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EExx//VVii RReeffeerreennccee MMaannuuaall
_K_e_i_t_h _B_o_s_t_i_c
Computer Science Division
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720
September 15, 1996
_A_b_s_t_r_a_c_t
This document is the reference guide for the 4.4BSD
implementations of nneexx/nnvvii, which are implementations of
the historic Berkeley eexx/vvii editors.
_L_i_c_e_n_s_i_n_g
Copyright (c) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
The Regents of the University of California. All
Rights Reserved.
Copyright (c) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Keith Bostic. All Rights Reserved.
The vi program is freely redistributable. You are wel-
come to copy, modify and share it with others under the con-
ditions 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.
_A_c_k_n_o_w_l_e_d_g_e_m_e_n_t_s
Bruce Englar encouraged the early development of
the historic eexx/vvii editor. Peter Kessler helped bring
sanity to version 2's command layout. Bill Joy wrote
versions 1 and 2.0 through 2.7, and created the frame-
work that users see in the present editor. Mark Horton
added macros and other features and made eexx/vvii work on a
large number of terminals and Unix systems.
NNvvii is originally derived from software contributed
to the University of California, Berkeley by Steve Kirk-
endall, the author of the vvii clone eellvviiss.
IEEE Standard Portable Operating System Interface
for Computer Environments (POSIX) 1003.2 style Regular
Expression support was done by Henry Spencer.
The curses library was originally done by Ken
Arnold. Scrolling and reworking for nnvvii was done by
Elan Amir.
George Neville-Neil added the Tcl interpreter, and
Sven Verdoolaege added the Perl5 interpreter.
Rob Mayoff added Cscope support.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers has given us permission to reprint portions of
their documentation. Portions of this document are
reprinted and reproduced from IEEE Std 1003.2-1992, IEEE
Standard Portable Operating System Interface for Comput-
er Environments (POSIX), copyright 1992 by the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
The financial support of UUNET Communications Ser-
vices is gratefully acknowledged.
UUSSDD::1133--44 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
11.. DDeessccrriippttiioonn
VVii is a screen oriented text editor. EExx is a line-ori-
ented text editor. EExx and vvii are different interfaces to
the same program, and it is possible to switch back and
forth during an edit session. VViieeww is the equivalent of
using the --RR (read-only) option of vvii.
This reference manual is the one provided with the
nneexx/nnvvii versions of the eexx/vvii text editors. NNeexx/nnvvii are
intended as bug-for-bug compatible replacements for the
original Fourth Berkeley Software Distribution (4BSD) eexx/vvii
programs. This reference manual is accompanied by a tradi-
tional-style manual page. That manual page describes the
functionality found in eexx/vvii in far less detail than the
description here. In addition, it describes the system
interface to eexx/vvii, e.g. command line options, session
recovery, signals, environmental variables, and similar
things.
This reference is intended for users already familiar
with eexx/vvii. Anyone else should almost certainly read a good
tutorial on the editor first. If you are in an unfamiliar
environment, and you absolutely have to get work done imme-
diately, see the section entitled "FFaasstt SSttaarrttuupp" in the man-
ual page. It is probably enough to get you started.
There are a few features in nneexx/nnvvii that are not found
in historic versions of eexx/vvii. Some of the more interesting
of those features are briefly described in the next section,
entitled "AAddddiittiioonnaall FFeeaattuurreess". For the rest of this docu-
ment, nneexx/nnvvii is used only when it is necessary to distin-
guish it from the historic implementations of eexx/vvii.
Future versions of this software will be periodically
made available by anonymous ftp, and can be retrieved from
ftp.cs.berkeley.edu, in the directory ucb/4bsd.
22.. AAddddiittiioonnaall FFeeaattuurreess iinn NNeexx//NNvvii
There are a few features in nneexx/nnvvii that are not found
in historic versions of eexx/vvii. Some of the more interesting
of these are as follows:
88--bbiitt cclleeaann ddaattaa,, llaarrggee lliinneess,, ffiilleess
NNeexx/nnvvii will edit any format file. Line lengths are
limited by available memory, and file sizes are limited
by available disk space. The vvii text input mode com-
mand <<ccoonnttrrooll--XX>> can insert any possible character
value into the text.
BBaacckkggrroouunndd aanndd ffoorreeggrroouunndd ssccrreeeennss
The bbgg command backgrounds the current screen, and the
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--55
ffgg command foregrounds backgrounded screens. The ddiiss--
ppllaayy command can be used to list the background
screens.
CCoommmmaanndd EEddiittiinngg
You can enter a normal editing window on the collected
commands that you've entered on the vvii colon command-
line, and then modify and/or execute the commands. See
the cceeddiitt edit option for more information.
DDiissppllaayyss
The ddiissppllaayy command can be used to display the current
buffers, the backgrounded screens, and the tags stack.
EExxtteennddeedd RReegguullaarr EExxpprreessssiioonnss
The eexxtteennddeedd option causes Regular Expressions to be
interpreted as as Extended Regular Expressions, (i.e.
_e_g_r_e_p(1) style Regular Expressions).
FFiillee NNaammee CCoommpplleettiioonn
It is possible to do file name completion and file name
displays when entering commands on the vvii colon com-
mand-line. See the ffiilleecc option for more information.
IInnffiinniittee uunnddoo
Changes made during an edit session may be rolled back-
ward and forward. A .. command immediately after a uu
command continues either forward or backward depending
on whether the uu command was an undo or a redo.
LLeefftt--rriigghhtt ssccrroolllliinngg
The lleeffttrriigghhtt option causes nnvvii to do left-right screen
scrolling, instead of the traditional vvii line wrapping.
MMeessssaaggee CCaattaallooggss
It is possible to display informational and error mes-
sages in different languages by providing a catalog of
messages. See the mmssggccaatt option and the file cata-
log/README ffoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn..
IInnccrreemmeennttiinngg nnuummbbeerrss
The ## command increments or decrements the number ref-
erenced by the cursor.
PPrreevviioouuss ffiillee
The pprreevviioouuss command edits the previous file from the
argument list.
SSccrriippttiinngg llaanngguuaaggeess
The ::ppee[[rrll]] ccmmdd, ::ppeerrlldd[[oo]] ccmmdd and ::ttcc[[ll]] ccmmdd commands
execute Perl5 and Tcl/Tk commands, respectively, on
lines from the edit buffer. See the "SSccrriippttiinngg LLaann--
gguuaaggeess" section and the specific commands for more
UUSSDD::1133--66 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
information.
SSpplliitt ssccrreeeennss
The EEddiitt, EExx, NNeexxtt, PPrreevviioouuss, TTaagg and VViissuuaall (in vvii
mode) commands divide the screen into multiple editing
regions and then perform their normal function in a new
screen area. The <<ccoonnttrrooll--WW>> command rotates between
the foreground screens. The rreessiizzee command can be used
to grow or shrink a particular screen.
TTaagg ssttaacckkss
Tags are now maintained in a stack. The <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>>
command returns to the previous tag location. The ttaagg--
ppoopp command returns to the most recent tag location by
default, or, optionally to a specific tag number in the
tag stack, or the most recent tag from a specified
file. The ddiissppllaayy command can be used to list the tags
stack. The ttaaggttoopp command returns to the top of the
tag stack.
UUssaaggee iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn
The eexxuussaaggee and vviiuussaaggee commands provide usage informa-
tion for all of the eexx and vvii commands by default, or,
optionally, for a specific command or key.
WWoorrdd sseeaarrcchh
The <<ccoonnttrrooll--AA>> command searches for the word refer-
enced by the cursor.
33.. SSttaarrttuupp IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn
EExx/vvii interprets one of two possible environmental
variables and reads up to three of five possible files dur-
ing startup. The variables and files are expected to con-
tain eexx commands, not vvii commands. In addition, they are
interpreted _b_e_f_o_r_e the file to be edited is read, and there-
fore many eexx commands may not be used. Generally, any com-
mand that requires output to the screen or that needs a file
upon which to operate, will cause an error if included in a
startup file or environmental variable.
Because the eexx command set supported by nneexx/nnvvii is a
superset of the command set supported by historical imple-
mentations of eexx, nneexx/nnvvii can use the startup files created
for the historical implementations, but the converse may not
be true.
If the --ss (the historic - option) is specified, or if
standard input is redirected from a file, all environmental
variables and startup files are ignored.
Otherwise, startup files and environmental variables
are handled in the following order:
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--77
(1) The file /etc/vi.exrc is read, as long as it is owned
by root or the effective user ID of the user.
(2) The environmental variable NEXINIT (or the variable
EXINIT, if NEXINIT is not set) is interpreted.
(3) If neither NEXINIT or EXINIT was set, and the HOME
environmental variable is set, the file $HOME/.nexrc
(or the file $HOME/.exrc, if $HOME/.nexrc does not
exist) is read, as long as the effective user ID of
the user is root or is the same as the owner of the
file.
When the $HOME directory is being used for both
nneexx/nnvvii and an historic implementation of eexx/vvii, a
possible solution is to put nneexx/nnvvii specific commands
in the .nexrc ffiillee,, aalloonngg wwiitthh aa ::ssoouurrccee $$HHOOMMEE//..eexxrrcc
ccoommmmaanndd ttoo rreeaadd iinn tthhee ccoommmmaannddss ccoommmmoonn ttoo bbootthh iimmppllee--
mmeennttaattiioonnss..
(4) If the eexxrrcc option was turned on by one of the previ-
ous startup information sources, the file .nexrc ((oorr
tthhee ffiillee ..eexxrrcc, if .nexrc ddooeess nnoott eexxiisstt)) iiss rreeaadd,, aass
lloonngg aass tthhee eeffffeeccttiivvee uusseerr IIDD ooff tthhee uusseerr iiss tthhee ssaammee
aass tthhee oowwnneerr ooff tthhee ffiillee..
No startup file is read if it is writable by anyone
other than its owner.
It is not an error for any of the startup environmental
variables or files not to exist.
Once all environmental variables are interpreted, and
all startup files are read, the first file to be edited is
read in (or a temporary file is created). Then, any com-
mands specified using the --cc option are executed, in the
context of that file.
44.. RReeccoovveerryy
There is no recovery program for nneexx/nnvvii, nor does
nneexx/nnvvii run setuid. Recovery files are created readable and
writable by the owner only. Users may recover any file
which they can read, and the superuser may recover any edit
session.
Edit sessions are backed by files in the directory
named by the rreeccddiirr option (the directory
/var/tmp/vi.recover bbyy ddeeffaauulltt)),, aanndd aarree nnaammeedd ""vvii..XXXXXXXXXXXX"",,
wwhheerree ""XXXXXXXXXXXX"" iiss aa nnuummbbeerr rreellaatteedd ttoo tthhee pprroocceessss IIDD.. WWhheenn
aa ffiillee iiss ffiirrsstt mmooddiiffiieedd,, aa sseeccoonndd rreeccoovveerryy ffiillee ccoonnttaaiinniinngg
aann eemmaaiill mmeessssaaggee ffoorr tthhee uusseerr iiss ccrreeaatteedd,, aanndd iiss nnaammeedd
""rreeccoovveerr..XXXXXXXXXXXX"",, wwhheerree,, aaggaaiinn,, ""XXXXXXXXXXXX"" iiss aassssoocciiaatteedd wwiitthh
UUSSDD::1133--88 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
tthhee pprroocceessss IIDD.. BBootthh ffiilleess aarree rreemmoovveedd aatt tthhee eenndd ooff aa nnoorr--
mmaall eeddiitt sseessssiioonn,, bbuutt wwiillll rreemmaaiinn iiff tthhee eeddiitt sseessssiioonn iiss
aabbnnoorrmmaallllyy tteerrmmiinnaatteedd oorr tthhee uusseerr rruunnss tthhee eexx pprreesseerrvvee ccoomm--
mmaanndd..
The rreeccddiirr option may be set in either the user's or
system's startup information, changing the recovery direc-
tory. (Note, however, that if a memory based file system is
used as the backup directory, each system reboot will delete
all of the recovery files! The same caution applies to
directories such as /tmp wwhhiicchh aarree cclleeaarreedd ooff tthheeiirr ccoonntteennttss
bbyy aa ssyysstteemm rreebboooott,, oorr //uussrr//ttmmpp which is periodically
cleared of old files on many systems.)
The recovery directory should be owned by root, or at
least by a pseudo-user. In addition, if directory "sticky-
bit" semantics are available, the directory should have the
sticky-bit set so that files may only be removed by their
owners. The recovery directory must be read, write, and
executable by any user, i.e. mode 1777.
If the recovery directory does not exist, eexx/vvii will
attempt to create it. This can result in the recovery
directory being owned by a normal user, which means that
that user will be able to remove other user's recovery and
backup files. This is annoying, but is not a security issue
as the user cannot otherwise access or modify the files.
The recovery file has all of the necessary information
in it to enable the user to recover the edit session. In
addition, it has all of the necessary email headers for
_s_e_n_d_m_a_i_l(8). When the system is rebooted, all of the files
in /var/tmp/vi.recover _n_a_m_e_d _"rreeccoovveerr..XXXXXXXXXXXX_" _s_h_o_u_l_d _b_e _s_e_n_t
_t_o _t_h_e_i_r _o_w_n_e_r_s_, _b_y _e_m_a_i_l_, _u_s_i_n_g _t_h_e --tt _o_p_t_i_o_n _o_f sseennddmmaaiill
_(_o_r _a _s_i_m_i_l_a_r _m_e_c_h_a_n_i_s_m _i_n _o_t_h_e_r _m_a_i_l_e_r_s_)_. _I_f eexx_/vvii
_r_e_c_e_i_v_e_s _a _h_a_n_g_u_p _(_S_I_G_H_U_P_) _s_i_g_n_a_l_, _o_r _t_h_e _u_s_e_r _e_x_e_c_u_t_e_s _t_h_e
eexx pprreesseerrvvee _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_, eexx_/vvii _w_i_l_l _a_u_t_o_m_a_t_i_c_a_l_l_y _e_m_a_i_l _t_h_e
_r_e_c_o_v_e_r_y _i_n_f_o_r_m_a_t_i_o_n _t_o _t_h_e _u_s_e_r_.
If your system does not have the sseennddmmaaiill utility (or a
mailer program which supports its interface) the source file
nvi/common/recover.c wwiillll hhaavvee ttoo bbee mmooddiiffiieedd ttoo uussee yyoouurr
llooccaall mmaaiill ddeelliivveerryy pprrooggrraammss.. NNoottee,, iiff nneexx//nnvvii iiss cchhaannggeedd
ttoo uussee aannootthheerr mmaaiilleerr,, iitt iiss iimmppoorrttaanntt ttoo rreemmeemmbbeerr tthhaatt tthhee
oowwnneerr ooff tthhee ffiillee ggiivveenn ttoo tthhee mmaaiilleerr iiss tthhee nneexx//nnvvii uusseerr,,
ssoo nnootthhiinngg iinn tthhee ffiillee sshhoouulldd bbee ttrruusstteedd aass iitt mmaayy hhaavvee bbeeeenn
mmooddiiffiieedd iinn aann eeffffoorrtt ttoo ccoommpprroommiissee tthhee ssyysstteemm..
Finally, the owner execute bit is set on backup files
when they are created, and unset when they are first modi-
fied, e.g. backup files that have no associated email recov-
ery file will have this bit set. (There is also a small
window where empty files can be created and not yet have
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--99
this bit set. This is due to the method in which the files
are created.) Such files should be deleted when the system
reboots.
A simple way to do this cleanup is to insert the fol-
lowing Bourne shell script into your /etc/rc.local (or other
startup) file. The script should work with the historic
Bourne shell, a POSIX 1003.2 shell or the Korn shell. (A
copy of this script is included as
nvi/install/recover.script in the nneexx/nnvvii distribution.)
UUSSDD::1133--1100 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
# @(#)recover.script 8.7 (Berkeley) 8/16/94
#
# Script to recover nvi edit sessions.
#
RECDIR=/var/tmp/vi.recover
SENDMAIL=/usr/lib/sendmail
echo 'Recovering nvi editor sessions.'
# Check editor backup files.
vibackup=`echo $RECDIR/vi.*`
if [ "$vibackup" != "$RECDIR/vi.*" ]; then
for i in $vibackup; do
# Only test files that are readable.
if test ! -r $i; then
continue
fi
# Unmodified nvi editor backup files either have the
# execute bit set or are zero length. Delete them.
if test -x $i -o ! -s $i; then
rm $i
fi
done
fi
# It is possible to get incomplete recovery files, if the editor crashes
# at the right time.
virecovery=`echo $RECDIR/recover.*`
if [ "$virecovery" != "$RECDIR/recover.*" ]; then
for i in $virecovery; do
# Only test files that are readable.
if test ! -r $i; then
continue
fi
# Delete any recovery files that are zero length, corrupted,
# or that have no corresponding backup file. Else send mail
# to the user.
recfile=`awk '/^X-vi-recover-path:/{print $2}' < $i`
if test -n "$recfile" -a -s "$recfile"; then
$SENDMAIL -t < $i
else
rm $i
fi
done
fi
If you are not using the default value for the rreeccddiirr
option, be sure to substitute the value you're using for the
RECDIR vvaalluuee iinn tthhee rreeccoovveerryy ssccrriipptt..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--1111
If the path of your system's sseennddmmaaiill program (or what-
ever mailer you're using) is not /usr/lib/sendmail,, bbee ssuurree
ttoo ssuubbssttiittuuttee tthhee ccoorrrreecctt ppaatthhnnaammee ffoorr tthhee SSEENNDDMMAAIILL value in
the recovery script. Consult the manual page for details on
recovering preserved or aborted editing sessions.
55.. SSiizziinngg tthhee SSccrreeeenn
The size of the screen can be set in a number of ways.
EExx/vvii takes the following steps until values are obtained
for both the number of rows and number of columns in the
screen.
(1) If the environmental variable LINES exists, it is
used to specify the number of rows in the screen.
(2) If the environmental variable COLUMNS exists, it is
used to specify the number of columns in the screen.
(3) The TIOCGWINSZ _i_o_c_t_l(2) is attempted on the standard
error file descriptor.
(4) The termcap entry (or terminfo entry on System V
machines) is checked for the "li" entry (rows) and
the "co" entry (columns).
(5) The number of rows is set to 24, and the number of
columns is set to 80.
If a window change size signal (SIGWINCH) is received,
the new window size is retrieved using the TIOCGWINSZ
_i_o_c_t_l(2) call, and all other information is ignored.
66.. CChhaarraacctteerr DDiissppllaayy
In both eexx and vvii printable characters as defined by
_i_s_p_r_i_n_t(3) are displayed using the local character set.
Non-printable characters, for which _i_s_c_n_t_r_l(3) returns
true, and which are less than octal \040, are displayed as
the string "^<character>_"_, _w_h_e_r_e _<_c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_> is the charac-
ter that is the original character's value offset from the
"@_" _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_. _F_o_r _e_x_a_m_p_l_e_, _t_h_e _o_c_t_a_l _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _\_0_0_1 _i_s
_d_i_s_p_l_a_y_e_d _a_s _"_^_A". If _i_s_c_n_t_r_l(3) returns true for the octal
character \177, it is displayed as the string "^?_"_. _A_l_l
_o_t_h_e_r _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _a_r_e _d_i_s_p_l_a_y_e_d _a_s _e_i_t_h_e_r _h_e_x_a_d_e_c_i_m_a_l _v_a_l_u_e_s_,
_i_n _t_h_e _f_o_r_m _"_0_x_<_h_i_g_h_-_h_a_l_f_b_y_t_e_> _._._. _0_x_<_l_o_w_-_h_a_l_f_b_y_t_e_>", or as
octal values, in the form "\<high-one-or-two-bits> ...
\<low-three-bits>_"_. _T_h_e _d_i_s_p_l_a_y _o_f _u_n_k_n_o_w_n _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _i_s
_b_a_s_e_d _o_n _t_h_e _v_a_l_u_e _o_f _t_h_e ooccttaall _o_p_t_i_o_n_.
In vvii command mode, the cursor is always positioned on
the last column of characters which take up more than one
UUSSDD::1133--1122 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
column on the screen. In vvii text input mode, the cursor is
positioned on the first column of characters which take up
more than one column on the screen.
77.. MMuullttiippllee SSccrreeeennss
NNvvii supports multiple screens by dividing the window
into regions. It also supports stacks of screens by permit-
ting the user to change the set of screens that are cur-
rently displayed.
The EEddiitt, EExx, FFgg, NNeexxtt, PPrreevviioouuss, TTaagg and VViissuuaall (in vvii
mode) commands divide the current screen into two regions of
approximately equal size and then perform their usual action
in a new screen area. If the cursor is in the lower half of
the screen, the screen will split up, i.e. the new screen
will be above the old one. If the cursor is in the upper
half of the screen, the new screen will be below the old
one.
When more than one screen is editing a file, changes in
any screen are reflected in all other screens editing the
same file. Exiting a screen without saving any changes (or
explicitly discarding them) is permitted until the last
screen editing the file is exited, at which time the changes
must be saved or discarded.
The rreessiizzee command permits resizing of individual
screens. Screens may be grown, shrunk or set to an absolute
number of rows.
The ^^WW command is used to switch between screens. Each
^^WW moves to the next lower screen in the window, or to the
first screen in the window if there are no lower screens.
The bbgg command "backgrounds" the current screen. The
screen disappears from the window, and the rows it occupied
are taken over by a neighboring screen. It is an error to
attempt to background the only screen in the window.
The ddiissppllaayy ssccrreeeennss command displays the names of the
files associated with the current backgrounded screens in
the window.
The ffgg [[ffiillee]] command moves the specified screen from
the list of backgrounded screens to the foreground. If no
file argument is specified, the first screen on the list is
foregrounded. By default, foregrounding consists of back-
grounding the current screen, and replacing its space in the
window with the foregrounded screen.
Capitalizing the first letter of the command, i.e. FFgg,
will foreground the backgrounded screen in a new screen
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--1133
instead of swapping it with the current screen.
If the last foregrounded screen in the window is
exited, and there are backgrounded screens, the first screen
on the list of backgrounded screens takes over the window.
88.. TTaaggss,, TTaagg SSttaacckkss,, aanndd CCssccooppee
NNvvii supports the historic vvii tag command <<ccoonnttrrooll--]]>>,
and the historic eexx tag command ttaagg. These commands change
the current file context to a new location, based on infor-
mation found in the tags ffiilleess.. IIff yyoouu aarree uunnffaammiilliiaarr wwiitthh
tthheessee ccoommmmaannddss,, yyoouu sshhoouulldd rreevviieeww tthheeiirr ddeessccrriippttiioonn iinn tthhee
eexx aanndd vvii ccoommmmaannddss sseeccttiioonn ooff tthhiiss mmaannuuaall.. FFoorr aaddddiittiioonnaall
iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn oonn ttaaggss ffiilleess,, sseeee tthhee ddiissccuussssiioonn ooff tthhee ttaaggss
eeddiitt ooppttiioonn aanndd tthhee ssyysstteemm _c_t_a_g_s((11)) mmaannuuaall ppaaggee..
In addition, nnvvii supports the notion of "tags stacks",
using the <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> command. The <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> command
returns the user to the previous context, i.e., the last
place from which a <<ccoonnttrrooll--]]>> or ttaagg command was entered.
These three commands provide the basic functionality which
allows you to use vvii to review source code in a structured
manner.
NNvvii also provides two other basic eexx commands for tag
support: ttaaggppoopp and ttaaggttoopp. The ttaaggppoopp command is identical
to the <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> command, with the additional functional-
ity that you may specify that modifications to the current
file are to be discarded. This cannot be done using the
<<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> command. The ttaaggttoopp command discards all of the
contexts that have been pushed onto the tag stack, returning
to the context from which the first <<ccoonnttrrooll--]]>> or ttaagg com-
mand was entered.
The historic _c_t_a_g_s(1) tags file format supports only a
single location per tag, normally the function declaration
or structure or string definition. More sophisticated
source code tools often provide multiple locations per tag,
e.g., a list of the places from which a function is called
or a string definition is used. An example of this func-
tionality is the System V source code tool, ccssccooppee.
CCssccooppee creates a database of information on source code
files, and supports a query language for that information as
described in the _c_s_c_o_p_e(1) manual page. NNvvii contains an
interface to the ccssccooppee query language which permits you to
query ccssccooppee and then sequentially step through the loca-
tions in the sources files which ccssccooppee returns. There are
two nnvvii commands which support this ability to step through
multiple locations. They are the eexx commands ttaaggnneexxtt and
ttaaggpprreevv. The ttaaggnneexxtt command moves to the next location for
the current tag. The ttaaggpprreevv command moves to the previous
UUSSDD::1133--1144 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
location for the current tag. (See the ttaaggnneexxtt and ttaaggpprreevv
command discussion in the eexx commands section of this manual
for more information.) At any time during this sequential
walk, you may use the <<ccoonnttrrooll--]]>>, ttaagg or ccssccooppee commands to
move to a new tag context, and then use the <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> or
ttaaggppoopp commands to return and continue stepping through the
locations for this tag. This is similar to the previous
model of a simple tag stack, except that each entry in the
tag stack may have more than one file context that is of
interest.
Although there is no widely distributed version of
_c_t_a_g_s(1) that creates tags files with multiple locations per
tag, nnvvii has been written to understand the obvious exten-
sion to the historic tags file format, i.e., more than a
single line in the tags file with the same initial tag name.
If you wish to extend your ccttaaggss implementation or other
tool with which you build tags files, this extension should
be simple and will require no changes to nnvvii.
The nnvvii and ccssccooppee interface is based on the new eexx
command ccssccooppee, which has five subcommands: aadddd, ffiinndd, hheellpp,
kkiillll and rreesseett. The subcommand ffiinndd itself has eight sub-
commands: cc, dd, ee, ff, gg, ii, ss and tt.
ccss[[ccooppee]] aa[[dddd]] ffiillee
The aadddd command attaches to the specified ccssccooppee
database. The file name is expanded using the standard
filename expansions. If ffiillee is a directory, the file
"cscope.out" in that directory is used as the database.
After nnvvii attaches to a new database, all subsequent
ccssccooppee queries will be asked of that database. The result
of any single query is the collection of response to the
query from all of the attached databases.
If the "CSCOPE_DIRS" environmental variable is set when nnvvii
is run, it is expected to be a <colon> or <blank>-separated
list of ccssccooppee databases or directories containing ccssccooppee
databases, to which the user wishes to attach.
::ccss[[ccooppee]] ff[[iinndd]] cc||dd||ee||ff||gg||ii||ss||tt bbuuffffeerr||ppaatttteerrnn
The ffiinndd command is the ccssccooppee query command for nnvvii.
For this command, nnvvii queries all attached ccssccooppee
databases for the pattern. If the pattern is a double-
quote character followed by a valid buffer name (e.g.,
"<character>)),, tthheenn tthhee ccoonntteennttss ooff tthhee nnaammeedd bbuuffffeerr
aarree uusseedd aass tthhee ppaatttteerrnn.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee ppaatttteerrnn iiss aa
RReegguullaarr EExxpprreessssiioonn..
TThhee ffiinndd ccoommmmaanndd ppuusshheess tthhee ccuurrrreenntt llooccaattiioonn oonnttoo tthhee
ttaaggss ssttaacckk,, aanndd sswwiittcchheess ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt llooccaattiioonn rreessuulltt--
iinngg ffrroomm tthhee qquueerryy,, iiff tthhee qquueerryy rreettuurrnneedd aatt lleeaasstt oonnee
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--1155
rreessuulltt..
FFiillee nnaammeess rreettuurrnneedd bbyy tthhee ccssccooppee qquueerryy,, iiff nnoott aabbssoo--
lluuttee ppaatthhss,, aarree sseeaarrcchheedd ffoorr rreellaattiivvee ttoo tthhee ddiirreeccttoorryy
wwhheerree tthhee ccssccooppee ddaattaabbaassee iiss llooccaatteedd.. IInn aaddddiittiioonn,, iiff
tthhee ffiillee ""ccssccooppee..ttppaatthh"" aappppeeaarrss iinn tthhee ssaammee ddiirreeccttoorryy
aass tthhee ccssccooppee ddaattaabbaassee,, iitt iiss eexxppeecctteedd ttoo ccoonnttaaiinn aa
ccoolloonn--sseeppaarraatteedd lliisstt ooff ddiirreeccttoorryy nnaammeess wwhheerree ffiilleess
rreeffeerreenncceedd bbyy iittss aassssoocciiaatteedd ccssccooppee ddaattaabbaassee mmaayy bbee
ffoouunndd..
