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- *editing.txt* Nvim
- VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
- Editing files *edit-files*
- Type |gO| to see the table of contents.
- ==============================================================================
- 1. Introduction *edit-intro*
- Editing a file with Vim means:
- 1. reading the file into a buffer
- 2. changing the buffer with editor commands
- 3. writing the buffer into a file
- *current-file*
- As long as you don't write the buffer, the original file remains unchanged.
- If you start editing a file (read a file into the buffer), the file name is
- remembered as the "current file name". This is also known as the name of the
- current buffer. It can be used with "%" on the command line |:_%|.
- *alternate-file*
- If there already was a current file name, then that one becomes the alternate
- file name. It can be used with "#" on the command line |:_#| and you can use
- the |CTRL-^| command to toggle between the current and the alternate file.
- However, the alternate file name is not changed when |:keepalt| is used.
- An alternate file name is remembered for each window.
- *:keepalt* *:keepa*
- :keepalt {cmd} Execute {cmd} while keeping the current alternate file
- name. Note that commands invoked indirectly (e.g.,
- with a function) may still set the alternate file
- name.
- All file names are remembered in the buffer list. When you enter a file name,
- for editing (e.g., with ":e filename") or writing (e.g., with ":w filename"),
- the file name is added to the list. You can use the buffer list to remember
- which files you edited and to quickly switch from one file to another (e.g.,
- to copy text) with the |CTRL-^| command. First type the number of the file
- and then hit CTRL-^.
- CTRL-G or *CTRL-G* *:f* *:fi* *:file*
- :f[ile] Prints the current file name (as typed, unless ":cd"
- was used), the cursor position (unless the 'ruler'
- option is set), and the file status (readonly,
- modified, read errors, new file). See the 'shortmess'
- option about how to make this message shorter.
- :f[ile]! like |:file|, but don't truncate the name even when
- 'shortmess' indicates this.
- {count}CTRL-G Like CTRL-G, but prints the current file name with
- full path. If the count is higher than 1 the current
- buffer number is also given.
- *g_CTRL-G* *word-count* *byte-count*
- g CTRL-G Prints the current position of the cursor in five
- ways: Column, Line, Word, Character and Byte. If the
- number of Characters and Bytes is the same then the
- Character position is omitted.
- If there are characters in the line that take more
- than one position on the screen (<Tab> or special
- character), or characters using more than one byte per
- column (characters above 0x7F when 'encoding' is
- utf-8), both the byte column and the screen column are
- shown, separated by a dash.
- Also see the 'ruler' option and the |wordcount()|
- function.
- *v_g_CTRL-G*
- {Visual}g CTRL-G Similar to "g CTRL-G", but Word, Character, Line, and
- Byte counts for the visually selected region are
- displayed.
- In Blockwise mode, Column count is also shown. (For
- {Visual} see |Visual-mode|.)
- *:file_f*
- :f[ile][!] {name} Sets the current file name to {name}. The optional !
- avoids truncating the message, as with |:file|.
- If the buffer did have a name, that name becomes the
- |alternate-file| name. An unlisted buffer is created
- to hold the old name.
- *:0file*
- :0f[ile][!] Remove the name of the current buffer. The optional !
- avoids truncating the message, as with |:file|.
- :buffers
- :files
- :ls List all the currently known file names. See
- |windows.txt| |:files| |:buffers| |:ls|.
- Vim will remember the full path name of a file name that you enter. In most
- cases when the file name is displayed only the name you typed is shown, but
- the full path name is being used if you used the ":cd" command |:cd|.
- *home-replace*
- If the environment variable $HOME is set, and the file name starts with that
- string, it is often displayed with HOME replaced with "~". This was done to
- keep file names short. When reading or writing files the full name is still
- used, the "~" is only used when displaying file names. When replacing the
- file name would result in just "~", "~/" is used instead (to avoid confusion
- between options set to $HOME with 'backupext' set to "~").
- When writing the buffer, the default is to use the current file name. Thus
- when you give the "ZZ" or ":wq" command, the original file will be
- overwritten. If you do not want this, the buffer can be written into another
- file by giving a file name argument to the ":write" command. For example: >
- vim testfile
- [change the buffer with editor commands]
- :w newfile
- :q
- This will create a file "newfile", that is a modified copy of "testfile".
- The file "testfile" will remain unchanged. Anyway, if the 'backup' option is
- set, Vim renames or copies the original file before it will be overwritten.
- You can use this file if you discover that you need the original file. See
- also the 'patchmode' option. The name of the backup file is normally the same
- as the original file with 'backupext' appended. The default "~" is a bit
- strange to avoid accidentally overwriting existing files. If you prefer ".bak"
- change the 'backupext' option. The backup file can be placed in another
- directory by setting 'backupdir'.
- When you started editing without giving a file name, "No File" is displayed in
- messages. If the ":write" command is used with a file name argument, the file
- name for the current file is set to that file name. This only happens when
- the 'F' flag is included in 'cpoptions' (by default it is included) |cpo-F|.
- This is useful when entering text in an empty buffer and then writing it to a
- file. If 'cpoptions' contains the 'f' flag (by default it is NOT included)
- |cpo-f| the file name is set for the ":read file" command. This is useful
- when starting Vim without an argument and then doing ":read file" to start
- editing a file.
- When the file name was set and 'filetype' is empty the filetype detection
- autocommands will be triggered.
- *not-edited*
- Because the file name was set without really starting to edit that file, you
- are protected from overwriting that file. This is done by setting the
- "notedited" flag. You can see if this flag is set with the CTRL-G or ":file"
- command. It will include "[Not edited]" when the "notedited" flag is set.
- When writing the buffer to the current file name (with ":w!"), the "notedited"
- flag is reset.
- *abandon*
- Vim remembers whether you have changed the buffer. You are protected from
- losing the changes you made. If you try to quit without writing, or want to
- start editing another file, Vim will refuse this. In order to overrule this
- protection, add a '!' to the command. The changes will then be lost. For
- example: ":q" will not work if the buffer was changed, but ":q!" will. To see
- whether the buffer was changed use the "CTRL-G" command. The message includes
- the string "[Modified]" if the buffer has been changed, or "+" if the 'm' flag
- is in 'shortmess'.
- If you want to automatically save the changes without asking, switch on the
- 'autowriteall' option. 'autowrite' is the associated Vi-compatible option
- that does not work for all commands.
- If you want to keep the changed buffer without saving it, switch on the
- 'hidden' option. See |hidden-buffer|. Some commands work like this even when
- 'hidden' is not set, check the help for the command.
- ==============================================================================
- 2. Editing a file *edit-a-file*
- *:e* *:edit* *reload*
- :e[dit][!] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Edit the current file. This is useful to re-edit the
- current file, when it has been changed outside of Vim.
- *:edit!* *discard*
- If [!] is given, unsaved changes in the current buffer
- are discarded. Without [!] the command fails if there
- are unsaved changes, unless 'autowriteall' is set and
- the file can be written.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- *:edit_f*
- :e[dit][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {file}
- Edit {file}.
- *:edit!_f*
- If [!] is given, unsaved changes in the current buffer
- are discarded. Without [!] the command fails if there
- are unsaved changes, unless 'hidden' is set or
- 'autowriteall' is set and the file can be written.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- *:edit_#* *:e#*
- :e[dit] [++opt] [+cmd] #[count]
- Edit the [count]th buffer (as shown by |:files|).
- This command does the same as [count] CTRL-^. But ":e
- #" doesn't work if the alternate buffer doesn't have a
- file name, while CTRL-^ still works then.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- *:ene* *:enew*
- :ene[w] Edit a new, unnamed buffer. This fails when changes
- have been made to the current buffer, unless 'hidden'
- is set or 'autowriteall' is set and the file can be
- written.
- If 'fileformats' is not empty, the first format given
- will be used for the new buffer. If 'fileformats' is
- empty, the 'fileformat' of the current buffer is used.
- *:ene!* *:enew!*
- :ene[w]! Edit a new, unnamed buffer. Discard any changes to
- the current buffer.
