Vim options
| Author: | Bram Moolenaar |
|---|---|
| url: | http://www.vim.org/htmldoc/options.html#options |
| Date: | 2004 Mar 16 |
options.txt For Vim version 6.2. Last change:
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL
Options
- Setting options |set-option|
- Automatically setting options |auto-setting|
- Options summary |option-summary|
For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.
Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
boolean can only be on or off *boolean* *toggle* number has a numeric value string has a string value
- Setting options set-option
*:se* *:set*
:se[t] Show all options that differ from their default value.
:se[t] all Show all but terminal options.
:se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
key codes are not shown, because they are generated
internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
codes in the GUI is not useful either...
*E518* *E519*
:se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
:se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
Number option: show value.
String option: show value.
:se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
:se[t] {option}! or
:se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
*:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
:se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
:se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
*:set-args* *E487* *E521*
:se[t] {option}={value} or
:se[t] {option}:{value}
Set string or number option to {value}.
For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
(hex and octal are only available for machines which
have the strtol() function).
The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
set). See |cmdline-completion|.
White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
is not allowed.
See |option-backslash| for using white space and
backslashes in {value}.
:se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
{value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
are removed. Otherwise there is no check for doubled
values. You can avoid this by removing a value first.
Example:
:set guioptions-=T guioptions+=T
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
becomes empty.
When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
one by one to avoid problems.
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
- The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example:
- :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given and the following arguments will be ignored.
:set-verbose
When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it was last set. Example:
- :verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
- shiftwidth=4
- Last set from modeline
- cindent
- Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim
This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":set all" or ":set" without an argument. When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message. There is only one value for all local options with the same name. Thus the message applies to the option name, not necessarily its value. When the option was set while executing a function, user command or autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported. Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting 'compatible'. {not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
:set-termcap E522
For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a termcap option. This will override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form:
:set <t_#4>=^[Ot
This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this:
:set <M-b>=^[b
(the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it) The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of "set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the |more-prompt|.
option-backslash
To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded down). A few examples:
:set tags=tags/usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags" :set tags=tags\,file results in "tags,file" :set tags=tags\file results in "tagsfile"
The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To include the "|" in the option value, use "|" instead. This example sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi|there":
:set titlestring=hi|there
- This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there":
- :set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma, etc.) is used like explained above. There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\":
:set dir=\machinepath results in "\machinepath" :set dir=\\machine\path results in "\machinepath" :set dir=\path\file results in "\pathfile" (wrong!)
For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
add-option-flags remove-option-flags
E539 E550 E551 E552
Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this:
:set guioptions+=a
- Remove a flag from an option like this:
- :set guioptions-=a
This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'. Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba" doesn't appear.
:set_env expand-env expand-environment-var
Environment variables in most string options will be expanded. If the environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples:
:set term=$TERM.new :set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
Handling of local options local-options
Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set 'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
The following explains what happens to these local options in specific situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user expects is a bit complicated...
When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer, these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed, thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where the buffer was edited last are used.
It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer. When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do:
:e one :set list :e two
Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list" command you have also set the global value.
:set nolist :e one :setlocal list :e two
Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the global value. Note that if you do this next:
:e one
You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited "one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
:setl :setlocal
- :setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
- current buffer or window. Not all options have a local value. If the option does not have a local value the global value is set. With the "all" argument: display all local option's local values. Without argument: Display all local option's local values which are different from the default. When displaying a specific local option, show the local value. For a global option the global value is shown (but that might change in the future). {not in Vi}
- :setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value.
{not in Vi}
:setg :setglobal
- :setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
- option without changing the local value. When displaying an option, the global value is shown. With the "all" argument: display all local option's global values. Without argument: display all local option's global values which are different from the default. {not in Vi}
- For buffer-local and window-local options:
- Command global value local value
- :set option=value set set
:setlocal option=value - set
- :setglobal option=value set -
:set option? - display
:setlocal option? - display
:setglobal option? display -
Global options with a local value global-local
Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers. For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value. You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer will then use the local value, while other buffers continue using the global value.