TThhee ffiinndd ssuubbccoommmmaanndd iiss oonnee ooff tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg::
c Find callers of the name.
d Find all function calls made from name.
e Find pattern.
f Find files with name as substring.
g Find definition of name.
i Find files #including name.
s Find all uses of name.
t Find assignments to name.
::ccss[[ccooppee]] hh[[eellpp]] [[ccoommmmaanndd]]
List the ccssccooppee commands, or optionally list usage help
for any single ccssccooppee command.
::ddiissppllaayy cc[[oonnnneeccttiioonnss]]
Display the list of ccssccooppee databases to which nnvvii is
currently connected.
::ccss[[ccooppee]] kk[[iillll]] ##
Disconnect from a specific ccssccooppee database. The con-
nection number is the one displayed by the eexx ddiissppllaayy
ccoonnnneeccttiioonnss command.
::ccss[[ccooppee]] rr[[eesseett]]
Disconnect from all attached ccssccooppee databases.
Cscope is not freely redistributable software, but is
fairly inexpensive and easily available. To purchase a copy
of ccssccooppee, see http://www.att.com/ssg/products/toolch-
est.html.
99.. RReegguullaarr EExxpprreessssiioonnss aanndd RReeppllaacceemmeenntt SSttrriinnggss
Regular expressions are used in line addresses, as the
first part of the eexx ssuubbssttiittuuttee, gglloobbaall, and vv commands, and
in search patterns.
The regular expressions supported by eexx/vvii are, by
default, the Basic Regular Expressions (BRE's) described in
the IEEE POSIX Standard 1003.2. The eexxtteennddeedd option causes
all regular expressions to be interpreted as the Extended
UUSSDD::1133--1166 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
Regular Expressions (ERE's) described by the same standard.
(See _r_e___f_o_r_m_a_t(7) for more information.) Generally speak-
ing, BRE's are the Regular Expressions found in _e_d(1) and
_g_r_e_p(1), and ERE's are the Regular Expressions found in
_e_g_r_e_p(1).
The following is not intended to provide a description
of Regular Expressions. The information here only describes
strings and characters which have special meanings in the
eexx/vvii version of RE's, or options which change the meanings
of characters that normally have special meanings in RE's.
(1) An empty RE (e.g. "//" or "??" is equivalent to the
last RE used.
(2) The construct "\<" matches the beginning of a word.
(3) The construct "\>" matches the end of a word.
(4) The character "~" matches the replacement part of the
last ssuubbssttiittuuttee command.
When the mmaaggiicc option is _n_o_t set, the only characters
with special meanings are a "^_" _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _a_t _t_h_e _b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g
_o_f _a_n _R_E_, _a _"_$" character at the end of an RE, and the
escaping character "\_"_. _T_h_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _"_.", "*_"_, _"_[" and
"~_" _a_r_e _t_r_e_a_t_e_d _a_s _o_r_d_i_n_a_r_y _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _u_n_l_e_s_s _p_r_e_c_e_d_e_d _b_y _a
_"_\"; when preceded by a "\_" _t_h_e_y _r_e_g_a_i_n _t_h_e_i_r _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _m_e_a_n_-
_i_n_g_.
Replacement strings are the second part of a ssuubbssttiittuuttee
command.
The character "&" (or "\&" if the mmaaggiicc option is _n_o_t
set) in the replacement string stands for the text matched
by the RE that is being replaced. The character "~_" _(_o_r
_"_\_~" if the mmaaggiicc option is _n_o_t set) stands for the replace-
ment part of the previous ssuubbssttiittuuttee command. It is only
valid after a ssuubbssttiittuuttee command has been performed.
The string "\#", where "#" is an integer value from 1
to 9, stands for the text matched by the portion of the RE
enclosed in the "#"'th set of escaped parentheses, e.g.
"\(" and "\)". For example, "s/abc\(.*\)def/\1/" deletes
the strings "abc" and "def" from the matched pattern.
The strings "\l", "\u", "\L" and "\U" can be used to
modify the case of elements in the replacement string. The
string "\l" causes the next character to be converted to
lowercase; the string "\u" behaves similarly, but converts
to uppercase (e.g. s/abc/\U&/ replaces the string abc with
ABC). The string "\L" causes characters up to the end of
the string or the next occurrence of the strings "\e" or
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--1177
"\E" to be converted to lowercase; the string "\U" behaves
similarly, but converts to uppercase.
If the entire replacement pattern is "%", then the last
replacement pattern is used again.
In vvii, inserting a <control-M> iinnttoo tthhee rreeppllaacceemmeenntt
ssttrriinngg wwiillll ccaauussee tthhee mmaattcchheedd lliinnee ttoo bbee sspplliitt iinnttoo ttwwoo
lliinneess aatt tthhaatt ppooiinntt.. ((TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--MM>> will be discarded.)
1100.. SSccrriippttiinngg LLaanngguuaaggeess
The nnvvii editor currently supports two scripting lan-
guages, Tcl/Tk and Perl5. (Note that Perl4 isn't suffi-
cient, and that the Perl5 must be version 5.002 or later.
See the "BBuuiillddiinngg NNvvii" section for more information.
The scripting language interface is still being worked
on, therefore the following information is probably incom-
plete, probably wrong in cases, and likely to change. See
the perl_api and tcl_api source directories for more infor-
mation. As a quick reference, the following function calls
are provided for both the Perl and Tcl interfaces. The Perl
interface uses a slightly different naming convention, e.g.
``viFindScreen'' is named ``VI::FindScreen''.
vviiFFiinnddSSccrreeeenn ffiillee
Return the screenIdaassssoocciiaatteedd ffiillee.
vviiAAppppeennddLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinneeNNuummbbeerr tteexxtt
Append text aass aa nneeww lliinnee aafftteerr lliinnee nnuummbbeerr lliinneeNNuummbbeerr,
in the screen screenId..
vviiDDeellLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinneeNNuumm
Delete the line lineNumber ffrroomm tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiGGeettLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinneeNNuummbbeerr
Return the line lineNumber ffrroomm tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiIInnsseerrttLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinneeNNuummbbeerr tteexxtt
Insert text aass aa nneeww lliinnee bbeeffoorree lliinnee nnuummbbeerr lliinneeNNuummbbeerr
in the screen screenId..
vviiLLaassttLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd
Return the line number of the last line in the screen
screenId..
vviiSSeettLLiinnee ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinneeNNuummbbeerr tteexxtt
Change the line lineNumber iinn tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd to
match the specified text..
vviiGGeettMMaarrkk ssccrreeeennIIdd mmaarrkk
Return the current line and column for the specified
UUSSDD::1133--1188 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
mark ffrroomm tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiSSeettMMaarrkk ssccrreeeennIIdd mmaarrkk lliinnee ccoolluummnn
Set the specified mark ttoo bbee aatt lliinnee lliinnee, column col-
umn,, iinn tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiGGeettCCuurrssoorr ssccrreeeennIIdd
Return the current line and column for the cursor in
the screen screenId..
vviiSSeettCCuurrssoorr ssccrreeeennIIdd lliinnee ccoolluummnn
Set the cursor in the screen screenId ttoo tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd
lliinnee and column..
vviiMMssgg ssccrreeeennIIdd tteexxtt
Display the specified text aass aa vvii mmeessssaaggee iinn tthhee
ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiNNeewwSSccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd [[ffiillee]]
Create a new screen.
vviiEEnnddSSccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd
Exit the screen screenId..
vviiSSwwiittcchhSSccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd ssccrreeeennIIdd
Switch from the screen screenId ttoo tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiMMaappKKeeyy ssccrreeeennIIdd kkeeyy ttccllpprroocc
Map the specified key iinn tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd to the Tcl
procedure tclproc..
vviiUUnnmmMMaappKKeeyy ssccrreeeennIIdd kkeeyy
Unmap the specified key iinn tthhee ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd
vviiGGeettOOpptt ssccrreeeennIIdd ooppttiioonn
Return the value of the specified option ffrroomm tthhee
ssccrreeeenn ssccrreeeennIIdd.
vviiSSeettOOpptt ssccrreeeennIIdd ccoommmmaanndd
Set one or more options in the screen screenId..
1111.. GGeenneerraall EEddiittoorr DDeessccrriippttiioonn
When eexx or vvii are executed, the text of a file is read
(or a temporary file is created), and then all editing
changes happen within the context of the copy of the file.
_N_o _c_h_a_n_g_e_s _a_f_f_e_c_t _t_h_e _a_c_t_u_a_l _f_i_l_e _u_n_t_i_l _t_h_e _f_i_l_e _i_s _w_r_i_t_t_e_n
_o_u_t, either using a write command or another command which
is affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee option.
All files are locked (using the _f_l_o_c_k(2) or _f_c_n_t_l(2)
interfaces) during the edit session, to avoid inadvertently
making modifications to multiple copies of the file. If a
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--1199
lock cannot be obtained for a file because it is locked by
another process, the edit session is read-only (as if the
rreeaaddoonnllyy option or the --RR flag had been specified). If a
lock cannot be obtained for other reasons, the edit session
will continue, but the file status information (see the
<<ccoonnttrrooll--GG>> command) will reflect this fact.
Both eexx and vvii are modeful editors, i.e. they have two
modes, "command" mode and "text input" mode. The former is
intended to permit you to enter commands which modifies
already existing text. The latter is intended to permit you
to enter new text. When eexx first starts running, it is in
command mode, and usually displays a prompt (see the pprroommpptt
option for more information). The prompt is a single colon
(":"")) cchhaarraacctteerr.. TThheerree aarree tthhrreeee ccoommmmaannddss tthhaatt sswwiittcchh eexx
iinnttoo tteexxtt iinnppuutt mmooddee:: aappppeenndd,, cchhaannggee aanndd iinnsseerrtt.. OOnnccee iinn
iinnppuutt mmooddee,, eenntteerriinngg aa lliinnee ccoonnttaaiinniinngg oonnllyy aa ssiinnggllee ppeerriioodd
(("".."")) eennddss tteexxtt iinnppuutt mmooddee aanndd rreettuurrnnss ttoo ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee,,
wwhheerree tthhee pprroommpptt iiss rreeddiissppllaayyeedd..
When vvii first starts running, it is in command mode as
well. There are eleven commands that switch vvii into text
input mode: AA, aa, CC, cc, II, ii, OO, oo, RR, SS and ss. Once in
input mode, entering an <escape> cchhaarraacctteerr eennddss tteexxtt iinnppuutt
mmooddee aanndd rreettuurrnnss ttoo ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee..
EExx/vvii present three different interfaces to editing a
file. EExx presents a line oriented interface. VVii presents a
full screen display oriented interface, also known as
"visual mode". In addition, there is a third mode, "open
mode", which is line oriented, but supports cursor movement
and editing within the displayed line, similarly to visual
mode. Open mode is not yet implemented in nnvvii.
The following words have special meanings in both the
eexx and vvii command descriptions:
<<iinntteerrrruupptt>>
The interrupt character is used to interrupt the cur-
rent operation. Normally <control-C>,, wwhhaatteevveerr cchhaarraacc--
tteerr iiss sseett ffoorr tthhee ccuurrrreenntt tteerrmmiinnaall iiss uusseedd..
<<lliitteerraall--nneexxtt>>
The literal next character is used to escape the subse-
quent character from any special meaning. This charac-
ter is always <control-V>.. IIff tthhee tteerrmmiinnaall iiss nnoott sseett
uupp ttoo ddoo XXOONN//XXOOFFFF ffllooww ccoonnttrrooll,, tthheenn <<ccoonnttrrooll--QQ>> is
used to mean literal next as well.
ccuurrrreenntt ppaatthhnnaammee
The pathname of the file currently being edited by vi.
When the percent character ("%"")) aappppeeaarrss iinn aa ffiillee nnaammee
eenntteerreedd aass ppaarrtt ooff aann eexx ccoommmmaanndd aarrgguummeenntt,, iitt iiss
UUSSDD::1133--2200 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
rreeppllaacceedd bbyy tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppaatthhnnaammee.. ((TThhee ""%%"" cchhaarraacctteerr
ccaann bbee eessccaappeedd bbyy pprreecceeddiinngg iitt wwiitthh aa bbaacckkssllaasshh..))
aalltteerrnnaattee ppaatthhnnaammee
The name of the last file name mentioned in an eexx com-
mand, or, the previous current pathname if the last
file mentioned becomes the current file. When the hash
mark character ("#"")) aappppeeaarrss iinn aa ffiillee nnaammee eenntteerreedd aass
ppaarrtt ooff aann eexx ccoommmmaanndd aarrgguummeenntt,, iitt iiss rreeppllaacceedd bbyy tthhee
aalltteerrnnaattee ppaatthhnnaammee.. ((TThhee ""##"" cchhaarraacctteerr ccaann bbee eessccaappeedd
bbyy pprreecceeddiinngg iitt wwiitthh aa bbaacckkssllaasshh..))
bbuuffffeerr
One of a number of named areas for saving copies of
text. Commands that change or delete text can save the
changed or deleted text into a specific buffer, for
later use, if the command allows it (i.e. the eexx cchhaannggee
command cannot save the changed text in a named
buffer). Buffers are named with a single character,
preceded by a double quote, e.g. "<character> iinn vvii
aanndd wwiitthhoouutt tthhee ddoouubbllee qquuoottee,, ee..gg.. <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>,, iinn eexx..
((TThhee ddoouubbllee qquuoottee iissnn''tt nneecceessssaarryy ffoorr eexx bbeeccaauussee
bbuuffffeerrss nnaammeess aarree ddeennootteedd bbyy tthheeiirr ppoossiittiioonn iinn tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd lliinnee..)) HHiissttoorriicc iimmpplleemmeennttaattiioonnss ooff eexx//vvii lliimmiitteedd
<<cchhaarraacctteerr>> ttoo tthhee aallpphhaannuummeerriicc cchhaarraacctteerrss;; nneexx//nnvvii
ppeerrmmiittss tthhee uussee ooff aannyy cchhaarraacctteerr wwiitthhoouutt aannootthheerr mmeeaann--
iinngg iinn tthhee ppoossiittiioonn wwhheerree aa bbuuffffeerr nnaammee iiss eexxppeecctteedd..
BBuuffffeerrss nnaammeedd bbyy uuppppeerrccaassee cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree tthhee ssaammee aass
bbuuffffeerrss nnaammeedd bbyy lloowweerrccaassee cchhaarraacctteerrss,, ee..gg.. tthhee bbuuffffeerr
nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee EEnngglliisshh cchhaarraacctteerr ""AA"" iiss tthhee ssaammee aass tthhee
bbuuffffeerr nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr ""aa"",, wwiitthh tthhee eexxcceeppttiioonn
tthhaatt,, iiff tthhee bbuuffffeerr ccoonntteennttss aarree bbeeiinngg cchhaannggeedd ((aass wwiitthh
aa tteexxtt ddeelleettiioonn oorr vvii cchhaannggee ccoommmmaanndd)),, tthhee tteexxtt iiss
_a_p_p_e_n_d_e_d ttoo tthhee bbuuffffeerr,, iinnsstteeaadd ooff rreeppllaacciinngg tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt ccoonntteennttss..
TThhee bbuuffffeerrss nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee nnuummeerriicc cchhaarraacctteerrss ((iinn
EEnngglliisshh,, ""11_" _t_h_r_o_u_g_h _"_9"")),, aarree ssppeecciiaall.. IIff aa rreeggiioonn ooff
tteexxtt iinncclluuddiinngg cchhaarraacctteerrss ffrroomm mmoorree tthhaann oonnee lliinnee,, oorr aa
ssiinnggllee lliinnee ooff tteexxtt ssppeecciiffiieedd bbyy uussiinngg aa lliinnee--oorriieenntteedd
mmoottiioonn,, iiss cchhaannggeedd oorr ddeelleetteedd iinn tthhee ffiillee uussiinngg tthhee vvii
cchhaannggee oorr ddeelleettee ccoommmmaannddss,, aa ccooppyy ooff tthhee tteexxtt iiss ppllaacceedd
iinnttoo tthhee nnuummeerriicc bbuuffffeerr ""11"",, rreeggaarrddlleessss ooff tthhee uusseerr
ssppeecciiffyyiinngg aannootthheerr bbuuffffeerr iinn wwhhiicchh ttoo ssaavvee iitt.. IInn
aaddddiittiioonn,, tthheerree aarree aa ffeeww ccoommmmaannddss wwhhiicchh,, wwhheenn uusseedd aass
aa mmoottiioonn wwiitthh tthhee vvii cchhaannggee aanndd ddeelleettee ccoommmmaannddss,, _a_l_w_a_y_s
ccooppyy tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd rreeggiioonn ooff tteexxtt iinnttoo tthhee nnuummeerriicc
bbuuffffeerrss rreeggaarrddlleessss ooff tthhee rreeggiioonn iinncclluuddiinngg cchhaarraacctteerrss
ffrroomm mmoorree tthhaann oonnee lliinnee.. TThheessee ccoommmmaannddss aarree::
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--2211
<<ccoonnttrrooll--AA>> %% (( ))
``<<cchhaarraacctteerr>> // ?? NN
nn {{ }}
Before this copy is done, the previous contents of
buffer "1"" aarree mmoovveedd iinnttoo bbuuffffeerr ""22", "2"" iinnttoo bbuuffffeerr
""33", and so on. The contents of buffer "9"" aarree ddiiss--
ccaarrddeedd.. IInn vvii,, tteexxtt mmaayy bbee eexxpplliicciittllyy ssttoorreedd iinnttoo tthhee
nnuummeerriicc bbuuffffeerrss.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, tthhee bbuuffffeerr rroottaattiioonn
ddeessccrriibbeedd aabboovvee ooccccuurrss bbeeffoorree tthhee rreeppllaacceemmeenntt ooff tthhee
bbuuffffeerr''ss ccoonntteennttss.. TThhee nnuummeerriicc bbuuffffeerrss aarree oonnllyy aavvaaiill--
aabbllee iinn vviissuuaall aanndd ooppeenn mmooddeess,, aanndd aarree nnoott aacccceessssiibbllee
bbyy eexx iinn aannyy wwaayy,, aalltthhoouugghh cchhaannggeedd aanndd ddeelleetteedd tteexxtt iiss
ssttiillll ssttoorreedd tthheerree wwhhiillee iinn eexx mmooddee..
WWhheenn aa vvii ccoommmmaanndd ssyynnooppssiiss sshhoowwss bbootthh aa [[bbuuffffeerr]] aanndd aa
[[ccoouunntt]],, tthheeyy mmaayy bbee pprreesseenntteedd iinn aannyy oorrddeerr..
FFiinnaallllyy,, aallll bbuuffffeerrss aarree eeiitthheerr ""lliinnee"" oorr ""cchhaarraacctteerr""
oorriieenntteedd.. AAllll eexx ccoommmmaannddss wwhhiicchh ssttoorree tteexxtt iinnttoo
bbuuffffeerrss aarree lliinnee oorriieenntteedd.. SSoommee vvii ccoommmmaannddss wwhhiicchh
ssttoorree tteexxtt iinnttoo bbuuffffeerrss aarree lliinnee oorriieenntteedd,, aanndd ssoommee aarree
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd;; tthhee ddeessccrriippttiioonn ffoorr eeaacchh aapppplliiccaabbllee
vvii ccoommmmaanndd nnootteess wwhheetthheerr tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo bbuuffffeerrss uussiinngg
tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss lliinnee oorr cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd.. IInn aaddddii--
ttiioonn,, tthhee vvii ccoommmmaanndd ddiissppllaayy bbuuffffeerrss ddiissppllaayyss tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt oorriieennttaattiioonn ffoorr eeaacchh bbuuffffeerr.. GGeenneerraallllyy,, tthhee oonnllyy
iimmppoorrttaannccee aattttaacchheedd ttoo tthhiiss oorriieennttaattiioonn iiss tthhaatt iiff tthhee
bbuuffffeerr iiss ssuubbsseeqquueennttllyy iinnsseerrtteedd iinnttoo tthhee tteexxtt,, lliinnee
oorriieenntteedd bbuuffffeerrss ccrreeaattee nneeww lliinneess ffoorr eeaacchh ooff tthhee lliinneess
tthheeyy ccoonnttaaiinn,, aanndd cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd bbuuffffeerrss ccrreeaattee nneeww
lliinneess ffoorr aannyy lliinneess _o_t_h_e_r tthhaann tthhee ffiirrsstt aanndd llaasstt lliinneess
tthheeyy ccoonnttaaiinn.. TThhee ffiirrsstt aanndd llaasstt lliinneess aarree iinnsseerrtteedd
iinnttoo tthhee tteexxtt aatt tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ccuurrssoorr ppoossiittiioonn,, bbeeccoommiinngg
ppaarrtt ooff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee.. IIff tthheerree iiss mmoorree tthhaann oonnee
lliinnee iinn tthhee bbuuffffeerr,, hhoowweevveerr,, tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee iittsseellff
wwiillll bbee sspplliitt..
uunnnnaammeedd bbuuffffeerr
The unnamed buffer is a text storage area which is used
by commands that use or operate on a buffer when no
buffer is specified by the user. If the command stores
text into a buffer, the text is stored into the unnamed
buffer even if a buffer is also specified by the user.
It is not possible to append text to the unnamed
buffer. If text is appended to a named buffer, the
named buffer contains both the old and new text, while
the unnamed buffer contains only the new text. There
is no way to explicitly reference the unnamed buffer.
Historically, the contents of the unnamed buffer were
UUSSDD::1133--2222 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
discarded by many different commands, even ones that
didn't store text into it. NNeexx/nnvvii never discards the
contents of the unnamed buffer until new text replaces
them.
wwhhiitteessppaaccee
The characters <tab> and <space>.
<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
The character represented by an ASCII <control-M>..
TThhiiss cchhaarraacctteerr iiss aallmmoosstt aallwwaayyss ttrreeaatteedd iiddeennttiiccaallllyy ttoo
aa <<nneewwlliinnee>> character, but differs in that it can be
escaped into the file text or into a command.
<<nneewwlliinnee>>
The character represented by an ASCII <control-J>..
TThhiiss cchhaarraacctteerr iiss aallmmoosstt aallwwaayyss ttrreeaatteedd iiddeennttiiccaallllyy ttoo
aa <<ccoonnttrrooll--MM>> character, but differs in that it cannot
be escaped into the file text or into a command.
1122.. VVii DDeessccrriippttiioonn
VVii takes up the entire screen to display the edited
file, except for the bottom line of the screen. The bottom
line of the screen is used to enter eexx commands, and for vvii
error and informational messages. If no other information
is being displayed, the default display can show the current
cursor row and cursor column, an indication of whether the
file has been modified, and the current mode of the editor.
See the rruulleerr and sshhoowwmmooddee options for more information.
Empty lines do not have any special representation on
the screen, but lines on the screen that would logically
come after the end of the file are displayed as a single
tilde ("~") character. To differentiate between empty lines
and lines consisting of only whitespace characters, use the
lliisstt option. Historically, implementations of vvii have also
displayed some lines as single asterisk ("@"")) cchhaarraacctteerrss..
TThheessee wweerree lliinneess tthhaatt wweerree nnoott ccoorrrreeccttllyy ddiissppllaayyeedd,, ii..ee..
lliinneess oonn tthhee ssccrreeeenn tthhaatt ddiidd nnoott ccoorrrreessppoonndd ttoo lliinneess iinn tthhee
ffiillee,, oorr lliinneess tthhaatt ddiidd nnoott ffiitt oonn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ssccrreeeenn.. NNvvii
nneevveerr ddiissppllaayyss lliinneess iinn tthhiiss ffaasshhiioonn..
VVii is a modeful editor, i.e. it has two modes, "com-
mand" mode and "text input" mode. When vvii first starts, it
is in command mode. There are several commands that change
vvii into text input mode. The <escape> cchhaarraacctteerr iiss uusseedd ttoo
rreessoollvvee tthhee tteexxtt iinnppuutt iinnttoo tthhee ffiillee,, aanndd eexxiitt bbaacckk iinnttoo
ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee.. IInn vvii ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee,, tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss aallwwaayyss
ppoossiittiioonneedd oonn tthhee llaasstt ccoolluummnn ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss wwhhiicchh ttaakkee uupp
mmoorree tthhaann oonnee ccoolluummnn oonn tthhee ssccrreeeenn.. IInn vvii tteexxtt iinnsseerrtt mmooddee,,
tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss ppoossiittiioonneedd oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt ccoolluummnn ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss
wwhhiicchh ttaakkee uupp mmoorree tthhaann oonnee ccoolluummnn oonn tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--2233
When positioning the cursor to a new line and column,
the type of movement is defined by the distance to the new
cursor position. If the new position is close, the screen
is scrolled to the new location. If the new position is far
away, the screen is repainted so that the new position is on
the screen. If the screen is scrolled, it is moved a mini-
mal amount, and the cursor line will usually appear at the
top or bottom of the screen. If the screen is repainted,
the cursor line will appear in the center of the screen,
unless the cursor is sufficiently close to the beginning or
end of the file that this isn't possible. If the lleeffttrriigghhtt
option is set, the screen may be scrolled or repainted in a
horizontal direction as well as in a vertical one.
A major difference between the historical vvii presenta-
tion and nnvvii is in the scrolling and screen oriented posi-
tion commands, <<ccoonnttrrooll--BB>>, <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>, <<ccoonnttrrooll--EE>>, <<ccoonn--
ttrrooll--FF>>, <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>>, <<ccoonnttrrooll--YY>>, HH, LL and MM. In histori-
cal implementations of vvii, these commands acted on physical
(as opposed to logical, or screen) lines. For lines that
were sufficiently long in relation to the size of the
screen, this meant that single line scroll commands might
repaint the entire screen, scrolling or screen positioning
commands might not change the screen or move the cursor at
all, and some lines simply could not be displayed, even
though vvii would edit the file that contained them. In nnvvii,
these commands act on logical, i.e. screen lines. You are
unlikely to notice any difference unless you are editing
files with lines significantly longer than a screen width.
VVii keeps track of the currently "most attractive" cur-
sor position. Each command description (for commands that
alter the current cursor position), specifies if the cursor
is set to a specific location in the line, or if it is moved
to the "most attractive cursor position". The latter means
that the cursor is moved to the cursor position that is hor-
izontally as close as possible to the current cursor posi-
tion. If the current line is shorter than the cursor posi-
tion vvii would select, the cursor is positioned on the last
character in the line. (If the line is empty, the cursor is
positioned on the first column of the line.) If a command
moves the cursor to the most attractive position, it does
not alter the current cursor position, and a subsequent
movement will again attempt to move the cursor to that posi-
tion. Therefore, although a movement to a line shorter than
the currently most attractive position will cause the cursor
to move to the end of that line, a subsequent movement to a
longer line will cause the cursor to move back to the most
attractive position.
In addition, the $$ command makes the end of each line
the most attractive cursor position rather than a specific
column.
UUSSDD::1133--2244 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Each vvii command described below notes where the cursor
ends up after it is executed. This position is described in
terms of characters on the line, i.e. "the previous charac-
ter", or, "the last character in the line". This is to
avoid needing to continually refer to on what part of the
character the cursor rests.
The following words have special meaning for vvii com-
mands.
pprreevviioouuss ccoonntteexxtt
The position of the cursor before the command which
caused the last absolute movement was executed. Each
vvii command described in the next section that is con-
sidered an absolute movement is so noted. In addition,
specifying _a_n_y address to an eexx command is considered
an absolute movement.
mmoottiioonn
A second vvii command can be used as an optional trailing
argument to the vvii <<, >>, !!, cc, dd, yy, and (depending on
the ttiillddeeoopp option) ~~ commands. This command indicates
the end of the region of text that's affected by the
command. The motion command may be either the command
character repeated (in which case it means the current
line) or a cursor movement command. In the latter
case, the region affected by the command is from the
starting or stopping cursor position which comes first
in the file, to immediately before the starting or
stopping cursor position which comes later in the file.
