vi man page on MirBSD

Man page or keyword search:  
man Server   6113 pages
apropos Keyword Search (all sections)
Output format
MirBSD logo
[printable version]

VI(1)			     BSD Reference Manual			 VI(1)

NAME
     ex, vi, view - text editors

SYNOPSIS
     ex [-FRrSsv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
     vi	 [-eFRrS] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
     view [-eFrS] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]

DESCRIPTION
     ex is a line-oriented text editor; vi is a screen-oriented text editor.
     ex and vi are different interfaces to the same program, and it is possi-
     ble to switch back and forth during an edit session. view is the
     equivalent of using the -R (read-only) option of vi.

     This manual page is the one provided with the nex/nvi versions of the
     ex/vi text editors. nex/nvi are intended as bug-for-bug compatible re-
     placements for the original Fourth Berkeley Software Distribution (4BSD)
     ex and vi programs. For the rest of this manual page, nex/nvi is used
     only when it's necessary to distinguish it from the historic implementa-
     tions of ex/vi.

     This manual page is intended for users already familiar with ex/vi. Any-
     one else should almost certainly read a good tutorial on the editor be-
     fore this manual page. See the SEE ALSO section below for a list of addi-
     tional materials. If you're in an unfamiliar environment, and you abso-
     lutely have to get work done immediately, read the section after the op-
     tions description, entitled FAST STARTUP. It's probably enough to get you
     going.

     The following options are available:

     -c cmd    Execute cmd on the first file loaded. Particularly useful for
	       initial positioning in the file, although cmd is not limited to
	       positioning commands. This is the POSIX 1003.2 interface for
	       the historic "+cmd" syntax. nex/nvi supports both the old and
	       new syntax.

     -e	       Start editing in ex mode, as if the command name were ex.

     -F	       Don't copy the entire file when first starting to edit. (The
	       default is to make a copy in case someone else modifies the
	       file during your edit session.)

     -R	       Start editing in read-only mode, as if the command name was
	       view, or the readonly option was set.

     -r	       Recover the specified files, or, if no files are specified,
	       list the files that could be recovered. If no recoverable files
	       by the specified name exist, the file is edited as if the -r
	       option had not been specified.

     -S	       Run with the secure edit option set, disallowing all access to
	       external programs.

     -s	       Enter batch mode; applicable only to ex edit sessions. Batch
	       mode is useful when running ex scripts. Prompts, informative
	       messages and other user oriented messages are turned off, and
	       no startup files or environment variables are read. This is the
	       POSIX 1003.2 interface for the historic "-" argument. nex/nvi
	       supports both the old and new syntax.

     -t tag    Start editing at the specified tag (see ctags(1)).

     -v	       Start editing in vi mode, as if the command name was vi.
     -w size   Set the initial window size to the specified number of lines.

     Command input for ex/vi is read from the standard input. In the vi inter-
     face, it is an error if standard input is not a terminal. In the ex in-
     terface, if standard input is not a terminal, ex will read commands from
     it regardless; however, the session will be a batch mode session, exactly
     as if the -s option had been specified.

FAST STARTUP
     This section will tell you the minimum amount that you need to do simple
     editing tasks using vi. If you've never used any screen editor before,
     you're likely to have problems even with this simple introduction. In
     that case you should find someone that already knows vi and have them
     walk you through this section.

     vi is a screen editor. This means that it takes up almost the entire
     screen, displaying part of the file on each screen line, except for the
     last line of the screen. The last line of the screen is used for you to
     give commands to vi, and for vi to give information to you.

     The other fact that you need to understand is that vi is a modeful edi-
     tor, i.e. you are either entering text or you are executing commands, and
     you have to be in the right mode to do one or the other. You will be in
     command mode when you first start editing a file. There are commands that
     switch you into input mode. There is only one key that takes you out of
     input mode, and that is the <escape> key.

     Key names are written using less-than and greater-than signs, e.g.
     <escape> means the "escape" key, usually labeled "Esc" on your terminal's
     keyboard. If you're ever confused as to which mode you're in, keep enter-
     ing the <escape> key until vi beeps at you. Generally, vi will beep at
     you if you try and do something that's not allowed. It will also display
     error messages.

