DESCRIPTION
The
vi (visual) utility is a display-oriented text editor based on an underlying line editor
ex. It is possible to use the command mode of
ex from within
vi and to use the command mode of
vi from within
ex. The visual commands are described on this manual page; how to set options (like automatically numbering lines and automatically starting a new output line when you type carriage return) and all
ex line editor commands are described on the
ex(1) manual page.
When using
vi, changes you make to the file are reflected in what you see on your terminal screen. The position of the cursor on the screen indicates the position within the file.
The
view invocation is the same as
vi except that the
readonly flag is set.
The
vedit invocation is intended for beginners. It is the same as
vi except that the
report flag is set to
1, the
showmode and
novice flags are set, and
magic is turned off. These defaults make it easier to learn how to use
vi.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
Invocation Options
The following invocation options are interpreted by
vi (previously documented options are discussed under NOTES):
− |
-s
Suppresses all interactive user feedback. This is useful when processing editor scripts.
-C
Encryption option. Same as the -x option, except that vi simulates the C command of ex. The C command is like the X command of ex, except that all text read in is assumed to have been encrypted.
-l
Sets up for editing LISP programs.
-L
Lists the name of all files saved as the result of an editor or system crash.
-r filename
Edits filename after an editor or system crash. (Recovers the version of filename that was in the buffer when the crash occurred.)
-R
Readonly mode. The readonly flag is set, preventing accidental overwriting of the file.
-S
This option is used in conjunction with the -t tag option to tell vi that the tags file can not be sorted and that, if the binary search (which relies on a sorted tags file) for tag fails to find it, the much slower linear search should also be done. Since the linear search is slow, users of large tags files should ensure that the tags files are sorted rather than use this flag. Creation of tags files normally produces sorted tags files. See ctags(1) for more information on tags files.
-t tag
Edits the file containing tag and position the editor at its definition. It is an error to specify more than one -t option.
-v
Starts up in display editing state, using vi. You can achieve the same effect by typing the vi command itself.
-V
Verbose. When ex commands are read by means of standard input, the input is echoed to standard error. This can be useful when processing ex commands within shell scripts.
-wn
Sets the default window size to n. This is useful when using the editor over a slow speed line.
-x
Encryption option. When used, vi simulates the X command of ex and prompts the user for a key. This key is used to encrypt and decrypt text using the algorithm of the crypt command. The X command makes an educated guess to determine whether text read in is encrypted or not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted also, using a transformed version of the key typed in for the -x option. If an empty encryption key is entered (that is, if the return key is pressed right after the prompt), the file is not encrypted. This is a good way to decrypt a file erroneously encrypted with a mistyped encryption key, such as a backspace or undo key.
-command |
-c command
Begins editing by executing the specified editor command (usually a search or positioning command).
/usr/xpg4/bin/vi and /usr/xpg6/bin/vi
If both the -t tag and the -c command options are given, the -t tag option is processed first. That is, the file containing tag is selected by -t and then the command is executed.
COMMAND SUMMARY
The
vi command modes are summarized in this section.
vi Modes
Command
Normal and initial mode. Other modes return to command mode upon completion. ESC (escape) is used to cancel a partial command.
Input
Entered by setting any of the following options:
a A i I o O c C s S R
Arbitrary text can then be entered. Input mode is normally terminated with the
ESC character, or, abnormally, with an interrupt.
Last line
Reading input for : / ? or !. Terminate by typing a carriage return. An interrupt cancels termination.
Sample Commands
In the descriptions,
CR stands for carriage return and
ESC stands for the escape key.
←, →
down-arrow
up-arrow
arrow keys move the cursor
h j k l
same as arrow keys
itextESC
insert text
cwnewESC
change word to new
easESC
pluralize word (end of word; append s; escape from input state)
x
delete a character
dw
delete a word
dd
delete a line
3dd
delete 3 lines
u
undo previous change
ZZ
exit vi, saving changes
:q!CR
quit, discarding changes
/textCR
search for text
^U ^D
scroll up or down
:cmdCR
any ex or ed command
Counts Before vi Commands
Numbers can be typed as a prefix to some commands. They are interpreted in one of these ways:
line/column number
z G |
scroll amount
^D ^U
repeat effect
most of the rest
Interrupting, Canceling
ESC
end insert or incomplete command
DEL
(delete or rubout) interrupts
File Manipulation
ZZ
if file modified, write and exit; otherwise, exit
:wCR
write back changes
:w!CR
forced write, if permission originally not valid
:qCR
quit
:q!CR
quit, discard changes
:e nameCR
edit file name
:e!CR
reedit, discard changes
:e + nameCR
edit, starting at end
:e +nCR
edit, starting at line n
:e #CR
edit alternate file
:e! #CR
edit alternate file, discard changes
:w nameCR
write file name
:w! nameCR
overwrite file name
:shCR
run shell, then return
:!cmdCR
run cmd, then return
:nCR
edit next file in arglist
:n argsCR
specify new arglist
^G
show current file and line
:ta tagCR
position cursor to tag
In general, any
ex or
ed command (such as
substitute or
global) can be typed, preceded by a colon and followed by a carriage return.
Positioning Within a File
F
forward screen
^B
backward screen
^D
scroll down half screen
^U
scroll up half screen
nG
go to the beginning of the specified line (end default), where n is a line number
/pat
next line matching pat
?pat
previous line matching pat
n
repeat last / or ? command
N
reverse last / or ? command
/pat/+
n
nth line after pat
?pat?−
n
nth line before pat
]]
next section/function
[[
previous section/function
(
beginning of sentence
)
end of sentence
{
beginning of paragraph
}
end of paragraph
%
find matching ( ) or { }
Adjusting the Screen
^L
clear and redraw window
^R
clear and redraw window if ^L is → key
zCR
redraw screen with current line at top of window
z−CR
redraw screen with current line at bottom of window
z.CR
redraw screen with current line at center of window
/pat/z−
CR
move pat line to bottom of window
zn.