For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global 'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows:
:set makeprg=gmake
then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too. However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use another 'makeprog' for it, without changing the value used for the C source files. You use this command:
:setlocal makeprg=perlmake
- You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty:
- :setlocal makeprg=
This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the "<" flag, like this:
:setlocal autoread<
Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters when changing the global value later). Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using ":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
Setting the filetype
- :setf[iletype] {filetype} :setf :setfiletype
Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands. This is short for:
:if !did_filetype() : setlocal filetype={filetype} :endif
This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different settings and syntax files to be loaded. {not in Vi}
:bro[wse] se[t] :set-browse :browse-set :opt :options :opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
Options are grouped by function. Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the short help to open a help window with more help for the option. Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the "set" line to set the new value. For window and buffer specific options, the last accessed window is used to set the option value in, unless this is a help window, in which case the window below help window is used (skipping the option-window). {not available when compiled without the |+eval| or |+autocmd| features}
$HOME
Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an option and after a space or comma.
On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory of user "user". Example:
:set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the "gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set" command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
:fix :fixdel
| fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD': | |
|---|---|
(CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi} If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the code for backspace is alright, you can put this in your .vimrc:
This works no matter what the actual code for backspace is. If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can use this:
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key (don't type four characters!). Replace "termname" with your terminal name. If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use:
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key (don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname" with your terminal name.
Note about Linux: By default the backspace key produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by putting this line in your rc.local:
Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce the right code, try this:
You need to restart for this to take effect. |
|
- Automatically setting options auto-setting
Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives to set options automatically for one or more files:
When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See |initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions, and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started. You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and |:mksession|.
If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed. This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and many other things. See |autocommand|.
If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for modelines. This is explained here.
modeline vim: vi: ex: E520
[text] any text or empty {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>) {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:" [white] optional white space {options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set" command
- Example:
- vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6
The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
[text] any text or empty {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>) {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:" [white] optional white space se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space) {options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
argument for a ":set" command
: a colon [text] any text or empty
- Example:
/* vim: set ai tw=75: */
The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be short for "example:").
modeline-local
The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the buffer that contains the window. Although it's possible to set global options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result depends on which one was opened last.
modeline-version
If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
vim{vers}: version {vers} or later vim<{vers}: version before {vers} vim={vers}: version {vers} vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
{vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor). For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
/* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */
- To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
/* vim<570: set sw=4: */
There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line like:
/* vi:ts=4: */
If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a ''. The backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
/* vi:set dir=c:tmp: */
This sets the 'dir' option to "c:tmp". Only a single backslash before the ':' is removed. Thus to include ":" you have to specify "\:".
No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines).
Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For example:
au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing "VAR".
- Options summary option-summary
In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option" is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when 'compatible' is set.
Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C program.
global one option for all buffers and windows local to window each window has its own copy of this option local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the 'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the buffer is created.
Not all options are supported in all versions. To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use "exists('&foo')". This doesn't mean the value is actually remembered and works. Some options are hidden, which means that you can set them but the value is not remembered. To test if option "foo" is really supported use "exists('+foo')".
E355
A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
'aleph' 'al' aleph Aleph
- 'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode (when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_) outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26]. aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8. See |rileft.txt|.
'allowrevins' 'ari' 'noallowrevins' 'noari'
- 'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See 'revins'. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'altkeymap' 'akm' 'noaltkeymap' 'noakm'
- 'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+farsi| feature}
When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This is useful to start the Vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left mode). See |farsi.txt|.
'ambiwidth' 'ambw'
- 'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature}
Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding. Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek letters, Cyrillic letters).
There are currently two possible values: "single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
expected by most users.
"double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro, Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets, therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font (or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.), this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has to be set to "double" under CJK Windows 9x/ME or Windows 2k/XP when the system locale is set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode
Standard Annex #11 http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11.
'antialias' 'anti' 'noantialias' 'noanti'
- 'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default: off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled
on Mac OS X}
- This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
- v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts, which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
Setting this option can sometimes cause problems if 'guifont' is set to its default (empty string).
'autochdir' 'acd' 'noautochdir' 'noacd'
- 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+netbeans_intg| or |+sun_workshop| feature}
When on, Vim will change its value for the current working directory whenever you open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window. It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened or selected. This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
'arabic' 'arab' 'noarabic' 'noarab'
- 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+arabic| feature}
This option can be set to start editing Arabic text. Setting this option will: - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set. - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set. - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
- Set the 'delcombine' option
Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
Resetting this option will: - Reset the 'rightleft' option. - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value). Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global option. Also see |arabic.txt|.
