Ubuntu Manpage: vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor

Provided by: jvim-canna_3.0-2.1b-3build2_amd64

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".

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

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