Commands that operate on lines instead of using begin-
ning and ending cursor positions operate on all of the
lines that are wholly or partially in the region. In
addition, some other commands become line oriented
depending on where in the text they are used. The com-
mand descriptions below note these special cases.
The following commands may all be used as motion compo-
nents for vvii commands:
<control-A> <control-H> <control-J> <control-M>
<control-N> <control-P> <space> $
% '<character> ( )
+ , - /
0 ; ? B
E F G H
L M N T
W [[ ]] ^
_ `<character> b e
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--2255
f h j k
l n t w
{ | }
The optional count prefix available for some of the vvii
commands that take motion commands, or the count prefix
available for the vvii commands that are used as motion
components, may be included and is _a_l_w_a_y_s considered
part of the motion argument. For example, the commands
"c2w_" _a_n_d _"_2_c_w" are equivalent, and the region affected
by the cc command is two words of text. In addition, if
the optional count prefix is specified for both the vvii
command and its motion component, the effect is multi-
plicative and is considered part of the motion argu-
ment. For example, the commands "4cw"" aanndd ""22cc22ww" are
equivalent, and the region affected by the cc command is
four words of text.
ccoouunntt
A positive number used as an optional argument to most
commands, either to give a size or a position (for dis-
play or movement commands), or as a repeat count (for
commands that modify text). The count argument is
always optional and defaults to 1 unless otherwise
noted in the command description.
When a vvii command synopsis shows both a [buffer] aanndd
[[ccoouunntt]], they may be presented in any order.
wwoorrdd
Generally, in languages where it is applicable, vvii rec-
ognizes two kinds of words. First, a sequence of let-
ters, digits and underscores, delimited at both ends
by: characters other than letters, digits, or under-
scores, the beginning or end of a line, and the begin-
ning or end of the file. Second, a sequence of charac-
ters other than letters, digits, underscores, or
whitespace characters, delimited at both ends by: a
letter, digit, underscore, or whitespace character, the
beginning or end of a line, and the beginning or end of
the file. For example, the characters " !@#abc$%^ ""
ccoonnttaaiinn tthhrreeee wwoorrddss:: ""!!@@##", "abc"" aanndd ""$$%%^^".
Groups of empty lines (or lines containing only whites-
pace characters) are treated as a single word.
bbiiggwwoorrdd
A set of non-whitespace characters preceded and fol-
lowed by whitespace characters or the beginning or end
of the file or line. For example, the characters "
!@#abc$%^ "" ccoonnttaaiinn oonnee bbiiggwwoorrdd:: ""!!@@##aabbcc$$%%^^".
UUSSDD::1133--2266 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Groups of empty lines (or lines containing only whites-
pace characters) are treated as a single bigword.
ppaarraaggrraapphh
An area of text that begins with either the beginning
of a file, an empty line, or a section boundary, and
continues until either an empty line, section boundary,
or the end of the file.
Groups of empty lines (or lines containing only whites-
pace characters) are treated as a single paragraph.
Additional paragraph boundaries can be defined using
the ppaarraaggrraapphhss option.
sseeccttiioonn
An area of text that starts with the beginning of the
file or a line whose first character is an open brace
("{"")) aanndd ccoonnttiinnuueess uunnttiill tthhee nneexxtt sseeccttiioonn oorr tthhee eenndd
ooff tthhee ffiillee..
AAddddiittiioonnaall sseeccttiioonn bboouunnddaarriieess ccaann bbee ddeeffiinneedd uussiinngg tthhee
sseeccttiioonnss ooppttiioonn..
sseenntteennccee
An area of text that begins with either the beginning
of the file or the first nonblank character following
the previous sentence, paragraph, or section boundary
and continues until the end of the file or a period
("."")) eexxccllaammaattiioonn ppooiinntt ((""!!") or question mark ("?""))
cchhaarraacctteerr,, ffoolllloowweedd bbyy eeiitthheerr aann eenndd--ooff--lliinnee oorr ttwwoo
wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss.. AAnnyy nnuummbbeerr ooff cclloossiinngg ppaarreenntthhee--
sseess ((""))"), brackets ("]"")),, ddoouubbllee--qquuoottee ((""""") or single
quote ("'"")) cchhaarraacctteerrss ccaann aappppeeaarr bbeettwweeeenn tthhee ppeerriioodd,,
eexxccllaammaattiioonn ppooiinntt,, oorr qquueessttiioonn mmaarrkk aanndd tthhee wwhhiitteessppaaccee
cchhaarraacctteerrss oorr eenndd--ooff--lliinnee..
GGrroouuppss ooff eemmppttyy lliinneess ((oorr lliinneess ccoonnttaaiinniinngg oonnllyy wwhhiitteess--
ppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss)) aarree ttrreeaatteedd aass aa ssiinnggllee sseenntteennccee..
1133.. VVii CCoommmmaannddss
The following section describes the commands available
in the command mode of the vvii editor. In each entry below,
the tag line is a usage synopsis for the command character.
In addition, the final line and column the cursor rests
upon, and any options which affect the command are noted.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--AA>>
Search forward count ttiimmeess ffoorr tthhee ccuurrrreenntt wwoorrdd.. TThhee
ccuurrrreenntt wwoorrdd bbeeggiinnss aatt tthhee ffiirrsstt nnoonn--wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacc--
tteerr oonn oorr aafftteerr tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ccuurrssoorr ppoossiittiioonn,, aanndd
eexxtteennddss uupp ttoo tthhee nneexxtt nnoonn--wwoorrdd cchhaarraacctteerr oorr tthhee eenndd ooff
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--2277
tthhee lliinnee.. TThhee sseeaarrcchh iiss lliitteerraall,, ii..ee.. nnoo cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn
tthhee wwoorrdd hhaavvee aannyy ssppeecciiaall mmeeaanniinngg iinn tteerrmmss ooff RReegguullaarr
EExxpprreessssiioonnss.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff nnoo mmaattcchhiinngg ppaatttteerrnn iiss
ffoouunndd bbeettwweeeenn tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppoossiittiioonn aanndd tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee
ffiillee..
TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--AA>> ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee
<<ccoonnttrrooll--AA>> ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt
ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd
iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line where the word is found.
Column: Set to the first character of the word.
Options: Affected by the iiggnnoorreeccaassee and wwrraappssccaann
options.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--BB>>
Page backward count ssccrreeeennss.. TTwwoo lliinneess ooff oovveerrllaapp aarree
mmaaiinnttaaiinneedd,, iiff ppoossssiibbllee,, bbyy ddiissppllaayyiinngg tthhee wwiinnddooww
ssttaarrttiinngg aatt lliinnee ((ttoopp__lliinnee -- ccoouunntt ** wwiinnddooww__ssiizzee)) ++ 22,
where window_size iiss tthhee vvaalluuee ooff tthhee wwiinnddooww ooppttiioonn..
((IInn tthhee ccaassee ooff sspplliitt ssccrreeeennss,, tthhiiss ssiizzee iiss ccoorrrreecctteedd
ttoo tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ssccrreeeenn ssiizzee..)) IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee
mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee ffiillee..
Line: Set to the last line of text displayed on the
screen.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
line.
Options: Affected by the wwiinnddooww option.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>
Scroll forward count lliinneess.. IIff ccoouunntt is not specified,
scroll forward the number of lines specified by the
last <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> or <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>> command. If this is
the first <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> or <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>> command, scroll
forward half the number of lines in the screen. (In
the case of split screens, the default scrolling dis-
tance is corrected to half the current screen size.)
It is an error if the movement is past the end of the
file.
Line: Set to the current line plus the number of
lines scrolled.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--EE>>
Scroll forward count lliinneess,, lleeaavviinngg tthhee ccuurrssoorr oonn tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee aanndd ccoolluummnn,, iiff ppoossssiibbllee.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr
iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee ffiillee..
UUSSDD::1133--2288 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Unchanged unless the current line scrolls off
the screen, in which case it is set to the
first line on the screen.
Column: Unchanged unless the current line scrolls off
the screen, in which case it is set to the
most attractive cursor position.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--FF>>
Page forward count ssccrreeeennss.. TTwwoo lliinneess ooff oovveerrllaapp aarree
mmaaiinnttaaiinneedd,, iiff ppoossssiibbllee,, bbyy ddiissppllaayyiinngg tthhee wwiinnddooww
ssttaarrttiinngg aatt lliinnee ttoopp__lliinnee ++ ccoouunntt ** wwiinnddooww__ssiizzee -- 22,
where window_size iiss tthhee vvaalluuee ooff tthhee wwiinnddooww ooppttiioonn..
((IInn tthhee ccaassee ooff sspplliitt ssccrreeeennss,, tthhiiss ssiizzee iiss ccoorrrreecctteedd
ttoo tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ssccrreeeenn ssiizzee..)) IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee
mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee ffiillee..
Line: Set to the first line on the screen.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
current line.
Options: Affected by the wwiinnddooww option.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--GG>>
Display the file information. The information includes
the current pathname, the current line, the number of
total lines in the file, the current line as a percent-
age of the total lines in the file, if the file has
been modified, was able to be locked, if the file's
name has been changed, and if the edit session is read-
only.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--HH>>
[[ccoouunntt]] hh
Move the cursor back count cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt
lliinnee.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt
cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee..
TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--HH>> aanndd hh ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee
mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee
aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the current - count character, or, the
first character in the line if count is
greater than or equal to the number of charac-
ters in the line before the cursor.
Options: None.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--2299
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--JJ>>
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--NN>>
[[ccoouunntt]] jj
Move the cursor down count lliinneess wwiitthhoouutt cchhaannggiinngg tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt ccoolluummnn.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt
tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee ffiillee..
TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--JJ>>,, <<ccoonnttrrooll--NN>> aanndd jj ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd
aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh
ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the current line plus count..
Column: The most attractive cursor position.
Options: None.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--LL>>
<<ccoonnttrrooll--RR>>
Repaint the screen.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--MM>>
[[ccoouunntt]] ++
Move the cursor down count lliinneess ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt nnoonnbbllaannkk
cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhaatt lliinnee.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt
iiss ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee ffiillee..
TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--MM>> aanndd ++ ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee
mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee
aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the current line plus count..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--PP>>
[[ccoouunntt]] kk
Move the cursor up count lliinneess,, wwiitthhoouutt cchhaannggiinngg tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt ccoolluummnn.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt
tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee ffiillee..
TThhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--PP>> aanndd kk ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee
mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee
aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the current line minus count..
Column: The most attractive cursor position.
Options: None.
UUSSDD::1133--3300 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
<<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>>
Return to the most recent tag context. The <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>>
command is an absolute movement.
Line: Set to the context of the previous tag com-
mand.
Column: Set to the context of the previous tag com-
mand.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>>
Scroll backward count lliinneess.. IIff ccoouunntt is not speci-
fied, scroll backward the number of lines specified by
the last <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> or <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>> command. If this
is the first <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> or <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>> command, scroll
backward half the number of lines in the screen. (In
the case of split screens, the default scrolling dis-
tance is corrected to half the current screen size.)
It is an error if the movement is past the beginning of
the file.
Line: Set to the current line minus the amount
scrolled.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: None.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--WW>>
Switch to the next lower screen in the window, or, to
the first screen if there are no lower screens in the
window.
Line: Set to the previous cursor position in the
window.
Column: Set to the previous cursor position in the
window.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ccoonnttrrooll--YY>>
Scroll backward count lliinneess,, lleeaavviinngg tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee
aanndd ccoolluummnn aass iiss,, iiff ppoossssiibbllee.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee
mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee ffiillee..
Line: Unchanged unless the current line scrolls off
the screen, in which case it is set to the
last line of text displayed on the screen.
Column: Unchanged unless the current line scrolls off
the screen, in which case it is the most
attractive cursor position.
Options: None.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--ZZ>>
Suspend the current editor session. If the file has
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--3311
been modified since it was last completely written, and
the aauuttoowwrriittee option is set, the file is written before
the editor session is suspended. If this write fails,
the editor session is not suspended.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee option.
<<eessccaappee>>
Execute eexx commands or cancel partial commands. If an
eexx command is being entered (e.g. //, ??, :: or !!), the
command is executed. If a partial command has been
entered, e.g. "[0-9]*"",, oorr ""[[00--99]]**[[!!<<>>ccddyy]]", the com-
mand is cancelled. Otherwise, it is an error.
Line: When an eexx command is being executed, the cur-
rent line is set as described for that com-
mand. Otherwise, unchanged.
Column: When an eexx command is being executed, the cur-
rent column is set as described for that com-
mand. Otherwise, unchanged.
Options: None.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--]]>>
Push a tag reference onto the tag stack. The tags
files (see the ttaaggss option for more information) are
searched for a tag matching the current word. The cur-
rent word begins at the first non-whitespace character
on or after the current cursor position, and extends up
to the next non-word character or the end of the line.
If a matching tag is found, the current file is dis-
carded and the file containing the tag reference is
edited.
If the current file has been modified since it was last
completely written, the command will fail. The <<ccoonn--
ttrrooll--]]>> command is an absolute movement.
Line: Set to the line containing the matching tag
string.
Column: Set to the start of the matching tag string.
Options: Affected by the ttaaggss and ttaagglleennggtthh options.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--^^>>
Switch to the most recently edited file.
If the file has been modified since it was last com-
pletely written, and the aauuttoowwrriittee option is set, the
file is written out. If this write fails, the command
will fail. Otherwise, if the current file has been
modified since it was last completely written, the com-
mand will fail.
UUSSDD::1133--3322 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Set to the line the cursor was on when the
file was last edited.
Column: Set to the column the cursor was on when the
file was last edited.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee option.
[[ccoouunntt]] <<ssppaaccee>>
[[ccoouunntt]] ll
Move the cursor forward count cchhaarraacctteerrss wwiitthhoouutt cchhaanngg--
iinngg tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss
oonn tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee..
TThhee <<ssppaaccee>> aanndd ll ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn
ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt
ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd.. IInn aaddddii--
ttiioonn,, tthheessee ccoommmmaannddss mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoo--
nneennttss ooff ootthheerr ccoommmmaannddss wwhheenn tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss oonn tthhee llaasstt
cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee,, wwiitthhoouutt eerrrroorr..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the current character plus the next
count characters, or to the last character on
the line if count is greater than the number
of characters in the line after the current
character.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] !! mmoottiioonn sshheellll--aarrgguummeenntt((ss))<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
Replace text with results from a shell command. Pass
the lines specified by the count aanndd mmoottiioonn arguments
as standard input to the program named by the sshheellll
option, and replace those lines with the output (both
standard error and standard output) of that command.
After the motion is entered, vvii prompts for arguments
to the shell command.
Within those arguments, "%"" aanndd ""##" characters are
expanded to the current and alternate pathnames,
respectively. The "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr iiss eexxppaannddeedd wwiitthh tthhee
ccoommmmaanndd tteexxtt ooff tthhee pprreevviioouuss !! oorr ::!! ccoommmmaannddss..
((TThheerreeffoorree,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd !!<<mmoottiioonn>>!! rreeppeeaattss tthhee pprreevvii--
oouuss !! ccoommmmaanndd..)) TThhee ssppeecciiaall mmeeaanniinnggss ooff ""%%"",, ""##"" aanndd
""!!"" ccaann bbee oovveerrrriiddddeenn bbyy eessccaappiinngg tthheemm wwiitthh aa bbaacckk--
ssllaasshh.. IIff nnoo !! oorr ::!! ccoommmmaanndd hhaass yyeett bbeeeenn eexxeeccuutteedd,,
iitt iiss aann eerrrroorr ttoo uussee aann uunneessccaappeedd ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr aass aa
sshheellll aarrgguummeenntt.. TThhee !! ccoommmmaanndd ddooeess _n_o_t ddoo sshheellll
eexxppaannssiioonn oonn tthhee ssttrriinnggss pprroovviiddeedd aass aarrgguummeennttss.. IIff aannyy
ooff tthhee aabboovvee eexxppaannssiioonnss cchhaannggee tthhee aarrgguummeennttss tthhee uusseerr
eenntteerreedd,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss rreeddiissppllaayyeedd aatt tthhee bboottttoomm ooff
tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
VVii tthheenn eexxeeccuutteess tthhee pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll ooppttiioonn,,
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--3333
wwiitthh aa --cc ffllaagg ffoolllloowweedd bbyy tthhee aarrgguummeennttss ((wwhhiicchh aarree
bbuunnddlleedd iinnttoo aa ssiinnggllee aarrgguummeenntt))..
TThhee !! ccoommmmaanndd iiss ppeerrmmiitttteedd iinn aann eemmppttyy ffiillee..
IIff tthhee ffiillee hhaass bbeeeenn mmooddiiffiieedd ssiinnccee iitt wwaass llaasstt ccoomm--
pplleetteellyy wwrriitttteenn,, tthhee !! ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll wwaarrnn yyoouu..
Line: The first line of the replaced text.
Column: The first column of the replaced text.
Options: Affected by the sshheellll option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ## ##||++||--
Increment or decrement the number referenced by the
cursor. If the trailing character is a + oorr ##, the
number is incremented by count.. IIff tthhee ttrraaiilliinngg cchhaarr--
aacctteerr iiss aa --, the number is decremented by count..
AA lleeaaddiinngg ""00XX" or "0x"" ccaauusseess tthhee nnuummbbeerr ttoo bbee iinntteerr--
pprreetteedd aass aa hheexxaaddeecciimmaall nnuummbbeerr.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, aa lleeaaddiinngg
""00" causes the number to be interpreted as an octal
number, unless a non-octal digit is found as part of
the number. Otherwise, the number is interpreted as a
decimal number, and may have a leading + oorr -- sign.
The current number begins at the first non-blank char-
acter at or after the current cursor position, and
extends up to the end of the line or the first charac-
ter that isn't a possible character for the numeric
type. The format of the number (e.g. leading 0's,
signs) is retained unless the new value cannot be rep-
resented in the previous format.
Octal and hexadecimal numbers, and the result of the
operation, must fit into an "unsigned long"".. SSiimmii--
llaarrllyy,, ddeecciimmaall nnuummbbeerrss aanndd tthheeiirr rreessuulltt mmuusstt ffiitt iinnttoo aa
""ssiiggnneedd lloonngg". It is an error to use this command when
the cursor is not positioned at a number.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the first character in the cursor num-
ber.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] $$
Move the cursor to the end of a line. If count iiss
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee ccuurrssoorr mmoovveess ddoowwnn ccoouunntt -- 11 lines.
It is not an error to use the $$ command when the cursor
is on the last character in the line or when the line
is empty.
The $$ command may be used as the motion component of
UUSSDD::1133--3344 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
other vvii commands, in which case any text copied into a
buffer is character oriented, unless the cursor is at,
or before the first nonblank character in the line, in
which case it is line oriented. It is not an error to
use the $$ command as a motion component when the cursor
is on the last character in the line, although it is an
error when the line is empty.
Line: Set to the current line plus count minus 1.
Column: Set to the last character in the line.
Options: None.
%%
Move to the matching character. The cursor moves to
the parenthesis or curly brace which _m_a_t_c_h_e_s the paren-
thesis or curly brace found at the current cursor posi-
tion or which is the closest one to the right of the
cursor on the line. It is an error to execute the %%
command on a line without a parenthesis or curly brace.
Historically, any count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee %% ccoommmmaanndd wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd..
TThhee %% ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee %% ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppooiinntt ooff tthhee
rreeggiioonn iiss aatt oorr bbeeffoorree tthhee ffiirrsstt nnoonnbbllaannkk cchhaarraacctteerr oonn
iittss lliinnee,, aanndd tthhee eennddiinngg ppooiinntt iiss aatt oorr aafftteerr tthhee llaasstt
nnoonnbbllaannkk cchhaarraacctteerr oonn iittss lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss
lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the matching char-
acter.
Column: Set to the matching character.
Options: None.
&&
Repeat the previous substitution command on the current
line.
Historically, any count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee && ccoommmmaanndd wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged if the cursor was on the last char-
acter in the line, otherwise, set to the first
nonblank character in the line.
Options: Affected by the eeddccoommppaattiibbllee, eexxtteennddeedd,
iiggnnoorreeccaassee and mmaaggiicc options.
''<<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
``<<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Return to a context marked by the character
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--3355
<character>.. IIff <<cchhaarraacctteerr>> is the "'"" oorr ""``" charac-
ter, return to the previous context. If <character> iiss
aannyy ootthheerr cchhaarraacctteerr,, rreettuurrnn ttoo tthhee ccoonntteexxtt mmaarrkkeedd bbyy
tthhaatt cchhaarraacctteerr ((sseeee tthhee mm ccoommmmaanndd ffoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaa--
ttiioonn)).. IIff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss tthhee '' ccoommmmaanndd,, oonnllyy tthhee lliinnee
vvaalluuee iiss rreessttoorreedd,, aanndd tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss ppllaacceedd oonn tthhee
ffiirrsstt nnoonnbbllaannkk cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhaatt lliinnee.. IIff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd
iiss tthhee `` ccoommmmaanndd,, bbootthh tthhee lliinnee aanndd ccoolluummnn vvaalluueess aarree
rreessttoorreedd..
IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee ccoonntteexxtt nnoo lloonnggeerr eexxiissttss bbeeccaauussee
ooff lliinnee ddeelleettiioonn.. ((CCoonntteexxttss ffoollllooww lliinneess tthhaatt aarree
mmoovveedd,, oorr wwhhiicchh aarree ddeelleetteedd aanndd tthheenn rreessttoorreedd..))
TThhee '' aanndd `` ccoommmmaannddss aarree bbootthh aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeennttss.. TThheeyy
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass aa mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ffoorr ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss.. FFoorr tthhee '' ccoommmmaanndd,, aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd.. FFoorr tthhee `` ccoommmmaanndd,, aannyy tteexxtt
ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss iitt
bbootthh ssttaarrttss aanndd ssttooppss aatt tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee
lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd.. IInn aaddddiittiioonn,,
wwhheenn uussiinngg tthhee `` ccoommmmaanndd aass aa mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt,, ccoomm--
mmaannddss wwhhiicchh mmoovvee bbaacckkwwaarrdd aanndd ssttaarrtteedd aatt tthhee ffiirrsstt
cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee,, oorr mmoovvee ffoorrwwaarrdd aanndd eennddeedd aatt tthhee
ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee,, aarree ccoorrrreecctteedd ttoo tthhee llaasstt
cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee lliinnee pprreecceeddiinngg tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg aanndd eennddiinngg
lliinneess,, rreessppeeccttiivveellyy..
Line: Set to the line from the context.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line, for the '' command, and set to the con-
text's column for the `` command.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] ((
Back up count sseenntteenncceess..
TThhee (( ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee (( ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg aanndd ssttooppppiinngg
ppooiinnttss ooff tthhee rreeggiioonn aarree tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee
lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd.. IIff iitt iiss lliinnee
oorriieenntteedd,, tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppooiinntt ooff tthhee rreeggiioonn iiss aaddjjuusstteedd
ttoo bbee tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee lliinnee iimmmmeeddiiaatteellyy bbeeffoorree tthhee ssttaarrtt--
iinngg ccuurrssoorr ppoossiittiioonn..
Line: Set to the line containing the beginning of
the sentence.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
sentence.
Options: Affected by the lliisspp option.
UUSSDD::1133--3366 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
[[ccoouunntt]] ))
Move forward count sseenntteenncceess..
TThhee )) ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee )) ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppooiinntt ooff tthhee
rreeggiioonn iiss tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh
ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd.. IInn tthhee llaatttteerr ccaassee,, iiff tthhee
ssttooppppiinngg ppooiinntt ooff tthhee rreeggiioonn iiss aallssoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacc--
tteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee,, iitt iiss aaddjjuusstteedd ttoo bbee tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee
lliinnee iimmmmeeddiiaatteellyy bbeeffoorree iitt..
Line: Set to the line containing the beginning of
the sentence.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
sentence.
Options: Affected by the lliisspp option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ,,
Reverse find character count ttiimmeess.. RReevveerrssee tthhee llaasstt
FF,, ff,, TT oorr tt ccoommmmaanndd,, sseeaarrcchhiinngg tthhee ootthheerr wwaayy iinn tthhee
lliinnee,, ccoouunntt ttiimmeess.. IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff aa FF,, ff,, TT oorr tt
ccoommmmaanndd hhaass nnoott bbeeeenn ppeerrffoorrmmeedd yyeett..
TThhee ,, ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the searched-for character for the FF
and ff commands, before the character for the tt
command and after the character for the TT com-
mand.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] --
Move to the first nonblank of the previous line, count
ttiimmeess..
IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff
tthhee ffiillee..
TThhee -- ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the current line minus count..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: None.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--3377
[[ccoouunntt]] ..
Repeat the last vvii command that modified text. The
repeated command may be a command and motion component
combination. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, iitt rreeppllaacceess _b_o_t_h
tthhee ccoouunntt ssppeecciiffiieedd ffoorr tthhee rreeppeeaatteedd ccoommmmaanndd,, aanndd,, iiff
aapppplliiccaabbllee,, ffoorr tthhee rreeppeeaatteedd mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt.. IIff
ccoouunntt _i_s _n_o_t _s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d_, _t_h_e _c_o_u_n_t_s _o_r_i_g_i_n_a_l_l_y _s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d
_t_o _t_h_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _b_e_i_n_g _r_e_p_e_a_t_e_d _a_r_e _u_s_e_d _a_g_a_i_n_.
_A_s _a _s_p_e_c_i_a_l _c_a_s_e_, _i_f _t_h_e .. _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _i_s _e_x_e_c_u_t_e_d _i_m_m_e_-
_d_i_a_t_e_l_y _a_f_t_e_r _t_h_e uu _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_, _t_h_e _c_h_a_n_g_e _l_o_g _i_s _r_o_l_l_e_d
_f_o_r_w_a_r_d _o_r _b_a_c_k_w_a_r_d_, _d_e_p_e_n_d_i_n_g _o_n _t_h_e _a_c_t_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e uu
_c_o_m_m_a_n_d_.
Line: Set as described for the repeated command.
Column: Set as described for the repeated command.
Options: None.
//RREE<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
//RREE// [[ooffffsseett]]<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
??RREE<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
??RREE?? [[ooffffsseett]]<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>
NN
nn
Search forward or backward for a regular expression.
The commands beginning with a slash ("/"")) cchhaarraacctteerr aarree
ffoorrwwaarrdd sseeaarrcchheess,, tthhee ccoommmmaannddss bbeeggiinnnniinngg wwiitthh aa qquueess--
ttiioonn mmaarrkk ((""??") are backward searches. VVii prompts
with the leading character on the last line of the
screen for a string. It then searches forward or back-
ward in the file for the next occurrence of the string,
which is interpreted as a Basic Regular Expression.
The // and ?? commands are absolute movements. They may
be used as the motion components of other vvii commands,
in which case any text copied into a buffer is charac-
ter oriented, unless the search started and ended on
the first column of a line, in which case it is line
oriented. In addition, forward searches ending at the
first character of a line, and backward searches begin-
ning at the first character in the line, are corrected
to begin or end at the last character of the previous
line. (Note, forward and backward searches can occur
for both // and ?? commands, if the wwrraappssccaann option is
set.)
If an offset from the matched line is specified (i.e. a
trailing "/"" oorr ""??" character is followed by a signed
offset), the buffer will always be line oriented (e.g.
"/string/+0"" wwiillll aallwwaayyss gguuaarraanntteeee aa lliinnee oorriieennttaattiioonn))..
