vim

NAME

       vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor

SYNOPSIS

       vim [options] [file ..]
       vim [options] -t tag
       vim [options] -e [errorfile]

DESCRIPTION

       Vim  is a text editor that is upwards compatible to vi. It
       can be used to edit any ASCII text. It is especially  use-
       ful for editing programs.

       There  are  a  lot  of  enhancements above vi: multi level
       undo, multi windows and  buffers,  command  line  editing,
       filename completion, on-line help, visual selection, etc..
       Read difference.doc  for  a  summary  of  the  differences
       between vi and Vim.

       Most  often  Vim is started to edit a single file with the
       command

            vim file

       More generally VIM is started with:

            vim [options] [filelist]

       If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with  an
       empty  buffer.  Otherwise exactly one out of the following
       three may be used to  choose  one  or  more  files  to  be
       edited.

       file ..     A list of file names. The first one (alphabet-
                   ically) will be the current file and read into
                   the  buffer.  The cursor will be positioned on
                   the first line of the buffer. You can  get  to
                   the other files with the ":next" command.

       -t {tag}    The  file to edit and the initial cursor posi-
                   tion depends on a "tag", a sort of goto label.
                   {tag} is looked up in the tags file, the asso-
                   ciated file becomes the current file  and  the
                   associated command is executed. Mostly this is
                   used for C programs. {tag} then  should  be  a
                   function  name.  The  effect  is that the file
                   containing that function becomes  the  current
                   file and the cursor is positioned on the start
                   of the function  (see  reference.doc,  section
                   "tag searches").

       -e [errorfile]
                   Start  in  quickFix mode. The file [errorfile]
                   is read and the first error is  displayed.  If
                   [errorfile]   is  omitted  the  file  name  is
                   obtained from the 'errorfile' option (defaults
                   to  "AztecC.Err"  for  the  Amiga, "errors" on
                   other systems). Further errors can  be  jumped
                   to  with  the ":cn" command. See reference.doc
                   section 5.5.

OPTIONS

       The options, if present, must precede  the  filelist.  The
       options may be given in any order.

       -r          Recovery  mode.  The  swap  file  is  used  to
                   recover a crashed editing  session.  The  swap
                   file  is a file with the same file name as the
                   text file with  ".swp"  appended.  See  refer-
                   ence.doc, chapter "Recovery after a crash".

       -v          View  mode. The 'readonly' option will be set.
                   You can still edit the  buffer,  but  will  be
                   prevented  from accidently overwriting a file.
                   If you do want to overwrite  a  file,  add  an
                   exclamation  mark  to  the  Ex  command, as in
                   ":w!".  The -v  option  also  implies  the  -n
                   option (see below).  The 'readonly' option can
                   be reset with ":set noro" (see  reference.doc,
                   options chapter).

       -b          Binary.  A  few options will be set that makes
                   it possible to edit  a  binary  or  executable
                   file.

       +[num]      For  the  first  file the cursor will be posi-
                   tioned on line "num". If "num" is missing, the
                   cursor will be positioned on the last line.

       +/pat       For  the  first  file the cursor will be posi-
                   tioned on the first occurrence of  "pat"  (see
                   reference.doc,  section "pattern searches" for
                   the available search patterns).

       +{command}

       -c {command}
                   {command} will be  executed  after  the  first
                   file  has  been read. {command} is interpreted
                   as an Ex command. If  the  {command}  contains
                   spaces  it  must  be enclosed in double quotes
                   (this depends on  the  shell  that  is  used).
                   Example: Vim "+set si" main.c

       -x          (Amiga  only)  Vim  is not restarted to open a
                   new window. This option should  be  used  when
                   Vim  is  executed  by a program that will wait
                   for the edit session to  finish  (e.g.  mail).
                   The ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.

       -o[N]       Open  N  windows.  When N is omitted, open one
                   window for each file.

       -n          No swap file will be used.  Recovery  after  a
                   crash will be impossible. Handy if you want to
                   edit a  file  on  a  very  slow  medium  (e.g.
                   floppy).  Can  also  be done with ":set uc=0".
                   Can be undone with ":set uc=200".

       -s {scriptin}
                   The script file {scriptin} is read. The  char-
                   acters  in  the file are interpreted as if you
                   had typed them. The same can be done with  the
                   command  ":source!  {scriptin}". If the end of
                   the file is reached before the  editor  exits,
                   further characters are read from the keyboard.

       -w {scriptout}
                   All the characters that you type are  recorded
                   in  the  file {scriptout}, until you exit VIM.
                   This is useful if you want to create a  script
                   file to be used with "vim -s" or ":source!".

       -T terminal Tells  Vim  the  name  of the terminal you are
                   using. Should  be  a  terminal  known  to  Vim
                   (builtin) or defined in the termcap file.

       -d device   Open  "device"  for use as a terminal. Only on
                   the Amiga. Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".

SEE ALSO

       Vim documentation:

       reference.doc:
                   A complete reference of Vim (long)

       windows.doc:
                   Explanation of the multi windows  and  buffers
                   commands and options

       index:      Overview  of  all  command  characters (useful
                   when adding new mappings)

       difference.doc:
                   Overview of the differences between vi and Vim

       unix.doc:   Unix-specific comments

       vim.hlp:    File used by the on-line help (short)

AUTHOR

       Most of VIM was made by Bram Moolenaar.
       VIM  is  based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony
       Andrews and G.R. (Fred) Walter

BUGS

       Probably.