vi
Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
see also :
vimtutor
Synopsis
vim
[options] [file ..]
vim [options] -
vim [options] -t tag
vim [options] -q [errorfile]
ex
view
gvim gview evim eview
rvim rview rgvim rgview
add an example, a script, a trick and tips
examples
source
vi / vim abrumpt buffer movements within window
in normal mode, you can jump between the displayed parts of a
wrapped line by using gk and gj
(g<up> or g<down>).
This vim wikipage explains how to change the
behaviour permanently.
source
Vim to replace Vi
In your .bashrc:
alias vi=vim
source
Any IRC clients with VI key binds?
-
I use
vim_mode.pl with irssi (in GNU
screen) and am extremely satisfied with the
combination.
For anyone who doesn't know Irssi, it's
terminal-based and there is no GUI available or planned.
While this may put some people off, it makes for a great
combination with GNU screen, and allows you to
keep your connection while being logged out: Always a good
thing to have for IRC and its erratic response times.
The current version of vim_mode is already
pretty sophisticated, has registers, custom mappings and lots
of other stuff, and it's still being developed.
To use vim_mode's ex mode, you'll
need the
uberprompt.pl script from
irssi-scripts/prompt_info (same developers).
The most up-to-date documentation is in the .pl
file itself. If you have further questions or suggestions,
the developers (and a few of us lowly users) hang out on
#irssi_vim/Freenode and are generally very
friendly and responsive.
-
An alternative solution would be to use the unixy bare-bones
ii
IRC client by the suckless
community with Vim itself.
ii creates a directory structure in the file
system and places FIFOs for channels and server messages that
can be written to and read from.
On the ii page, you can find a link to
a working setup that uses multitail for
split windows, Vim for entry, and shell scripts and
screen for glue.
Multitail can be configured to get (non-dynamic) highlighting
for the IRC logs, and if you'd buffer the logs, you can use
Vim's 'complete' option to get dynamic word completion from
them.
source
Whats the difference between vi editor in Red Hat linux and Ubuntu?
Ubuntu comes with vim-tiny, which IMHO sucks.
you need to install vim
do
sudo apt-get install vim
source
Logged in to vi, made changes, forgot to sudo first - now what
In this case, I wrote file with :w /tmp/tmpfile. Then I go out
and move /tmp/tmpfile to my old file with sudo rights.
That's it !
source
Linux: How can I edit all the files returned by find in vi?
This should do the trick:
vim $(find . -name "*.txt")
Use VIM, it's better for your health. :-)
Piping into xargs vi gives a Warning: Input is
not from a terminal, plus a terminal with completely bogus
behaviour afterwards. User grawity explained why in a comment
below, and with a bit more explanation in this question.
source
UNIX - How to copy and paste between different bash windows with files opend with VI?
You may want to install the "general purpose mouse" (gpm)
package, which allows the use of mouse copy-and-paste without a
GUI.
source
Syntax highlighting in vi
This is vi
This is vim
vim means improved version of vi
source
Create file with 751 permissions at creation
A simple solution would be to make a bash alias for
vi which will first create the file and then change
it's permissions before opening it. Use something easy to
remember, like vix (x for executable bit):
e.g. (untested):
function vix {
touch $1
chmod 751 $1
vi $1
}
Note that aliasing vi itself is a bad idea as many other programs
call on it directly, which may cause issues with your system.
description
Vim is a
text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi. It can be used
to edit all kinds of plain text. It is especially useful for
editing programs.
There are a lot
of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi windows
and buffers, syntax highlighting, command 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
More generally
Vim is started with:
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 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 function
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.err"
on other systems). Further errors can be jumped to with the
":cn" command. See ":help quickfix".
Vim
behaves differently, depending on the name of the command
(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.
evim eview
The GUI version in easy mode.
Starts a new window. Can also be done with the
"-y" argument.
rvim rview rgvim rgview
Like the above, but with
restrictions. It will not be possible to start shell
commands, or suspend Vim. Can also be done with the
"-Z" argument.
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 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 up to 10 "+" or
"-c" commands.
-S {file}
{file} will be sourced after the first file has been
read. This is equivalent to -c "source
{file}". {file} cannot start with
’-’. If {file} is omitted
"Session.vim" is used (only works when -S is
the last argument).
--cmd {command}
Like using
"-c", but the command is executed just
before processing any vimrc file. You can use up to 10 of
these commands, independently from "-c"
commands.