TThhee NN ccoommmmaanndd rreeppeeaattss tthhee pprreevviioouuss sseeaarrcchh,, bbuutt iinn tthhee
rreevveerrssee ddiirreeccttiioonn.. TThhee nn ccoommmmaanndd rreeppeeaattss tthhee pprreevviioouuss
UUSSDD::1133--3388 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
sseeaarrcchh.. IIff eeiitthheerr tthhee NN oorr nn ccoommmmaannddss aarree uusseedd aass
mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneennttss ffoorr tthhee !! ccoommmmaanndd,, yyoouu wwiillll nnoott bbee
pprroommpptteedd ffoorr tthhee tteexxtt ooff tthhee bbaanngg ccoommmmaanndd,, iinnsstteeaadd tthhee
pprreevviioouuss bbaanngg ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll bbee eexxeeccuutteedd..
MMiissssiinngg RREE''ss ((ee..gg.. ""////<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>"",, ""//<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--
rreettuurrnn>>"",, ""????<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>>"",, oorr ""??<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--
rreettuurrnn>>"" sseeaarrcchh ffoorr tthhee llaasstt sseeaarrcchh RREE,, iinn tthhee iinnddii--
ccaatteedd ddiirreeccttiioonn..
SSeeaarrcchheess mmaayy bbee iinntteerrrruupptteedd uussiinngg tthhee <<iinntteerrrruupptt>> cchhaarr--
aacctteerr..
MMuullttiippllee sseeaarrcchh ppaatttteerrnnss mmaayy bbee ggrroouuppeedd ttooggeetthheerr bbyy
ddeelliimmiittiinngg tthheemm wwiitthh sseemmiiccoolloonnss aanndd zzeerroo oorr mmoorree
wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss,, ee..gg.. //ffoooo// ;; ??bbaarr?? sseeaarrcchheess
ffoorrwwaarrdd ffoorr ffoooo aanndd tthheenn,, ffrroomm tthhaatt llooccaattiioonn,, bbaacckkwwaarrddss
ffoorr bbaarr.. WWhheenn sseeaarrcchh ppaatttteerrnnss aarree ggrroouuppeedd ttooggeetthheerr iinn
tthhiiss mmaannnneerr,, tthhee sseeaarrcchh ppaatttteerrnnss aarree eevvaalluuaatteedd lleefftt ttoo
rriigghhtt wwiitthh tthhee ffiinnaall ccuurrssoorr ppoossiittiioonn ddeetteerrmmiinneedd bbyy tthhee
llaasstt sseeaarrcchh ppaatttteerrnn..
IItt iiss aallssoo ppeerrmmiissssiibbllee ttoo aappppeenndd aa zz ccoommmmaanndd ttoo tthhee
sseeaarrcchh ssttrriinnggss,, ee..gg.. //ffoooo// zz.. sseeaarrcchheess ffoorrwwaarrdd ffoorr
tthhee nneexxtt ooccccuurrrreennccee ooff ffoooo,, aanndd tthheenn ppoossiittiioonnss tthhaatt
lliinnee iinn tthhee mmiiddddllee ooff ssccrreeeenn..
Line: Set to the line in which the match occurred.
Column: Set to the first character of the matched
string.
Options: Affected by the eeddccoommppaattiibbllee, eexxtteennddeedd,
iiggnnoorreeccaassee, mmaaggiicc, and wwrraappssccaann options.
00
Move to the first character in the current line. It is
not an error to use the 00 command when the cursor is on
the first character in the line,
The 00 command may be used as the motion component of
other vvii commands, in which case it is an error if the
cursor is on the first character in the line, and any
text copied into a buffer is character oriented.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the first character in the line.
Options: None.
::
Execute an eexx command. VVii prompts for an eexx command on
the last line of the screen, using a colon (":"")) cchhaarr--
aacctteerr.. TThhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss tteerrmmiinnaatteedd bbyy aa <<ccaarrrriiaaggee--
rreettuurrnn>>, <newline> oorr <<eessccaappee>> character; all of these
characters may be escaped by using a <literal-next>
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--3399
cchhaarraacctteerr.. TThhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss tthheenn eexxeeccuutteedd..
IIff tthhee eexx ccoommmmaanndd wwrriitteess ttoo tthhee ssccrreeeenn,, vvii wwiillll pprroommpptt
tthhee uusseerr ffoorr aa <<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>> bbeeffoorree ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg wwhheenn
tthhee eexx ccoommmmaanndd ffiinniisshheess.. LLaarrggee aammoouunnttss ooff oouuttppuutt ffrroomm
tthhee eexx ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll bbee ppaaggeedd ffoorr tthhee uusseerr,, aanndd tthhee uusseerr
pprroommpptteedd ffoorr aa <<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>> oorr <<ssppaaccee>> kkeeyy ttoo ccoonn--
ttiinnuuee.. IInn ssoommee ccaasseess,, aa qquuiitt ((nnoorrmmaallllyy aa ""qq"" cchhaarraacc--
tteerr)) oorr <<iinntteerrrruupptt>> mmaayy bbee eenntteerreedd ttoo iinntteerrrruupptt tthhee eexx
ccoommmmaanndd..
WWhheenn tthhee eexx ccoommmmaanndd ffiinniisshheess,, aanndd tthhee uusseerr iiss pprroommpptteedd
ttoo rreessuummee vviissuuaall mmooddee,, iitt iiss aallssoo ppoossssiibbllee ttoo eenntteerr
aannootthheerr ""::"" cchhaarraacctteerr ffoolllloowweedd bbyy aannootthheerr eexx ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: The current line is set as described for the
eexx command.
Column: The current column is set as described for the
eexx command.
Options: Affected as described for the eexx command.
[[ccoouunntt]] ;;
Repeat the last character find count ttiimmeess.. TThhee llaasstt
cchhaarraacctteerr ffiinndd iiss oonnee ooff tthhee FF,, ff,, TT oorr tt ccoommmmaannddss.. IItt
iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff aa FF,, ff,, TT oorr tt ccoommmmaanndd hhaass nnoott bbeeeenn ppeerr--
ffoorrmmeedd yyeett..
TThhee ;; ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the searched-for character for the FF
and ff commands, before the character for the tt
command and after the character for the TT com-
mand.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] << mmoottiioonn
[[ccoouunntt]] >> mmoottiioonn
Shift lines left or right. Shift the number of lines
in the region specified by the count aanndd mmoottiioonn left
(for the << command) or right (for the >> command) by the
number of columns specified by the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option.
Only whitespace characters are deleted when shifting
left. Once the first character in the line no longer
contains a whitespace character, the command will suc-
ceed, but the line will not be modified.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
UUSSDD::1133--4400 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Options: Affected by the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option.
@@ bbuuffffeerr
Execute a named buffer. Execute the named buffer as vvii
commands. The buffer may include eexx commands, too, but
they must be expressed as a :: command. If the buffer
is line oriented, <newline> cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree llooggiiccaallllyy
aappppeennddeedd ttoo eeaacchh lliinnee ooff tthhee bbuuffffeerr.. IIff tthhee bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, <<nneewwlliinnee>> characters are logically
appended to all but the last line in the buffer.
If the buffer name is "@"",, oorr ""**", then the last buffer
executed shall be used. It is an error to specify "@@""
oorr ""@@**" if there were no previous buffer executions.
The text of a buffer may contain a @@ command, and it is
possible to create infinite loops in this manner. (The
<interrupt> cchhaarraacctteerr mmaayy bbee uusseedd ttoo iinntteerrrruupptt tthhee
lloooopp..))
Line: The current line is set as described for the
command(s).
Column: The current column is set as described for the
command(s).
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] AA
Enter input mode, appending the text after the end of
the line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt iiss rreeppeeaatt--
eeddllyy iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times after input mode is
exited.
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[ccoouunntt]] BB
Move backward count bbiiggwwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr bbaacckkwwaarrdd
ttoo tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffoollllooww--
iinngg aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss aatt tthhee bbeeggiinn--
nniinngg ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd oorr tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr aatt tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossii--
ttiioonn ccaannnnoott bbee ppaarrtt ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt
cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee pprreecceeddiinngg bbiiggwwoorrdd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, mmoovvee ttoo
tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee bbiiggwwoorrdd aatt tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossii--
ttiioonn.. IIff nnoo pprreecceeddiinngg bbiiggwwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt
lliinnee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee llaasstt bbiiggwwoorrdd
oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt pprreecceeddiinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa bbiiggwwoorrdd..
TThhee BB ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--4411
Line: Set to the line containing the word selected.
Column: Set to the first character of the word
selected.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] CC
Change text from the current position to the end-of-
line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee iinnppuutt tteexxtt rreeppllaacceess
ffrroomm tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn ttoo tthhee eenndd--ooff--lliinnee,, pplluuss
ccoouunntt -- 11 subsequent lines.
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] DD
Delete text from the current position to the end-of-
line.
It is not an error to execute the DD command on an empty
line.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the character before the current char-
acter, or, column 1 if the cursor was on col-
umn 1.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] EE
Move forward count eenndd--ooff--bbiiggwwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr
ffoorrwwaarrdd ttoo tthhee eenndd ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffooll--
lloowwiinngg aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss tthhee eenndd ooff
aa bbiiggwwoorrdd oorr tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr aatt tthhaatt ppoossiittiioonn ccaannnnoott bbee
ppaarrtt ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee
ffoolllloowwiinngg bbiiggwwoorrdd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacc--
tteerr ooff tthhee bbiiggwwoorrdd aatt tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn.. IIff nnoo ssuucc--
cceeeeddiinngg bbiiggwwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee
llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee ffiirrsstt bbiiggwwoorrdd oonn tthhee nneexxtt ffoollllooww--
iinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa bbiiggwwoorrdd..
TThhee EE ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the word selected.
Column: Set to the last character of the word
selected.
Options: None.
UUSSDD::1133--4422 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
[[ccoouunntt]] FF <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Search count ttiimmeess bbaacckkwwaarrdd tthhrroouugghh tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee
ffoorr <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>.
The FF command may be used as the motion component of
other vvii commands, in which case any text copied into a
buffer is character oriented.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the searched-for character.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] GG
Move to line count,, oorr tthhee llaasstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee iiff
ccoouunntt not specified.
The GG command is an absolute movement. The GG command
may be used as the motion component of other vvii com-
mands, in which case any text copied into a buffer is
line oriented.
Line: Set to count, if specified, otherwise, the
last line.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] HH
Move to the screen line count - 1 lliinneess bbeellooww tthhee ttoopp
ooff tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
TThhee HH ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee HH ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line count - 1 lliinneess bbeellooww tthhee ttoopp
ooff tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
_s_c_r_e_e_n line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] II
Enter input mode, inserting the text at the beginning
of the line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt iinnppuutt iiss
rreeppeeaatteeddllyy iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: None.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--4433
[[ccoouunntt]] JJ
Join lines. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, ccoouunntt lines are
joined; a minimum of two lines are always joined,
regardless of the value of count..
IIff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee eennddss wwiitthh aa wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerr,,
aallll wwhhiitteessppaaccee iiss ssttrriippppeedd ffrroomm tthhee nneexxtt lliinnee.. OOtthheerr--
wwiissee,, iiff tthhee nneexxtt lliinnee ssttaarrttss wwiitthh aa ooppeenn ppaarreenntthheessiiss
((""((") do nothing. Otherwise, if the current line ends
with a question mark ("?"")),, ppeerriioodd ((""..") or exclama-
tion point ("!"")),, iinnsseerrtt ttwwoo ssppaacceess.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, iinnsseerrtt
aa ssiinnggllee ssppaaccee..
IItt iiss nnoott aann eerrrroorr ttoo jjooiinn lliinneess ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee
ffiillee,, ii..ee.. lliinneess tthhaatt ddoo nnoott eexxiisstt..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the character after the last character
of the next-to-last joined line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] LL
Move to the screen line count - 1 lliinneess aabboovvee tthhee bboott--
ttoomm ooff tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
TThhee LL ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee LL ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line count - 1 lliinneess aabboovvee tthhee bboott--
ttoomm ooff tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
_s_c_r_e_e_n line.
Options: None.
MM
Move to the screen line in the middle of the screen.
The MM command is an absolute movement. The MM command
may be used as the motion component of other vvii com-
mands, in which case any text copied into a buffer is
line oriented.
Historically, any count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee MM ccoommmmaanndd wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the line in the middle of the screen.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
_s_c_r_e_e_n line.
Options: None.
UUSSDD::1133--4444 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
[[ccoouunntt]] OO
Enter input mode, appending text in a new line above
the current line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt
iinnppuutt iiss rreeppeeaatteeddllyy iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
Historically, any count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee OO ccoommmmaanndd wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] PP
Insert text from a buffer. Text from the buffer (the
unnamed buffer by default) is inserted before the cur-
rent column or, if the buffer is line oriented, before
the current line.
Line: Set to the lowest numbered line insert, if the
buffer is line oriented, otherwise unchanged.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
appended text, if the buffer is line oriented,
otherwise, the last character of the appended
text.
Options: None.
QQ
Exit vvii (or visual) mode and switch to eexx mode.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: No longer relevant.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] RR
Enter input mode, replacing the characters in the cur-
rent line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt iinnppuutt iiss
rreeppeeaatteeddllyy iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
If the end of the current line is reached, no more
characters are replaced and any further characters
input are appended to the line.
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--4455
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] SS
Substitute count lliinneess..
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[ccoouunntt]] TT <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Search backward, count ttiimmeess,, tthhrroouugghh tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee
ffoorr tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr _a_f_t_e_r tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>_.
_T_h_e TT _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _m_a_y _b_e _u_s_e_d _a_s _t_h_e _m_o_t_i_o_n _c_o_m_p_o_n_e_n_t _o_f
_o_t_h_e_r vvii _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s_, _i_n _w_h_i_c_h _c_a_s_e _a_n_y _t_e_x_t _c_o_p_i_e_d _i_n_t_o _a
_b_u_f_f_e_r _i_s _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _o_r_i_e_n_t_e_d_.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the character _a_f_t_e_r the searched-for
character.
Options: None.
UU
Restore the current line to its state before the cursor
last moved to it.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: The first character in the line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] WW
Move forward count bbiiggwwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr ffoorrwwaarrdd
ttoo tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffoollllooww--
iinngg aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss wwiitthhiinn aa bbiigg--
wwoorrdd oorr tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr aatt tthhaatt ppoossiittiioonn ccaannnnoott bbee ppaarrtt
ooff aa bbiiggwwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee nneexxtt
bbiiggwwoorrdd.. IIff nnoo ssuubbsseeqquueenntt bbiiggwwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt lliinnee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee ffiirrsstt
bbiiggwwoorrdd oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt ffoolllloowwiinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa
bbiiggwwoorrdd..
TThhee WW ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: The line containing the word selected.
Column: The first character of the word selected.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] XX
Delete count cchhaarraacctteerrss bbeeffoorree tthhee ccuurrssoorr.. IIff tthhee nnuumm--
bbeerr ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss ttoo bbee ddeelleetteedd iiss ggrreeaatteerr tthhaann oorr
UUSSDD::1133--4466 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
eeqquuaall ttoo tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss ttoo tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff
tthhee lliinnee,, aallll ooff tthhee cchhaarraacctteerrss bbeeffoorree tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ccuurr--
ssoorr ppoossiittiioonn,, ttoo tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee lliinnee,, aarree
ddeelleetteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the current character minus count, or
the first character if count is greater than
the number of characters in the line before
the cursor.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] YY
Copy (or "yank") count lliinneess iinnttoo tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd bbuuffffeerr..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: None.
ZZZZ
Write the file and exit vvii. The file is only written
if it has been modified since the last complete write
of the file to any file.
The ZZZZ command will exit the editor after writing the
file, if there are no further files to edit. Entering
two "quit" commands (i.e. wwqq, qquuiitt, xxiitt or ZZZZ) in a
row will override this check and the editor will exit,
ignoring any files that have not yet been edited.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] [[[[
Back up count sseeccttiioonn bboouunnddaarriieess..
TThhee [[[[ ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee [[[[ ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppoossiittiioonn iiss
ccoolluummnn 00,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff
tthhee ffiillee..
Line: Set to the previous line that is count sseeccttiioonn
bboouunnddaarriieess bbaacckk,, oorr tthhee ffiirrsstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee
iiff nnoo mmoorree sseeccttiioonn bboouunnddaarriieess eexxiisstt pprreecceeddiinngg
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--4477
Options: Affected by the sseeccttiioonnss option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ]]]]
Move forward count sseeccttiioonn bboouunnddaarriieess..
TThhee ]]]] ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee ]]]] ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg ppoossiittiioonn iiss
ccoolluummnn 00,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
IItt iiss aann eerrrroorr iiff tthhee mmoovveemmeenntt iiss ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee
ffiillee..
Line: Set to the line that is count sseeccttiioonn bboouunndd--
aarriieess ffoorrwwaarrdd,, oorr ttoo tthhee llaasstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee
iiff nnoo mmoorree sseeccttiioonn bboouunnddaarriieess eexxiisstt ffoolllloowwiinngg
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee..
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: Affected by the sseeccttiioonnss option.
^^
Move to first nonblank character on the current line.
The ^^ command may be used as the motion component of
other vvii commands, in which case any text copied into a
buffer is character oriented.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
current line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] __
Move down count - 1 lliinneess,, ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt nnoonnbbllaannkk cchhaarr--
aacctteerr.. TThhee __ ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoo--
nneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt
ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
IItt iiss nnoott aann eerrrroorr ttoo eexxeeccuuttee tthhee __ ccoommmmaanndd wwhheenn tthhee
ccuurrssoorr iiss oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr iinn tthhee lliinnee..
Line: The current line plus count - 1..
Column: The first nonblank character in the line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] aa
Enter input mode, appending the text after the cursor.
If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt iinnppuutt iiss rreeppeeaatteeddllyy
iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
UUSSDD::1133--4488 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[ccoouunntt]] bb
Move backward count wwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr bbaacckkwwaarrdd ttoo
tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff aa wwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg
aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss aatt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg
ooff aa wwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee pprreecceeddiinngg
wwoorrdd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn mmoovveess ttoo tthhee
ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee wwoorrdd aatt tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn..
IIff nnoo pprreecceeddiinngg wwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee,, mmoovvee
ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee llaasstt wwoorrdd oonn tthhee ffiirrsstt
pprreecceeddiinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa wwoorrdd..
TThhee bb ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the word selected.
Column: Set to the first character of the word
selected.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] cc mmoottiioonn
Change the region of text specified by the count aanndd
mmoottiioonn. If only part of a single line is affected,
then the last character being changed is marked with a
"$"".. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee rreeggiioonn ooff tteexxtt iiss ddeelleetteedd,, aanndd
iinnppuutt mmooddee iiss eenntteerreedd..
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] dd mmoottiioonn
Delete the region of text specified by the count aanndd
mmoottiioonn.
Line: Set to the line where the region starts.
Column: Set to the first character in the line after
the last character in the region. If no such
character exists, set to the last character
before the region.
Options: None.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--4499
[[ccoouunntt]] ee
Move forward count eenndd--ooff--wwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr ffoorr--
wwaarrdd ttoo tthhee eenndd ooff aa wwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg
aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss tthhee eenndd ooff aa
wwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg wwoorrdd..
OOtthheerrwwiissee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee wwoorrdd aatt
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn.. IIff nnoo ssuucccceeeeddiinngg wwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee
ffiirrsstt wwoorrdd oonn tthhee nneexxtt ffoolllloowwiinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa
wwoorrdd..
TThhee ee ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the word selected.
Column: Set to the last character of the word
selected.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] ff <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Search forward, count ttiimmeess,, tthhrroouugghh tthhee rreesstt ooff tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee ffoorr <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>.
The ff command may be used as the motion component of
other vvii commands, in which case any text copied into a
buffer is character oriented.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the searched-for character.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] ii
Enter input mode, inserting the text before the cursor.
If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt iinnppuutt iiss rreeppeeaatteeddllyy
iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
mm <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Save the current context (line and column) as <charac-
ter>.. TThhee eexxaacctt ppoossiittiioonn iiss rreeffeerrrreedd ttoo bbyy ""``<<cchhaarraacc--
tteerr>>". The line is referred to by "'<character>""..
HHiissttoorriiccaallllyy,, <<cchhaarraacctteerr>> was restricted to lower-case
letters. NNvvii permits the use of any character.
UUSSDD::1133--5500 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] oo
Enter input mode, appending text in a new line under
the current line. If count iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee tteexxtt
iinnppuutt iiss rreeppeeaatteeddllyy iinnppuutt ccoouunntt -- 11 more times.
Historically, any count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee oo ccoommmmaanndd wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] pp
Append text from a buffer. Text from the buffer (the
unnamed buffer by default) is appended after the cur-
rent column or, if the buffer is line oriented, after
the current line.
Line: Set to the first line appended, if the buffer
is line oriented, otherwise unchanged.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character of the
appended text if the buffer is line oriented,
otherwise, the last character of the appended
text.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] rr <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Replace characters. The next count cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn tthhee
lliinnee aarree rreeppllaacceedd wwiitthh <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>. Replacing charac-
ters with <newline> cchhaarraacctteerrss rreessuullttss iinn ccrreeaattiinngg nneeww,,
eemmppttyy lliinneess iinnttoo tthhee ffiillee..
IIff <<cchhaarraacctteerr>> is <escape>,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss ccaanncceelllleedd..
Line: Unchanged unless the replacement character is
a <newline>,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss sseett ttoo tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee pplluuss ccoouunntt -- 11.
Column: Set to the last character replaced, unless the
replacement character is a <newline>, in which
case the cursor is in column 1 of the last
line inserted.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] ss
Substitute count cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee ssttaarrtt--
iinngg wwiitthh tthhee ccuurrrreenntt cchhaarraacctteerr..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--5511
Line: Set to the last line upon which characters
were entered.
Column: Set to the last character entered.
Options: Affected by the aallttwweerraassee, aauuttooiinnddeenntt, bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy, sshhoowwmmaattcchh, ttttyywweerraassee and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn
options.
[[ccoouunntt]] tt <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Search forward, count ttiimmeess,, tthhrroouugghh tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee
ffoorr tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr iimmmmeeddiiaatteellyy _b_e_f_o_r_e <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>_.
_T_h_e tt _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _m_a_y _b_e _u_s_e_d _a_s _t_h_e _m_o_t_i_o_n _c_o_m_p_o_n_e_n_t _o_f
_o_t_h_e_r vvii _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s_, _i_n _w_h_i_c_h _c_a_s_e _a_n_y _t_e_x_t _c_o_p_i_e_d _i_n_t_o _a
_b_u_f_f_e_r _i_s _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _o_r_i_e_n_t_e_d_.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the character _b_e_f_o_r_e the searched-for
character.
Options: None.
uu
Undo the last change made to the file. If repeated,
the uu command alternates between these two states, and
is its own inverse. When used after an insert that
inserted text on more than one line, the lines are
saved in the numeric buffers.
The .. command, when used immediately after the uu com-
mand, causes the change log to be rolled forward or
backward, depending on the action of the uu command.
Line: Set to the position of the first line changed,
if the reversal affects only one line or rep-
resents an addition or change; otherwise, the
line preceding the deleted text.
Column: Set to the cursor position before the change
was made.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] ww
Move forward count wwoorrddss.. MMoovvee tthhee ccuurrssoorr ffoorrwwaarrdd ttoo
tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff aa wwoorrdd bbyy rreeppeeaattiinngg tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg
aallggoorriitthhmm:: iiff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppoossiittiioonn iiss aatt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg
ooff aa wwoorrdd,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee nneexxtt
wwoorrdd.. IIff nnoo ssuubbsseeqquueenntt wwoorrdd eexxiissttss oonn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt
lliinnee,, mmoovvee ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee ffiirrsstt wwoorrdd oonn
tthhee ffiirrsstt ffoolllloowwiinngg lliinnee tthhaatt ccoonnttaaiinnss aa wwoorrdd..
TThhee ww ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff
ootthheerr vvii ccoommmmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa
bbuuffffeerr iiss cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd..
UUSSDD::1133--5522 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Set to the line containing the word selected.
Column: Set to the first character of the word
selected.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] xx
Delete count cchhaarraacctteerrss.. TThhee ddeelleettiioonn iiss aatt tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt cchhaarraacctteerr ppoossiittiioonn.. IIff tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss
ttoo bbee ddeelleetteedd iiss ggrreeaatteerr tthhaann oorr eeqquuaall ttoo tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff
cchhaarraacctteerrss ttoo tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee lliinnee,, aallll ooff tthhee cchhaarraacc--
tteerrss ffrroomm tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ccuurrssoorr ppoossiittiioonn ttoo tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee
lliinnee aarree ddeelleetteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Unchanged unless the last character in the
line is deleted and the cursor is not already
on the first character in the line, in which
case it is set to the previous character.
Options: None.
[[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] yy mmoottiioonn
Copy (or "yank") the text region specified by the count
aanndd mmoottiioonn, into a buffer.
Line: Unchanged, unless the region covers more than
a single line, in which case it is set to the
line where the region starts.
Column: Unchanged, unless the region covers more than
a single line, in which case it is set to the
character were the region starts.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt11]] zz [[ccoouunntt22]] ttyyppee
Redraw the screen with a window count2 lliinneess lloonngg,, wwiitthh
lliinnee ccoouunntt11 placed as specified by the type cchhaarraacctteerr..
IIff ccoouunntt11 is not specified, it defaults to the current
line. If count2 iiss nnoott ssppeecciiffiieedd,, iitt ddeeffaauullttss ttoo tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt wwiinnddooww ssiizzee..
TThhee ffoolllloowwiinngg ttyyppee 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, similarly
to the <<ccoonnttrrooll--FF>> command.
<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.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--5533
^ If count1 is specified, place the line that is
at the top of the screen when count1 is at the
bottom of the screen, at the bottom of the
screen, i.e. display the screen before the
screen before count1. Otherwise, display the
screen before the current screen, similarly to
the <<ccoonnttrrooll--BB>> command.
Line: Set to count1 unless count1 is not specified
and the type character was either "^" or "+",
in which case it is set to the line before the
first line on the previous screen or the line
after the last line on the previous screen,
respectively.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: None.
[[ccoouunntt]] {{
Move backward count ppaarraaggrraapphhss..
TThhee {{ ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee {{ ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg cchhaarraacctteerr iiss
tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr oonn iittss lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss
lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the beginning of
the previous paragraph.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: Affected by the ppaarraaggrraapphh option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ||
Move to a specific _c_o_l_u_m_n position on the current line.
The || command may be used as the motion component of
other vvii commands, in which case any text copied into a
buffer is character oriented. It is an error to use
the || command as a motion component and for the cursor
not to move.
Line: Unchanged.
Column: Set to the character occupying the column
position identified by count, if the position
exists in the line. If the column length of
the current line is less than count, the cur-
sor is moved to the last character in the
line.
Options: None.
UUSSDD::1133--5544 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
[[ccoouunntt]] }}
Move forward count ppaarraaggrraapphhss..
TThhee }} ccoommmmaanndd iiss aann aabbssoolluuttee mmoovveemmeenntt.. TThhee }} ccoommmmaanndd
mmaayy bbee uusseedd aass tthhee mmoottiioonn ccoommppoonneenntt ooff ootthheerr vvii ccoomm--
mmaannddss,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee aannyy tteexxtt ccooppiieedd iinnttoo aa bbuuffffeerr iiss
cchhaarraacctteerr oorriieenntteedd,, uunnlleessss tthhee ssttaarrttiinngg cchhaarraacctteerr iiss aatt
oorr bbeeffoorree aannyy nnoonnbbllaannkk cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn iittss lliinnee,, iinn wwhhiicchh
ccaassee iitt iiss lliinnee oorriieenntteedd..
Line: Set to the line containing the beginning of
the next paragraph.
Column: Set to the first nonblank character in the
line.
Options: Affected by the ppaarraaggrraapphh option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ~~
Reverse the case of the next count cchhaarraacctteerr((ss)).. TThhiiss
iiss tthhee hhiissttoorriicc sseemmaannttiicc ffoorr tthhee ~~ ccoommmmaanndd aanndd iitt iiss
oonnllyy iinn eeffffeecctt iiff tthhee ttiillddeeoopp ooppttiioonn iiss nnoott sseett..