- Set 'fileformat' like |:enew|.
- *:fin* *:find*
- :fin[d][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {file}
- Find {file} in 'path' and then |:edit| it.
- :{count}fin[d][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {file}
- Just like ":find", but use the {count} match in
- 'path'. Thus ":2find file" will find the second
- "file" found in 'path'. When there are fewer matches
- for the file in 'path' than asked for, you get an
- error message.
- *:ex*
- :ex [++opt] [+cmd] [file]
- Same as |:edit|.
- *:vi* *:visual*
- :vi[sual][!] [++opt] [+cmd] [file]
- When used in Ex mode: Leave |Ex-mode|, go back to
- Normal mode. Otherwise same as |:edit|.
- *:vie* *:view*
- :vie[w][!] [++opt] [+cmd] file
- When used in Ex mode: Leave |Ex-mode|, go back to
- Normal mode. Otherwise same as |:edit|, but set
- 'readonly' option for this buffer.
- *CTRL-^* *CTRL-6*
- CTRL-^ Edit the alternate file. Mostly the alternate file is
- the previously edited file. This is a quick way to
- toggle between two files. It is equivalent to ":e #",
- except that it also works when there is no file name.
- If the 'autowrite' or 'autowriteall' option is on and
- the buffer was changed, write it.
- Mostly the ^ character is positioned on the 6 key,
- pressing CTRL and 6 then gets you what we call CTRL-^.
- But on some non-US keyboards CTRL-^ is produced in
- another way.
- {count}CTRL-^ Edit [count]th file in the buffer list (equivalent to
- ":e #[count]"). This is a quick way to switch between
- files.
- See |CTRL-^| above for further details.
- *gf* *E446* *E447*
- [count]gf Edit the file whose name is under or after the cursor.
- Mnemonic: "goto file".
- Uses the 'isfname' option to find out which characters
- are supposed to be in a file name. Trailing
- punctuation characters ".,:;!" are ignored. Escaped
- spaces "\ " are reduced to a single space.
- Uses the 'path' option as a list of directory names to
- look for the file. See the 'path' option for details
- about relative directories and wildcards.
- Uses the 'suffixesadd' option to check for file names
- with a suffix added.
- If the file can't be found, 'includeexpr' is used to
- modify the name and another attempt is done.
- If a [count] is given, the count'th file that is found
- in the 'path' is edited.
- This command fails if Vim refuses to |abandon| the
- current file.
- If you want to edit the file in a new window use
- |CTRL-W_CTRL-F|.
- If you do want to edit a new file, use: >
- :e <cfile>
- < To make gf always work like that: >
- :map gf :e <cfile><CR>
- < If the name is a hypertext link, that looks like
- "type://machine/path", you need the |netrw| plugin.
- For Unix the '~' character is expanded, like in
- "~user/file". Environment variables are expanded too
- |expand-env|.
- *v_gf*
- {Visual}[count]gf Same as "gf", but the highlighted text is used as the
- name of the file to edit. 'isfname' is ignored.
- Leading blanks are skipped, otherwise all blanks and
- special characters are included in the file name.
- (For {Visual} see |Visual-mode|.)
- *gF*
- [count]gF Same as "gf", except if a number follows the file
- name, then the cursor is positioned on that line in
- the file.
- The file name and the number must be separated by a
- non-filename (see 'isfname') and non-numeric
- character. " line " is also recognized, like it is
- used in the output of `:verbose command UserCmd`
- White space between the filename, the separator and
- the number are ignored.
- Examples:
- eval.c:10 ~
- eval.c @ 20 ~
- eval.c (30) ~
- eval.c 40 ~
- *v_gF*
- {Visual}[count]gF Same as "v_gf".
- These commands are used to start editing a single file. This means that the
- file is read into the buffer and the current file name is set. The file that
- is opened depends on the current directory, see |:cd|.
- See |read-messages| for an explanation of the message that is given after the
- file has been read.
- You can use the ":e!" command if you messed up the buffer and want to start
- all over again. The ":e" command is only useful if you have changed the
- current file name.
- *:filename* *{file}*
- Besides the things mentioned here, more special items for where a filename is
- expected are mentioned at |cmdline-special|.
- Note for systems other than Unix: When using a command that accepts a single
- file name (like ":edit file") spaces in the file name are allowed, but
- trailing spaces are ignored. This is useful on systems that regularly embed
- spaces in file names (like MS-Windows). Example: The command ":e Long File
- Name " will edit the file "Long File Name". When using a command that accepts
- more than one file name (like ":next file1 file2") embedded spaces must be
- escaped with a backslash.
- *wildcard* *wildcards*
- Wildcards in {file} are expanded, but as with file completion, 'wildignore'
- and 'suffixes' apply. Which wildcards are supported depends on the system.
- These are the common ones:
- `?` matches one character
- `*` matches anything, including nothing
- `**` matches anything, including nothing, recurses into directories
- [abc] match 'a', 'b' or 'c'
- To avoid the special meaning of the wildcards prepend a backslash. However,
- on MS-Windows the backslash is a path separator and "path\[abc]" is still seen
- as a wildcard when "[" is in the 'isfname' option. A simple way to avoid this
- is to use "path\[[]abc]", this matches the file "path\[abc]".
- *starstar-wildcard*
- Expanding "**" is possible on Unix, Win32, macOS and a few other systems (but
- it may depend on your 'shell' setting on Unix and macOS. It's known to work
- correctly for zsh; for bash this requires at least bash version >= 4.X).
- This allows searching a directory tree. This goes up to 100 directories deep.
- Note there are some commands where this works slightly differently, see
- |file-searching|.
- Example: >
- :n **/*.txt
- Finds files:
- aaa.txt ~
- subdir/bbb.txt ~
- a/b/c/d/ccc.txt ~
- When non-wildcard characters are used right before or after "**" these are
- only matched in the top directory. They are not used for directories further
- down in the tree. For example: >
- :n /usr/inc**/types.h
- Finds files:
- /usr/include/types.h ~
- /usr/include/sys/types.h ~
- /usr/inc/old/types.h ~
- Note that the path with "/sys" is included because it does not need to match
- "/inc". Thus it's like matching "/usr/inc*/*/*...", not
- "/usr/inc*/inc*/inc*".
- *backtick-expansion* *`-expansion*
- On Unix and a few other systems you can also use backticks for the file name
- argument, for example: >
- :next `find . -name ver\\*.c -print`
- :view `ls -t *.patch \| head -n1`
- Vim will run the command in backticks using the 'shell' and use the standard
- output as argument for the given Vim command (error messages from the shell
- command will be discarded).
- To see what shell command Vim is running, set the 'verbose' option to 4. When
- the shell command returns a non-zero exit code, an error message will be
- displayed and the Vim command will be aborted. To avoid this make the shell
- always return zero like so: >
- :next `find . -name ver\\*.c -print \|\| true`
- The backslashes before the star are required to prevent the shell from
- expanding "ver*.c" prior to execution of the find program. The backslash
- before the shell pipe symbol "|" prevents Vim from parsing it as command
- termination.
- This also works for most other systems, with the restriction that the
- backticks must be around the whole item. It is not possible to have text
- directly before the first or just after the last backtick.
- *`=*
- You can have the backticks expanded as a Vim expression, instead of as an
- external command, by putting an equal sign right after the first backtick,
- e.g.: >
- :e `=tempname()`
- The expression can contain just about anything, thus this can also be used to
- avoid the special meaning of '"', "|", '%' and '#'. However, 'wildignore'
- does apply like to other wildcards.
- Environment variables in the expression are expanded when evaluating the
- expression, thus this works: >
- :e `=$HOME .. '/.vimrc'`
- This uses $HOME inside a string and it will be used literally, most likely not
- what you intended: >
- :e `='$HOME' .. '/.vimrc'`
- If the expression returns a string then names are to be separated with line
- breaks. When the result is a |List| then each item is used as a name. Line
- breaks also separate names.