-A
If Vim has been compiled with ARABIC support for
editing right-to-left oriented files and Arabic keyboard
mapping, this option starts Vim in Arabic mode, i.e.
’arabic’ is set. Otherwise an error message is
given and Vim aborts.
-b
Binary mode. A few options will be set that makes it
possible to edit a binary or executable file.
-C
Compatible. Set the ’compatible’ option.
This will make Vim behave mostly like Vi, even though
a .vimrc file exists.
-d
Start in diff mode. There should be two, three or four
file name arguments. Vim will open all the files and
show differences between them. Works like vimdiff(1).
-d {device}
Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga.
Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".
-D
Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first
command from a script.
-e
Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable
was called "ex".
-E
Start Vim in improved Ex mode, just like the
executable was called "exim".
-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 ":!"
commands will not work.
--nofork
Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not
fork and detach from the shell it was started in.
-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 support 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.
-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.
-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. You can still modify the buffer,
but writing a file is not possible.
-M
Modifications not allowed. The ’modifiable’
and ’write’ options will be unset, so that
changes are not allowed and files can not be written. Note
that these options can be set to enable making
modifications.
-N
No-compatible mode. Reset the ’compatible’
option. This will make Vim behave a bit better, 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".
-nb
Become an editor server for NetBeans. See the docs for
details.
-o[N]
Open N windows stacked. When N is omitted, open one
window for each file.
-O[N]
Open N windows side by side. When N is omitted, open one
window for each file.
-p[N]
Open N tab pages. When N is omitted, open one tab page
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 ’readonly’".
-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 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 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. 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
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.
-U {gvimrc}
Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI
initializations. All the other GUI initializations 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[N]
Verbose. Give messages about which files are sourced and
for reading and writing a viminfo file. The optional number
N is the value for ’verbose’. Default is 10.
-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.
-x
Use encryption when writing files. Will prompt for a
crypt key.
-X
Don’t connect to the X server. Shortens startup
time in a terminal, but the window title and clipboard will
not be used.
-y
Start Vim in easy mode, just like the executable
was called "evim" or "eview". Makes
Vim behave like a click-and-type editor.
-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 ’-’.
--echo-wid
GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.
--help
Give a help message and exit, just like
"-h".
--literal
Take file name arguments literally, do not expand
wildcards. This has no effect on Unix where the shell
expands wildcards.
--noplugin
Skip loading plugins. Implied by -u NONE.
--remote
Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given
in the rest of the arguments. If no server is found a
warning is given and the files are edited in the current
Vim.
--remote-expr
{expr}
Connect to a Vim server,
evaluate {expr} in it and print the result on stdout.
--remote-send
{keys}
Connect to a Vim server and
send {keys} to it.
--remote-silent
As --remote, but
without the warning when no server is found.
--remote-wait
As --remote, but
Vim does not exit until the files have been edited.
--remote-wait-silent
As
--remote-wait, but without the warning
when no server is found.
--serverlist
List the names of all Vim
servers that can be found.
--servername
{name}
Use {name} as the server name.
Used for the current Vim, unless used with a
--remote argument, then it’s the name of
the server to connect to.
--socketid {id}
GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug
mechanism to run gvim in another window.
--version
Print version information and exit.
files
/usr/share/vim/vim73/doc/*.txt
The Vim documentation files. Use ":help doc-file-list" to
get the complete list.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/doc/tags
The tags file used for finding information in the documentation
files.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/syntax/syntax.vim
System wide syntax initializations.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/syntax/*.vim
Syntax files for various languages.
/usr/share/vim/vimrc
System wide Vim initializations.
~/.vimrc
Your personal Vim initializations.
/usr/share/vim/gvimrc
System wide gvim initializations.
~/.gvimrc
Your personal gvim initializations.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/optwin.vim
Script used for the ":options" command, a nice way to view and
set options.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/menu.vim
System wide menu initializations for gvim.
/usr/share/vim/vim73/bugreport.vim
Script to generate a bug report. See ":help bugs".
/usr/share/vim/vim73/filetype.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See ":help
’filetype’".
/usr/share/vim/vim73/scripts.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its contents. See ":help
’filetype’".
/usr/share/vim/vim73/print/*.ps
Files used for PostScript printing.
For recent info read the VIM home page:
<URL:http://www.vim.org/>
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".
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.
see also
vimtutor
author
Most of
Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help
from others. See ":help credits" in Vim.
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.