LLoowweerrccaassee aallpphhaabbeettiicc cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree cchhaannggeedd ttoo uuppppeerr--
ccaassee,, aanndd uuppppeerrccaassee cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree cchhaannggeedd ttoo lloowweerr--
ccaassee.. NNoo ootthheerr cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree aaffffeecctteedd..
HHiissttoorriiccaallllyy,, tthhee ~~ ccoommmmaanndd ddiidd nnoott ttaakkee aann aassssoocciiaatteedd
ccoouunntt,, nnoorr ddiidd iitt mmoovvee ppaasstt tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee ccuurrrreenntt
lliinnee.. AAss iitt hhaadd nnoo aassssoocciiaatteedd mmoottiioonn iitt wwaass ddiiffffiiccuulltt
ttoo cchhaannggee tthhee ccaassee ooff llaarrggee bblloocckkss ooff tteexxtt.. IInn nnvvii,, iiff
tthhee ccuurrssoorr iiss oonn tthhee llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff aa lliinnee,, aanndd
tthheerree aarree mmoorree lliinneess iinn tthhee ffiillee,, tthhee ccuurrssoorr mmoovveess ttoo
tthhee nneexxtt lliinnee..
IItt iiss nnoott aann eerrrroorr ttoo ssppeecciiffyy aa ccoouunntt llaarrggeerr tthhaann tthhee
nnuummbbeerr ooff cchhaarraacctteerrss bbeettwweeeenn tthhee ccuurrssoorr aanndd tthhee eenndd ooff
tthhee ffiillee..
Line: Set to the line of the character after count
cchhaarraacctteerrss,, oorr,, eenndd ooff ffiillee..
Column: Set to the character after count cchhaarraacctteerrss,,
oorr,, eenndd--ooff--ffiillee..
Options: Affected by the ttiillddeeoopp option.
[[ccoouunntt]] ~~ mmoottiioonn
Reverse the case of the characters in a text region
specified by the count aanndd mmoottiioonn. Only in effect if
the ttiillddeeoopp option is set.
Lowercase characters are changed to uppercase, and
uppercase characters are changed to lowercase. No
other characters are affected.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--5555
Line: Set to the line of the character after the
last character in the region.
Column: Set to the character after the last character
in the region.
Options: Affected by the ttiillddeeoopp option.
<<iinntteerrrruupptt>>
Interrupt the current operation. Many of the poten-
tially long-running vvii commands may be interrupted
using the terminal interrupt character. These opera-
tions include searches, file reading and writing, fil-
ter operations and map character expansion. Interrupts
are also enabled when running commands outside of vvii.
If the <interrupt> cchhaarraacctteerr iiss uusseedd ttoo iinntteerrrruupptt wwhhiillee
eenntteerriinngg aann eexx ccoommmmaanndd,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss aabboorrtteedd,, tthhee
ccuurrssoorr rreettuurrnnss ttoo iittss pprreevviioouuss ppoossiittiioonn,, aanndd vvii rreemmaaiinnss
iinn ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee..
GGeenneerraallllyy,, iiff tthhee <<iinntteerrrruupptt>> cchhaarraacctteerr iiss uusseedd ttoo
iinntteerrrruupptt aannyy ooppeerraattiioonn,, aannyy cchhaannggeess mmaaddee bbeeffoorree tthhee
iinntteerrrruupptt aarree lleefftt iinn ppllaaccee..
Line: Dependent on the operation being interrupted.
Column: Dependent on the operation being interrupted.
Options: None.
1144.. VVii TTeexxtt IInnppuutt CCoommmmaannddss
The following section describes the commands
available in the text input mode of the vvii editor.
Historically, vvii implementations only permitted
the characters inserted on the current line to be
erased. In addition, only the <control-D> eerraassee cchhaarr--
aacctteerr aanndd tthhee ""00<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>" and "^<control-D>"" eerraassee
ssttrriinnggss ccoouulldd eerraassee aauuttooiinnddeenntt cchhaarraacctteerrss.. ((AAuuttooiinnddeenntt
cchhaarraacctteerrss iinncclluuddee bbootthh tthhee cchhaarraacctteerrss iinnsseerrtteedd aauuttoo--
mmaattiiccaallllyy aatt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff aann iinnppuutt lliinnee aass wweellll aass
cchhaarraacctteerrss iinnsseerrtteedd uussiinngg tthhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>> command.)
This implementation permits erasure to continue past
the beginning of the current line, and back to where
text input mode was entered. In addition, autoindent
characters may be erased using the standard erase char-
acters. For the line and word erase characters, reach-
ing the autoindent characters forms a "soft" boundary,
denoting the end of the current word or line erase.
Repeating the word or line erase key will erase the
autoindent characters.
Historically, vvii always used <control-H> aanndd <<ccoonn--
ttrrooll--WW>> as character and word erase characters, respec-
tively, regardless of the current terminal settings.
UUSSDD::1133--5566 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss))
This implementation accepts, in addition to these two
characters, the current terminal characters for those
operations.
<<nnuull>>
If the first character of the input is a <nul>,,
tthhee pprreevviioouuss iinnppuutt iiss rreeppllaayyeedd,, aass iiff jjuusstt
eenntteerreedd..
<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>
If the previous character on the line was an
autoindent character, erase characters to move the
cursor back to the column immediately after the
previous (1-based) column which is a multiple of
the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh edit option. This may result in
any number of <tab> aanndd <<ssppaaccee>> characters preced-
ing the cursor being changed.
Otherwise, if the aauuttooiinnddeenntt option is set and the
user is entering the first character in the line,
<control-D> iiss iiggnnoorreedd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, aa lliitteerraall
<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> character is entered.
^^<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>
If the previous character on the line was an
autoindent character, erase all of the autoindent
characters on the line. In addition, the autoin-
dent level is reset to 0.
00<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>
If the previous character on the line was an
autoindent character, erase all of the autoindent
characters on the line. The autoindent level is
not altered.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--TT>>
Insert sufficient <tab> aanndd <<ssppaaccee>> characters to
move the cursor forward to the column immediately
after the next (1-based) column which is a multi-
ple of the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh edit option. This may
result in any number of <tab> aanndd <<ssppaaccee>> charac-
ters preceding the cursor being changed.
Historically, vvii did not permit the <control-T>
ccoommmmaanndd ttoo bbee uusseedd uunnlleessss tthhee ccuurrssoorr wwaass aatt tthhee
ffiirrsstt ccoolluummnn ooff aa nneeww lliinnee oorr iitt wwaass pprreecceeddeedd oonnllyy
bbyy aauuttooiinnddeenntt cchhaarraacctteerrss.. NNvvii ppeerrmmiittss iitt ttoo bbee
uusseedd aatt aannyy ttiimmee dduurriinngg iinnsseerrtt mmooddee..
<<eerraassee>>
<<ccoonnttrrooll--HH>>
Erase the last character.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((VVii CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--5577
<<lliitteerraall--nneexxtt>>
Quote the next character. The next character will
not be mapped (see the mmaapp command for more infor-
mation) or interpreted specially. A carat ("^""))
cchhaarraacctteerr wwiillll bbee ddiissppllaayyeedd iimmmmeeddiiaatteellyy aass aa
ppllaacceehhoollddeerr,, bbuutt wwiillll bbee rreeppllaacceedd bbyy tthhee nneexxtt
cchhaarraacctteerr..
<<eessccaappee>>
If on the colon command line, and the ffiilleecc edit
option is set, behave as described for that
option. Otherwise, if on the colon command line,
execute the command. Otherwise, if not on the
colon command line, resolve all text input into
the file, and return to command mode.
<<lliinnee eerraassee>>
Erase the current line.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--WW>>
<<wwoorrdd eerraassee>>
Erase the last word. The definition of word is
dependent on the aallttwweerraassee and ttttyywweerraassee options.
<<ccoonnttrrooll--XX>>[[00--99AA--FFaa--ff]]++
Insert a character with the specified hexadecimal
value into the text. The value is delimited by
any non-hexadecimal character or the input of the
maximum number of characters that can be trans-
lated into a single character value.
<<iinntteerrrruupptt>>
Interrupt text input mode, returning to command
mode. If the <interrupt> cchhaarraacctteerr iiss uusseedd ttoo
iinntteerrrruupptt iinnsseerrttiinngg tteexxtt iinnttoo tthhee ffiillee,, iitt iiss aass
iiff tthhee <<eessccaappee>> character was used; all text input
up to the interruption is resolved into the file.
1155.. EExx AAddddrreessssiinngg
Addressing in eexx (and when eexx commands are exe-
cuted from vvii) relates to the current line. In gen-
eral, the current line is the last line affected by a
command. The exact effect on the current line is dis-
cussed under the description of each command. When the
file contains no lines, the current line is zero.
Addresses are constructed by one or more of the
following methods:
(1) The address "." refers to the current line.
UUSSDD::1133--5588 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
(2) The address "$" refers to the last line of the
file.
(3) The address "N", where N is a positive number,
refers to the N-th line of the file.
(4) The address "'<character>" or "`<character>"
refers to the line marked with the name <charac-
ter>. (See the kk or mm commands for more infor-
mation on how to mark lines.)
(5) A regular expression (RE) enclosed by slashes
("/") is an address, and it refers to the first
line found by searching forward from the line
_a_f_t_e_r the current line toward the end of the
file, and stopping at the first line containing
a string matching the RE. (The trailing slash
can be omitted at the end of the command line.)
If no RE is specified, i.e. the pattern is "//_"_,
_t_h_e _l_a_s_t _R_E _u_s_e_d _i_n _a_n_y _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _i_s _u_s_e_d _i_n _t_h_e
_s_e_a_r_c_h_.
_I_f _t_h_e eexxtteennddeedd _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _s_e_t_, _t_h_e _R_E _i_s _h_a_n_d_l_e_d
_a_s _a_n _e_x_t_e_n_d_e_d _R_E_, _n_o_t _a _b_a_s_i_c _R_E_. _I_f _t_h_e wwrraapp--
ssccaann _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _s_e_t_, _t_h_e _s_e_a_r_c_h _w_r_a_p_s _a_r_o_u_n_d _t_o
_t_h_e _b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g _o_f _t_h_e _f_i_l_e _a_n_d _c_o_n_t_i_n_u_e_s _u_p _t_o
_a_n_d _i_n_c_l_u_d_i_n_g _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _l_i_n_e_, _s_o _t_h_a_t _t_h_e
_e_n_t_i_r_e _f_i_l_e _i_s _s_e_a_r_c_h_e_d_.
_T_h_e _f_o_r_m _"_\_/"" iiss aacccceepptteedd ffoorr hhiissttoorriicc rreeaassoonnss,,
aanndd iiss iiddeennttiiccaall ttoo ""////_"_.
(6) An RE enclosed in question marks ("?_"_)
_a_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s _t_h_e _f_i_r_s_t _l_i_n_e _f_o_u_n_d _b_y _s_e_a_r_c_h_i_n_g
_b_a_c_k_w_a_r_d _f_r_o_m _t_h_e _l_i_n_e _p_r_e_c_e_d_i_n_g _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t
_l_i_n_e_, _t_o_w_a_r_d _t_h_e _b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g _o_f _t_h_e _f_i_l_e _a_n_d _s_t_o_p_-
_p_i_n_g _a_t _t_h_e _f_i_r_s_t _l_i_n_e _c_o_n_t_a_i_n_i_n_g _a _s_t_r_i_n_g
_m_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _t_h_e _R_E_. _(_T_h_e _t_r_a_i_l_i_n_g _q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _m_a_r_k
_c_a_n _b_e _o_m_i_t_t_e_d _a_t _t_h_e _e_n_d _o_f _a _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_n_e_._)
_I_f _n_o _R_E _i_s _s_p_e_c_i_f_i_e_d_, _i_._e_. _t_h_e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _i_s _"_?_?_"_,
_t_h_e _l_a_s_t _R_E _u_s_e_d _i_n _a_n_y _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _i_s _u_s_e_d _i_n _t_h_e
_s_e_a_r_c_h_.
_I_f _t_h_e eexxtteennddeedd _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _s_e_t_, _t_h_e _R_E _i_s _h_a_n_d_l_e_d
_a_s _a_n _e_x_t_e_n_d_e_d _R_E_, _n_o_t _a _b_a_s_i_c _R_E_. _I_f _t_h_e wwrraapp--
ssccaann _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _s_e_t_, _t_h_e _s_e_a_r_c_h _w_r_a_p_s _a_r_o_u_n_d
_f_r_o_m _t_h_e _b_e_g_i_n_n_i_n_g _o_f _t_h_e _f_i_l_e _t_o _t_h_e _e_n_d _o_f _t_h_e
_f_i_l_e _a_n_d _c_o_n_t_i_n_u_e_s _u_p _t_o _a_n_d _i_n_c_l_u_d_i_n_g _t_h_e _c_u_r_-
_r_e_n_t _l_i_n_e_, _s_o _t_h_a_t _t_h_e _e_n_t_i_r_e _f_i_l_e _i_s _s_e_a_r_c_h_e_d_.
_T_h_e _f_o_r_m _"_\_?"" iiss aacccceepptteedd ffoorr hhiissttoorriicc rreeaassoonnss,,
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--5599
aanndd iiss iiddeennttiiccaall ttoo ""????_"_.
(7) An address followed by a plus sign ("+_"_) _o_r _a
_m_i_n_u_s _s_i_g_n _(_"_-") followed by a number is an off-
set address and refers to the address plus (or
minus) the indicated number of lines. If the
address is omitted, the addition or subtraction
is done with respect to the current line.
(8) An address of "+" or "-" followed by a number is
an offset from the current line. For example,
"-5" is the same as ".-5".
(9) An address ending with "+" or "-" has 1 added to
or subtracted from the address, respectively.
As a consequence of this rule and of the previ-
ous rule, the address "-" refers to the line
preceding the current line. Moreover, trailing
"+" and "-" characters have a cumulative effect.
For example, "++-++" refers to the current line
plus 3.
(10) A percent sign ("%") is equivalent to the
address range "1,$".
EExx commands require zero, one, or two addresses.
It is an error to specify an address to a command which
requires zero addresses.
If the user provides more than the expected number
of addresses to any eexx command, the first addresses
specified are discarded. For example, "1,2,3,5""pprriinntt
pprriinnttss lliinneess 33 tthhrroouugghh 55,, bbeeccaauussee tthhee pprriinntt ccoommmmaanndd
oonnllyy ttaakkeess ttwwoo aaddddrreesssseess..
The addresses in a range are separated from each
other by a comma (","")) oorr aa sseemmiiccoolloonn (("";;"). In the
latter case, the current line ("."")) iiss sseett ttoo tthhee
ffiirrsstt aaddddrreessss,, aanndd oonnllyy tthheenn iiss tthhee sseeccoonndd aaddddrreessss ccaall--
ccuullaatteedd.. TThhiiss ffeeaattuurree ccaann bbee uusseedd ttoo ddeetteerrmmiinnee tthhee
ssttaarrttiinngg lliinnee ffoorr ffoorrwwaarrdd aanndd bbaacckkwwaarrdd sseeaarrcchheess ((sseeee
rruulleess ((55)) aanndd ((66)) aabboovvee)).. TThhee sseeccoonndd aaddddrreessss ooff aannyy
ttwwoo--aaddddrreessss sseeqquueennccee ccoorrrreessppoonnddss ttoo aa lliinnee tthhaatt ffooll--
lloowwss,, iinn tthhee ffiillee,, tthhee lliinnee ccoorrrreessppoonnddiinngg ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt
aaddddrreessss.. TThhee ffiirrsstt aaddddrreessss mmuusstt bbee lleessss tthhaann oorr eeqquuaall
ttoo tthhee sseeccoonndd aaddddrreessss.. TThhee ffiirrsstt aaddddrreessss mmuusstt bbee
ggrreeaatteerr tthhaann oorr eeqquuaall ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee,,
aanndd tthhee llaasstt aaddddrreessss mmuusstt bbee lleessss tthhaann oorr eeqquuaall ttoo tthhee
llaasstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee..
UUSSDD::1133--6600 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
1166.. EExx DDeessccrriippttiioonn
The following words have special meanings for eexx
commands.
<<eenndd--ooff--ffiillee>>
The end-of-file character is used to scroll the
screen in the eexx editor. This character is nor-
mally <control-D>.. HHoowweevveerr,, wwhhaatteevveerr cchhaarraacctteerr iiss
sseett ffoorr tthhee ccuurrrreenntt tteerrmmiinnaall iiss ssuuppppoorrtteedd aass wweellll
aass <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>.
lliinnee
A single-line address, given in any of the forms
described in the section entitled "EExx AAddddrreessssiinngg".
The default for line iiss tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee..
rraannggee
A line, or a pair of line addresses, separated by
a comma or semicolon. (See the section entitled
"EExx AAddddrreessssiinngg" for more information.) The
default for range is the current line _o_n_l_y, i.e.
".,._"_. _A _p_e_r_c_e_n_t _s_i_g_n _(_"_%") stands for the range
"1,$_"_. _T_h_e _s_t_a_r_t_i_n_g _a_d_d_r_e_s_s _m_u_s_t _b_e _l_e_s_s _t_h_a_n_, _o_r
_e_q_u_a_l _t_o_, _t_h_e _e_n_d_i_n_g _a_d_d_r_e_s_s_.
ccoouunntt
A positive integer, specifying the number of lines
to be affected by the command; the default is 1.
Generally, a count past the end-of-file may be
specified, e.g. the command "p 3000"" iinn aa 1100 lliinnee
ffiillee iiss aacccceeppttaabbllee,, aanndd wwiillll pprriinntt ffrroomm tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt lliinnee tthhrroouugghh tthhee llaasstt lliinnee iinn tthhee ffiillee..
ffllaaggss
One or more of the characters "#", "p", and "l".
When a command that accepts these flags completes,
the addressed line(s) are written out as if by the
corresponding ##, ll or pp commands. In addition,
any number of "+"" oorr ""--" characters can be speci-
fied before, after, or during the flags, in which
case the line written is not necessarily the one
affected by the command, but rather the line
addressed by the offset address specified. The
default for flags iiss nnoonnee..
ffiillee
A pattern used to derive a pathname; the default
is the current file. File names are subjected to
normal _s_h(1) word expansions.
Anywhere a file name is specified, it is also pos-
sible to use the special string "/tmp". This will be
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--6611
replaced with a temporary file name which can be used
for temporary work, e.g. ":e /tmp" creates and edits a
new file.
If both a count and a range are specified for com-
mands that use either, the starting line for the com-
mand is the _l_a_s_t line addressed by the range, and
count_- _s_u_b_s_e_q_u_e_n_t _l_i_n_e_s _a_r_e _a_f_f_e_c_t_e_d _b_y _t_h_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_,
_e_._g_. _t_h_e _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _"_2_,_3_p_4" prints out lines 3, 4, 5 and
6.
When only a line or range is specified, with no
command, the implied command is either a lliisstt, nnuummbbeerr
or pprriinntt command. The command used is the most recent
of the three commands to have been used (including any
use as a flag). If none of these commands have been
used before, the pprriinntt command is the implied command.
When no range or count is specified and the command
line is a blank line, the current line is incremented
by 1 and then the current line is displayed.
Zero or more whitespace characters may precede or
follow the addresses, count, flags, or command name.
Any object following a command name (such as buffer,
file, etc.), that begins with an alphabetic character,
should be separated from the command name by at least
one whitespace character.
Any character, including <carriage-return>, "%"
and "#" retain their literal value when preceded by a
backslash.
1177.. EExx CCoommmmaannddss
The following section describes the commands
available in the eexx editor. In each entry below, the
tag line is a usage synopsis for the command.
Each command can be entered as the abbreviation
(those characters in the synopsis command word preced-
ing the "[" character), the full command (all charac-
ters shown for the command word, omitting the "[" and
"]" characters), or any leading subset of the full com-
mand down to the abbreviation. For example, the args
command (shown as "ar[gs]" in the synopsis) can be
entered as "ar", "arg" or "args".
Each eexx command described below notes the new cur-
rent line after it is executed, as well as any options
that affect the command.
""
A comment. Command lines beginning with the
UUSSDD::1133--6622 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
double-quote character ("""")) aarree iiggnnoorreedd.. TThhiiss
ppeerrmmiittss ccoommmmeennttss iinn eeddiittoorr ssccrriippttss aanndd ssttaarrttuupp
ffiilleess..
<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>
<<eenndd--ooff--ffiillee>>
Scroll the screen. Write the next N lines, where
N is the value of the ssccrroollll option. The command
is the end-of-file terminal character, which may
be different on different terminals. Tradition-
ally, it is the <control-D> kkeeyy..
HHiissttoorriiccaallllyy,, tthhee eeooff ccoommmmaanndd iiggnnoorreedd aannyy pprreecceedd--
iinngg ccoouunntt,, aanndd tthhee <<eenndd--ooff--ffiillee>> cchhaarraacctteerr wwaass
iiggnnoorreedd uunnlleessss iitt wwaass eenntteerreedd aass tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacc--
tteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd.. TThhiiss iimmpplleemmeennttaattiioonn ttrreeaattss iitt
aass aa ccoommmmaanndd _o_n_l_y iiff eenntteerreedd aass tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacc--
tteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd lliinnee,, aanndd ootthheerrwwiissee ttrreeaattss iitt
aass aannyy ootthheerr cchhaarraacctteerr..
Line: Set to the last line written.
Options: Affected by the ssccrroollll option.
!! aarrgguummeenntt((ss))
[[rraannggee]]!! aarrgguummeenntt((ss))
Execute a shell command, or filter lines through a
shell command. In the first synopsis, the remain-
der of the line after the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr iiss ppaasssseedd
ttoo tthhee pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll ooppttiioonn,, aass aa
ssiinnggllee aarrgguummeenntt..
WWiitthhiinn tthhee rreesstt ooff tthhee lliinnee,, ""%%"" aanndd ""##"" aarree
eexxppaannddeedd iinnttoo tthhee ccuurrrreenntt aanndd aalltteerrnnaattee ppaatthhnnaammeess,,
rreessppeeccttiivveellyy.. TThhee cchhaarraacctteerr ""!!"" iiss eexxppaannddeedd wwiitthh
tthhee ccoommmmaanndd tteexxtt ooff tthhee pprreevviioouuss !! ccoommmmaanndd..
((TThheerreeffoorree,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd !!!! rreeppeeaattss tthhee pprreevviioouuss !!
ccoommmmaanndd..)) TThhee ssppeecciiaall mmeeaanniinnggss ooff ""%%"",, ""##"",, aanndd
""!!"" ccaann bbee oovveerrrriiddddeenn bbyy eessccaappiinngg tthheemm wwiitthh aa
bbaacckkssllaasshh.. IIff nnoo !! oorr ::!! ccoommmmaanndd hhaass yyeett bbeeeenn
eexxeeccuutteedd,, iitt iiss aann eerrrroorr ttoo uussee aann uunneessccaappeedd ""!!""
cchhaarraacctteerr.. TThhee !! ccoommmmaanndd ddooeess _n_o_t ddoo sshheellll
eexxppaannssiioonn oonn tthhee ssttrriinnggss pprroovviiddeedd aass aarrgguummeennttss..
IIff aannyy ooff tthhee aabboovvee eexxppaannssiioonnss cchhaannggee tthhee ccoommmmaanndd
tthhee uusseerr eenntteerreedd,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss rreeddiissppllaayyeedd aatt
tthhee bboottttoomm ooff tthhee ssccrreeeenn..
EExx tthheenn eexxeeccuutteess tthhee pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll
ooppttiioonn,, wwiitthh aa --cc ffllaagg ffoolllloowweedd bbyy tthhee aarrgguummeennttss
((wwhhiicchh aarree bbuunnddlleedd iinnttoo aa ssiinnggllee aarrgguummeenntt))..
TThhee !! ccoommmmaanndd iiss ppeerrmmiitttteedd iinn aann eemmppttyy ffiillee..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--6633
IIff tthhee ffiillee hhaass bbeeeenn mmooddiiffiieedd ssiinnccee iitt wwaass llaasstt
ccoommpplleetteellyy wwrriitttteenn,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll wwaarrnn yyoouu..
AA ssiinnggllee ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr iiss ddiissppllaayyeedd wwhheenn tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd ccoommpplleetteess..
IInn tthhee sseeccoonndd ffoorrmm ooff tthhee !! ccoommmmaanndd,, tthhee rreemmaaiinn--
ddeerr ooff tthhee lliinnee aafftteerr tthhee ""!!"" iiss ppaasssseedd ttoo tthhee
pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll ooppttiioonn,, aass ddeessccrriibbeedd
aabboovvee.. TThhee ssppeecciiffiieedd lliinneess aarree ppaasssseedd ttoo tthhee pprroo--
ggrraamm aass ssttaannddaarrdd iinnppuutt,, aanndd tthhee ssttaannddaarrdd aanndd ssttaann--
ddaarrdd eerrrroorr oouuttppuutt ooff tthhee pprrooggrraamm rreeppllaaccee tthhee oorriigg--
iinnaall lliinneess..
Line: Unchanged if no range was specified, oth-
erwise set to the first line of the
range.
Options: Affected by the sshheellll and wwaarrnn options.
[[rraannggee]] ## [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
[[rraannggee]] nnuu[[mmbbeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Display the selected lines, each preceded with its
line number.
The line number format is "%6d", followed by two
spaces.
Line: Set to the last line displayed.
Options: Affected by the lliisstt option.
@@ bbuuffffeerr
** bbuuffffeerr
Execute a buffer. Each line in the named buffer
is executed as an eexx command. If no buffer is
specified, or if the specified buffer is "@"" oorr
""**", the last buffer executed is used.
[[rraannggee]] <<[[<< ......]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Shift lines left or right. The specified lines
are shifted to the left (for the << command) or
right (for the >> command), by the number of
columns specified by the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option. Only
leading whitespace characters are deleted when
shifting left; once the first column of the line
contains a nonblank character, the sshhiifftt command
will succeed, but the line will not be modified.
If the command character << or >> is repeated more
than once, the command is repeated once for each
additional command character.
Line: If the current line is set to one of the
lines that are affected by the command,
UUSSDD::1133--6644 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
it is unchanged. Otherwise, it is set to
the first nonblank character of the low-
est numbered line shifted.
Options: Affected by the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option.
[[lliinnee]] == [[ffllaaggss]]
Display the line number of line ((wwhhiicchh ddeeffaauullttss ttoo
tthhee llaasstt lliinnee iinn tthhee ffiillee))..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[rraannggee]] >>[[>> ......]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Shift right. The specified lines are shifted to
the right by the number of columns specified by
the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option, by inserting tab and space
characters. Empty lines are not changed.
If the command character ">"" iiss rreeppeeaatteedd mmoorree tthhaann
oonnccee,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss rreeppeeaatteedd oonnccee ffoorr eeaacchh aaddddii--
ttiioonnaall ccoommmmaanndd cchhaarraacctteerr..
Line: Set to the last line modified by the com-
mand.
Options: Affected by the sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh option.
aabb[[bbrreevv]] llhhss rrhhss
Add an abbreviation to the current abbreviation
list. When inserting text in vvii, each time a non-
word character is entered after a word character,
a set of characters ending at the word character
are checked for a match with lhs.. IIff aa mmaattcchh iiss
ffoouunndd,, tthheeyy aarree rreeppllaacceedd wwiitthh rrhhss. The set of
characters that are checked for a match are
defined as follows, for inexplicable historical
reasons. If only one or two characters were
entered before the non-word character that trig-
gered the check, and after the beginning of the
insertion, or the beginning of the line or the
file, or the last <blank> cchhaarraacctteerr tthhaatt wwaass
eenntteerreedd,, tthheenn tthhee oonnee oorr tthhee bbootthh cchhaarraacctteerrss aarree
cchheecckkeedd ffoorr aa mmaattcchh.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee sseett iinncclluuddeess
bbootthh cchhaarraacctteerrss,, aass wweellll aass tthhee cchhaarraacctteerrss tthhaatt
pprreecceeddee tthheemm tthhaatt aarree tthhee ssaammee wwoorrdd ccllaassss ((ii..ee..
wwoorrdd oorr nnoonn--wwoorrdd)) aass tthhee sseeccoonndd ttoo llaasstt cchhaarraacctteerr
eenntteerreedd bbeeffoorree tthhee nnoonn--wwoorrdd cchhaarraacctteerr tthhaatt ttrriigg--
ggeerreedd tthhee cchheecckk,, bbaacckk ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt <<bbllaannkk>>cchhaarraacc--
tteerr,, tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee iinnsseerrttiioonn,, oorr tthhee bbeeggiinn--
nniinngg ooff tthhee lliinnee oorr tthhee ffiillee..