- Note that such expressions are only supported in places where a filename is
- expected as an argument to an Ex-command.
- *++opt* *[++opt]*
- The [++opt] argument can be used to set some options for one command, and to
- specify the behavior for bad characters. The form is: >
- ++{optname}
- Or: >
- ++{optname}={value}
- Where {optname} is one of: *++ff* *++enc* *++bin* *++nobin* *++edit*
- ff or fileformat overrides 'fileformat'
- enc or encoding overrides 'fileencoding'
- bin or binary sets 'binary'
- nobin or nobinary resets 'binary'
- bad specifies behavior for bad characters
- edit for |:read|: keeps options as if editing a file
- p for |:write|: creates the file's parent directory
- {value} cannot contain whitespace. It can be any valid value for the options.
- Examples: >
- :e ++ff=unix
- This edits the same file again with 'fileformat' set to "unix". >
- :w ++enc=latin1 newfile
- This writes the current buffer to "newfile" in latin1 format.
- The message given when writing a file will show "[converted]" when
- 'fileencoding' or the value specified with ++enc differs from 'encoding'.
- There may be several ++opt arguments, separated by whitespace. They must all
- appear before any |+cmd| argument.
- *++p*
- The "++p" flag creates the parent directory of the file if it does not exist.
- For example if you edit "foo/bar/file.txt", the ":write ++p" command creates
- "foo/bar/" if necessary before writing the file. >
- :edit foo/bar/file.txt
- :write ++p
- If you want :write (without "++p") to always create missing parent
- directories, add this autocmd to your config: >
- " Auto-create parent directories (except for URIs "://").
- au BufWritePre,FileWritePre * if @% !~# '\(://\)' | call mkdir(expand('<afile>:p:h'), 'p') | endif
- <
- *++bad*
- The argument of "++bad=" specifies what happens with characters that can't be
- converted and illegal bytes. It can be one of three things:
- ++bad=X A single-byte character that replaces each bad character.
- ++bad=keep Keep bad characters without conversion. Note that this may
- result in illegal bytes in your text!
- ++bad=drop Remove the bad characters.
- The default is like "++bad=?": Replace each bad character with a question
- mark. In some places an inverted question mark is used (0xBF).
- Note that not all commands use the ++bad argument, even though they do not
- give an error when you add it. E.g. |:write|.
- Note that when reading, the 'fileformat' and 'fileencoding' options will be
- set to the used format. When writing this doesn't happen, thus a next write
- will use the old value of the option. Same for the 'binary' option.
- *+cmd* *[+cmd]*
- The [+cmd] argument can be used to position the cursor in the newly opened
- file, or execute any other command:
- + Start at the last line.
- +{num} Start at line {num}.
- +/{pat} Start at first line containing {pat}.
- +{command} Execute {command} after opening the new file.
- {command} is any Ex command.
- To include a white space in the {pat} or {command}, precede it with a
- backslash. Double the number of backslashes. >
- :edit +/The\ book file
- :edit +/dir\ dirname\\ file
- :edit +set\ dir=c:\\\\temp file
- Note that in the last example the number of backslashes is halved twice: Once
- for the "+cmd" argument and once for the ":set" command.
- *file-formats*
- The 'fileformat' option sets the <EOL> style for a file:
- 'fileformat' characters name ~
- "dos" <CR><NL> or <NL> DOS format *DOS-format*
- "unix" <NL> Unix format *Unix-format*
- "mac" <CR> Mac format *Mac-format*
- When reading a file, the mentioned characters are interpreted as the <EOL>.
- In DOS format (default for Windows), <CR><NL> and <NL> are both interpreted as
- the <EOL>. Note that when writing the file in DOS format, <CR> characters will
- be added for each single <NL>. Also see |file-read|.
- When writing a file, the mentioned characters are used for <EOL>. For DOS
- format <CR><NL> is used. Also see |DOS-format-write|.
- You can read a file in DOS format and write it in Unix format. This will
- replace all <CR><NL> pairs by <NL> (assuming 'fileformats' includes "dos"): >
- :e file
- :set fileformat=unix
- :w
- If you read a file in Unix format and write with DOS format, all <NL>
- characters will be replaced with <CR><NL> (assuming 'fileformats' includes
- "unix"): >
- :e file
- :set fileformat=dos
- :w
- If you start editing a new file and the 'fileformats' option is not empty
- (which is the default), Vim will try to detect whether the lines in the file
- are separated by the specified formats. When set to "unix,dos", Vim will
- check for lines with a single <NL> (as used on Unix) or by a <CR><NL> pair
- (MS-Windows). Only when ALL lines end in <CR><NL>, 'fileformat' is
- set to "dos", otherwise it is set to "unix". When 'fileformats' includes
- "mac", and no <NL> characters are found in the file, 'fileformat' is set to
- "mac".
- If the 'fileformat' option is set to "dos" on non-MS-Windows systems the
- message "[dos]" is shown to remind you that something unusual is happening. On
- MS-Windows systems you get the message "[unix]" if 'fileformat' is set to
- "unix". On all systems you get the message "[mac]" if 'fileformat' is set to
- "mac".
- If the 'fileformats' option is empty and DOS format is used, but while reading
- a file some lines did not end in <CR><NL>, "[CR missing]" will be included in
- the file message.
- If the 'fileformats' option is empty and Mac format is used, but while reading
- a file a <NL> was found, "[NL missing]" will be included in the file message.
- If the new file does not exist, the 'fileformat' of the current buffer is used
- when 'fileformats' is empty. Otherwise the first format from 'fileformats' is
- used for the new file.
- Before editing binary, executable or Vim script files you should set the
- 'binary' option. A simple way to do this is by starting Vim with the "-b"
- option. This will avoid the use of 'fileformat'. Without this you risk that
- single <NL> characters are unexpectedly replaced with <CR><NL>.
- END OF LINE AND END OF FILE *eol-and-eof*
- Vim has several options to control the file format:
- 'fileformat' the <EOL> style: Unix, DOS, Mac
- 'endofline' whether the last line ends with a <EOL>
- 'endoffile' whether the file ends with a CTRL-Z
- 'fixendofline' whether to fix eol and eof
- The first three values are normally detected automatically when reading the
- file and are used when writing the text to a file. While editing the buffer
- it looks like every line has a line ending and the CTRL-Z isn't there (an
- exception is when 'binary' is set, it works differently then).
- The 'fixendofline' option can be used to choose what to write. You can also
- change the option values to write the file differently than how it was read.
- Here are some examples how to use them.
- If you want files in Unix format (every line NL terminated): >
- setl ff=unix fixeol
- You should probably do this on any Unix-like system. Also modern MS-Windows
- systems tend to work well with this. It is recommended to always use this
- format for Vim scripts.
- If you want to use an old MS-DOS file in a modern environment, fixing line
- endings and dropping CTRL-Z, but keeping the <CR><NL> style <EOL>: >
- setl ff=dos fixeol
- This is useful for many MS-Windows programs, they regularly expect the
- <CR><NL> line endings.
- If you want to drop the final <EOL> and add a final CTRL-Z (e.g. for an old
- system like CP/M): >
- setl ff=dos nofixeol noeol eof
- If you want to preserve the fileformat exactly as-is, including any final
- <EOL> and final CTRL-Z: >
- setl nofixeol
- ==============================================================================
- 3. The argument list *argument-list* *arglist*
- If you give more than one file name when starting Vim, this list is remembered
- as the argument list. You can jump to each file in this list.
- Do not confuse this with the buffer list, which you can see with the
- |:buffers| command. The argument list was already present in Vi, the buffer
- list is new in Vim. Every file name in the argument list will also be present
- in the buffer list (unless it was deleted with |:bdel| or |:bwipe|). But it's
- common that names in the buffer list are not in the argument list.
- This subject is introduced in section |07.2| of the user manual.
- There is one global argument list, which is used for all windows by default.
- It is possible to create a new argument list local to a window, see
- |:arglocal|.
- You can use the argument list with the following commands, and with the
- expression functions |argc()| and |argv()|. These all work on the argument
- list of the current window.