     To start editing a file, enter the following command:

	   $ vi file

     The command you should enter as soon as you start editing is:

	   :set verbose showmode

     This will make the editor give you verbose error messages and display the
     current mode at the bottom of the screen.

     The commands to move around the file are:

     h	     Move the cursor left one character.

     j	     Move the cursor down one line.

     k	     Move the cursor up one line.

     l	     Move the cursor right one character.

     <cursor-arrows>
	     The cursor arrow keys should work, too.

     /text   Search for the string "text" in the file, and move the cursor to
	     its first character.

     The commands to enter new text are:

     a	       Append new text, after the cursor.

     i	       Insert new text, before the cursor.

     O	       Open a new line above the line the cursor is on, and start
	       entering text.

     o	       Open a new line below the line the cursor is on, and start
	       entering text.

     <escape>  Once you've entered input mode using one of the a, i, O or o
	       commands, use <escape> to quit entering text and return to com-
	       mand mode.

     The commands to copy text are:

     p	     Append the copied line after the line the cursor is on.

     yy	     Copy the line the cursor is on.

     The commands to delete text are:

     dd	     Delete the line the cursor is on.

     x	     Delete the character the cursor is on.

     The commands to write the file are:

     :w	     Write the file back to the file with the name that you originally
	     used as an argument on the vi command line.

     :w file_name
	     Write the file back to the file with the name file_name.

     The commands to quit editing and exit the editor are:

     :q	     Quit editing and leave vi (if you've modified the file, but not
	     saved your changes, vi will refuse to quit).

     :q!     Quit, discarding any modifications that you may have made.

     One final caution: Unusual characters can take up more than one column on
     the screen, and long lines can take up more than a single screen line.
     The above commands work on "physical" characters and lines, i.e. they af-
     fect the entire line no matter how many screen lines it takes up and the
     entire character no matter how many screen columns it takes up.

VI COMMANDS
     The following section describes the commands available in the command
     mode of the vi editor. In each entry below, the tag line is a usage
     synopsis for the command character.

     <control-A>
	     Search forward for the current word.

     [count] <control-B>
	     Page backwards count screens.

     [count] <control-D>
	     Scroll forward count lines. If count is not given, scroll forward
	     half the number of lines in the current screen.

     [count] <control-E>
	     Scroll forward count lines, leaving the current line and column
	     as is, if possible.

     [count] <control-F>
	     Page forward count screens.

     <control-G>
	     Display the file information.

     [count] <control-H>
     [count] h
	     Move the cursor back count characters in the current line.

     [count] <control-J>
     [count] <control-N>
     [count] j
	     Move the cursor down count lines without changing the current
	     column.

     <control-L>
     <control-R>
	     Repaint the screen.

     [count] <control-M>
     [count] +
	     Move the cursor down count lines to the first non-blank character
	     of that line.

     [count] <control-P>
     [count] k
	     Move the cursor up count lines, without changing the current
	     column.

     <control-T>
	     Return to the most recent tag context.

     [count] <control-U>
	     Scroll backwards count lines. If count is not given, scroll back-
	     wards half the number of lines in the current screen.

     <control-W>
	     Switch to the next lower screen in the window, or to the first
	     screen if there are no lower screens in the window.

     [count] <control-Y>
	     Scroll backwards count lines, leaving the current line and column
	     as is, if possible.

     <control-Z>
	     Suspend the current editor session.

     <escape>
	     Execute ex commands or cancel partial commands.

     <control-]>
	     Push a tag reference onto the tag stack.

     <control-^>
	     Switch to the most recently edited file.

     [count] <space>
     [count] l
	     Move the cursor forward count characters without changing the
	     current line.

     [count] ! motion shell-argument(s) <carriage-return>
	     Replace text with results from a shell command.

     [count] # #|+|-
	     Increment or decrement the number under the cursor. If the trail-
	     ing character is a '#' or '+', the number is incremented. If the
	     trailing character is a '-', the number is decremented.

