VIM
NAME SYNOPSIS DESCRIPTION OPTIONS ON-LINE HELP FILES SEE ALSO AUTHOR BUGS
vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
vim [options? [file ..? vim [options? - vim [options? -t tag vim [options? -q [errorfile?
ex view gvim gview rvim rview rgvim rgview
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 Vim__ and Vi.
While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line help system, with the __
Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the command
vim file
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
from stderr, which should be a tty.
The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on a
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
Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the executable may still be the same file).
vim
The
ex Start in Ex mode. Go to Normal mode with the
view
Start in read-only mode. You will be protected from writing the files. Can also be done with the
gvim gview
The GUI version. Starts a new window. Can also be done with the
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 __
The options may be given in any order, before or after filenames. Options without an argument can be combined after a single dash.
For the first file the cursor will be positioned on line
For the first file the cursor will be positioned on the first occurrence of {pat}. See
{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 Note: You can use up to 10
--cmd {command}
Like using
possible to edit a binary or executable file.
Vim behave mostly like Vi, even though a .vimrc file exists.
name arguments. Vim will open all the files and show differences between them. Works like vimdiff(1).
Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga. Example:
called __
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 __
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.
option enables the GUI. If no GUI support was compiled in, an error message is given and Vim aborts.
options. After this Vim exits.
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.
When using the viminfo file is enabled, this option sets the filename to use, instead of the default
on.
so that writing files is not possible.
will make Vim behave a bit better, but less Vi compatible, even though a .vimrc file does not exist.
impossible. Handy if you want to edit a file on a very slow medium (e.g. floppy). Can also be done with
Open N windows. When N is omitted, open one window for each file.
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
recovery.
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
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
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.
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
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
for reading and writing a viminfo file.
called __
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 __
Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
crypt key.
-- 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
--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
Type Vim to get started. Type
/usr/share/vim/vim61/doc/*.txt
The Vim documentation files. Use __
/usr/share/vim/vim61/doc/tags
The tags file used for finding information in the documentation 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
/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
/usr/share/vim/vim61/filetype.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See
/usr/share/vim/vim61/scripts.vim
Script to detect the type of a file by its contents. See
/usr/share/vim/vim61/*.ps
Files used for !PostScript printing.
For recent info read the VIM home page:
vimtutor(1)
Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others. See 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.
Probably. See
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
8 pages link to vim(1):