- *:ar* *:arg* *:args*
- :ar[gs] Print the argument list, with the current file in
- square brackets.
- :ar[gs] [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist} *:args_f*
- Define {arglist} as the new argument list and edit
- the first one. This fails when changes have been made
- and Vim does not want to |abandon| the current buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :ar[gs]! [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist} *:args_f!*
- Define {arglist} as the new argument list and edit
- the first one. Discard any changes to the current
- buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]arge[dit][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {name} .. *:arge* *:argedit*
- Add {name}s to the argument list and edit it.
- There is no check for duplicates, it is possible to
- add a file to the argument list twice |:argded|.
- This is like using |:argadd| and then |:edit| (with
- the small exception that |:edit| does not change the
- argument list, so the argument list pointer isn't
- changed).
- Spaces in filenames have to be escaped with "\".
- [count] is used like with |:argadd|.
- If the current file cannot be |abandon|ed {name}s will
- still be added to the argument list, but won't be
- edited. No check for duplicates is done.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]arga[dd] {name} .. *:arga* *:argadd* *E479*
- :[count]arga[dd] *E1156*
- Add the {name}s to the argument list. When {name} is
- omitted add the current buffer name to the argument
- list.
- If [count] is omitted, the {name}s are added just
- after the current entry in the argument list.
- Otherwise they are added after the [count]'th file.
- If the argument list is "a b c", and "b" is the
- current argument, then these commands result in:
- command new argument list ~
- :argadd x a [b] x c
- :0argadd x x a [b] c
- :1argadd x a x [b] c
- :$argadd x a [b] c x
- And after the last one:
- :+2argadd y a [b] c x y
- There is no check for duplicates, it is possible to
- add a file to the argument list twice. You can use
- |:argdedupe| to fix it afterwards: >
- :argadd *.txt | argdedupe
- < The currently edited file is not changed.
- Note: you can also use this method: >
- :args ## x
- < This will add the "x" item and sort the new list.
- :argded[upe] *:argded* *:argdedupe*
- Remove duplicate filenames from the argument list.
- If your current file is a duplicate, your current file
- will change to the original file index.
- :argd[elete] {pattern} .. *:argd* *:argdelete* *E480* *E610*
- Delete files from the argument list that match the
- {pattern}s. {pattern} is used like a file pattern,
- see |file-pattern|. "%" can be used to delete the
- current entry.
- This command keeps the currently edited file, also
- when it's deleted from the argument list.
- Example: >
- :argdel *.obj
- :[range]argd[elete] Delete the [range] files from the argument list.
- Example: >
- :10,$argdel
- < Deletes arguments 10 and further, keeping 1-9. >
- :$argd
- < Deletes just the last one. >
- :argd
- :.argd
- < Deletes the current argument. >
- :%argd
- < Removes all the files from the arglist.
- When the last number in the range is too high, up to
- the last argument is deleted.
- *:argu* *:argument*
- :[count]argu[ment] [count] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Edit file [count] in the argument list. When [count]
- is omitted the current entry is used. This fails
- when changes have been made and Vim does not want to
- |abandon| the current buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]argu[ment]! [count] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Edit file [count] in the argument list, discard any
- changes to the current buffer. When [count] is
- omitted the current entry is used.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]n[ext] [++opt] [+cmd] *:n* *:ne* *:next* *]a* *E165* *E163*
- Edit [count] next file. This fails when changes have
- been made and Vim does not want to |abandon| the
- current buffer. Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]n[ext]! [++opt] [+cmd]
- Edit [count] next file, discard any changes to the
- buffer. Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :n[ext] [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist} *:next_f*
- Same as |:args_f|.
- :n[ext]! [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist}
- Same as |:args_f!|.
- :[count]N[ext] [count] [++opt] [+cmd] *:Next* *:N* *E164*
- Edit [count] previous file in argument list. This
- fails when changes have been made and Vim does not
- want to |abandon| the current buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]N[ext]! [count] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Edit [count] previous file in argument list. Discard
- any changes to the buffer. Also see |++opt| and
- |+cmd|.
- :[count]prev[ious] [count] [++opt] [+cmd] *:prev* *:previous* *[a*
- Same as :Next. Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- *:rew* *:rewind* *[A*
- :rew[ind] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Start editing the first file in the argument list.
- This fails when changes have been made and Vim does
- not want to |abandon| the current buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :rew[ind]! [++opt] [+cmd]
- Start editing the first file in the argument list.
- Discard any changes to the buffer. Also see |++opt|
- and |+cmd|.
- *:fir* *:first*
- :fir[st][!] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Other name for ":rewind".
- *:la* *:last* *]A*
- :la[st] [++opt] [+cmd]
- Start editing the last file in the argument list.
- This fails when changes have been made and Vim does
- not want to |abandon| the current buffer.
- Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :la[st]! [++opt] [+cmd]
- Start editing the last file in the argument list.
- Discard any changes to the buffer. Also see |++opt|
- and |+cmd|.
- *:wn* *:wnext*
- :[count]wn[ext] [++opt]
- Write current file and start editing the [count]
- next file. Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]wn[ext] [++opt] {file}
- Write current file to {file} and start editing the
- [count] next file, unless {file} already exists and
- the 'writeany' option is off. Also see |++opt| and
- |+cmd|.
- :[count]wn[ext]! [++opt] {file}
- Write current file to {file} and start editing the
- [count] next file. Also see |++opt| and |+cmd|.
- :[count]wN[ext][!] [++opt] [file] *:wN* *:wNext*
- :[count]wp[revious][!] [++opt] [file] *:wp* *:wprevious*
- Same as :wnext, but go to previous file instead of
- next.
- The [count] in the commands above defaults to one. For some commands it is
- possible to use two counts. The last one (rightmost one) is used.
- If no [+cmd] argument is present, the cursor is positioned at the last known
- cursor position for the file. If 'startofline' is set, the cursor will be
- positioned at the first non-blank in the line, otherwise the last know column
- is used. If there is no last known cursor position the cursor will be in the
- first line (the last line in Ex mode).
- *{arglist}*
- The wildcards in the argument list are expanded and the file names are sorted.
- Thus you can use the command `vim *.c` to edit all the C files. From within
- Vim the command `:n *.c` does the same.
- White space is used to separate file names. Put a backslash before a space or
- tab to include it in a file name. E.g., to edit the single file "foo bar": >
- :next foo\ bar
- On Unix and a few other systems you can also use backticks, for example: >
- :next `find . -name \\*.c -print`
- The backslashes before the star are required to prevent "*.c" to be expanded
- by the shell before executing the find program.
- *arglist-position*
- When there is an argument list you can see which file you are editing in the
- title of the window (if there is one and 'title' is on) and with the file
- message you get with the "CTRL-G" command. You will see something like
- (4 of 11)
- If you are not really editing the file at the current position in the argument
- list it will be
- ((4) of 11)
- This means that you are position 4 in the argument list, but not editing the
- fourth file in the argument list. This happens when you do ":e file".
- LOCAL ARGUMENT LIST
- *:arglocal*
- :argl[ocal] Make a local copy of the global argument list.
- Doesn't start editing another file.
- :argl[ocal][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist}
- Define a new argument list, which is local to the
- current window. Works like |:args_f| otherwise.
- *:argglobal*
- :argg[lobal] Use the global argument list for the current window.
- Doesn't start editing another file.
- :argg[lobal][!] [++opt] [+cmd] {arglist}
- Use the global argument list for the current window.
- Define a new global argument list like |:args_f|.
- All windows using the global argument list will see
- this new list.
- There can be several argument lists. They can be shared between windows.
- When they are shared, changing the argument list in one window will also
- change it in the other window.
- When a window is split the new window inherits the argument list from the
- current window. The two windows then share this list, until one of them uses
- |:arglocal| or |:argglobal| to use another argument list.
- USING THE ARGUMENT LIST
- *:argdo*
- :[range]argdo[!] {cmd} Execute {cmd} for each file in the argument list or,
- if [range] is specified, only for arguments in that
- range. It works like doing this: >
- :rewind
- :{cmd}
- :next
- :{cmd}
- etc.