FFoorr eexxaammppllee,, tthhee aabbbbrreevviiaattiioonnss::
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--6655
::aabbbbrreevviiaattee aabbcc AABBCC
::aabbbbrreevviiaattee ##ii ##iinncclluuddee
::aabbbbrreevviiaattee //**##ii //**##iinncclluuddee
will all work, while the abbreviations:
:abbreviate a#i A#include
:abbreviate /* /********************
will not work, and are not permitted by nnvvii.
To keep the abbreviation expansion from happening,
the character immediately following the lhs cchhaarr--
aacctteerrss sshhoouulldd bbee qquuootteedd wwiitthh aa <<lliitteerraall--nneexxtt>>
character.
The replacement rhs iiss iittsseellff ssuubbjjeecctt ttoo bbootthh ffuurr--
tthheerr aabbbbrreevviiaattiioonn eexxppaannssiioonn aanndd ffuurrtthheerr mmaapp eexxppaann--
ssiioonn..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[lliinnee]] aa[[ppppeenndd]][[!!]]
The input text is appended to the specified line.
If line 0 is specified, the text is inserted at
the beginning of the file. Set to the last line
input. If no lines are input, then set to line,,
oorr ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt lliinnee ooff tthhee ffiillee iiff aa lliinnee of 0
was specified. Following the command name with a
"!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ccaauusseess tthhee aauuttooiinnddeenntt ooppttiioonn ttoo bbee
ttoogggglleedd ffoorr tthhee dduurraattiioonn ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the aauuttooiinnddeenntt and nnuummbbeerr
options.
aarr[[ggss]]
Display the argument list. The current argument
is displayed inside of "["" aanndd ""]]" characters.
The argument list is the list of operands speci-
fied on startup, which can be replaced using the
nneexxtt command.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
bbgg
VVii mode only. Background the current screen. The
screen is unchanged, but is no longer accessible
and disappears from the display. Use the ffgg
UUSSDD::1133--6666 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
command to bring the screen back to the display
foreground.
Line: Set to the current line when the screen
was last edited.
Options: None.
[[rraannggee]] cc[[hhaannggee]][[!!]] [[ccoouunntt]]
Replace the lines with input text. Following the
command name with a "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ccaauusseess tthhee
aauuttooiinnddeenntt ooppttiioonn ttoo bbee ttoogggglleedd ffoorr tthhee dduurraattiioonn
ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: Set to the last line input, or, if no
lines were input, set to the line before
the target line, or to the first line of
the file if there are no lines preceding
the target line.
Options: Affected by the aauuttooiinnddeenntt and nnuummbbeerr
options.
cchhdd[[iirr]][[!!]] [[ddiirreeccttoorryy]]
ccdd[[!!]] [[ddiirreeccttoorryy]]
Change the current working directory. The direc-
tory aarrgguummeenntt iiss ssuubbjjeecctteedd ttoo _s_h((11)) wwoorrdd eexxppaann--
ssiioonnss.. WWhheenn iinnvvookkeedd wwiitthh nnoo ddiirreeccttoorryy aarrgguummeenntt
aanndd tthhee HHOOMMEE _e_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e _i_s _s_e_t_, _t_h_e
_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _n_a_m_e_d _b_y _t_h_e _H_O_M_E eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee
bbeeccoommeess tthhee nneeww ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreeccttoorryy.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee
nneeww ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreeccttoorryy bbeeccoommeess tthhee ddiirreeccttoorryy
rreettuurrnneedd bbyy tthhee _g_e_t_p_w_e_n_t((33)) rroouuttiinnee..
TThhee cchhddiirr ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll ffaaiill iiff tthhee ffiillee hhaass bbeeeenn
mmooddiiffiieedd ssiinnccee tthhee llaasstt ccoommpplleettee wwrriittee ooff tthhee
ffiillee.. YYoouu ccaann oovveerrrriiddee tthhiiss cchheecckk bbyy aappppeennddiinngg aa
""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the ccddppaatthh option.
[[rraannggee]] ccoo[[ppyy]] lliinnee [[ffllaaggss]]
[[rraannggee]] tt lliinnee [[ffllaaggss]]
Copy the specified lines (range) after the desti-
nation line. Line 0 may be specified to insert
the lines at the beginning of the file.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
ccss[[ccooppee]] ccoommmmaanndd [[aarrggss]]
Execute a ccssccooppee command. For more information,
see the section of the reference manual entitled
"TTaaggss,, TTaagg SSttaacckkss,, aanndd CCssccooppee".
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--6677
[[rraannggee]] dd[[eelleettee]] [[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Delete the lines from the file. The deleted text
is saved in the specified buffer, or, if no buffer
is specified, in the unnamed buffer. If the com-
mand name is followed by a letter that could be
interpreted as either a buffer name or a flag
value (because neither a count oorr ffllaaggss values
were given), eexx treats the letter as a flags vvaalluuee
iiff tthhee lleetttteerr iimmmmeeddiiaatteellyy ffoolllloowwss tthhee ccoommmmaanndd
nnaammee,, wwiitthhoouutt aannyy wwhhiitteessppaaccee sseeppaarraattiioonn.. IIff tthhee
lleetttteerr iiss pprreecceeddeedd bbyy wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss,, iitt
ttrreeaattss iitt aass aa bbuuffffeerr nnaammee..
Line: Set to the line following the deleted
lines, or to the last line if the deleted
lines were at the end.
Options: None.
ddii[[ssppllaayy]] bb[[uuffffeerrss]] || cc[[oonnnneeccttiioonnss]] || ss[[ccrreeeennss]] ||
tt[[aaggss]]
Display buffers, ccssccooppee connections, screens or
tags. The ddiissppllaayy command takes one of three
additional arguments, which are as follows:
b[uffers]
Display all buffers (including named,
unnamed, and numeric) that contain text.
c[onnections]
Display the source directories for all
attached ccssccooppee databases.
s[creens]
Display the file names of all background
screens.
t[ags] Display the tags stack.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
ee[[ddiitt]][[!!]] [[++ccmmdd]] [[ffiillee]]
eexx[[!!]] [[++ccmmdd]] [[ffiillee]]
Edit a different file. If the current buffer has
been modified since the last complete write, the
command will fail. You can override this by
appending a "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
IIff tthhee ""++ccmmdd" option is specified, that eexx command
will be executed in the new file. Any eexx command
may be used, although the most common use of this
feature is to specify a line number or search pat-
tern to set the initial location in the new file.
Capitalizing the first letter of the command, i.e.
EEddiitt or EExx, while in vvii mode, will edit the file
UUSSDD::1133--6688 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
in a new screen. In this case, any modifications
to the current file are ignored.
Line: If you have previously edited the file,
the current line will be set to your last
position in the file. If that position
does not exist, or you have not previ-
ously edited the file, the current line
will be set to the first line of the file
if you are in vvii mode, and the last line
of the file if you are in eexx.
Options: None.
eexxuu[[ssaaggee]] [[ccoommmmaanndd]]
Display usage for an eexx command. If command iiss
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, aa uussaaggee ssttaatteemmeenntt ffoorr tthhaatt ccoommmmaanndd iiss
ddiissppllaayyeedd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, uussaaggee ssttaatteemmeennttss ffoorr aallll eexx
ccoommmmaannddss aarree ddiissppllaayyeedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
ff[[iillee]] [[ffiillee]]
Display and optionally change the file name. If a
file name is specified, the current pathname is
changed to the specified name. The current path-
name, the number of lines, and the current posi-
tion in the file are displayed.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
ffgg [[nnaammee]]
VVii mode only. Foreground the specified screen.
If the argument name doesn't exactly match the
name of a file displayed by a background screen,
it is compared against the last component of each
of the file names. If no background screen is
specified, the first background screen is fore-
grounded.
By default, foregrounding causes the current
screen to be swapped with the backgrounded screen.
Capitalizing the first letter of the command, i.e.
FFgg, will foreground the backgrounded screen in a
new screen instead of swapping it with the current
screen.
Line: Set to the current line when the screen
was last edited.
Options: None.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--6699
[[rraannggee]] gg[[lloobbaall]] //ppaatttteerrnn// [[ccoommmmaannddss]]
[[rraannggee]] vv //ppaatttteerrnn// [[ccoommmmaannddss]]
Apply commands to lines matching (or not matching)
a pattern. The lines within the given range that
match ("g[lobal]"")),, oorr ddoo nnoott mmaattcchh ((""vv") the
given pattern are selected. Then, the specified
eexx command(s) are executed with the current line
("."")) sseett ttoo eeaacchh sseelleecctteedd lliinnee.. IIff nnoo rraannggee iiss
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee eennttiirree ffiillee iiss sseeaarrcchheedd ffoorr mmaattcchh--
iinngg,, oorr nnoott mmaattcchhiinngg,, lliinneess..
MMuullttiippllee ccoommmmaannddss ccaann bbee ssppeecciiffiieedd,, oonnee ppeerr lliinnee,,
bbyy eessccaappiinngg eeaacchh <<nneewwlliinnee>> character with a back-
slash, or by separating commands with a "|"" cchhaarr--
aacctteerr.. IIff nnoo ccoommmmaannddss aarree ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee ccoommmmaanndd
ddeeffaauullttss ttoo tthhee pprriinntt ccoommmmaanndd..
FFoorr tthhee aappppeenndd,, cchhaannggee aanndd iinnsseerrtt ccoommmmaannddss,, tthhee
iinnppuutt tteexxtt mmuusstt bbee ppaarrtt ooff tthhee gglloobbaall ccoommmmaanndd
lliinnee.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, tthhee tteerrmmiinnaattiinngg ppeerriioodd ccaann bbee
oommiitttteedd iiff iitt eennddss tthhee ccoommmmaannddss..
TThhee vviissuuaall ccoommmmaanndd mmaayy aallssoo bbee ssppeecciiffiieedd aass oonnee ooff
tthhee eexx ccoommmmaannddss.. IInn tthhiiss mmooddee,, iinnppuutt iiss ttaakkeenn
ffrroomm tthhee tteerrmmiinnaall.. EEnntteerriinngg aa QQ ccoommmmaanndd iinn vvii
mmooddee ccaauusseess tthhee nneexxtt lliinnee mmaattcchhiinngg tthhee ppaatttteerrnn ttoo
bbee sseelleecctteedd aanndd vvii ttoo bbee rreeeenntteerreedd,, uunnttiill tthhee lliisstt
iiss eexxhhaauusstteedd..
TThhee gglloobbaall,, vv aanndd uunnddoo ccoommmmaannddss ccaannnnoott bbee uusseedd aass
ppaarrtt ooff tthheessee ccoommmmaannddss..
TThhee eeddiittoorr ooppttiioonnss aauuttooiinnddeenntt,, aauuttoopprriinntt aanndd
rreeppoorrtt aarree ttuurrnneedd ooffff ffoorr tthhee dduurraattiioonn ooff tthhee
gglloobbaall aanndd vv ccoommmmaannddss..
Line: The last line modified.
Options: Affected by the iiggnnoorreeccaassee and mmaaggiicc
options. Turns off the aauuttooiinnddeenntt, aauuttoo--
pprriinntt and rreeppoorrtt options.
hhee[[llpp]]
Display a help message.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[lliinnee]] ii[[nnsseerrtt]][[!!]]
The input text is inserted before the specified
line. Following the command name with a "!""
cchhaarraacctteerr ccaauusseess tthhee aauuttooiinnddeenntt ooppttiioonn sseettttiinngg ttoo
bbee ttoogggglleedd ffoorr tthhee dduurraattiioonn ooff tthhiiss ccoommmmaanndd..
UUSSDD::1133--7700 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: Set to the last line input; if no lines
were input, set to the line before the
target line, or to the first line of the
file if there are no lines preceding the
target line. Affected by the aauuttooiinnddeenntt
and nnuummbbeerr options.
[[rraannggee]] jj[[ooiinn]][[!!]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Join lines of text together.
A count ssppeecciiffiieedd ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd ssppeecciiffiieess tthhaatt
tthhee llaasstt lliinnee ooff tthhee rraannggee plus count ssuubbsseeqquueenntt
lliinneess wwiillll bbee jjooiinneedd.. ((NNoottee,, tthhiiss ddiiffffeerrss bbyy oonnee
ffrroomm tthhee ggeenneerraall rruullee wwhheerree oonnllyy ccoouunntt- subsequent
lines are affected.)
If the current line ends with a whitespace charac-
ter, all whitespace is stripped from the next
line. Otherwise, if the next line starts with a
open parenthesis ("("")),, ddoo nnootthhiinngg.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, iiff
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee eennddss wwiitthh aa qquueessttiioonn mmaarrkk ((""??"),
period ("."")) oorr eexxccllaammaattiioonn ppooiinntt ((""!!"), insert
two spaces. Otherwise, insert a single space.
Appending a "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee
ccaauusseess aa ssiimmpplleerr jjooiinn wwiitthh nnoo wwhhiittee--ssppaaccee pprroocceessss--
iinngg..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[rraannggee]] ll[[iisstt]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Display the lines unambiguously. Tabs are dis-
played as "^I"",, aanndd tthhee eenndd ooff tthhee lliinnee iiss mmaarrkkeedd
wwiitthh aa ""$$" character.
Line: Set to the last line displayed.
Options: Affected by the nnuummbbeerr option.
mmaapp[[!!]] [[llhhss rrhhss]]
Define or display maps (for vvii only).
If "lhs"" aanndd ""rrhhss" are not specified, the current
set of command mode maps are displayed. If a "!""
cchhaarraacctteerr iiss aappppeennddeedd ttoo ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, tthhee tteexxtt
iinnppuutt mmooddee mmaappss aarree ddiissppllaayyeedd..
OOtthheerrwwiissee,, wwhheenn tthhee ""llhhss" character sequence is
entered in vvii, the action is as if the correspond-
ing "rhs"" hhaadd bbeeeenn eenntteerreedd.. IIff aa ""!!" character
is appended to the command name, the mapping is
effective during text input mode, otherwise, it is
effective during command mode. This allows "lhs""
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--7711
ttoo hhaavvee ttwwoo ddiiffffeerreenntt mmaaccrroo ddeeffiinniittiioonnss aatt tthhee
ssaammee ttiimmee:: oonnee ffoorr ccoommmmaanndd mmooddee aanndd oonnee ffoorr iinnppuutt
mmooddee..
WWhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss rreeqquuiirree eessccaappiinngg wwiitthh aa
<<lliitteerraall--nneexxtt>> character to be entered in the lhs
ssttrriinngg iinn vviissuuaall mmooddee..
NNoorrmmaallllyy,, kkeeyyss iinn tthhee rrhhss string are remapped (see
the rreemmaapp option), and it is possible to create
infinite loops. However, keys which map to them-
selves are not further remapped, regardless of the
setting of the rreemmaapp option. For example, the
command ":map n nz."" mmaappss tthhee ""nn" key to the nn
and zz commands.
To exit an infinitely looping map, use the termi-
nal <interrupt> cchhaarraacctteerr..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the rreemmaapp option.
[[lliinnee]] mmaa[[rrkk]] <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
[[lliinnee]] kk <<cchhaarraacctteerr>>
Mark the line with the mark <character>.. TThhee
eexxpprreessssiioonnss ""''<<cchhaarraacctteerr>>" and "`<character>"" ccaann
tthheenn bbee uusseedd aass aann aaddddrreessss iinn aannyy ccoommmmaanndd tthhaatt
uusseess oonnee..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[rraannggee]] mm[[oovvee]] lliinnee
Move the specified lines after the target line. A
target line of 0 places the lines at the beginning
of the file.
Line: Set to the first of the moved lines.
Options: None.
mmkk[[eexxrrcc]][[!!]] ffiillee
Write the abbreviations, editor options and maps
to the specified file. Information is written in
a form which can later be read back in using the
eexx ssoouurrccee command. If file aallrreeaaddyy eexxiissttss,, tthhee
mmkkeexxrrcc ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll ffaaiill.. TThhiiss cchheecckk ccaann bbee oovveerr--
rriiddddeenn bbyy aappppeennddiinngg aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
UUSSDD::1133--7722 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
nn[[eexxtt]][[!!]] [[ffiillee ......]]
Edit the next file from the argument list. The
nneexxtt command will fail if the file has been modi-
fied since the last complete write. This check
can be overridden by appending the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr
ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee.. TThhee aarrgguummeenntt lliisstt ccaann
ooppttiioonnaallllyy bbee rreeppllaacceedd bbyy ssppeecciiffyyiinngg aa nneeww oonnee aass
aarrgguummeennttss ttoo tthhiiss ccoommmmaanndd.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, eeddiittiinngg
ssttaarrttss wwiitthh tthhee ffiirrsstt ffiillee oonn tthhee nneeww lliisstt..
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
NNeexxtt,, wwhhiillee iinn vvii mmooddee,, wwiillll sseett tthhee aarrgguummeenntt lliisstt
aanndd eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn aa nneeww ssccrreeeenn.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,,
aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set as described for the eeddiitt command.
Options: Affected by the options aauuttoowwrriittee and
wwrriitteeaannyy.
[[lliinnee]] oo[[ppeenn]] //ppaatttteerrnn// [[ffllaaggss]]
Enter open mode. Open mode is the same as being
in vvii, but with a one-line window. All the stan-
dard vvii commands are available. If a match is
found for the optional RE argument, the cursor is
set to the start of the matching pattern.
_T_h_i_s _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _i_s _n_o_t _y_e_t _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
Line: Unchanged, unless the optional RE is
specified, in which case it is set to the
line where the matching pattern is found.
Options: Affected by the ooppeenn option.
pprree[[sseerrvvee]]
Save the file in a form that can later be recov-
ered using the eexx --rr option. When the file is
preserved, an email message is sent to the user.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
pprreevv[[iioouuss]][[!!]]
Edit the previous file from the argument list.
The pprreevviioouuss command will fail if the file has
been modified since the last complete write. This
check can be overridden by appending the "!""
cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
PPrreevviioouuss,, wwhhiillee iinn vvii mmooddee,, wwiillll eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn
aa nneeww ssccrreeeenn.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--7733
Line: Set as described for the eeddiitt command.
Options: Affected by the options aauuttoowwrriittee and
wwrriitteeaannyy. None.
[[rraannggee]] pp[[rriinntt]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Display the specified lines.
Line: Set to the last line displayed.
Options: Affected by the lliisstt and nnuummbbeerr option.
[[lliinnee]] ppuu[[tt]] [[bbuuffffeerr]]
Append buffer contents to the current line. If a
buffer is specified, its contents are appended to
the line, otherwise, the contents of the unnamed
buffer are used.
Line: Set to the line after the current line.
Options: None.
qq[[uuiitt]][[!!]]
End the editing session. If the file has been
modified since the last complete write, the qquuiitt
command will fail. This check may be overridden
by appending a "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd..
IIff tthheerree aarree mmoorree ffiilleess ttoo eeddiitt,, tthhee qquuiitt ccoommmmaanndd
wwiillll ffaaiill.. AAppppeennddiinngg aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd nnaammee oorr eenntteerriinngg ttwwoo qquuiitt ccoommmmaannddss ((ii..ee.. wwqq,,
qquuiitt,, xxiitt oorr ZZZZ)) iinn aa rrooww)) wwiillll oovveerrrriiddee tthhiiss
cchheecckk aanndd tthhee eeddiittoorr wwiillll eexxiitt..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[lliinnee]] rr[[eeaadd]][[!!]] [[ffiillee]]
Read a file. A copy of the specified file is
appended to the line. If line iiss 00,, tthhee ccooppyy iiss
iinnsseerrtteedd aatt tthhee bbeeggiinnnniinngg ooff tthhee ffiillee.. IIff nnoo ffiillee
iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee iiss rreeaadd;; iiff tthheerree
iiss nnoo ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee,, tthheenn ffiillee becomes the current
file. If there is no current file and no file iiss
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthheenn tthhee rreeaadd ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll ffaaiill..
IIff ffiillee iiss pprreecceeddeedd bbyy aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr,, ffiillee iiss
ttrreeaatteedd aass iiff iitt wweerree aa sshheellll ccoommmmaanndd,, aanndd ppaasssseedd
ttoo tthhee pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll eeddiitt ooppttiioonn..
TThhee ssttaannddaarrdd aanndd ssttaannddaarrdd eerrrroorr oouuttppuuttss ooff tthhaatt
ccoommmmaanndd aarree rreeaadd iinnttoo tthhee ffiillee aafftteerr tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd
lliinnee.. TThhee ssppeecciiaall mmeeaanniinngg ooff tthhee ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr
ccaann bbee oovveerrrriiddddeenn bbyy eessccaappiinngg iitt wwiitthh aa bbaacckkssllaasshh
((""\\"")) cchhaarraacctteerr..
UUSSDD::1133--7744 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
Line: When executed from eexx, the current line
is set to the last line read. When exe-
cuted from vvii, the current line is set to
the first line read.
Options: None.
rreecc[[oovveerr]] ffiillee
Recover file iiff iitt wwaass pprreevviioouussllyy ssaavveedd.. IIff nnoo
ssaavveedd ffiillee bbyy tthhaatt nnaammee eexxiissttss,, tthhee rreeccoovveerr ccoomm--
mmaanndd bbeehhaavveess eeqquuiivvaalleennttllyy ttoo tthhee eeddiitt ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: Set as described for the eeddiitt command.
Options: None.
rreess[[iizzee]] [[++||--]]ssiizzee
VVii mode only. Grow or shrink the current screen.
If size iiss aa ppoossiittiivvee,, ssiiggnneedd nnuummbbeerr,, tthhee ccuurrrreenntt
ssccrreeeenn iiss ggrroowwnn bbyy tthhaatt mmaannyy lliinneess.. IIff ssiizzee is a
negative, signed number, the current screen is
shrunk by that many lines. If size iiss nnoott ssiiggnneedd,,
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ssccrreeeenn iiss sseett ttoo tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd ssiizzee.
Applicable only to split screens.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
rreeww[[iinndd]][[!!]]
Rewind the argument list. If the current file has
been modified since the last complete write, the
rreewwiinndd command will fail. This check may be over-
ridden by appending the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd..
OOtthheerrwwiissee,, tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee iiss sseett ttoo tthhee ffiirrsstt
ffiillee iinn tthhee aarrgguummeenntt lliisstt..
Line: Set as described for the eeddiitt command.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
[[aallll]]
ssee[[tt]] [[ooppttiioonn[[==[[vvaalluuee]]]] ......]] [[nnooooppttiioonn ......]] [[ooppttiioonn??
......]]
Display or set editor options. When no arguments
are specified, the editor option tteerrmm, and any
editor options whose values have been changed from
the default settings are displayed. If the argu-
ment all iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee vvaalluueess ooff aallll ooff eeddiittoorr
ooppttiioonnss aarree ddiissppllaayyeedd..
SSppeecciiffyyiinngg aann ooppttiioonn nnaammee ffoolllloowweedd bbyy tthhee cchhaarraacc--
tteerr ""??" causes the current value of that option
to be displayed. The "?"" ccaann bbee sseeppaarraatteedd ffrroomm
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--7755
tthhee ooppttiioonn nnaammee bbyy wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss.. TThhee ""??"
is necessary only for Boolean valued options.
Boolean options can be given values by the form
"set option"" ttoo ttuurrnn tthheemm oonn,, oorr ""sseett nnooooppttiioonn" to
turn them off. String and numeric options can be
assigned by the form "set option=value"".. AAnnyy
wwhhiitteessppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn ssttrriinnggss ccaann bbee iinncclluuddeedd
lliitteerraallllyy bbyy pprreecceeddiinngg eeaacchh wwiitthh aa bbaacckkssllaasshh..
MMoorree tthhaann oonnee ooppttiioonn ccaann bbee sseett oorr lliisstteedd bbyy aa
ssiinnggllee sseett ccoommmmaanndd,, bbyy ssppeecciiffyyiinngg mmuullttiippllee aarrgguu--
mmeennttss,, eeaacchh sseeppaarraatteedd ffrroomm tthhee nneexxtt bbyy wwhhiitteessppaaccee
cchhaarraacctteerrss..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
sshh[[eellll]]
Run the shell program. The program named by the
sshheellll option is run with a --ii (for interactive)
flag. Editing is resumed when that program exits.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the sshheellll option.
ssoo[[uurrccee]] ffiillee
Read and execute eexx commands from a file. SSoouurrccee
commands may be nested.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[ffllaaggss]]
[[rraannggee]] ss[[uubbssttiittuuttee]] [[//ppaatttteerrnn//rreeppllaaccee//]] [[ooppttiioonnss]]
[[ccoouunntt]]
[[rraannggee]] && [[ooppttiioonnss]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
[[rraannggee]] ~~ [[ooppttiioonnss]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Make substitutions. Replace the first instance of
pattern wwiitthh tthhee ssttrriinngg rreeppllaaccee on the specified
line(s). If the "/pattern/repl/"" aarrgguummeenntt iiss nnoott
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthhee ""//ppaatttteerrnn//rreeppll//" from the previous
ssuubbssttiittuuttee command is used. Any character other
than an alphabetic, numeric, <blank> or backslash
character may be used as the delimiter.
If options iinncclluuddeess tthhee lleetttteerr ""cc" (confirm), you
will be prompted for confirmation before each
replacement is done. An affirmative response (in
English, a "y"" cchhaarraacctteerr)) ccaauusseess tthhee rreeppllaacceemmeenntt
ttoo bbee mmaaddee.. AA qquuiitt rreessppoonnssee ((iinn EEnngglliisshh,, aa ""qq"
character) causes the ssuubbssttiittuuttee command to be
terminated. Any other response causes the
replacement not to be made, and the ssuubbssttiittuuttee
command continues. If options iinncclluuddeess tthhee lleetttteerr
UUSSDD::1133--7766 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
""gg" (global), all nonoverlapping instances of pat-
tern iinn tthhee lliinnee aarree rreeppllaacceedd..
TThhee && vveerrssiioonn ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss tthhee ssaammee aass nnoott
ssppeecciiffyyiinngg aa ppaatttteerrnn oorr rreeppllaacceemmeenntt ssttrriinngg ttoo tthhee
ssuubbssttiittuuttee ccoommmmaanndd,, aanndd tthhee ""&&"" iiss rreeppllaacceedd bbyy tthhee
ppaatttteerrnn aanndd rreeppllaacceemmeenntt iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ffrroomm tthhee pprree--
vviioouuss ssuubbssttiittuuttee ccoommmmaanndd..
TThhee ~~ vveerrssiioonn ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd iiss tthhee ssaammee aass && aanndd
ss,, eexxcceepptt tthhaatt tthhee sseeaarrcchh ppaatttteerrnn uusseedd iiss tthhee llaasstt
RREE uusseedd iinn _a_n_y ccoommmmaanndd,, nnoott nneecceessssaarriillyy tthhee oonnee
uusseedd iinn tthhee llaasstt ssuubbssttiittuuttee ccoommmmaanndd..
FFoorr eexxaammppllee,, iinn tthhee sseeqquueennccee
ss//rreedd//bblluuee//
//ggrreeeenn
~~
the "~"" iiss eeqquuiivvaalleenntt ttoo ""ss//ggrreeeenn//bblluuee//".
The ssuubbssttiittuuttee command may be interrupted, using
the terminal interrupt character. All substitu-
tions completed before the interrupt are retained.
Line: Set to the last line upon which a substi-
tution was made.