     [count] $
	     Move the cursor to the end of a line.

     %	     Move to the matching character.

     &	     Repeat the previous substitution command on the current line.

     '<character>
     `<character>
	     Return to a context marked by the character character. The first
	     form returns to the beginning of the line marked by character.
	     The second form returns to the first character of the context
	     marked by character.

     [count] (
	     Back up count sentences.

     [count] )
	     Move forward count sentences.

     [count] ,
	     Reverse find character count times.

     [count] -
	     Move to the first non-blank of the previous line, count times.

     [count] .
	     Repeat the last vi command that modified text.

     /RE <carriage-return>
     /RE/ [offset] <carriage-return>
     ?RE <carriage-return>
     ?RE? [offset] <carriage-return>
     N
     n	     Search forward ('/') or backward ('?') for a regular expression.
	     n and N repeat the last search in the same or opposite direc-
	     tions, respectively. If offset is specified, the cursor is placed
	     offset lines before or after the matched regular expression.

     0	     Move to the first character in the current line.

     :	     Execute an ex command.

     [count] ;
	     Repeat the last character find count times.

     [count] < motion
     [count] > motion
	     Shift lines left or right.

     @ buffer
	     Execute a named buffer.

     [count] A
	     Enter input mode, appending the text after the end of the line.
	     If a count argument is given, the characters input are repeated
	     count - 1 number of times.

     [count] B
	     Move backwards count bigwords.

     [buffer] [count] C
	     Change text from the current position to the end-of-line. If
	     buffer is specified, "yank" the deleted text into buffer.

     [buffer] D
	     Delete text from the current position to the end-of-line. If
	     buffer is specified, "yank" the deleted text into buffer.

     [count] E
	     Move forward count end-of-bigwords.

     [count] F <character>
	     Search count times backward through the current line for
	     character.

     [count] G
	     Move to line count, or the last line of the file if count is not
	     specified.

     [count] H
	     Move to the screen line count - 1 lines below the top of the
	     screen.

     [count] I
	     Enter input mode, inserting the text at the beginning of the
	     line. If a count argument is given, the characters input are re-
	     peated count - 1 number of times.

     [count] J
	     Join lines.

     [count] L
	     Move to the screen line count - 1 lines above the bottom of the
	     screen.

     M	     Move to the screen line in the middle of the screen.

     [count] O
	     Enter input mode, appending text in a new line above the current
	     line. If a count argument is given, the characters input are re-
	     peated count - 1 number of times.

     [buffer] P
	     Insert text from a buffer.

     Q	     Exit vi (or visual) mode and switch to ex mode.

     [count] R
	     Enter input mode, replacing the characters in the current line.
	     If a count argument is given, the characters input are repeated
	     count - 1 number of times.

     [buffer] [count] S
	     Substitute count lines. If buffer is specified, "yank" the delet-
	     ed text into buffer.

     [count] T <character>
	     Search backwards, count times, through the current line for the
	     character after the specified character.

     U	     Restore the current line to its state before the cursor last
	     moved to it.

     [count] W
	     Move forward count bigwords.

     [buffer] [count] X
	     Delete count characters before the cursor. If buffer is speci-
	     fied, "yank" the deleted text into buffer.

     [buffer] [count] Y
	     Copy (or "yank") count lines into the specified buffer, or the
	     default buffer if none is specified.

     ZZ	     Write the file and exit vi.

     [count] [[
	     Back up count section boundaries.

     [count] ]]
	     Move forward count section boundaries.

     ^	     Move to the first non-blank character on the current line.

     [count] _
	     Move down count - 1 lines, to the first non-blank character.

     [count] a
	     Enter input mode, appending the text after the cursor. If a count
	     argument is given, the characters input are repeated count -1
	     number of times.

     [count] b
	     Move backwards count words.

     [buffer] [count] c motion
	     Change a region of text.

     [buffer] [count] d motion
	     Delete a region of text.

     [count] e
	     Move forward count end-of-words.

     [count] f <character>
	     Search forward, count times, through the rest of the current line
	     for <character>.

