vim
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.