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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 all kinds of plain text.  It is especially useful  for  editing
       programs.

       There  are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi win-
       dows 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

            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 posi-
                   tioned 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.vim" 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 exe-
       cutable 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 possi-
                 ble 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.

       --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.

       -b          Binary mode.  A few options will be set that makes it  pos-
                   sible 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 or three file name
                   arguments.  Vim will open all the files  and  show  differ-
                   ences 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".

       -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 ":!" commands 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 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, so
                   that writing files is not possible.

       -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".

       -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 acci-
                   dently  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 initializa-
                   tions.  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          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.

       -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 '-'.

       --help      Give a help message and exit, just like "-h".

       --version   Print version information and exit.

       --remote    Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in
                   the rest of the arguments.

       --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 --serversend or --remote, then it's  the
                   name of the server to connect to.

       --serversend {keys}
                   Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.

       --socketid {id}
                   GTK  GUI  only:  Use  the  GtkPlug mechanism to run gvim in
                   another window.

       --echo-wid  GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout

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  cmd-
       line-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/share/vim/vim61/doc/*.txt
                      The  Vim documentation files.  Use ":help doc-file-list"
                      to get the complete list.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/doc/tags
                      The tags file used for finding information in the  docu-
                      mentation files.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/syntax/syntax.vim
                      System wide syntax initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/syntax/*.vim
                      Syntax files for various languages.

       /usr/share/vim/vimrc
                      System wide Vim initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/gvimrc
                      System wide gvim initializations.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/optwin.vim
                      Script  used  for  the ":options" command, a nice way to
                      view and set options.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/menu.vim
                      System wide menu initializations for gvim.

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/bugreport.vim
                      Script to generate a bug report.  See ":help bugs".

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/filetype.vim
                      Script to detect the type of a file by  its  name.   See
                      ":help 'filetype'".

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/scripts.vim
                      Script  to  detect  the  type of a file by its contents.
                      See ":help 'filetype'".

       /usr/share/vim/vim61/*.ps
                      Files used for PostScript printing.

       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" 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.

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.



                                  2002 Feb 22                           VIM(1)