     [count] i
	     Enter input mode, inserting the text before the cursor. If a
	     count argument is given, the characters input are repeated count
	     -1 number of times.

     m <character>
	     Save the current context (line and column) as <character>.

     [count] o
	     Enter input mode, appending text in a new line under the current
	     line. If a count argument is given, the characters input are re-
	     peated count - 1 number of times.

     [buffer] p
	     Append text from a buffer.

     [count] r <character>
	     Replace count characters.

     [buffer] [count] s
	     Substitute count characters in the current line starting with the
	     current character.

     [count] t <character>
	     Search forward, count times, through the current line for the
	     character immediately before <character>.

     u	     Undo the last change made to the file.

     [count] w
	     Move forward count words.

     [buffer] [count] x
	     Delete count characters.

     [buffer] [count] y motion
	     Copy (or "yank") a text region specified by count and motion into
	     a buffer.

     [count1] z [count2] type
	     Redraw, optionally repositioning and resizing the screen. If
	     count2 is specified, limit the screen size to count2 lines. The
	     following type characters may be used:

	     +	     If count1 is specified, place the line count1 at the top
		     of the screen. Otherwise, display the screen after the
		     current screen.

	     <carriage-return>
		     Place the line count1 at the top of the screen.

	     .	     Place the line count1 in the center of the screen.

	     -	     Place the line count1 at the bottom of the screen.

	     ^	     If count1 is given, display the screen before the screen
		     before count1 (i.e. 2 screens before). Otherwise, display
		     the screen before the current screen.

     [count] {
	     Move backward count paragraphs.

     [column] |
	     Move to a specific column position on the current line. If column
	     is omitted, move to the start of the current line.

     [count] }
	     Move forward count paragraphs.

     [count] ~
	     Reverse the case of the next count character(s).

     [count] ~ motion
	     Reverse the case of the characters in a text region specified by
	     the count and motion. Only in effect if the tildeop option is
	     set.

     <interrupt>
	     Interrupt the current operation. The <interrupt> character is
	     usually <control-C>.

VI TEXT INPUT COMMANDS
     The following section describes the commands available in the text input
     mode of the vi editor.

     <nul>   Replay the previous input.

     <control-D>
	     Erase to the previous shiftwidth column boundary.

     ^<control-D>
	     Erase all of the autoindent characters, and reset the autoindent
	     level.

     0<control-D>
	     Erase all of the autoindent characters.

     <control-T>
	     Insert sufficient <tab> and <space> characters to move forward to
	     the next shiftwidth column boundary.

     <erase>
     <control-H>
	     Erase the last character.

     <literal next>
	     Escape the next character from any special meaning. The
	     <literal next> character is usually <control-V>.

     <escape>
	     Resolve all text input into the file, and return to command mode.

     <line erase>
	     Erase the current line.

     <control-W>
     <word erase>
	     Erase the last word. The definition of word is dependent on the
	     altwerase and ttywerase options.

     <control-X>[0-9A-Fa-f]+
	     Insert a character with the specified hexadecimal value into the
	     text.

     <interrupt>
	     Interrupt text input mode, returning to command mode. The
	     <interrupt> character is usually <control-C>.

EX COMMANDS
     The following section describes the commands available in the ex editor.
     In each entry below, the tag line is a usage synopsis for the command.

     <end-of-file>
	     Scroll the screen.

     ! argument(s)
     [range] ! argument(s)
	     Execute a shell command, or filter lines through a shell command.

     "	     A comment.

     [range] nu[mber] [count] [flags]
     [range] # [count] [flags]
	     Display the selected lines, each preceded with its line number.

     @ buffer
     * buffer
	     Execute a buffer.

     [range] <[< ...] [count] [flags]
	     Shift lines left.

     [line] = [flags]
	     Display the line number of line. If line is not specified,
	     display the line number of the last line in the file.

     [range] >[> ...] [count] [flags]
	     Shift lines right.

     ab[breviate] lhs rhs
	     vi only. Add lhs as an abbreviation for rhs to the abbreviation
	     list.