- < When the current file can't be |abandon|ed and the [!]
- is not present, the command fails.
- When an error is detected on one file, further files
- in the argument list will not be visited.
- The last file in the argument list (or where an error
- occurred) becomes the current file.
- {cmd} can contain '|' to concatenate several commands.
- {cmd} must not change the argument list.
- Note: While this command is executing, the Syntax
- autocommand event is disabled by adding it to
- 'eventignore'. This considerably speeds up editing
- each file.
- Also see |:windo|, |:tabdo|, |:bufdo|, |:cdo|, |:ldo|,
- |:cfdo| and |:lfdo|.
- Example: >
- :args *.c
- :argdo set ff=unix | update
- This sets the 'fileformat' option to "unix" and writes the file if it is now
- changed. This is done for all `*.c` files.
- Example: >
- :args *.[ch]
- :argdo %s/\<my_foo\>/My_Foo/ge | update
- This changes the word "my_foo" to "My_Foo" in all "*.c" and "*.h" files. The "e"
- flag is used for the ":substitute" command to avoid an error for files where
- "my_foo" isn't used. ":update" writes the file only if changes were made.
- ==============================================================================
- 4. Writing *writing* *save-file*
- Note: When the 'write' option is off, you are not able to write any file.
- *:w* *:write*
- *E502* *E503* *E504* *E505*
- *E512* *E514* *E667* *E949*
- :w[rite] [++opt] Write the whole buffer to the current file. This is
- the normal way to save changes to a file. Fails when
- 'readonly' is set or when there is another reason why
- the file can't be written, such as when the parent
- directory doesn't exist (use |++p| to avoid that).
- For ++opt see |++opt|, but only ++p, ++bin, ++nobin,
- ++ff and ++enc are effective.
- :w[rite]! [++opt] Like ":write", but forcefully write when 'readonly' is
- set or there is another reason why writing was
- refused.
- Note: This may change the permission and ownership of
- the file and break (symbolic) links. Add the 'W' flag
- to 'cpoptions' to avoid this.
- :[range]w[rite][!] [++opt]
- Write the specified lines to the current file. This
- is unusual, because the file will not contain all
- lines in the buffer.
- *:w_f* *:write_f*
- :[range]w[rite] [++opt] {file}
- Write the specified lines to {file}, unless it
- already exists and the 'writeany' option is off.
- *:w!*
- :[range]w[rite]! [++opt] {file}
- Write the specified lines to {file}. Overwrite an
- existing file.
- *:w_a* *:write_a* *E494*
- :[range]w[rite][!] [++opt] >>
- Append the specified lines to the current file.
- :[range]w[rite][!] [++opt] >> {file}
- Append the specified lines to {file}. '!' forces the
- write even if file does not exist.
- *:w_c* *:write_c*
- :[range]w[rite] [++opt] !{cmd}
- Execute {cmd} with [range] lines as standard input
- (note the space in front of the '!'). {cmd} is
- executed like with ":!{cmd}", any '!' is replaced with
- the previous command |:!|.
- The default [range] for the ":w" command is the whole buffer (1,$). If you
- write the whole buffer, it is no longer considered changed. When you
- write it to a different file with ":w somefile" it depends on the "+" flag in
- 'cpoptions'. When included, the write command will reset the 'modified' flag,
- even though the buffer itself may still be different from its file.
- If a file name is given with ":w" it becomes the alternate file. This can be
- used, for example, when the write fails and you want to try again later with
- ":w #". This can be switched off by removing the 'A' flag from the
- 'cpoptions' option.
- Note that the 'fsync' option matters here. If it's set it may make writes
- slower (but safer).
- *:sav* *:saveas*
- :sav[eas][!] [++opt] {file}
- Save the current buffer under the name {file} and set
- the filename of the current buffer to {file}. The
- previous name is used for the alternate file name.
- The [!] is needed to overwrite an existing file.
- When 'filetype' is empty filetype detection is done
- with the new name, before the file is written.
- When the write was successful 'readonly' is reset.
- *:up* *:update*
- :[range]up[date][!] [++opt] [>>] [file]
- Like ":write", but only write when the buffer has been
- modified.
- WRITING WITH MULTIPLE BUFFERS *buffer-write*
- *:wa* *:wall*
- :wa[ll] Write all changed buffers. Buffers without a file
- name cause an error message. Buffers which are
- readonly are not written.
- :wa[ll]! Write all changed buffers, even the ones that are
- readonly. Buffers without a file name are not
- written and cause an error message.
- Vim will warn you if you try to overwrite a file that has been changed
- elsewhere (unless "!" was used). See |timestamp|.
- *backup* *E207* *E506* *E507* *E508* *E509* *E510*
- If you write to an existing file (but do not append) while the 'backup',
- 'writebackup' or 'patchmode' option is on, a backup of the original file is
- made. The file is either copied or renamed (see 'backupcopy'). After the
- file has been successfully written and when the 'writebackup' option is on and
- the 'backup' option is off, the backup file is deleted. When the 'patchmode'
- option is on the backup file may be renamed.
- *backup-table*
- 'backup' 'writebackup' action ~
- off off no backup made
- off on backup current file, deleted afterwards (default)
- on off delete old backup, backup current file
- on on delete old backup, backup current file
- When the 'backupskip' pattern matches with the name of the file which is
- written, no backup file is made. The values of 'backup' and 'writebackup' are
- ignored then.
- When the 'backup' option is on, an old backup file (with the same name as the
- new backup file) will be deleted. If 'backup' is not set, but 'writebackup'
- is set, an existing backup file will not be deleted. The backup file that is
- made while the file is being written will have a different name.
- On some filesystems it's possible that in a crash you lose both the backup and
- the newly written file (it might be there but contain bogus data). In that
- case try recovery, because the swap file is synced to disk and might still be
- there. |:recover|
- The directories given with the 'backupdir' option are used to put the backup
- file in. (default: same directory as the written file).
- Whether the backup is a new file, which is a copy of the original file, or the
- original file renamed depends on the 'backupcopy' option. See there for an
- explanation of when the copy is made and when the file is renamed.
- If the creation of a backup file fails, the write is not done. If you want
- to write anyway add a '!' to the command.
- *file-watcher*
- When you notice issues with programs, that act upon when a buffer is written
- (like inotify, entr or fswatch) or when external applications execute Vim to
- edit the file (like git) and those programs do not seem to notice that the
- original file has been changed, you may want to consider switching the
- 'backupcopy' option value to "yes". This makes sure, Vim writes to the same
- file, that those watcher programs expect, without creating a new file (which
- prevents them from detecting that the file has changed). See also |crontab|
- *write-permissions*
- When writing a new file the permissions are read-write. For unix the mask is
- 0o666 with additionally umask applied. When writing a file that was read Vim
- will preserve the permissions, but clear the s-bit.
- *write-readonly*
- When the 'cpoptions' option contains 'W', Vim will refuse to overwrite a
- readonly file. When 'W' is not present, ":w!" will overwrite a readonly file,
- if the system allows it (the directory must be writable).
- *write-fail*
- If the writing of the new file fails, you have to be careful not to lose
- your changes AND the original file. If there is no backup file and writing
- the new file failed, you have already lost the original file! DON'T EXIT VIM
- UNTIL YOU WRITE OUT THE FILE! If a backup was made, it is put back in place
- of the original file (if possible). If you exit Vim, and lose the changes
- you made, the original file will mostly still be there. If putting back the
- original file fails, there will be an error message telling you that you
- lost the original file.
- *DOS-format-write*
- If the 'fileformat' is "dos", <CR><NL> is used for <EOL>. This is default
- for Windows. On other systems the message "[dos]" is shown to
- remind you that an unusual <EOL> was used.
- *Unix-format-write*
- If the 'fileformat' is "unix", <NL> is used for <EOL>. On Windows
- the message "[unix]" is shown.