Options: Affected by the iiggnnoorreeccaassee and mmaaggiicc
option.
ssuu[[ssppeenndd]][[!!]]
sstt[[oopp]][[!!]]
<<ccoonnttrrooll--ZZ>>
Suspend the edit session. Appending a "!"" cchhaarr--
aacctteerr ttoo tthheessee ccoommmmaannddss ttuurrnnss ooffff tthhee aauuttoowwrriittee
ooppttiioonn ffoorr tthhee ccoommmmaanndd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
ttaa[[gg]][[!!]] ttaaggssttrriinngg
Edit the file containing the specified tag. If
the tag is in a different file, then the new file
is edited. If the current file has been modified
since the last complete write, the ttaagg command
will fail. This check can be overridden by
appending the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
TThhee ttaagg ccoommmmaanndd sseeaarrcchheess ffoorr ttaaggssttrriinngg iinn tthhee ttaaggss
ffiillee((ss)) ssppeecciiffiieedd bbyy tthhee ooppttiioonn.. ((SSeeee _c_t_a_g_s((11))
ffoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn oonn ttaaggss ffiilleess..))
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--7777
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
TTaagg,, wwhhiillee iinn vvii mmooddee,, wwiillll eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn aa nneeww
ssccrreeeenn.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the line indicated by the tag.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee, ttaagglleennggtthh,
ttaaggss and wwrriitteeaannyy options.
ttaaggnn[[eexxtt]][[!!]]
Edit the file containing the next context for the
current tag. If the context is in a different
file, then the new file is edited. If the current
file has been modified since the last complete
write, the ttaaggnneexxtt command will fail. This check
can be overridden by appending the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr
ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
TTaaggnneexxtt,, wwhhiillee iinn vvii mmooddee,, wwiillll eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn aa
nneeww ssccrreeeenn.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the line indicated by the tag.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
ttaaggpp[[oopp]][[!!]] [[ffiillee || nnuummbbeerr]]
Pop to the specified tag in the tags stack. If
neither file oorr nnuummbbeerr is specified, the ttaaggppoopp
command pops to the most recent entry on the tags
stack. If file oorr nnuummbbeerr is specified, the ttaaggppoopp
command pops to the most recent entry in the tags
stack for that file, or numbered entry in the tags
stack, respectively. (See the ddiissppllaayy command for
information on displaying the tags stack.)
If the file has been modified since the last com-
plete write, the ttaaggppoopp command will fail. This
check may be overridden by appending a "!"" cchhaarr--
aacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
Line: Set to the line indicated by the tag.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
ttaaggpp[[rreevv]][[!!]]
Edit the file containing the previous context for
the current tag. If the context is in a different
file, then the new file is edited. If the current
file has been modified since the last complete
write, the ttaaggpprreevv command will fail. This check
can be overridden by appending the "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr
UUSSDD::1133--7788 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
TTaaggpprreevv,, wwhhiillee iinn vvii mmooddee,, wwiillll eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn aa
nneeww ssccrreeeenn.. IInn tthhiiss ccaassee,, aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
Line: Set to the line indicated by the tag.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
ttaaggtt[[oopp]][[!!]]
Pop to the least recent tag on the tags stack,
clearing the tags stack.
If the file has been modified since the last com-
plete write, the ttaaggttoopp command will fail. This
check may be overridden by appending a "!"" cchhaarr--
aacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee..
Line: Set to the line indicated by the tag.
Options: Affected by the aauuttoowwrriittee and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
uunnaa[[bbbbrreevv]] llhhss
Delete an abbreviation. Delete lhs ffrroomm tthhee ccuurr--
rreenntt lliisstt ooff aabbbbrreevviiaattiioonnss..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
uu[[nnddoo]]
Undo the last change made to the file. Changes
made by gglloobbaall, vv, vviissuuaall and map sequences are
considered a single command. If repeated, the uu
command alternates between these two states, and
is its own inverse.
Line: Set to the last line modified by the com-
mand.
Options: None.
uunnmm[[aapp]][[!!]] llhhss
Unmap a mapped string. Delete the command mode
map definition for lhs.. IIff aa ""!!" character is
appended to the command name, delete the text
input mode map definition instead.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
vvee[[rrssiioonn]]
Display the version of the eexx//vvii editor.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--7799
[[lliinnee]] vvii[[ssuuaall]] [[ttyyppee]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
EExx mode only. Enter vvii. The type iiss ooppttiioonnaall,,
aanndd ccaann bbee ""--", "+"" oorr ""^^", as in the eexx zz com-
mand, to specify the position of the specified
line in the screen window. (The default is to
place the line at the top of the screen window.)
A count ssppeecciiffiieess tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff lliinneess tthhaatt wwiillll
iinniittiiaallllyy bbee ddiissppllaayyeedd.. ((TThhee ddeeffaauulltt iiss tthhee vvaalluuee
ooff tthhee wwiinnddooww eeddiittoorr ooppttiioonn..))
Line: Unchanged unless line iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, iinn
wwhhiicchh ccaassee iitt iiss sseett ttoo tthhaatt lliinnee..
Options: None.
vvii[[ssuuaall]][[!!]] [[++ccmmdd]] [[ffiillee]]
VVii mode only. Edit a new file. Identical to the
"edit[!] [+cmd] [file]"" ccoommmmaanndd..
CCaappiittaalliizziinngg tthhee ffiirrsstt lleetttteerr ooff tthhee ccoommmmaanndd,, ii..ee..
VViissuuaall,, wwiillll eeddiitt tthhee ffiillee iinn aa nneeww ssccrreeeenn.. IInn
tthhiiss ccaassee,, aannyy mmooddiiffiiccaattiioonnss ttoo tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ffiillee
aarree iiggnnoorreedd..
vviiuu[[ssaaggee]] [[ccoommmmaanndd]]
Display usage for a vvii command. If command iiss
ssppeecciiffiieedd,, aa uussaaggee ssttaatteemmeenntt ffoorr tthhaatt ccoommmmaanndd iiss
ddiissppllaayyeedd.. OOtthheerrwwiissee,, uussaaggee ssttaatteemmeennttss ffoorr aallll vvii
ccoommmmaannddss aarree ddiissppllaayyeedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[rraannggee]] ww[[rriittee]][[!!]] [[>>>>]] [[ffiillee]]
[[rraannggee]] ww[[rriittee]] [[!!]] [[ffiillee]]
[[rraannggee]] wwnn[[!!]] [[>>>>]] [[ffiillee]]
[[rraannggee]] wwqq[[!!]] [[>>>>]] [[ffiillee]]
Write the file. The specified lines (the entire
file, if no range is given) is written to file..
IIff ffiillee is not specified, the current pathname is
used. If file iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, aanndd iitt eexxiissttss,, oorr iiff
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ppaatthhnnaammee wwaass sseett uussiinngg tthhee ffiillee ccoomm--
mmaanndd,, aanndd tthhee ffiillee aallrreeaaddyy eexxiissttss,, tthheessee ccoommmmaannddss
wwiillll ffaaiill.. AAppppeennddiinngg aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoomm--
mmaanndd nnaammee wwiillll oovveerrrriiddee tthhiiss cchheecckk aanndd tthhee wwrriittee
wwiillll bbee aatttteemmpptteedd,, rreeggaarrddlleessss..
SSppeecciiffyyiinngg tthhee ooppttiioonnaall "">>>>"" ssttrriinngg wwiillll ccaauussee tthhee
wwrriittee ttoo bbee aappppeennddeedd ttoo tthhee ffiillee,, iinn wwhhiicchh ccaassee nnoo
tteessttss aarree mmaaddee ffoorr tthhee ffiillee aallrreeaaddyy eexxiissttiinngg..
IIff tthhee ffiillee iiss pprreecceeddeedd bbyy aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr,, tthhee
pprrooggrraamm nnaammeedd bbyy tthhee sshheellll eeddiitt ooppttiioonn iiss iinnvvookkeedd
wwiitthh ffiillee aass iittss sseeccoonndd aarrgguummeenntt,, aanndd tthhee
UUSSDD::1133--8800 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss))
ssppeecciiffiieedd lliinneess aarree ppaasssseedd aass ssttaannddaarrdd iinnppuutt ttoo
tthhaatt ccoommmmaanndd.. TThhee ""!!"" iinn tthhiiss uussaaggee mmuusstt bbee sseepp--
aarraatteedd ffrroomm ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee bbyy aatt lleeaasstt oonnee wwhhiitteess--
ppaaccee cchhaarraacctteerr.. TThhee ssppeecciiaall mmeeaanniinngg ooff tthhee ""!!""
mmaayy bbee oovveerrrriiddddeenn bbyy eessccaappiinngg iitt wwiitthh aa bbaacckkssllaasshh
((""\\"")) cchhaarraacctteerr..
TThhee wwqq vveerrssiioonn ooff tthhee wwrriittee ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll eexxiitt tthhee
eeddiittoorr aafftteerr wwrriittiinngg tthhee ffiillee,, iiff tthheerree aarree nnoo
ffuurrtthheerr ffiilleess ttoo eeddiitt.. AAppppeennddiinngg aa ""!!"" cchhaarraacctteerr
ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee oorr eenntteerriinngg ttwwoo ""qquuiitt"" ccoomm--
mmaannddss ((ii..ee.. wwqq,, qquuiitt,, xxiitt oorr ZZZZ)) iinn aa rrooww)) wwiillll
oovveerrrriiddee tthhiiss cchheecckk aanndd tthhee eeddiittoorr wwiillll eexxiitt,,
iiggnnoorriinngg aannyy ffiilleess tthhaatt hhaavvee nnoott yyeett bbeeeenn eeddiitteedd..
TThhee wwnn vveerrssiioonn ooff tthhee wwrriittee ccoommmmaanndd wwiillll mmoovvee ttoo
tthhee nneexxtt ffiillee aafftteerr wwrriittiinngg tthhee ffiillee,, uunnlleessss tthhee
wwrriittee ffaaiillss..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the rreeaaddoonnllyy and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
[[rraannggee]] xx[[iitt]][[!!]] [[ffiillee]]
Write the file if it has been modified. The spec-
ified lines are written to file,, iiff tthhee ffiillee hhaass
bbeeeenn mmooddiiffiieedd ssiinnccee tthhee llaasstt ccoommpplleettee wwrriittee ttoo aannyy
ffiillee.. IIff nnoo rraannggee is specified, the entire file
is written.
The xxiitt command will exit the editor after writing
the file, if there are no further files to edit.
Appending a "!"" cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo tthhee ccoommmmaanndd nnaammee oorr
eenntteerriinngg ttwwoo ""qquuiitt"" ccoommmmaannddss ((ii..ee.. wwqq,, qquuiitt,, xxiitt
oorr ZZZZ)) iinn aa rrooww)) wwiillll oovveerrrriiddee tthhiiss cchheecckk aanndd tthhee
eeddiittoorr wwiillll eexxiitt,, iiggnnoorriinngg aannyy ffiilleess tthhaatt hhaavvee nnoott
yyeett bbeeeenn eeddiitteedd..
Line: Unchanged.
Options: Affected by the rreeaaddoonnllyy and wwrriitteeaannyy
options.
[[rraannggee]] yyaa[[nnkk]] [[bbuuffffeerr]] [[ccoouunntt]]
Copy the specified lines to a buffer. If no
buffer is specified, the unnamed buffer is used.
Line: Unchanged.
Options: None.
[[lliinnee]] zz [[ttyyppee]] [[ccoouunntt]] [[ffllaaggss]]
Adjust the window. If no type iiss ssppeecciiffiieedd,, tthheenn
ccoouunntt lines following the specified line are dis-
played. The default count iiss tthhee vvaalluuee ooff tthhee
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((EExx CCoommmmaannddss)) UUSSDD::1133--8811
wwiinnddooww ooppttiioonn.. TThhee ttyyppee aarrgguummeenntt cchhaannggeess tthhee
ppoossiittiioonn aatt wwhhiicchh lliinnee iiss ddiissppllaayyeedd oonn tthhee ssccrreeeenn
bbyy cchhaannggiinngg tthhee nnuummbbeerr ooff lliinneess ddiissppllaayyeedd bbeeffoorree
aanndd aafftteerr lliinnee.. TThhee ffoolllloowwiinngg ttyyppee cchhaarraacctteerrss mmaayy
bbee uusseedd::
- Place the line at the bottom of the
screen.
+ Place the line at the top of the screen.
. Place the line in the middle of the
screen.
^ Write out count lines starting count * 2
lines before line; the net effect of this
is that a "z^" command following a zz com-
mand writes the previous page.
= Center line on the screen with a line of
hyphens displayed immediately before and
after it. The number of preceding and
following lines of text displayed are
reduced to account for those lines.
Line: Set to the last line displayed, with the
exception of the type, where the current
line is set to the line specified by the
command.
Options: Affected by the ssccrroollll option.
1188.. SSeett OOppttiioonnss
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. (Regardless of the abbrevia-
tions, it is only necessary to use the minimum number
of characters necessary to distinguish an abbreviation
from all other commands for it to be accepted, in
nneexx/nnvvii. Historically, only the full name and the
official abbreviations were accepted by eexx/vvii. Using
full names in your startup files and environmental
variables will probably make them more portable.) 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 eexx and vvii modes, unless oth-
erwise specified.
With a few exceptions, all options are settable
per screen, i.e. the ttaaggss option can be set differently
UUSSDD::1133--8822 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
in each screen. The exceptions are the ccoolluummnnss, lliinneess,
sseeccuurree and tteerrmm options. Changing these options modi-
fies the respective information for all screens.
For information on modifying the options or to
display the options and their current values, see the
"set" command in the section entitled "EExx CCoommmmaannddss".
aallttwweerraassee [[ooffff]]
VVii only. Change how vvii does word erase during
text input. When this option is set, text is bro-
ken up into three classes: alphabetic, numeric and
underscore characters, other nonblank characters,
and blank characters. Changing from one class to
another marks the end of a word. In addition, the
class of the first character erased is ignored
(which is exactly what you want when erasing path-
name components).
aauuttooiinnddeenntt,, aaii [[ooffff]]
If this option is set, whenever you create a new
line (using the vvii AA, aa, CC, cc, II, ii, OO, oo, RR, rr,
SS, and ss commands, or the eexx aappppeenndd, cchhaannggee, and
iinnsseerrtt commands) the new line is automatically
indented to align the cursor with the first non-
blank character of the line from which you created
it. Lines are indented using tab characters to
the extent possible (based on the value of the
ttaabbssttoopp option) and then using space characters as
necessary. For commands inserting text into the
middle of a line, any blank characters to the
right of the cursor are discarded, and the first
nonblank character to the right of the cursor is
aligned as described above.
The indent characters are themselves somewhat spe-
cial. If you do not enter more characters on the
new line before moving to another line, or enter-
ing <escape>,, tthhee iinnddeenntt cchhaarraacctteerr wwiillll bbee ddeelleetteedd
aanndd tthhee lliinnee wwiillll bbee eemmppttyy.. FFoorr eexxaammppllee,, iiff yyoouu
eenntteerr <<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>> twice in succession, the
line created by the first <carriage-return> wwiillll
nnoott hhaavvee aannyy cchhaarraacctteerrss iinn iitt,, rreeggaarrddlleessss ooff tthhee
iinnddeennttaattiioonn ooff tthhee pprreevviioouuss oorr ssuubbsseeqquueenntt lliinnee..
IInnddeenntt cchhaarraacctteerrss aallssoo rreeqquuiirree tthhaatt yyoouu eenntteerr
aaddddiittiioonnaall eerraassee cchhaarraacctteerrss ttoo ddeelleettee tthheemm.. FFoorr
eexxaammppllee,, iiff yyoouu hhaavvee aann iinnddeenntteedd lliinnee,, ccoonnttaaiinniinngg
oonnllyy bbllaannkkss,, tthhee ffiirrsstt <<wwoorrdd--eerraassee>> character you
enter will erase up to end of the indent charac-
ters, and the second will erase back to the begin-
ning of the line. (Historically, only the <con-
trol-D> kkeeyy wwoouulldd eerraassee tthhee iinnddeenntt cchhaarraacctteerrss..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--8833
BBootthh tthhee <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> key and the usual erase keys
work in nnvvii.) In addition, if the cursor is posi-
tioned at the end of the indent characters, the
keys "0<control-D>"" wwiillll eerraassee aallll ooff tthhee iinnddeenntt
cchhaarraacctteerrss ffoorr tthhee ccuurrrreenntt lliinnee,, rreesseettttiinngg tthhee
iinnddeennttaattiioonn lleevveell ttoo 00.. SSiimmiillaarrllyy,, tthhee kkeeyyss
""^^<<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>>" will erase all of the indent char-
acters for the current line, leaving the indenta-
tion level for future created lines unaffected.
Finally, if the aauuttooiinnddeenntt option is set, the SS
and cccc commands change from the first nonblank of
the line to the end of the line, instead of from
the beginning of the line to the end of the line.
aauuttoopprriinntt,, aapp [[ooffff]]
EExx only. Cause the current line to be automati-
cally displayed after the eexx commands <<, >>, ccooppyy,
ddeelleettee, jjooiinn, mmoovvee, ppuutt, tt, UUnnddoo, and uunnddoo. This
automatic display is suppressed during gglloobbaall and
vv commands, and for any command where optional
flags are used to explicitly display the line.
aauuttoowwrriittee,, aaww [[ooffff]]
If this option is set, the vvii !!, ^^^^, ^^]] and <<ccoonn--
ttrrooll--ZZ>> commands, and the eexx eeddiitt, nneexxtt, rreewwiinndd,
ssttoopp, ssuussppeenndd, ttaagg, ttaaggppoopp, and ttaaggttoopp commands
automatically write the current file back to the
current file name if it has been modified since it
was last written. If the write fails, the command
fails and goes no further.
Appending the optional force flag character "!""
ttoo tthhee eexx ccoommmmaannddss nneexxtt,, rreewwiinndd,, ssttoopp,, ssuussppeenndd,,
ttaagg,, ttaaggppoopp,, aanndd ttaaggttoopp ssttooppss tthhee aauuttoommaattiicc wwrriittee
ffrroomm bbeeiinngg aatttteemmpptteedd..
((HHiissttoorriiccaallllyy,, tthhee nneexxtt ccoommmmaanndd iiggnnoorreedd tthhee
ooppttiioonnaall ffoorrccee ffllaagg..)) NNoottee,, tthhee eexx ccoommmmaannddss eeddiitt,,
qquuiitt,, sshheellll,, aanndd xxiitt aarree _n_o_t aaffffeecctteedd bbyy tthhee
aauuttoowwrriittee ooppttiioonn..
TThhee aauuttoowwrriittee ooppttiioonn iiss iiggnnoorreedd iiff tthhee ffiillee iiss
ccoonnssiiddeerreedd rreeaadd--oonnllyy ffoorr aannyy rreeaassoonn..
bbaacckkuupp [[""""]]
If this option is set, it specifies a pathname
used as a backup file, and, whenever a file is
written, the file's current contents are copied to
it. The pathname is "#"",, ""%%" and "!"" eexxppaannddeedd..
IIff tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee ppaatthhnnaammee iiss ""NN", a
version number is appended to the pathname (and
UUSSDD::1133--8844 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
the "N"" cchhaarraacctteerr iiss tthheenn ddiissccaarrddeedd)).. VVeerrssiioonn
nnuummbbeerrss aarree aallwwaayyss iinnccrreemmeenntteedd,, aanndd eeaacchh bbaacckkuupp
ffiillee wwiillll hhaavvee aa vveerrssiioonn nnuummbbeerr oonnee ggrreeaatteerr tthhaann
tthhee hhiigghheesstt vveerrssiioonn nnuummbbeerr ccuurrrreennttllyy ffoouunndd iinn tthhee
ddiirreeccttoorryy..
BBaacckkuupp ffiilleess mmuusstt bbee rreegguullaarr ffiilleess,, oowwnneedd bbyy tthhee
rreeaall uusseerr IIDD ooff tthhee uusseerr rruunnnniinngg tthhee eeddiittoorr,, aanndd
nnoott aacccceessssiibbllee bbyy aannyy ootthheerr uusseerr..
bbeeaauuttiiffyy,, bbff [[ooffff]]
If this option is set, all control characters that
are not currently being specially interpreted,
other than <tab>,, <<nneewwlliinnee>>, and <form-feed>,, aarree
ddiissccaarrddeedd ffrroomm ccoommmmaannddss rreeaadd iinn bbyy eexx ffrroomm ccoommmmaanndd
ffiilleess,, aanndd ffrroomm iinnppuutt tteexxtt eenntteerreedd ttoo vvii ((eeiitthheerr
iinnttoo tthhee ffiillee oorr ttoo tthhee ccoolloonn ccoommmmaanndd lliinnee)).. TTeexxtt
ffiilleess rreeaadd bbyy eexx//vvii aarree _n_o_t aaffffeecctteedd bbyy tthhee bbeeaauu--
ttiiffyy ooppttiioonn..
ccddppaatthh [[eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee CCDDPPAATTHH,, oorr ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreecc--
ttoorryy]]
This option is used to specify a colon separated
list of directories which are used as path pre-
fixes for any relative path names used as argu-
ments for the ccdd command. The value of this
option defaults to the value of the environmental
variable CDPATH iiff iitt iiss sseett,, ootthheerrwwiissee ttoo tthhee
ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreeccttoorryy.. FFoorr ccoommppaattiibbiilliittyy wwiitthh tthhee
PPOOSSIIXX 11000033..22 sshheellll,, tthhee ccdd ccoommmmaanndd ddooeess _n_o_t cchheecckk
tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreeccttoorryy aass aa ppaatthh pprreeffiixx ffoorr rreellaa--
ttiivvee ppaatthh nnaammeess uunnlleessss iitt iiss eexxpplliicciittllyy ssppeecciiffiieedd..
IItt mmaayy bbee ssoo ssppeecciiffiieedd bbyy eenntteerriinngg aann eemmppttyy ssttrriinngg
oorr aa "".._" _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _i_n_t_o _t_h_e _C_D_P_A_T_H vvaarriiaabbllee oorr
tthhee ooppttiioonn vvaalluuee..
cceeddiitt [[nnoo ddeeffaauulltt]]
This option adds the ability to edit the colon
command-line history. This option is set to a
string. Whenever the first character of that
string is entered on the colon command line, you
will enter a normal editing window on the col-
lected commands that you've entered on the vvii
colon command-line. You may then modify and/or
execute the commands. All normal text editing is
available, except that you cannot use <<ccoonnttrrooll--WW>>
to switch to an alternate screen. Entering a
<<ccaarrrriiaaggee--rreettuurrnn>> will execute the current line of
the screen window as an ex command in the context
of the screen from which you created the colon
command-line screen, and you will then return to
that screen.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--8855
Because of vvii's parsing rules, it can be difficult
to set the colon command-line edit character to
the <escape> cchhaarraacctteerr.. TToo sseett iitt ttoo <<eessccaappee>>,
use "set cedit=<literal-next><escape>""..
IIff tthhee cceeddiitt eeddiitt ooppttiioonn iiss sseett ttoo tthhee ssaammee cchhaarr--
aacctteerr aass tthhee ffiilleecc eeddiitt ooppttiioonn,, vvii wwiillll ppeerrffoorrmm
ccoolloonn ccoommmmaanndd--lliinnee eeddiittiinngg iiff tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr iiss
eenntteerreedd aass tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee lliinnee,, ootthheerr--
wwiissee,, vvii wwiillll ppeerrffoorrmm ffiillee nnaammee eexxppaannssiioonn..
ccoolluummnnss,, ccoo [[8800]]
The number of columns in the screen. Setting this
option causes eexx/vvii to set (or reset) the environ-
mental variable COLUMNS.. SSeeee tthhee sseeccttiioonn eennttiittlleedd
""SSiizziinngg tthhee SSccrreeeenn"" mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn..
ccoommmmeenntt [[ooffff]]
VVii only. If the first non-empty line of the file
begins with the string "/*"" oorr ""##", this option
causes vvii to skip to the end of that C-language or
shell comment (probably a terribly boring legal
notice) before displaying the file.
ddiirreeccttoorryy,, ddiirr [[eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee TTMMPPDDIIRR,, oorr //ttmmpp]]
The directory where temporary files are created.
The environmental variable TMPDIR iiss uusseedd aass tthhee
ddeeffaauulltt vvaalluuee iiff iitt eexxiissttss,, ootthheerrwwiissee //ttmmpp is
used.
eeddccoommppaattiibbllee,, eedd [[ooffff]]
Remember the values of the "c" and "g" suffixes to
the ssuubbssttiittuuttee commands, instead of initializing
them as unset for each new command. Specifying
pattern and replacement strings to the ssuubbssttiittuuttee
command unsets the "c" and "g" suffixes as well.
eessccaappeettiimmee [[11]]
The 10th's of a second eexx/vvii waits for a subse-
quent key to complete an <escape> kkeeyy mmaappppiinngg..
eerrrroorrbbeellllss,, eebb [[ooffff]]
EExx only. EExx error messages are normally presented
in inverse video. If that is not possible for the
terminal, setting this option causes error mes-
sages to be announced by ringing the terminal
bell.
eexxrrcc,, eexx [[ooffff]]
If this option is turned on in the EXINIT environ-
ment variables, or the system or $HOME startup
files, the local startup files are read, unless
they are the same as the system or $HOME startup
UUSSDD::1133--8866 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
files or fail to pass the standard permission
checks. See the section entitled "SSttaarrttuupp IInnffoorr--
mmaattiioonn" for more information.
eexxtteennddeedd [[ooffff]]
This option causes all regular expressions to be
treated as POSIX 1003.2 Extended Regular Expres-
sions (which are similar to historic _e_g_r_e_p(1)
style expressions).
ffiilleecc [[nnoo ddeeffaauulltt]]
This option adds the ability to do shell expansion
when entering input on the colon command line.
This option is set to a string. Whenever the
first character of that string is entered on the
colon command line, the <blank> delimited string
immediately before the cursor is expanded as if it
were followed by a * cchhaarraacctteerr,, aanndd ffiillee nnaammee
eexxppaannssiioonn ffoorr tthhee eexx eeddiitt ccoommmmaanndd wwaass ddoonnee.. IIff nnoo
mmaattcchh iiss ffoouunndd,, tthhee ssccrreeeenn iiss ffllaasshheedd aanndd tteexxtt
iinnppuutt rreessuummeedd.. IIff aa ssiinnggllee mmaattcchh rreessuullttss,, tthhaatt
mmaattcchh rreeppllaacceess tthhee eexxppaannddeedd tteexxtt.. IInn aaddddiittiioonn,, iiff
tthhee ssiinnggllee mmaattcchh iiss ffoorr aa ddiirreeccttoorryy,, aa // cchhaarraacctteerr
iiss aappppeennddeedd aanndd ffiillee ccoommpplleettiioonn iiss rreeppeeaatteedd.. IIff
mmoorree tthhaann aa ssiinnggllee mmaattcchh rreessuullttss,, aannyy uunniiqquuee pprree--
ffiixx sshhaarreedd bbyy tthhee mmaattcchheess rreeppllaacceess tthhee eexxppaannddeedd
tteexxtt,, tthhee mmaattcchheess aarree ddiissppllaayyeedd,, aanndd tteexxtt iinnppuutt
rreessuummeedd..
BBeeccaauussee ooff vvii''ss ppaarrssiinngg rruulleess,, iitt ccaann bbee ddiiffffiiccuulltt
ttoo sseett tthhee ppaatthh ccoommpplleettiioonn cchhaarraacctteerr ttoo ttwwoo ccoomm--
mmaanndd vvaalluueess,, <<eessccaappee>> aanndd <<ttaabb>>.. TToo sseett iitt ttoo
<<eessccaappee>>,, uussee ""sseett ffiilleecc==<<lliitteerraall--nneexxtt>><<eessccaappee>>""..
TToo sseett iitt ttoo <<ttaabb>>,, uussee ""sseett ffiilleecc==\\<<ttaabb>>""..