     [line] a[ppend][!]
	     The input text is appended after the specified line.

     ar[gs]  Display the argument list.

     bg	     vi only. Background the current screen.

     [range] c[hange][!] [count]
	     The input text replaces the specified range.

     chd[ir][!] [directory]
     cd[!] [directory]
	     Change the current working directory.

     [range] co[py] line [flags]
     [range] t line [flags]
	     Copy the specified lines after the destination line.

     cs[cope] add | find | help | kill | reset
	     Execute a Cscope command.

     [range] d[elete] [buffer] [count] [flags]
	     Delete the lines from the file.

     di[splay] b[uffers] | c[onnections] | s[creens] | t[ags]
	     Display buffers, Cscope connections, screens or tags.

     [Ee][dit][!] [+cmd] [file]
     [Ee]x[!] [+cmd] [file]
	     Edit a different file.

     exu[sage] [command]
	     Display usage for an ex command.

     f[ile] [file]
	     Display and optionally change the file name.

     [Ff]g [name]
	     vi mode only. Foreground the specified screen.

     [range] g[lobal] /pattern/ [commands]
     [range] v /pattern/ [commands]
	     Apply commands to lines matching ('global') or not matching ('v')
	     a pattern.

     he[lp]  Display a help message.

     [line] i[nsert][!]
	     The input text is inserted before the specified line.

     [range] j[oin][!] [count] [flags]
	     Join lines of text together.

     [range] l[ist] [count] [flags]
	     Display the lines unambiguously.

     map[!] [lhs rhs]
	     Define or display maps (for vi only).

     [line] ma[rk] <character>
     [line] k <character>
	     Mark the line with the mark <character>.

     [range] m[ove] line
	     Move the specified lines after the target line.

     mk[exrc][!] file
	     Write the abbreviations, editor options and maps to the specified
	     file.

     [Nn][ext][!] [file ...]
	     Edit the next file from the argument list.

     pre[serve]
	     Save the file in a form that can later be recovered using the ex
	     -r option.

     [Pp]rev[ious][!]
	     Edit the previous file from the argument list.

     [range] p[rint] [count] [flags]
	     Display the specified lines.

     [line] pu[t] [buffer]
	     Append buffer contents to the current line.

     q[uit][!]
	     End the editing session.

     [line] r[ead][!] [file]
	     Read a file.

     rec[over] file
	     Recover file if it was previously saved.

     res[ize] [+|-]size
	     vi mode only. Grow or shrink the current screen.

     rew[ind][!]
	     Rewind the argument list.

     se[t] [option[=[value]] ...] [nooption ...] [option? ...] [all]
	     Display or set editor options.

     sh[ell]
	     Run a shell program.

     so[urce] file
	     Read and execute ex commands from a file.

     [range] s[ubstitute] [/pattern/replace] [options] [count] [flags]
     [range] & [options] [count] [flags]
     [range] ~ [options] [count] [flags]
	     Make substitutions.

     su[spend][!]
     [[op]]
     <suspend>
	     Suspend the edit session. The <suspend> character is usually
	     <control-Z>.

     [Tt]a[g][!] tagstring
	     Edit the file containing the specified tag.

     tagn[ext][!]
	     Edit the file containing the next context for the current tag.

     tagp[op][!] [file | number]
	     Pop to the specified tag in the tags stack.

     tagpr[ev][!]
	     Edit the file containing the previous context for the current
	     tag.

     tagt[op][!]
	     Pop to the least recent tag on the tags stack, clearing the
	     stack.

     una[bbreviate] lhs
	     vi only. Delete an abbreviation.

     u[ndo]  Undo the last change made to the file.

     unm[ap][!] lhs
	     Unmap a mapped string.

     ve[rsion]
	     Display the version of the ex/vi editor.

     [line] vi[sual] [type] [count] [flags]
	     ex mode only. Enter vi.

     [Vi]i[sual][!] [+cmd] [file]
	     vi mode only. Edit a new file.

     viu[sage] [command]
	     Display usage for a vi command.