- *Mac-format-write*
- If the 'fileformat' is "mac", <CR> is used for <EOL>. The
- message "[mac]" is shown.
- See also |file-formats| and the 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options.
- *ACL*
- ACL stands for Access Control List. It is an advanced way to control access
- rights for a file. It is used on new MS-Windows and Unix systems, but only
- when the filesystem supports it.
- Vim attempts to preserve the ACL info when writing a file. The backup file
- will get the ACL info of the original file.
- The ACL info is also used to check if a file is read-only (when opening the
- file).
- *xattr* *E1506* *E1508* *E1509*
- xattr stands for Extended Attributes. It is an advanced way to save metadata
- alongside the file in the filesystem. It depends on the actual filesystem
- being used and Vim supports it only on a Linux system.
- Vim attempts to preserve the extended attribute info when writing a file.
- The backup file will get the extended attribute of the original file.
- *read-only-share*
- When MS-Windows shares a drive on the network it can be marked as read-only.
- This means that even if the file read-only attribute is absent, and the ACL
- settings on NT network shared drives allow writing to the file, you can still
- not write to the file. Vim on Win32 platforms will detect read-only network
- drives and will mark the file as read-only. You will not be able to override
- it with |:write|.
- *write-device*
- When the file name is actually a device name, Vim will not make a backup (that
- would be impossible). You need to use "!", since the device already exists.
- Example for Unix: >
- :w! /dev/lpt0
- and MS-Windows: >
- :w! lpt0
- For Unix a device is detected when the name doesn't refer to a normal file or
- a directory. A fifo or named pipe also looks like a device to Vim.
- For MS-Windows the device is detected by its name:
- CON
- CLOCK$
- NUL
- PRN
- COMn n=1,2,3... etc
- LPTn n=1,2,3... etc
- The names can be in upper- or lowercase.
- ==============================================================================
- 5. Writing and quitting *write-quit*
- *:q* *:quit*
- :q[uit] Quit the current window. Quit Vim if this is the last
- |edit-window|. This fails when changes have been made
- and Vim refuses to |abandon| the current buffer, and
- when the last file in the argument list has not been
- edited.
- If there are other tab pages and quitting the last
- window in the current tab page the current tab page is
- closed |tab-page|.
- Triggers the |QuitPre| autocommand event.
- See |CTRL-W_q| for quitting another window.
- :conf[irm] q[uit] Quit, but give prompt when changes have been made, or
- the last file in the argument list has not been
- edited. See |:confirm| and 'confirm'.
- :q[uit]! Quit without writing, also when the current buffer has
- changes. The buffer is unloaded, also when it has
- 'hidden' set.
- If this is the last window and there is a modified
- hidden buffer, the current buffer is abandoned and the
- first changed hidden buffer becomes the current
- buffer.
- Use ":qall!" to exit always.
- :cq[uit] Quit always, without writing, and return an error
- code. See |:cq|.
- *:wq*
- :wq [++opt] Write the current file and close the window. If this
- was the last |edit-window| Vim quits.
- Writing fails when the file is read-only or the buffer
- does not have a name. Quitting fails when the last
- file in the argument list has not been edited.
- :wq! [++opt] Write the current file and close the window. If this
- was the last |edit-window| Vim quits. Writing fails
- when the current buffer does not have a name.
- :wq [++opt] {file} Write to {file} and close the window. If this was the
- last |edit-window| Vim quits. Quitting fails when the
- last file in the argument list has not been edited.
- :wq! [++opt] {file} Write to {file} and close the current window. Quit
- Vim if this was the last |edit-window|.
- :[range]wq[!] [++opt] [file]
- Same as above, but only write the lines in [range].
- *:x* *:xit*
- :[range]x[it][!] [++opt] [file]
- Like ":wq", but write only when changes have been
- made.
- When 'hidden' is set and there are more windows, the
- current buffer becomes hidden, after writing the file.
- *:exi* *:exit*
- :[range]exi[t][!] [++opt] [file]
- Same as :xit.
- *ZZ*
- ZZ Write current file, if modified, and close the current
- window (same as ":x").
- If there are several windows for the current file,
- only the current window is closed.
- *ZQ*
- ZQ Quit without checking for changes (same as ":q!").
- MULTIPLE WINDOWS AND BUFFERS *window-exit*
- *:qa* *:qall*
- :qa[ll] Exit Vim, unless there are some buffers which have been
- changed. (Use ":bmod" to go to the next modified buffer).
- When 'autowriteall' is set all changed buffers will be
- written, like |:wqall|.
- :conf[irm] qa[ll]
- Exit Vim. Bring up a prompt when some buffers have been
- changed. See |:confirm|.
- :qa[ll]! Exit Vim. Any changes to buffers are lost.
- Also see |:cquit|, it does the same but exits with a non-zero
- value.
- *:quita* *:quitall*
- :quita[ll][!] Same as ":qall".
- :wqa[ll] [++opt] *:wqa* *:wqall* *:xa* *:xall*
- :xa[ll] Write all changed buffers and exit Vim. If there are buffers
- without a file name, which are readonly or which cannot be
- written for another reason, Vim will not quit.
- :conf[irm] wqa[ll] [++opt]
- :conf[irm] xa[ll]
- Write all changed buffers and exit Vim. Bring up a prompt
- when some buffers are readonly or cannot be written for
- another reason. See |:confirm|.
- :wqa[ll]! [++opt]
- :xa[ll]! Write all changed buffers, even the ones that are readonly,
- and exit Vim. If there are buffers without a file name or
- which cannot be written for another reason, Vim will not quit.
- ==============================================================================
- 6. Dialogs *edit-dialogs*
- *:confirm* *:conf*
- :conf[irm] {command} Execute {command}, and use a dialog when an
- operation has to be confirmed. Can be used on the
- |:edit|, |:q|, |:qa| and |:w| commands (the latter to
- override a read-only setting), and any commands that
- can fail because of unsaved changes, such as |:only|,
- |:buffer|, |:bdelete|, etc.
- Examples: >
- :confirm w foo
- < Will ask for confirmation when "foo" already exists. >
- :confirm q
- < Will ask for confirmation when there are changes. >
- :confirm qa
- < If any modified, unsaved buffers exist, you will be prompted to save
- or abandon each one. There are also choices to "save all" or "abandon
- all".
- If you want to always use ":confirm", set the 'confirm' option.
- *:browse* *:bro* *E338* *E614* *E615* *E616*
- :bro[wse] {command} Open a file selection dialog for an argument to
- {command}. At present this works for |:e|, |:w|,
- |:wall|, |:wq|, |:wqall|, |:x|, |:xall|, |:exit|,
- |:view|, |:sview|, |:r|, |:saveas|, |:sp|, |:mkexrc|,
- |:mkvimrc|, |:mksession|, |:mkview|, |:split|,
- |:vsplit|, |:tabe|, |:tabnew|, |:cfile|, |:cgetfile|,
- |:caddfile|, |:lfile|, |:lgetfile|, |:laddfile|,
- |:diffsplit|, |:diffpatch|, |:pedit|, |:redir|,
- |:source|, |:update|, |:visual|, |:vsplit|,
- and |:qall| if 'confirm' is set.
- Note: only in Win32 GUI; in console `:browse edit`
- works if the FileExplorer autocommand group exists.
- When ":browse" is not possible you get an error
- message. If {command} doesn't support browsing, the
- {command} is executed without a dialog.
- ":browse set" works like |:options|.
- See also |:oldfiles| for ":browse oldfiles".
- The syntax is best shown via some examples: >
- :browse e $vim/foo
- < Open the browser in the $vim/foo directory, and edit the
- file chosen. >
- :browse e
- < Open the browser in the directory specified with 'browsedir',
- and edit the file chosen. >
- :browse w
- < Open the browser in the directory of the current buffer,
- with the current buffer filename as default, and save the
- buffer under the filename chosen. >
- :browse w C:/bar
- < Open the browser in the C:/bar directory, with the current
- buffer filename as default, and save the buffer under the
- filename chosen.