CR
use n−line window
^E
scroll window down one line
^Y
scroll window up one line
Marking and Returning
``
move cursor to previous context
a´a´
move cursor to first non-white space in line
mx
mark current position with the ASCII lower-case letter x
`x
move cursor to mark x
a´x
move cursor to first non-white space in line marked by x
Line Positioning
H
top line on screen
L
last line on screen
M
middle line on screen
+
next line, at first non-white space character
−
previous line, at first non-white space character
CR
return, same as +
down-arrow
or j
next line, same column
up-arrow
or k
previous line, same column
Character Positioning
^
first non-white space character
0
beginning of line
$
end of line
l or
→
forward
h or
←
backward
^H
same as ← (backspace)
space
same as → (space bar)
fx
find next x
Fx
find previous x
tx
move to character following the next x
Tx
move to character following the previous x
;
repeat last f, F, t, or T
,
repeat inverse of last f, F, t, or T
n|
move to column n
%
find matching ( ) or { }
Words, Sentences, Paragraphs
w
forward a word
b
back a word
e
end of word
)
to next sentence
}
to next paragraph
(
back a sentence
{
back a paragraph
W
forward a blank-delimited word
B
back a blank-delimited word
E
end of a blank-delimited word
Corrections During Insert
^H
erase last character (backspace)
^W
erase last word
erase
your erase character, same as ^H (backspace)
kill
your kill character, erase this line of input
\
quotes your erase and kill characters
ESC
ends insertion, back to command mode
Control−C
interrupt, suspends insert mode
^D
backtab one character; reset left margin of autoindent
^^D
caret (^) followed by control-d (^D); backtab to beginning of line; do not reset left margin of autoindent
0^D
backtab to beginning of line; reset left margin of autoindent
^V
quote non-printable character
Insert and Replace
a
append after cursor
A
append at end of line
i
insert before cursor
I
insert before first non-blank
o
open line below
O
open line above
rx
replace single character with x
RtextESC
replace characters
Operators
Operators are followed by a cursor motion and affect all text that would have been moved over. For example, since
w moves over a word,
dw deletes the word that would be moved over. Double the operator, for example
dd, to affect whole lines.
d
delete
c
change
y
yank lines to buffer
<
left shift
>
right shift
!
filter through command
Miscellaneous Operations
C
change rest of line (c$)
D
delete rest of line (d$)
s
substitute characters (cl)
S
substitute lines (cc)
J
join lines
x
delete characters (dl)
X
delete characters before cursor dh)
Y
yank lines (yy)
Yank and Put
Put inserts the text most recently deleted or yanked; however, if a buffer is named (using the
ASCII lower-case letters
a -
z), the text in that buffer is put instead.
3yy
yank 3 lines
3yl
yank 3 characters
p
put back text after cursor
P
put back text before cursor
"xp
put from buffer x
"xy
yank to buffer x
"xd
delete into buffer x
Undo, Redo, Retrieve
u
undo last change
U
restore current line
.
repeat last change
"dp
retrieve d'th last delete
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See
environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect the execution of
vi:
LANG,
LC_ALL,
LC_COLLATE,
LC_CTYPE,
LC_TIME,
LC_MESSAGES,
NLSPATH,
PATH,
SHELL, and
TERM.
COLUMNS
Override the system-selected horizontal screen size.
EXINIT
Determine a list of ex commands that are executed on editor start-up, before reading the first file. The list can contain multiple commands by separating them using a vertical-line ( |) character.
LINES
Override the system-selected vertical screen size, used as the number of lines in a screenful and the vertical screen size in visual mode.
NOTES
Two options, although they continue to be supported, have been replaced in the documentation by options that follow the Command Syntax Standard (see
Intro(1)). An
-r option that is not followed with an option-argument has been replaced by
-L and
+command has been replaced by
-c command.
The message
file too large to recover with -r option, which is seen when a file is loaded, indicates that the file can be edited and saved successfully, but if the editing session is lost, recovery of the file with the
-r option is not possible.
The editing environment defaults to certain configuration options. When an editing session is initiated,
vi attempts to read the
EXINIT environment variable. If it exists, the editor uses the values defined in
EXINIT; otherwise the values set in
$HOME/.exrc are used. If
$HOME/.exrc does not exist, the default values are used.
To use a copy of
.exrc located in the current directory other than
$HOME, set the
exrc option in
EXINIT or
$HOME/.exrc. Options set in
EXINIT can be turned off in a local
.exrc only if
exrc is set in
EXINIT or
$HOME/.exrc. In order to be used,
.exrc in
$HOME or the current directory must fulfill these conditions:
-
o
-
It must be owned by the same userid as the real userid of the process, or the process has appropriate privileges.
-
o
-
It is not writable by anyone other than the owner.
Tampering with entries in
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* or
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* (for example, changing or removing an entry) can affect programs such as
vi that expect the entry to be present and correct. In particular, removing the "dumb" terminal can cause unexpected problems.
Software tabs using
^T work only immediately after the
autoindent.
Left and right shifts on intelligent terminals do not make use of insert and delete character operations in the terminal.
Loading an alternate
malloc() library using the environment variable
LD_PRELOAD can cause problems for
/usr/bin/vi.
The
vi utility currently has the following limitations:
-
1.
-
Lines, including the trailing NEWLINE character, can contain no more than 4096 bytes.
If a longer line is found, Line too long is displayed in the status line.
-
2.
-
The editor's temporary work file can be no larger than 128Mb.
If a larger temporary file is needed, Tmp file too large is displayed in the status line.