NAME
vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
SYNOPSIS
vim [options] [file ..]
vim [options] -t tag
vim [options] -e [errorfile]
DESCRIPTION
Vim is a text editor that is upwards compatible to vi. It can be used
to edit any ASCII text. It is especially useful for editing programs.
There are a lot of enhancements above vi: multi level undo, multi
windows and buffers, command line editing, filename completion, on-line
help, visual selection, etc.. Read difference.doc for a summary of the
differences between vi and Vim.
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 three may be used to choose
one or more files to be edited.
file .. A list of file names. The first one (alphabetically) 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.
-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. {tag} then should 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 reference.doc, section "tag
searches").
-e [errorfile]
Start in quickFix mode. The file [errorfile] is read and
the first error is displayed. If [errorfile] is omitted the
file name is obtained from the ’errorfile’ option (defaults
to "AztecC.Err" for the Amiga, "errors" on other systems).
Further errors can be jumped to with the ":cn" command. See
reference.doc section 5.5.
OPTIONS
The options, if present, must precede the filelist. The options may be
given in any order.
-r Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover a crashed
editing session. The swap file is a file with the same file
name as the text file with ".swp" appended. See
reference.doc, chapter "Recovery after a crash".
-v View 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 -v
option also implies the -n option (see below). The
’readonly’ option can be reset with ":set noro" (see
reference.doc, options chapter).
-b Binary. A few options will be set that makes it possible to
edit a binary or executable file.
+[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 reference.doc, section
"pattern searches" 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
-x (Amiga only) 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). The ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
-o[N] Open N windows. When N is omitted, open one window for each
file.
-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".
-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.
-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!".
-T terminal Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are using. Should be
a terminal known to Vim (builtin) or defined in the termcap
file.
-d device Open "device" for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga.
Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".
SEE ALSO
Vim documentation:
reference.doc:
A complete reference of Vim (long)
windows.doc:
Explanation of the multi windows and buffers commands and
options
index: Overview of all command characters (useful when adding new
mappings)
difference.doc:
Overview of the differences between vi and Vim
unix.doc: Unix-specific comments
vim.hlp: File used by the on-line help (short)
AUTHOR
Most of VIM was made by Bram Moolenaar.
VIM is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony Andrews and
G.R. (Fred) Walter
BUGS
Probably.
1994 August 12 VIM(1)