- Also see the 'browsedir' option.
- For versions of Vim where browsing is not supported, the command is executed
- unmodified.
- *browsefilter*
- For MS-Windows you can modify the filters that are used in the browse
- dialog. By setting the g:browsefilter or b:browsefilter variables, you can
- change the filters globally or locally to the buffer. The variable is set to
- a string in the format "{filter label}\t{pattern};{pattern}\n" where "{filter
- label}" is the text that appears in the "Files of Type" comboBox, and {pattern}
- is the pattern which filters the filenames. Several patterns can be given,
- separated by ';'.
- For example, to have only Vim files in the dialog, you could use the following
- command: >
- let g:browsefilter = "Vim scripts\t*.vim\nVim Startup Files\t*vimrc\n"
- You can override the filter setting on a per-buffer basis by setting the
- b:browsefilter variable. You would most likely set b:browsefilter in a
- filetype plugin, so that the browse dialog would contain entries related to
- the type of file you are currently editing. Disadvantage: This makes it
- difficult to start editing a file of a different type. To overcome this, you
- may want to add "All Files (*.*)\t*\n" as the final filter on Windows or "All
- Files (*)\t*\n" on other platforms, so that the user can still access any
- desired file.
- To avoid setting browsefilter when Vim does not actually support it, you can
- use has("browsefilter"): >
- if has("browsefilter")
- let g:browsefilter = "whatever"
- endif
- ==============================================================================
- 7. The current directory *current-directory*
- You can use |:cd|, |:tcd| and |:lcd| to change to another directory, so you
- will not have to type that directory name in front of the file names. It also
- makes a difference for executing external commands, e.g. ":!ls" or ":te ls".
- There are three current-directory "scopes": global, tab and window. The
- window-local working directory takes precedence over the tab-local
- working directory, which in turn takes precedence over the global
- working directory. If a local working directory (tab or window) does not
- exist, the next-higher scope in the hierarchy applies.
- *:cd* *E747* *E472*
- :cd[!] On non-Unix systems when 'cdhome' is off: Print the
- current directory name.
- Otherwise: Change the current directory to the home
- directory. Clear any window-local directory.
- Use |:pwd| to print the current directory on all
- systems.
- :cd[!] {path} Change the current directory to {path}.
- If {path} is relative, it is searched for in the
- directories listed in |'cdpath'|.
- Clear any window-local directory.
- Does not change the meaning of an already opened file,
- because its full path name is remembered. Files from
- the |arglist| may change though!
- On MS-Windows this also changes the active drive.
- To change to the directory of the current file: >
- :cd %:h
- <
- *:cd-* *E186*
- :cd[!] - Change to the previous current directory (before the
- previous ":cd {path}" command).
- *:chd* *:chdir*
- :chd[ir][!] [path] Same as |:cd|.
- *:tc* *:tcd*
- :tc[d][!] {path} Like |:cd|, but only set the directory for the current
- tab. The current window will also use this directory.
- The current directory is not changed for windows in
- other tabs and for windows in the current tab that
- have their own window-local directory.
- *:tcd-*
- :tc[d][!] - Change to the previous current directory (before the
- previous ":tcd {path}" command).
- *:tch* *:tchdir*
- :tch[dir][!] Same as |:tcd|.
- *:lc* *:lcd*
- :lc[d][!] {path} Like |:cd|, but only set the current directory for the
- current window. The current directory for other
- windows or tabs is not changed.
- *:lch* *:lchdir*
- :lch[dir][!] Same as |:lcd|.
- *:lcd-*
- :lc[d][!] - Change to the previous current directory (before the
- previous ":lcd {path}" command).
- *:pw* *:pwd* *E187*
- :pw[d] Print the current directory name.
- Also see |getcwd()|.
- *:pwd-verbose*
- When 'verbose' is non-zero, |:pwd| will also display
- what scope the current directory was set. Example: >
- " Set by :cd
- :verbose pwd
- [global] /path/to/current
- " Set by :lcd
- :verbose pwd
- [window] /path/to/current
- " Set by :tcd
- :verbose pwd
- [tabpage] /path/to/current
- So long as no |:lcd| or |:tcd| command has been used, all windows share the
- same current directory. Using a command to jump to another window doesn't
- change anything for the current directory.
- When |:lcd| has been used for a window, the specified directory becomes the
- current directory for that window. Windows where the |:lcd| command has not
- been used stick to the global or tab-local directory. When jumping to another
- window the current directory is changed to the last specified local current
- directory. If none was specified, the global or tab-local directory is used.
- When creating a new window it inherits the local directory of the current window.
- When changing tabs the same behaviour applies. If the current tab has no
- local working directory the global working directory is used.
- When a |:cd| command is used, the current window and tab will lose their local
- current directories and will use the global current directory from now on.
- When a |:tcd| command is used, only the current window will lose its local
- working directory.
- After using |:cd| the full path name will be used for reading and writing
- files. On some networked file systems this may cause problems. The result of
- using the full path name is that the file names currently in use will remain
- referring to the same file. Example: If you have a file a:test and a
- directory a:vim the commands ":e test" ":cd vim" ":w" will overwrite the file
- a:test and not write a:vim/test. But if you do ":w test" the file a:vim/test
- will be written, because you gave a new file name and did not refer to a
- filename before the ":cd".
- ==============================================================================
- 8. Editing binary files *edit-binary*
- Although Vim was made to edit text files, it is possible to edit binary
- files. The |-b| Vim argument (b for binary) makes Vim do file I/O in binary
- mode, and sets some options for editing binary files ('binary' on, 'textwidth'
- to 0, 'modeline' off, 'expandtab' off). Setting the 'binary' option has the
- same effect. Don't forget to do this before reading the file.
- There are a few things to remember when editing binary files:
- - When editing executable files the number of bytes must not change.
- Use only the "R" or "r" command to change text. Do not delete characters
- with "x" or by backspacing.
- - Set the 'textwidth' option to 0. Otherwise lines will unexpectedly be
- split in two.
- - When there are not many <EOL>s, the lines will become very long. If you
- want to edit a line that does not fit on the screen reset the 'wrap' option.
- Horizontal scrolling is used then. If a line becomes too long (see |limits|)
- you cannot edit that line. The line will be split when reading the file.
- It is also possible that you get an "out of memory" error when reading the
- file.
- - Make sure the 'binary' option is set BEFORE loading the
- file. Otherwise both <CR><NL> and <NL> are considered to end a line
- and when the file is written the <NL> will be replaced with <CR><NL>.
- - <Nul> characters are shown on the screen as ^@. You can enter them with
- "CTRL-V CTRL-@" or "CTRL-V 000".
- - To insert a <NL> character in the file split a line. When writing the
- buffer to a file a <NL> will be written for the <EOL>.
- - Vim normally appends an <EOL> at the end of the file if there is none.
- Setting the 'binary' option prevents this. If you want to add the final
- <EOL>, set the 'endofline' option. You can also read the value of this
- option to see if there was an <EOL> for the last line (you cannot see this
- in the text).
- ==============================================================================
- 9. Encryption *encryption*
- *:X* *E817* *E818* *E819* *E820*
- Support for editing encrypted files has been removed.
- https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/694
- https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/701
- ==============================================================================
- 10. Timestamps *timestamp* *timestamps*
- Vim remembers the modification timestamp, mode and size of a file when you
- begin editing it. This is used to avoid that you have two different versions
- of the same file (without you knowing this).
- After a shell command is run (|:!cmd| |suspend| |:read!| |K|) timestamps,
- file modes and file sizes are compared for all buffers in a window. Vim will
- run any associated |FileChangedShell| autocommands or display a warning for
- any files that have changed. In the GUI this happens when Vim regains input
- focus.
- *E321* *E462*
- If you want to automatically reload a file when it has been changed outside of
- Vim, set the 'autoread' option. This doesn't work at the moment you write the
- file though, only when the file wasn't changed inside of Vim.