'arabicshape' 'arshape'
'noarabicshape' 'noarshape'
- 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+arabic| feature}
When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad one which encompasses:
- the changing/morphing of characters based on their location within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
- the enabling of the ability to compose characters
- the enabling of the required combining of some characters
When disabled the character display reverts back to each character's true stand-alone form. Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for further details see |arabic.txt|.
'autoindent' 'ai' 'noautoindent' 'noai'
- 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR> in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type <Esc> or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first line. When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in a different way. The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set. {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
'autoread' 'ar' 'noautoread' 'noar'
- 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again. When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp| If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to using the global value:
:set autoread<
'autowrite' 'aw' 'noautowrite' 'noaw'
- 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
global
Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!, :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a CTRL-O, CTRL-I, '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file. Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see 'autowriteall' for that.
'autowriteall' 'awa' 'noautowriteall' 'noawa'
- 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit", ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window. Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has been set.
'background' 'bg'
- 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
global {not in Vi}
When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal. Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used. This will not always be correct. Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim what the background color looks like. For changing the background color, see |:hi-normal|.
When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not change. When a color scheme is loaded (the "colors_name" variable is set) setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work. However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may be undone. First delete the "colors_name" variable when needed.
- When setting 'background' to the default value with:
- :set background&
Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly, in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on"). Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly depending on the terminal name. Example:
:if &term == "pcterm" : set background=dark :endif
When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER the setting of the 'background' option. This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be done with ":syntax on".
'backspace' 'bs'
- 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows a way to backspace over something: value effect indent allow backspacing over autoindent eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines) start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
stop once at the start of insert.
When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier: value effect
0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible) 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol" 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want. NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
'backup' 'bk' 'nobackup' 'nobk'
- 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the |backup-table| for more explanations. When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway. When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the oldest version of a file. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'backupcopy' 'bkc'
- 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
global {not in Vi}
When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's done: "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one "no" rename the file and write a new one "auto" one of the previous, what works best
Making a copy and overwriting the original file: - Takes extra time to copy the file. + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
- When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link, not of the real file.
Renaming the file and writing a new one: + It's fast. - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
file.
- When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and and the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a copy will be made.
crontab
One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an example.
When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for others.
When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic) link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will again not rename the file.
'backupdir' 'bdir'
- 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp" for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
global {not in Vi}
List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas. - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
where this is possible.
Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory as the edited file.
A directory starting with "./" (or "." for MS-DOS et.al.) means to put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file. ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory name, precede it with a backslash.
To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
A directory name may end in an '/'.
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
Careful with '' characters, type one before a space, type two to get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example:
:set bdir=c:\tmp,dir\,with\,commas,\dirwithspaces
For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start of the option is removed.
See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options. If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value:
:set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your home directory for this to work properly. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'backupext' 'bex' E589
- 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
global {not in Vi}
String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with ".bak" that you want to keep.
'backupskip' 'bsk'
- 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/,$TMPDIR/,$TMP/,$TEMP/")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore| feature}
A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used. The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|. Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|. When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
'balloondelay' 'bdlay'
- 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval| feature}
Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
'ballooneval' 'beval' 'noballooneval' 'nobeval'
- 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval| and |+sun_workshop| or |+netbeans_intg| features}
Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
'binary' 'bin' 'nobinary' 'nobin'
- 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few options will be changed (also when it already was on):
'textwidth' will be set to 0 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0 'modeline' will be off 'expandtab' will be off
Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL> separates lines). The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the file is read without conversion. NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g., 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set 'bin' again when the file has been loaded. The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of saved option values. When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See the 'endofline' option.
'bioskey' 'biosk' 'nobioskey' 'nobiosk'
- 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
When on the bios is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a terminal over a serial port reset this option. Also see |'conskey'|.
'bomb' 'nobomb'
- 'bomb' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature}
When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte Order Mark) is prepended to the file: - this option is on - the 'binary' option is off - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
endian variants.
Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file. Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2 appear halfway the resulting file. When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly. Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM will be restored when writing the file.
'breakat' 'brk'
- 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak| feature}
This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line break if 'linebreak' is on.
