Provided by: nvi_1.81.6-21_amd64 bug

NAME

       ex, vi, view - text editors

SYNOPSIS

       ex [-eRrSsv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
       vi [-elRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
       view [-eRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]

LICENSE

       The  vi  program  is freely redistributable.  You are welcome to copy, modify and share it
       with others under the conditions  listed  in  the  LICENSE  file.   If  any  company  (not
       individual!)  finds  vi  sufficiently  useful  that you would have purchased it, or if any
       company wishes to redistribute it, contributions to the authors would be appreciated.

DESCRIPTION

       Vi is a screen oriented text editor.  Ex is a line‐oriented text editor.  Ex  and  vi  are
       different  interfaces  to  the  same  program, and it is possible 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  replacements  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
       implementations of ex/vi.

       This manual page is intended for users already familiar with ex/vi.   Anyone  else  should
       almost certainly read a good tutorial on the editor before this manual page.  If you're in
       an unfamiliar environment, and you absolutely have to get work done immediately, read  the
       section  after  the options description, entitled “Fast Startup”.  It's probably enough to
       get you going.

       The following options are available:

       -c     Execute cmd immediately after starting the edit session.  Particularly  useful  for
              initial  positioning  in  the  file,  however  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.

       -l     Start editing with the lisp and showmatch options set.

       -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 message
              are turned off, and no startup files or environmental variables are read.  This  is
              the  POSIX  1003.2  interface for the historic “-” argument.  Nex/nvi supports both
              the old and new syntax.

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

       -w     Set the initial window size to the specified number of lines.

       -v     Start editing in vi mode, as if the command name was vi or view.

       Note that the -F option (which prevented ex/vi from making a full  backup  of  the  target
       file) has been removed and is no longer available.

       Command  input  for  ex/vi is read from the standard input.  In the vi interface, it is an
       error if standard input is not a terminal.  In the ex interface, 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.

       Ex/vi exits 0 on success, and greater than 0 if an error occurs.

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 editor,  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
       entering  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 command “vi file_name<carriage‐return>”.   The  command
       you should enter as soon as you start editing is “:set verbose showmode<carriage‐return>”.
       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<carriage‐return>
              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 below the line the cursor is on, and start entering text.

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

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

       The commands to copy text are:

       yy     Copy the line the cursor is on.

       p      Append the copied line after 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<carriage‐return>
              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<carriage‐return>
              Write the file back to the file with the name “file_name”.

       The commands to quit editing and exit the editor are:

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

       :q!<carriage‐return>
              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  affect 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.

       [count] <control‐A>
              Search forward count times for the current word.

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

       [count] <control‐D>
              Scroll forward count lines.

       [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.

       <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 nonblank 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.

       <control‐U>
              Scroll backwards count lines.

       <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.

       <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)
              Replace text with results from a shell command.

       [count] # #|+|-
              Increment or decrement the cursor number.

       [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>.

       [count] (
              Back up count sentences.

       [count] )
              Move forward count sentences.

       [count] ,
              Reverse find character count times.

       [count] -
              Move to first nonblank 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.

       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.

       [count] B
              Move backwards count bigwords.

       [buffer] [count] C
              Change text from the current position to the end‐of‐line.

       [buffer] D
              Delete text from the current position to the end‐of‐line.

       [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 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.

       [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.

       [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.

       [buffer] [count] S
              Substitute count lines.

       [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.

       [buffer] [count] Y
              Copy (or “yank”) count lines into the specified buffer.

       ZZ     Write the file and exit vi.

       [count] [[
              Back up count section boundaries.

       [count] ]]
              Move forward count section boundaries.

       ^      Move to first nonblank character on the current line.

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

       [count] a
              Enter input mode, appending the text after the cursor.

       [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.

       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.

       [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 the count and motion into a buffer.

       [count1] z [count2] -|.|+|^|<carriage‐return>
              Redraw, optionally repositioning and resizing the screen.

       [count] {
              Move backward count paragraphs.

       [count] |
              Move to a specific column position on the current line.

       [count] }
              Move forward count paragraphs.

       [count] ~
              Reverse the case of the next count character(s), if the tildeop option is unset.

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

       <interrupt>
              Interrupt the current operation.

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>
              Quote the next character.

       <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.

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.

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

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

       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 (or not matching) 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.

       [line] o[pen] /pattern/ [flags]
              Enter open mode.

       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][!]

       st[op][!]

       <suspend>
              Suspend the edit session.

       [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.

       tagp[rev][!]
              Edit the file containing the previous context for the current tag.

       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]
              Write 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 abbreviations 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. Multiple options can be
       given in one set or unset, separated by spaces or tabs.  Spaces and tabs can  be  included
       in  string options (eg. tags or filec) by preceding each with a backslash.  There's no way
       to get backslash itself into an option.

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

       autoindent, ai [off]
              Automatically indent new lines.

       autoprint, ap [off]
              Ex only.  Display the current line automatically.

       autowrite, aw [off]
              Write modified files automatically when changing files.

       backup [""]
              Backup 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” suffices to the substitute commands, instead
              of initializing them as unset for each new command.

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

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

       extended [off]
              Regular expressions are extended (i.e.  egrep(1)-style) expressions.

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

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

       hardtabs, ht [8]
              Set the spacing between hardware tab settings.

       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 complete 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.

       modelines, modeline [off]
              Read the first and last few lines of each file for ex commands.  This  option  will
              never be implemented.

       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 default 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.

       path []
              Define additional directories to search for files being edited.

       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 option 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 [window / 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 expansion 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 /var/db/libc.tags /sys/kern/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 the terminal if the file has been
              modified, since it was last written, before a !  command.

       window, w, wi [environment variable LINES]
              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 VARIABLES

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

       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
              environmental 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 modifications 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 section entitled “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 entitled “Sizing the
              Screen” for more information.

       SIGCONT

       SIGQUIT

       SIGTSTP
              Vi/ex ignores these signals.

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
              1st choice for user's home directory startup file.

       $HOME/.exrc
              2nd choice for user's home directory startup file.

       .nexrc 1st choice for local directory startup file.

       .exrc  2nd choice for local directory startup file.

SEE ALSO

       ctags(1), more(1), curses(3), dbopen(3)

       The “Vi Quick Reference” card.

       “An  Introduction  to  Display  Editing  with  Vi”,  found  in  the  “UNIX  User's  Manual
       Supplementary Documents” section of both the 4.3BSD and 4.4BSD manual sets.  This document
       is the closest thing available to an introduction to the vi screen editor.

       “Ex  Reference  Manual  (Version  3.7)”,  found  in  the “UNIX User's Manual Supplementary
       Documents” section of both the 4.3BSD and 4.4BSD manual sets.  This document is the  final
       reference for the ex editor, as distributed in most historic 4BSD and System V systems.

       “Edit:  A  tutorial”, found in the “UNIX User's Manual Supplementary Documents” section of
       the 4.3BSD manual set.  This document is an introduction to a simple  version  of  the  ex
       screen editor.

       “Ex/Vi  Reference  Manual”,  found  in  the  “UNIX  User's Manual Supplementary Documents”
       section of the 4.4BSD manual set.  This document is the final reference  for  the  nex/nvi
       text editors, as distributed in 4.4BSD and 4.4BSD‐Lite.

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

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

HISTORY

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

STANDARDS

       Nex/nvi is close to IEEE Std1003.2 (“POSIX”).  That document differs from historical ex/vi
       practice in several places; there are changes to be made on both sides.