IIff tthhee cceeddiitt eeddiitt ooppttiioonn iiss sseett ttoo tthhee ssaammee cchhaarr--
aacctteerr aass tthhee ffiilleecc eeddiitt ooppttiioonn,, vvii wwiillll ppeerrffoorrmm
ccoolloonn ccoommmmaanndd--lliinnee eeddiittiinngg iiff tthhee cchhaarraacctteerr iiss
eenntteerreedd aass tthhee ffiirrsstt cchhaarraacctteerr ooff tthhee lliinnee,, ootthheerr--
wwiissee,, vvii wwiillll ppeerrffoorrmm ffiillee nnaammee eexxppaannssiioonn..
ffllaasshh [[oonn]]
This option causes the screen to flash instead of
beeping the keyboard, on error, if the terminal
has the capability.
hhaarrddttaabbss,, hhtt [[88]]
This option defines the spacing between hardware
tab settings, i.e. the tab expansion done by the
operating system and/or the terminal itself. As
nneexx/nnvvii never writes <tab> cchhaarraacctteerrss ttoo tthhee tteerr--
mmiinnaall,, uunnlliikkee hhiissttoorriicc vveerrssiioonnss ooff eexx//vvii,, tthhiiss
ooppttiioonn ddooeess nnoott ccuurrrreennttllyy hhaavvee aannyy aaffffeecctt..
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--8877
iicclloowweerr [[ooffff]]
The iicclloowweerr edit option makes all Regular Expres-
sions case-insensitive, as long as an upper-case
letter does not appear in the search string.
iiggnnoorreeccaassee,, iicc [[ooffff]]
This option causes regular expressions, both in eexx
commands and in searches, to be evaluated in a
case-insensitive manner.
kkeeyyttiimmee [[66]]
The 10th's of a second eexx/vvii waits for a subse-
quent key to complete a key mapping.
lleeffttrriigghhtt [[ooffff]]
VVii only. This option causes the screen to be
scrolled left-right to view lines longer than the
screen, instead of the traditional vvii screen
interface which folds long lines at the right-hand
margin of the terminal.
lliinneess,, llii [[2244]]
VVii only. The number of lines in the screen. Set-
ting this option causes eexx/vvii to set (or reset)
the environmental variable LINES.. SSeeee tthhee sseeccttiioonn
eennttiittlleedd ""SSiizziinngg tthhee SSccrreeeenn"" ffoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn..
lliisspp [[ooffff]]
VVii only. This option changes the behavior of the
vvii ((, )), {{, }}, [[[[ and ]]]] commands to match the
Lisp language. Also, the aauuttooiinnddeenntt option's
behavior is changed to be appropriate for Lisp.
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _n_o_t _y_e_t _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
lliisstt [[ooffff]]
This option causes lines to be displayed in an
unambiguous fashion. Specifically, tabs are dis-
played as control characters, i.e. "^I"",, aanndd tthhee
eennddss ooff lliinneess aarree mmaarrkkeedd wwiitthh aa ""$$" character.
lloocckk [[oonn]]
This option causes the editor to attempt to get an
exclusive lock on any file being edited, read or
written. Reading or writing a file that cannot be
locked produces a warning message, but no other
effect. Editing a file that cannot be locked
results in a read only edit session, as if the
rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option were set.
mmaaggiicc [[oonn]]
This option is on by default. Turning the mmaaggiicc
option off causes all regular expression
UUSSDD::1133--8888 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
characters except for "^"" aanndd ""$$", to be treated
as ordinary characters. To re-enable characters
individually, when the mmaaggiicc option is off, pre-
cede them with a backslash "\"" cchhaarraacctteerr.. SSeeee tthhee
sseeccttiioonn eennttiittlleedd ""RReegguullaarr EExxpprreessssiioonnss aanndd RReeppllaaccee--
mmeenntt SSttrriinnggss"" ffoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn..
mmaattcchhttiimmee [[77]]
VVii only. The 10th's of a second vvii pauses on the
matching character when the sshhoowwmmaattcchh option is
set.
mmeessgg [[oonn]]
This option allows other users to contact you
using the _t_a_l_k(1) and _w_r_i_t_e(1) utilities, while
you are editing. EExx/vvii does not turn message on,
i.e. if messages were turned off when the editor
was invoked, they will stay turned off. This
option only permits you to disallow messages for
the edit session. See the _m_e_s_g(1) utility for
more information.
mmssggccaatt [[..//]]
This option selects a message catalog to be used
to display error and informational messages in a
specified language. If the value of this option
ends with a '/', it is treated as the name of a
directory that contains a message catalog
"vi_XXXX"",, wwhheerree ""XXXXXXXX" is the value of the LANG
eennvviirroonnmmeennttaall vvaarriiaabbllee,, iiff iitt''ss sseett,, oorr tthhee vvaalluuee
ooff tthhee LLCC__MMEESSSSAAGGEESS environmental variable if it's
not. If neither of those environmental variables
are set, or if the option doesn't end in a '/',
the option is treated as the full path name of the
message catalog to use.
If any messages are missing from the catalog, the
backup text (English) is used instead.
See the distribution file catalog/README ffoorr aaddddii--
ttiioonnaall iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn oonn bbuuiillddiinngg aanndd iinnssttaalllliinngg mmeess--
ssaaggee ccaattaallooggss..
mmooddeelliinneess,, mmooddeelliinnee [[ooffff]]
If the mmooddeelliinneess option is set, eexx/vvii has histori-
cally scanned the first and last five lines of
each file as it is read for editing, looking for
any eexx commands that have been placed in those
lines. After the startup information has been
processed, and before the user starts editing the
file, any commands embedded in the file are exe-
cuted.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--8899
Commands were recognized by the letters "e" or "v"
followed by "x" or "i", at the beginning of a line
or following a tab or space character, and fol-
lowed by a ":", an eexx command, and another ":".
This option is a security problem of immense pro-
portions, and should not be used under any circum-
stances.
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _w_i_l_l _n_e_v_e_r _b_e _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
nnoopprriinntt [[""""]]
Characters that are never handled as printable
characters. By default, the C library function
_i_s_p_r_i_n_t(3) is used to determine if a character is
printable or not. This edit option overrides that
decision.
nnuummbbeerr,, nnuu [[ooffff]]
Precede each line displayed with its current line
number.
ooccttaall [[ooffff]]
Display unknown characters as octal numbers
("\###"")),, iinnsstteeaadd ooff tthhee ddeeffaauulltt hheexxaaddeecciimmaall
((""\\xx####").
ooppeenn [[oonn]]
EExx only. If this option is not set, the ooppeenn and
vviissuuaall commands are disallowed.
ooppttiimmiizzee,, oopptt [[oonn]]
VVii only. Throughput of text is expedited by set-
ting the terminal not to do automatic carriage
returns when printing more than one (logical) line
of output, greatly speeding output on terminals
without addressable cursors when text with leading
white space is printed.
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _n_o_t _y_e_t _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
ppaarraaggrraapphhss,, ppaarraa [[IIPPLLPPPPPPQQPPPP LLIIppppllppiippbbpp]]
VVii only. Define additional paragraph boundaries
for the {{ and }} commands. The value of this
option must be a character string consisting of
zero or more character pairs.
In the text to be edited, the character string
<newline>.<char-pair>,, ((wwhheerree <<cchhaarr--ppaaiirr>> is one
of the character pairs in the option's value)
defines a paragraph boundary. For example, if the
option were set to LaA<space>##,, tthheenn aallll ooff tthhee
ffoolllloowwiinngg aaddddiittiioonnaall ppaarraaggrraapphh bboouunnddaarriieess wwoouulldd bbee
UUSSDD::1133--9900 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
rreeccooggnniizzeedd::
<<nneewwlliinnee>>..LLaa
<<nneewwlliinnee>>..AA<<ssppaaccee>>
<<nneewwlliinnee>>..####
ppaatthh [[]]
The path option can be used to specify a
<colon>-separated list of paths, similar to the
PATH eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee iinn tthhee sshheellllss.. IIff tthhiiss
ooppttiioonn iiss sseett,, tthhee nnaammee ooff tthhee ffiillee ttoo bbee eeddiitteedd
iiss nnoott aann aabbssoolluuttee ppaatthhnnaammee,, tthhee ffiirrsstt ccoommppoonneenntt
ooff tthhee ffiilleennaammee iiss nnoott "".." or ".."",, aanndd tthhee ffiillee
ttoo bbee eeddiitteedd ddooeessnn''tt eexxiisstt iinn tthhee ccuurrrreenntt ddiirreecc--
ttoorryy,, tthhee eelleemmeennttss ooff tthhee ppaatthh ooppttiioonn aarree sseeqquueenn--
ttiiaallllyy sseeaarrcchheedd ffoorr aa ffiillee ooff tthhee ssppeecciiffiieedd nnaammee..
IIff ssuucchh aa ffiillee iiss ffoouunndd,, iitt iiss eeddiitteedd..
pprriinntt [[""""]]
Characters that are always handled as printable
characters. By default, the C library function
_i_s_p_r_i_n_t(3) is used to determine if a character is
printable or not. This edit option overrides that
decision.
pprroommpptt [[oonn]]
EExx only. This option causes eexx to prompt for com-
mand input with a ":"" cchhaarraacctteerr;; wwhheenn iitt iiss nnoott
sseett,, nnoo pprroommpptt iiss ddiissppllaayyeedd..
rreeaaddoonnllyy,, rroo [[ooffff]]
This option causes a force flag to be required to
attempt to write the file. Setting this option is
equivalent to using the --RR command line option, or
executing the vvii program using the name vviieeww.
The rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option is not usually persis-
tent, like other edit options. If the --RR command
line option is set, vvii is executed as vviieeww, or the
rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option is explicitly set, all files
edited in the screen will be marked readonly, and
the force flag will be required to write them.
However, if none of these conditions are true, or
the rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option is explicitly unset, then
the rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option will toggle based on the
write permissions of the file currently being
edited as of when it is loaded into the edit
buffer. In other words, the rreeaaddoonnllyy edit option
will be set if the current file lacks write per-
missions, and will not be set if the user has
write permissions for the file.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--9911
rreeccddiirr [[//vvaarr//ttmmpp//vvii..rreeccoovveerr]]
The directory where recovery files are stored.
If you change the value of rreeccddiirr, be careful to
choose a directory whose contents are not regu-
larly deleted. Bad choices include directories in
memory based filesystems, or /tmp,, oonn mmoosstt ssyyss--
tteemmss,, aass tthheeiirr ccoonntteennttss aarree rreemmoovveedd wwhheenn tthhee
mmaacchhiinnee iiss rreebbooootteedd..
PPuubblliicc ddiirreeccttoorriieess lliikkee //uussrr//ttmmpp and /var/tmp aarree
uussuuaallllyy ssaaffee,, aalltthhoouugghh ssoommee ssiitteess ppeerriiooddiiccaallllyy
pprruunnee oolldd ffiilleess ffrroomm tthheemm.. TThheerree iiss nnoo rreeqquuiirree--
mmeenntt tthhaatt yyoouu uussee aa ppuubblliicc ddiirreeccttoorryy,, ee..gg.. aa ssuubb--
ddiirreeccttoorryy ooff yyoouurr hhoommee ddiirreeccttoorryy wwiillll wwoorrkk ffiinnee..
FFiinnaallllyy,, iiff yyoouu cchhaannggee tthhee vvaalluuee ooff rreeccddiirr,, yyoouu
mmuusstt mmooddiiffyy tthhee rreeccoovveerryy ssccrriipptt ttoo ooppeerraattee iinn yyoouurr
cchhoosseenn rreeccoovveerryy aarreeaa..
SSeeee tthhee sseeccttiioonn eennttiittlleedd ""RReeccoovveerryy"" ffoorr ffuurrtthheerr
iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn..
rreeddrraaww,, rree [[ooffff]]
VVii only. The editor simulates (using great
amounts of output), an intelligent terminal on a
dumb terminal (e.g. during insertions in vvii the
characters to the right of the cursor are
refreshed as each input character is typed).
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _n_o_t _y_e_t _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
rreemmaapp [[oonn]]
If this option is set, it is possible to define
macros in terms of other macros. Otherwise, each
key is only remapped up to one time. For example,
if "A"" iiss mmaappppeedd ttoo ""BB", and "B"" iiss mmaappppeedd ttoo ""CC",
The keystroke "A"" wwiillll bbee mmaappppeedd ttoo ""CC" if the
rreemmaapp option is set, and to "B"" iiff iitt iiss nnoott sseett..
rreeppoorrtt [[55]]
Set the threshold of the number of lines that need
to be changed or yanked before a message will be
displayed to the user. For everything but the
yank command, the value is the largest value about
which the editor is silent, i.e. by default, 6
lines must be deleted before the user is notified.
However, if the number of lines yanked is greater
than _o_r _e_q_u_a_l _t_o the set value, it is reported to
the user.
rruulleerr [[ooffff]]
VVii only. Display a row/column ruler on the colon
UUSSDD::1133--9922 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
command line.
ssccrroollll,, ssccrr [[((eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee LLIINNEESS -- 11)) // 22]]
Set the number of lines scrolled by the eexx <<ccoonn--
ttrrooll--DD>> and <<eenndd--ooff--ffiillee>> commands.
Historically, the eexx zz command, when specified
without a count, used two times the size of the
scroll value; the POSIX 1003.2 standard specified
the window size, which is a better choice.
sseeaarrcchhiinnccrr [[ooffff]]
The sseeaarrcchhiinnccrr edit option makes the search com-
mands // and ?? incremental, i.e. the screen is
updated and the cursor moves to the matching text
as the search pattern is entered. If the search
pattern is not found, the screen is beeped and the
cursor remains on the colon-command line. Erasing
characters from the search pattern backs the cur-
sor up to the previous matching text.
sseeccttiioonnss,, sseecctt [[NNHHSSHHHH HHUUnnhhsshh]]
VVii only. Define additional section boundaries for
the [[[[ and ]]]] commands. The sseeccttiioonnss option
should be set to a character string consisting of
zero or more character pairs. In the text to be
edited, the character string <newline>.<char-
pair>,, ((wwhheerree <<cchhaarr--ppaaiirr>> is one of the character
pairs in the option's value), defines a section
boundary in the same manner that ppaarraaggrraapphhss option
boundaries are defined.
sseeccuurree [[ooffff]]
The sseeccuurree edit option turns off all access to
external programs. This means that the versions
of the rreeaadd and wwrriittee commands that filter text
through other programs, the vvii !! and <<ccoonnttrrooll--ZZ>>
commands, the eexx !!, ssccrriipptt, sshheellll, ssttoopp and ssuuss--
ppeenndd commands and file name expansion will not be
permitted. Once set, the sseeccuurree edit option may
not be unset.
sshheellll,, sshh [[eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee SSHHEELLLL,, oorr //bbiinn//sshh]]
Select the shell used by the editor. The speci-
fied path is the pathname of the shell invoked by
the vvii !! shell escape command and by the eexx sshheellll
command. This program is also used to resolve any
shell meta-characters in eexx commands.
sshheellllmmeettaa [[~~{{[[**??$$``''""\\]]
The set of characters that eexx checks for when
doing file name expansion. If any of the speci-
fied characters are found in the file name
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--9933
arguments to the eexx commands, the arguments are
expanded using the program defined by the sshheellll
option. The default set of characters is a union
of meta characters from the Version 7 and the
Berkeley C shell.
sshhiiffttwwiiddtthh,, ssww [[88]]
Set the autoindent and shift command indentation
width. This width is used by the aauuttooiinnddeenntt
option and by the <<, >>, and sshhiifftt commands.
sshhoowwmmaattcchh,, ssmm [[ooffff]]
VVii only. This option causes vvii, when a "}"" oorr ""))"
is entered, to briefly move the cursor the match-
ing "{"" oorr ""((". See the mmaattcchhttiimmee option for more
information.
sshhoowwmmooddee,, ssmmdd [[ooffff]]
VVii only. This option causes vvii to display a
string identifying the current editor mode on the
colon command line. The string is preceded by an
asterisk (``*'') if the file has been modified
since it was last completely written,
ssiiddeessccrroollll [[1166]]
VVii only. Sets the number of columns that are
shifted to the left or right, when vvii is doing
left-right scrolling and the left or right margin
is crossed. See the lleeffttrriigghhtt option for more
information.
sslloowwooppeenn,, ssllooww [[ooffff]]
This option affects the display algorithm used by
vvii, holding off display updating during input of
new text to improve throughput when the terminal
in use is slow and unintelligent.
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _i_s _n_o_t _y_e_t _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
ssoouurrcceeaannyy [[ooffff]]
If this option is turned on, vvii historically read
startup files that were owned by someone other
than the editor user. See the section entitled
"SSttaarrttuupp IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn" for more information. This
option is a security problem of immense propor-
tions, and should not be used under any circum-
stances.
_T_h_i_s _o_p_t_i_o_n _w_i_l_l _n_e_v_e_r _b_e _i_m_p_l_e_m_e_n_t_e_d_.
ttaabbssttoopp,, ttss [[88]]
This option sets tab widths for the editor dis-
play.
UUSSDD::1133--9944 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
ttaagglleennggtthh,, ttll [[00]]
This option sets the maximum number of characters
that are considered significant in a tag name.
Setting the value to 0 makes all of the characters
in the tag name significant.
ttaaggss,, ttaagg [[ttaaggss //vvaarr//ddbb//lliibbcc..ttaaggss //ssyyss//kkeerrnn//ttaaggss]]
Sets the list of tags files, in search order,
which are used when the editor searches for a tag.
tteerrmm,, ttttyyttyyppee,, ttttyy [[eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee TTEERRMM]]
Set the terminal type. Setting this option causes
eexx/vvii to set (or reset) the environmental variable
TERM..
tteerrssee [[ooffff]]
This option has historically made editor messages
less verbose. It has no effect in this implemen-
tation. See the vveerrbboossee option for more informa-
tion.
ttiillddeeoopp [[ooffff]]
Modify the ~~ command to take an associated motion.
ttiimmeeoouutt,, ttoo [[oonn]]
If this option is set, eexx/vvii waits for a specific
period for a subsequent key to complete a key map-
ping (see the kkeeyyttiimmee option). If the option is
not set, the editor waits until enough keys are
entered to resolve the ambiguity, regardless of
how long it takes.
ttttyywweerraassee [[ooffff]]
VVii only. This option changes how vvii does word
erase during text input. If this option is set,
text is broken up into two classes, blank charac-
ters and nonblank characters. Changing from one
class to another marks the end of a word.
vveerrbboossee [[ooffff]]
VVii only. VVii historically bells the terminal for
many obvious mistakes, e.g. trying to move past
the left-hand margin, or past the end of the file.
If this option is set, an error message is dis-
played for all errors.
ww330000 [[nnoo ddeeffaauulltt]]
VVii only. Set the window size if the baud rate is
less than 1200 baud. See the wwiinnddooww option for
more information.
ww11220000 [[nnoo ddeeffaauulltt]]
VVii only. Set the window size if the baud rate is
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss)) UUSSDD::1133--9955
equal to 1200 baud. See the wwiinnddooww option for
more information.
ww99660000 [[nnoo ddeeffaauulltt]]
VVii only. Set the window size if the baud rate is
greater than 1200 baud. See the wwiinnddooww option for
more information.
wwaarrnn [[oonn]]
EExx only. This option causes a warning message to
the terminal if the file has been modified, since
it was last written, before a !! command.
wwiinnddooww,, ww,, wwii [[eennvviirroonnmmeenntt vvaarriiaabbllee LLIINNEESS -- 11]]
This option determines the default number of lines
in a screenful, as displayed by the zz command. It
also determines the number of lines scrolled by
the vvii commands <<ccoonnttrrooll--BB>> and <<ccoonnttrrooll--FF>>, and
the default number of lines scrolled by the vvii
commands <<ccoonnttrrooll--DD>> and <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>>. The value
of window can be unrelated to the real screen
size, although it starts out as the number of
lines on the screen. See the section entitled
"SSiizziinngg tthhee SSccrreeeenn" for more information. Setting
the value of the wwiinnddooww option is the same as
using the --ww command line option.
If the value of the wwiinnddooww option (as set by the
wwiinnddooww, ww330000, ww11220000 or ww99660000 options) is smaller
than the actual size of the screen, large screen
movements will result in displaying only that
smaller number of lines on the screen. (Further
movements in that same area will result in the
screen being filled.) This can provide a perfor-
mance improvement when viewing different places in
one or more files over a slow link.
Resetting the window size does not reset the
default number of lines scrolled by the <<ccoonnttrrooll--
DD>> and <<ccoonnttrrooll--UU>> commands.
wwiinnddoowwnnaammee [[ooffff]]
VVii changes the name of the editor's icon/window to
the current file name when it's possible and not
destructive, i.e., when the editor can restore it
to its original value on exit or when the
icon/window will be discarded as the editor exits.
If the wwiinnddoowwnnaammee edit option is set, vvii will
change the icon/window name even when it's
destructive and the icon/window name will remain
after the editor exits. (This is the case for
_x_t_e_r_m(1)).
UUSSDD::1133--9966 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee ((OOppttiioonnss))
wwrraapplleenn,, wwll [[00]]
This option is identical to the wwrraappmmaarrggiinn option,
with the exception that it specifies the number of
columns from the _l_e_f_t margin before the line
splits, not the right margin.
If both wwrraapplleenn and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn are set, the wwrraapp--
mmaarrggiinn value is used.
wwrraappmmaarrggiinn,, wwmm [[00]]
VVii only. If the value of the wwrraappmmaarrggiinn option is
non-zero, vvii will split lines so that they end at
least that number of columns before the right-hand
margin of the screen. (Note, the value of wwrraapp--
mmaarrggiinn is _n_o_t a text length. In a screen that is
80 columns wide, the command ":set wrapmargin=8_"
_a_t_t_e_m_p_t_s _t_o _k_e_e_p _t_h_e _l_i_n_e_s _l_e_s_s _t_h_a_n _o_r _e_q_u_a_l _t_o
_7_2 _c_o_l_u_m_n_s _w_i_d_e_._)
_L_i_n_e_s _a_r_e _s_p_l_i_t _a_t _t_h_e _p_r_e_v_i_o_u_s _w_h_i_t_e_s_p_a_c_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_-
_t_e_r _c_l_o_s_e_s_t _t_o _t_h_e _n_u_m_b_e_r_. _A_n_y _t_r_a_i_l_i_n_g _w_h_i_t_e_s_-
_p_a_c_e _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s _b_e_f_o_r_e _t_h_a_t _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _a_r_e _d_e_l_e_t_e_d_.
_I_f _t_h_e _l_i_n_e _i_s _s_p_l_i_t _b_e_c_a_u_s_e _o_f _a_n _i_n_s_e_r_t_e_d
_<_s_p_a_c_e_> or <tab> _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_, _a_n_d _y_o_u _t_h_e_n _e_n_t_e_r
_a_n_o_t_h_e_r _<_s_p_a_c_e_> character, it is discarded.
If wrapmargin is set to 0, or if there is no blank
character upon which to split the line, the line
is not broken.
If both wwrraapplleenn and wwrraappmmaarrggiinn are set, the wwrraapp--
mmaarrggiinn value is used.
wwrraappssccaann,, wwss [[oonn]]
This option causes searches to wrap around the end
or the beginning of the file, and back to the
starting point. Otherwise, the end or beginning
of the file terminates the search.
wwrriitteeaannyy,, wwaa [[ooffff]]
If this option is set, file-overwriting checks
that would usually be made before the wwrriittee and
xxiitt commands, or before an automatic write (see
the aauuttoowwrriittee option), are not made. This allows
a write to any file, provided the file permissions
allow it.
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--9977
1199.. IInnddeexx
! 23, 44 ?RE? 26 cedit 59
"" 43 @ 28, 45 change 46
# 23, 44 A 28 chdir 46
$ 24 B 29 columns 60
% 24 C 29 comment 60
& 24, 53 D 29 copy 47
( 25 E 29 count 18, 42
) 25 F 30 cscope 47
* 45 G 30 current pathname 14
+ 21 H 30 d 35
, 26 I 30 delete 47
/RE/ 26 J 30 directory 60
0 27 L 31 display 47
0<control-D>40 M 31 e 35
: 27 N 26 edcompatible60
; 28 O 31 edit 47
< 28, 45 P 31 errorbells 60
<carriage-return> 16 Q 31 escapetime 60
<control-A> 19 R 31 exrc 60
<control-B> 19 S 32 extended 60
<cont1r9o,l-4D0>, 43 T 32 exusage 48
<control-E> 19 U 32 f 35
<control-F> 20 W 32 fg 48
<control-G> 20 X 32 file 43, 48
<control-2H0>, 40 Y 33 filec 60
<control-J> 20 ZZ 33 flags 43
<control-L> 20 [[ 33 flash 61
<control-M> 21 - 26 global 48
<control-N> 20 ]] 33 hardtabs 61
<control-P> 21 ^ 34 help 49
<control-R> 21 ^<control-D>40 i 35
<control-2T1>, 40 _ 34 iclower 61
<control-U> 21 `<character>25 ignorecase 61
<control-2W1>, 41 a 34 insert 49
<control-X> 41 abbrev 45 j 20
<control-Y> 22 alternate pathname 14 join 49
<control-2Z2>, 54 altwerase 58 k 21, 50
<control-]> 22 append 46 keytime 61
<control-^> 22 args 46 l 23
<end-of-file> 42, 43 autoindent 58 leftright 61
<erase> 40 autoprint 58 line 42
<escape>22, 40 autowrite 58 lines 61
<inte1r4r,up3t9>, 41 b 34 lisp 61
<line erase>41 backup 59 list 49, 61
<literal-next> 14, 40 beautify 59 lock 61
<newline> 16 bg 46 m 35
<nul> 40 bigword 18 magic 61
<space> 23 buffer 14 map 50
<word erase>41 c 34 mark 50
= 45 cd 46 matchtime 62
> 28, 45 cdpath 59 mesg 62
UUSSDD::1133--9988 NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee
mkexrc 50 stop 54
modelines 62 substitute 53
motion 17 suspend 54
move 50 t 36, 47
msgcat 62 tabstop 66
n 26 tag 54
next 51 taglength 66
noprint 62 tagnext 54
number 44, 62 tagpop 54
o 36 tagprev 55
octal 62 tags 66
open 51, 63 tagtop 55
optimize 63 term 66
p 36 terse 66
paragraph 18 tildeop 66
paragraphs 63 timeout 66
path 63 ttywerase 66
preserve 51 u 37
previous 51 unabbrev 55
previous context 17 undo 55
print 51, 63 unmap 55
prompt 63 unnamed buffer 15
put 51 v 48
quit 52 verbose 66
r 36 version 55
range 42 visual 56
read 52 viusage 56
readonly 63 w 37
recdir 64 w1200 66
recover 52 w300 66
redraw 64 w9600 66
remap 64 warn 67
report 64 whitespace 16
resize 52 window 67
rewind 52 windowname 67
ruler 64 wn 56
s 36 word 18
scroll 64 wq 56
searchincr 64 wraplen 67
section 18 wrapmargin 67
sections 65 wrapscan 67
secure 65 write 56
sentence 18 writeany 68
set 53 x 37
shell 53, 65 xit 57
shellmeta 65 y 37
shiftwidth 65 yank 57
showmatch 65 z 37, 57
showmode 65 { 38
sidescroll 65 | 38
slowopen 65 } 38
source 53 ~ 39, 53
sourceany 65
NNvvii//NNeexx RReeffeerreennccee UUSSDD::1133--33
TTaabbllee ooff CCoonntteennttss
Description ...................................... 4
Additional Features in Nex/Nvi ................... 4
Startup Information .............................. 6
Recovery ......................................... 7
Sizing the Screen ................................ 11
Character Display ................................ 11
Multiple Screens ................................. 12
Tags, Tag Stacks, and Cscope ..................... 13
Regular Expressions and Replacement Strings ...... 15
Scripting Languages .............................. 17
General Editor Description ....................... 18
Vi Description ................................... 22
Vi Commands ...................................... 26
Vi Text Input Commands ........................... 55
Ex Addressing
........................................ 57
Ex Description ................................... 59
Ex Commands ...................................... 61
Set Options ...................................... 81
Index ............................................ 97
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.