- *ignore-timestamp*
- If you do not want to be asked or automatically reload the file, you can use
- this: >
- set buftype=nofile
- Or, when starting gvim from a shell: >
- gvim file.log -c "set buftype=nofile"
- Note that if a FileChangedShell autocommand is defined you will not get a
- warning message or prompt. The autocommand is expected to handle this.
- There is no warning for a directory (e.g., with |netrw-browse|). But you do
- get warned if you started editing a new file and it was created as a directory
- later.
- When Vim notices the timestamp of a file has changed, and the file is being
- edited in a buffer but has not changed, Vim checks if the contents of the file
- is equal. This is done by reading the file again (into a hidden buffer, which
- is immediately deleted again) and comparing the text. If the text is equal,
- you will get no warning.
- If you don't get warned often enough you can use the following command.
- *:checkt* *:checktime*
- :checkt[ime] Check if any buffers were changed outside of Vim.
- This checks and warns you if you would end up with two
- versions of a file.
- If this is called from an autocommand, a ":global"
- command or is not typed the actual check is postponed
- until a moment the side effects (reloading the file)
- would be harmless.
- Each loaded buffer is checked for its associated file
- being changed. If the file was changed Vim will take
- action. If there are no changes in the buffer and
- 'autoread' is set, the buffer is reloaded. Otherwise,
- you are offered the choice of reloading the file. If
- the file was deleted you get an error message.
- If the file previously didn't exist you get a warning
- if it exists now.
- Once a file has been checked the timestamp is reset,
- you will not be warned again.
- Syntax highlighting, marks, diff status,
- 'fileencoding', 'fileformat' and 'binary' options
- are not changed. See |v:fcs_choice| to reload these
- too (for example, if a code formatting tools has
- changed the file).
- :[N]checkt[ime] {filename}
- :[N]checkt[ime] [N]
- Check the timestamp of a specific buffer. The buffer
- may be specified by name, number or with a pattern.
- *E813* *E814*
- Vim will reload the buffer if you chose to. If a window is visible that
- contains this buffer, the reloading will happen in the context of this window.
- Otherwise a special window is used, so that most autocommands will work. You
- can't close this window. A few other restrictions apply. Best is to make
- sure nothing happens outside of the current buffer. E.g., setting
- window-local options may end up in the wrong window. Splitting the window,
- doing something there and closing it should be OK (if there are no side
- effects from other autocommands). Closing unrelated windows and buffers will
- get you into trouble.
- Before writing a file, the timestamp is checked (unless "!" was used).
- If it has changed, Vim will ask if you really want to overwrite the file:
- WARNING: The file has been changed since reading it!!!
- Do you really want to write to it (y/n)?
- If you hit 'y' Vim will continue writing the file. If you hit 'n' the write is
- aborted. If you used ":wq" or "ZZ" Vim will not exit, you will get another
- chance to write the file.
- The message would normally mean that somebody has written to the file after
- the edit session started. This could be another person, in which case you
- probably want to check if your changes to the file and the changes from the
- other person should be merged. Write the file under another name and check for
- differences (the "diff" program can be used for this).
- It is also possible that you modified the file yourself, from another edit
- session or with another command (e.g., a filter command). Then you will know
- which version of the file you want to keep.
- The accuracy of the time check depends on the filesystem. On Unix it is
- usually sub-second. With old file systems and on MS-Windows it is normally one
- second. Use `has('nanotime')` to check if sub-second time stamp checks are
- available.
- There is one situation where you get the message while there is nothing wrong:
- On a Win32 system on the day daylight saving time starts. There is something
- in the Win32 libraries that confuses Vim about the hour time difference. The
- problem goes away the next day.
- ==============================================================================
- 11. File Searching *file-searching*
- The file searching is currently used for the 'path', 'cdpath' and 'tags'
- options, for |finddir()| and |findfile()|. Other commands use |wildcards|
- which is slightly different.
- There are three different types of searching:
- 1) Downward search: *starstar*
- Downward search uses the wildcards "*", "**" and possibly others
- supported by your operating system. "*" and "**" are handled inside Vim,
- so they work on all operating systems. Note that "**" only acts as a
- special wildcard when it is at the start of a name.
- The usage of "*" is quite simple: It matches 0 or more characters. In a
- search pattern this would be ".*". Note that the "." is not used for file
- searching.
- "**" is more sophisticated:
- - It ONLY matches directories.
- - It matches up to 30 directories deep by default, so you can use it to
- search an entire directory tree
- - The maximum number of levels matched can be given by appending a number
- to "**".
- Thus '/usr/**2' can match: >
- /usr
- /usr/include
- /usr/include/sys
- /usr/include/g++
- /usr/lib
- /usr/lib/X11
- ....
- < It does NOT match '/usr/include/g++/std' as this would be three
- levels.
- The allowed number range is 0 ("**0" is removed) to 100
- If the given number is smaller than 0 it defaults to 30, if it's
- bigger than 100 then 100 is used. The system also has a limit on the
- path length, usually 256 or 1024 bytes.
- - "**" can only be at the end of the path or be followed by a path
- separator or by a number and a path separator.
- You can combine "*" and "**" in any order: >
- /usr/**/sys/*
- /usr/*tory/sys/**
- /usr/**2/sys/*
- 2) Upward search:
- Here you can give a directory and then search the directory tree upward for
- a file. You could give stop-directories to limit the upward search. The
- stop-directories are appended to the path (for the 'path' option) or to
- the filename (for the 'tags' option) with a ';'. If you want several
- stop-directories separate them with ';'. If you want no stop-directory
- ("search upward till the root directory") just use ';'. >
- /usr/include/sys;/usr
- < will search in: >
- /usr/include/sys
- /usr/include
- /usr
- <
- If you use a relative path the upward search is started in Vim's current
- directory or in the directory of the current file (if the relative path
- starts with './' and 'd' is not included in 'cpoptions').
- If Vim's current path is /u/user_x/work/release and you do >
- :set path=include;/u/user_x
- < and then search for a file with |gf| the file is searched in: >
- /u/user_x/work/release/include
- /u/user_x/work/include
- /u/user_x/include
- < Note: If your 'path' setting includes a non-existing directory, Vim will
- skip the non-existing directory, and also does not search in the parent of
- the non-existing directory if upwards searching is used.
- 3) Combined up/downward search:
- If Vim's current path is /u/user_x/work/release and you do >
- set path=**;/u/user_x
- < and then search for a file with |gf| the file is searched in: >
- /u/user_x/work/release/**
- /u/user_x/work/**
- /u/user_x/**
- <
- BE CAREFUL! This might consume a lot of time, as the search of
- '/u/user_x/**' includes '/u/user_x/work/**' and
- '/u/user_x/work/release/**'. So '/u/user_x/work/release/**' is searched
- three times and '/u/user_x/work/**' is searched twice.
- In the above example you might want to set path to: >
- :set path=**,/u/user_x/**
- < This searches: >
- /u/user_x/work/release/**
- /u/user_x/**
- < This searches the same directories, but in a different order.
- Note that completion for ":find", ":sfind", and ":tabfind" commands do not
- currently work with 'path' items that contain a URL or use the double star
- with depth limiter (/usr/**2) or upward search (;) notations.
- ==============================================================================
- 12. Trusted Files *trust*
- Nvim executes arbitrary code found on the filesystem if 'exrc' is enabled. To
- prevent executing malicious code, only "trusted files" are executed. You can
- mark a file as trusted or untrusted using the |:trust| command or the
- |vim.secure.read()| function.
- *:trust* *E5570*
- :trust [++deny] [++remove] [file]
- Manage trusted files. Without ++ options, :trust marks
- the current buffer as trusted, keyed on a hash of its
- contents. The trust list is stored on disk, Nvim will
- re-use it after restarting.
- [++deny] marks [file] (or current buffer if no [file]) as
- untrusted: it will never be executed, 'exrc' will
- ignore it.
- [++remove] removes [file] (or current buffer if no
- [file]) from the trust list. When the file is
- discovered by 'exrc' or |vim.secure.read()|, the user
- will be asked whether to trust or deny the file.
- vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:
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