is  enabled,  this
                   option  sets  the  filename 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".

       -L          Same as -r.

       -l          Lisp mode.  Sets the  'lisp'  and  'showmatch'
                   options on.

       -m          Modifying   files  is  disabled.   Resets  the
                   'write' option, so that writing files  is  not
                   possible.

       -N          No-compatible  mode.   Reset  the 'compatible'
                   option.  This will make Vim behave a bit  bet-
                   ter,  but  less  Vi  compatible, even though a
                   .vimrc file does not exist.

       -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          Read-only 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 -R  option  also  implies  the  -n
                   option (see below).  The 'readonly' option can
                   be reset with ":set noro".  See ":help  'read-
                   only'".

       -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 filename  as  the
                   text  file  with  ".swp" appended.  See ":help



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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


                   recovery".

       -s          Silent mode.  Only when  started  as  "Ex"  or
                   when the "-e" option was given before the "-s"
                   option.

       -s {scriptin}
                   The script file {scriptin} is read.  The char-
                   acters  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.   Only  required when the automatic way
                   doesn't work.  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  ini-
                   tializations.   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.

       -U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for  GUI
                   initializations.   All  the other GUI initial-
                   izations are skipped.  It can also be used  to
                   skip  all  GUI  initializations  by giving the
                   name "NONE".  See ":help gui-init" within  vim
                   for more details.

       -V          Verbose.   Give messages about which files are
                   sourced and for reading and writing a  viminfo
                   file.

       -v          Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable
                   was called "vi".  This only  has  effect  when
                   the executable is called "ex".

       -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.



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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


       -x          Use  encryption  when  writing  files.    Will
                   prompt for a crypt key.

       -Z          Restricted mode.  Works  like  the  executable
                   starts with "r".

       --          Denotes  the  end  of  the options.  Arguments
                   after this will be handled  as  a  file  name.
                   This  can  be  used  to  edit  a filename that
                   starts with a '-'.

ON-LINE HELP
       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 documentation files
       can be viewed in this way, for example ":help syntax.txt".

FILES
       /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/*.txt
                      The  Vim  documentation  files.  Use ":help
                      doc-file-list" to get the complete list.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/tags
                      The tags file used for finding  information
                      in the documentation files.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/syntax.vim
                      System wide syntax initializations.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/*.vim
                      Syntax files for various languages.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/vimrc
                      System wide Vim initializations.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/gvimrc
                      System wide gvim initializations.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/optwin.vim
                      Script  used  for the ":options" command, a
                      nice way to view and set options.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/menu.vim
                      System wide menu initializations for  gvim.

       /usr/local/lib/vim/bugreport.vim
                      Script  to  generate  a  bug  report.   See
                      ":help bugs".

       /usr/local/lib/vim/filetype.vim
                      Script to detect the type of a file by  its



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VIM(1)                                                     VIM(1)


                      name.  See ":help 'filetype'".

       /usr/local/lib/vim/scripts.vim
                      Script  to detect the type of a file by its
                      contents.  See ":help 'filetype'".

       For recent info read the VIM home page:
       <URL:http://www.vim.org/>

SEE ALSO
       vimtutor(1)

AUTHOR
       Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help
       from others.  See ":help credits".
       Vim  is  based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony
       Andrews and G.R. (Fred) Walter.  Although  hardly  any  of
       the original code remains.

BUGS
       Probably.   See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.

       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.  And if you think other things are bugs
       "because Vi does it differently", you should take a closer
       look at the vi_diff.txt file (or  type  :help  vi_diff.txt
       when  in  Vim).   Also have a look at the 'compatible' and
       'cpoptions' options.




























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