     [range] w[rite][!] [>>] [file]
     [range] w[rite] [!] [file]
     [range] wn[!] [>>] [file]
     [range] wq[!] [>>] [file]
	     Write the file.

     [range] x[it][!] [file]
	     Exit the editor, writing the file if it has been modified.

     [range] ya[nk] [buffer] [count]
	     Copy the specified lines to a buffer.

     [line] z [type] [count] [flags]
	     Adjust the window.

SET OPTIONS
     There are a large number of options that may be set (or unset) to change
     the editor's behavior. This section describes the options, their abbrevi-
     ations and their default values.

     In each entry below, the first part of the tag line is the full name of
     the option, followed by any equivalent abbreviations. The part in square
     brackets is the default value of the option. Most of the options are
     boolean, i.e. they are either on or off, and do not have an associated
     value.

     Options apply to both ex and vi modes, unless otherwise specified.

     altwerase [off]
	     vi only. Select an alternate word erase algorithm.

     autoindent, ai [off]
	     Automatically indent new lines.

     autoprint, ap [on]
	     ex only. Display the current line automatically.

     autowrite, aw [off]
	     Write modified files automatically when changing files.
	     "|" .     if "It"Op" .ds A4 ""

     backup [""]
	     Back up files before they are overwritten.

     beautify, bf [off]
	     Discard control characters.

     cdpath [environment variable CDPATH, or current directory]
	     The directory paths used as path prefixes for the cd command.

     cedit [no default]
	     Set the character to edit the colon command-line history.

     columns, co [80]
	     Set the number of columns in the screen.

     comment [off]
	     vi only. Skip leading comments in shell, C and C++ language
	     files.

     directory, dir [environment variable TMPDIR, or /tmp]
	     The directory where temporary files are created.

     edcompatible, ed [off]
	     Remember the values of the 'c' and 'g' suffixes to the substitute
	     commands, instead of initializing them as unset for each new com-
	     mand.

     escapetime [1]
	     The 10th's of a second ex/vi waits for a subsequent key to com-
	     plete an <escape> key mapping.

     errorbells, eb [off]
	     ex only. Announce error messages with a bell.

     exrc, ex [off]
	     Read the startup files in the local directory.

     extended [off]
	     Use extended regular expressions (EREs) rather than basic regular
	     expressions (BREs). See re_format(7) for more information on reg-
	     ular expressions.

     filec [no default]
	     Set the character to perform file path completion on the colon
	     command line.

     flash [off]
	     Flash the screen instead of beeping the keyboard on error.

     hardtabs, ht [0]
	     Set the spacing between hardware tab settings. This option
	     currently has no effect.

     iclower [off]
	     Makes all regular expressions case-insensitive, as long as an
	     upper-case letter does not appear in the search string.

     ignorecase, ic [off]
	     Ignore case differences in regular expressions.

     keytime [6]
	     The 10th's of a second ex/vi waits for a subsequent key to com-
	     plete a key mapping.

     leftright [off]
	     vi only. Do left-right scrolling.

     lines, li [24]
	     vi only. Set the number of lines in the screen.

     lisp [off]
	     vi only. Modify various search commands and options to work with
	     Lisp. This option is not yet implemented.

     list [off]
	     Display lines in an unambiguous fashion.

     lock [on]
	     Attempt to get an exclusive lock on any file being edited, read
	     or written.

     magic [on]
	     Treat certain characters specially in regular expressions.

     matchtime [7]
	     vi only. The 10th's of a second ex/vi pauses on the matching
	     character when the showmatch option is set.

     mesg [on]
	     Permit messages from other users.

     msgcat [/usr/share/vi/catalog/]
	     Selects a message catalog to be used to display error and infor-
	     mational messages in a specified language.

     modelines, modeline [off]
	     Read the first and last few lines of each file for ex commands.
	     This option will never be implemented.
	     "|" .     if "It"Op" .ds A4 ""

     noprint [""]
	     Characters that are never handled as printable characters.

     number, nu [off]
	     Precede each line displayed with its current line number.

     octal [off]
	     Display unknown characters as octal numbers, instead of the de-
	     fault hexadecimal.

     open [on]
	     ex only. If this option is not set, the open and visual commands
	     are disallowed.

     optimize, opt [on]
	     vi only. Optimize text throughput to dumb terminals. This option
	     is not yet implemented

     paragraphs, para [IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp]
	     vi only. Define additional paragraph boundaries for the { and }
	     commands.
	     "|" .     if "It"Op" .ds A4 ""

     path [""]
	     Define additional directories to search for files being edited.
	     "|" .     if "It"Op" .ds A4 ""

     print [""]
	     Characters that are always handled as printable characters.

     prompt [on]
	     ex only. Display a command prompt.

     readonly, ro [off]
	     Mark the file and session as read-only.

     recdir [/var/tmp/vi.recover]
	     The directory where recovery files are stored.

     redraw, re [off]
	     vi only. Simulate an intelligent terminal on a dumb one. This op-
	     tion is not yet implemented.

     remap [on]
	     Remap keys until resolved.

     report [5]
	     Set the number of lines about which the editor reports changes or
	     yanks.

     ruler [off]
	     vi only. Display a row/column ruler on the colon command line.

     scroll, scr [($LINES - 1) / 2]
	     Set the number of lines scrolled.

     searchincr [off]
	     Makes the / and ? commands incremental.

     sections, sect [NHSHH HUnhsh]
	     vi only. Define additional section boundaries for the [[ and ]]
	     commands.

     secure [off]
	     Turns off all access to external programs.

     shell, sh [environment variable SHELL, or /bin/sh]
	     Select the shell used by the editor.

     shellmeta [~{[*?$`'"\]
	     Set the meta characters checked to determine if file name expan-
	     sion is necessary.

     shiftwidth, sw [8]
	     Set the autoindent and shift command indentation width.

     showmatch, sm [off]
	     vi only. Note matching '{' and '(' for '}' and ')' characters.

     showmode, smd [off]
	     vi only. Display the current editor mode and a "modified" flag.

     sidescroll [16]
	     vi only. Set the amount a left-right scroll will shift.

     slowopen, slow [off]
	     Delay display updating during text input. This option is not yet
	     implemented.

     sourceany [off]
	     Read startup files not owned by the current user. This option
	     will never be implemented.

     tabstop, ts [8]
	     This option sets tab widths for the editor display.

     taglength, tl [0]
	     Set the number of significant characters in tag names.

     tags, tag [tags]
	     Set the list of tags files.

     term, ttytype, tty [environment variable TERM]
	     Set the terminal type.

     terse [off]
	     This option has historically made editor messages less verbose.
	     It has no effect in this implementation.

     tildeop [off]
	     Modify the ~ command to take an associated motion.

     timeout, to [on]
	     Time out on keys which may be mapped.

     ttywerase [off]
	     vi only. Select an alternate erase algorithm.

     verbose [off]
	     vi only. Display an error message for every error.

     w300 [no default]
	     vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is less than 1200
	     baud.

     w1200 [no default]
	     vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is equal to 1200
	     baud.

     w9600 [no default]
	     vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is greater than
	     1200 baud.

     warn [on]
	     ex only. This option causes a warning message to be printed on
	     the terminal if the file has been modified since it was last
	     written, before a ! command.

     window, w, wi [environment variable LINES - 1]
	     Set the window size for the screen.

     windowname [off]
	     Change the icon/window name to the current file name even if it
	     can't be restored on editor exit.

     wraplen, wl [0]
	     vi only. Break lines automatically, the specified number of
	     columns from the left-hand margin. If both the wraplen and
	     wrapmargin edit options are set, the wrapmargin value is used.

     wrapmargin, wm [0]
	     vi only. Break lines automatically, the specified number of
	     columns from the right-hand margin. If both the wraplen and
	     wrapmargin edit options are set, the wrapmargin value is used.

     wrapscan, ws [on]
	     Set searches to wrap around the end or beginning of the file.

     writeany, wa [off]
	     Turn off file-overwriting checks.

ENVIRONMENT
     COLUMNS  The number of columns on the screen. This value overrides any
	      system or terminal specific values. If the COLUMNS environment
	      variable is not set when ex/vi runs, or the columns option is
	      explicitly reset by the user, ex/vi enters the value into the
	      environment.

     EXINIT   A list of ex startup commands; read if the variable NEXINIT is
	      not set.

     HOME     The user's home directory, used as the initial directory path
	      for the startup $HOME/.nexrc and $HOME/.exrc files. This value
	      is also used as the default directory for the vi cd command.

     LINES    The number of rows on the screen. This value overrides any sys-
	      tem or terminal specific values. If the LINES environment vari-
	      able is not set when ex/vi runs, or the lines option is expli-
	      citly reset by the user, ex/vi enters the value into the en-
	      vironment.

     NEXINIT  A list of ex startup commands.

     SHELL    The user's shell of choice (see also the shell option).

     TERM     The user's terminal type. The default is the type "unknown". If
	      the TERM environment variable is not set when ex/vi runs, or the
	      term option is explicitly reset by the user, ex/vi enters the
	      value into the environment.

     TMPDIR   The location used to stored temporary files (see also the
	      directory edit option).

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
     SIGALRM   vi/ex uses this signal for periodic backups of file modifica-
	       tions and to display "busy" messages when operations are likely
	       to take a long time.

     SIGHUP
     SIGTERM   If the current buffer has changed since it was last written in
	       its entirety, the editor attempts to save the modified file so
	       it can be later recovered. See the vi/ex reference manual sec-
	       tion Recovery for more information.

     SIGINT    When an interrupt occurs, the current operation is halted and
	       the editor returns to the command level. If interrupted during
	       text input, the text already input is resolved into the file as
	       if the text input had been normally terminated.

     SIGWINCH  The screen is resized. See the vi/ex reference manual section
	       Sizing the Screen for more information.

FILES
     /bin/sh		  The default user shell.
     /etc/vi.exrc	  System-wide vi startup file.
     /tmp		  Temporary file directory.
     /var/tmp/vi.recover  The default recovery file directory.
     $HOME/.nexrc	  First choice for user's home directory startup file.
     $HOME/.exrc	  Second choice for user's home directory startup
			  file.
     .nexrc		  First choice for local directory startup file.
     .exrc		  Second choice for local directory startup file.

EXIT STATUS
     The ex and vi utilities exit 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

SEE ALSO
     ctags(1), re_format(7)

     The "Vi Quick Reference" card, /usr/share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi.summary.

     "An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi", /usr/share/doc/usd/12.vi/.
     This document is the closest thing available to an introduction to the vi
     screen editor.

     "Ex Reference Manual", /usr/share/doc/usd/13.ex/. This document is the
     final reference for the ex editor.

     "Ex: A Tutorial", /usr/share/doc/usd/11.edit/. This document is the
     closest thing available to an introduction to the ex editor.

     "Vi/Ex Reference Manual", /usr/share/doc/usd/13.viref/. This document is
     the final reference for the nex/nvi text editors.

     Roff source for all of these documents is distributed with nex/nvi in the
     vi/docs/USD.doc directory of the nex/nvi source code.

     The files autowrite, input, quoting, and structures found in the
     vi/docs/internals directory of the nex/nvi source code.

STANDARDS
     nex/nvi is close to IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 ("POSIX"). That document differs
     from historical ex/vi practice in several places; there are changes to be
     made on both sides.

HISTORY
     The nex/nvi replacements for the ex/vi editor first appeared in 4.4BSD.

MirOS BSD #10-current	      December 27, 2010				    17
[top]

List of man pages available for MirBSD

Copyright (c) for man pages and the logo by the respective OS vendor.

For those who want to learn more, the polarhome community provides shell access and support.

[legal] [privacy] [GNU] [policy] [cookies] [netiquette] [sponsors] [FAQ]
Tweet
Polarhome, production since 1999.
Member of Polarhome portal.
Based on Fawad Halim's script.
....................................................................
Vote for polarhome
Free Shell Accounts :: the biggest list on the net