'browsedir' 'bsdir'
- 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default for "last")
global {not in Vi} {only for Motif and Win32 GUI}
- Which directory to use for the file browser:
last Use same directory as with last file browser. buffer Use the directory of the related buffer. current Use the current directory. {path} Use the specified directory
'bufhidden' 'bh'
- 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer displayed in a window:
<empty> follow the global 'hidden' option hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
is not set
- unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
- |:hide|
- delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
- 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using |:bdelete|
- wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
- 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using |:bwipeout|
This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
'buflisted' 'bl' E85
- 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc. This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer. But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
'buftype' 'bt' E382
- 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
- The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
<empty> normal buffer nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
written
nowrite buffer which will not be written quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow| help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
manually)
This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| command and you are not supposed to change it.
"nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar: both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
work (":w filename" does work though).
- both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
- There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for example when you quit Vim.
- both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
- (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap file).
- nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd| command.
'casemap' 'cmp'
- 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
global {not in Vi}
Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain these words, separated by a comma: internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
locale does not change the case mapping. This only matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding. When "internal" is omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library functions are used when available.
- keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
case mapping, the current locale is not effective. This probably only matters for Turkish.
'cdpath' 'cd' E344 E346
- 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+file_in_path| feature}
This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched for has a relative path (not starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|. The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look in the current directory first. If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to override it:
:let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons. (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
'cedit'
- 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit| feature}
The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window. The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off. Only non-printable keys are allowed. The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples:
:set cedit=<C-Y> :set cedit=<Esc>
|Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character. See |cmdwin|.
'charconvert' 'ccv' E202 E214 E513
- 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
global {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature and the |+eval| feature} {not in Vi}
An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a different encoding from what is desired. 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is preferred, because it is much faster. 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first. The expression must return zero or an empty string for success, non-zero for failure. The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'. Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are used. Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8" is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this. 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c' flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion. Example:
set charconvert=CharConvert() fun CharConvert()
- system("recode "
- . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
return v:shell_error
endfun
- The related Vim variables are:
- v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding v:fname_in name of the input file v:fname_out name of the output file
Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same. Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4. Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care of this. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'cindent' 'cin' 'nocindent' 'nocin'
- 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cindent| feature}
Enables automatic C program indenting See 'cinkeys' to set the keys that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your preferred indent style. If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'. If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty, the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an external program. See |C-indenting|. When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent' option or 'indentexpr'. This option is not used when 'paste' is set. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cinkeys' 'cink'
- 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cindent| feature}
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is empty. For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|. See |C-indenting|.
'cinoptions' 'cino'
- 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cindent| feature}
The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
'cinwords' 'cinw'
- 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without both the |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at an appropriate place (inside {}). Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase: "if,If,IF".
'clipboard' 'cb'
- 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons|linux"
for X-windows, "" otherwise)
global {not in Vi} {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is included}
This option is a list of comma separated names. These names are recognized:
- unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
- for all yank, delete, change and put operations which would normally go to the unnamed register. When a register is explicitly specified, it will always be used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard' or not. The clipboard register can always be explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see |gui-clipboard|.
- autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the windowing system's global selection or put the selected text on the clipboard used by the selection register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this "autoselect" flag is used. Also applies to the modeless selection.
- autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
- only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
- exclude:{pattern}
Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no connection will be made to the X server. This is useful in this situation: - Running Vim in a console. - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
display.
- You do not want to connect to the X server in the console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
- To never connect to the X server use:
- exclude:.*
This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument. Note that when there is no connection to the X server the window title won't be restored and the clipboard cannot be accessed. The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is interpreted as if 'magic' was on. The rest of the option value will be used for {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
'cmdheight' 'ch'
- 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi}
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding |hit-enter| prompts.
'cmdwinheight' 'cwh'
- 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit| feature}
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
'columns' 'co' E594
- 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
global {not in Vi}
Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal initialization and does not have to be set by hand. When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file. When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up.
'comments' 'com' E524 E525
- 'comments' 'com' string (default
"s1:/,mb:,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+comments| feature}
A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to insert a space.
'commentstring' 'cms' E537
- 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/%s/")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see |fold-marker|.
'compatible' 'cp' 'nocompatible' 'nocp'
- 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a .vimrc file is found)
global {not in Vi}
This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or make Vim behave in a more useful way. This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset, other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the very start. By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible' option. When a ".vimrc" file is found while Vim is starting up, this option is switched off, and all options that have not been modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means that when a ".vimrc" file exists, Vim will use the Vim defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't happen for the system-wide vimrc file). Also see |compatible-default|. You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with "-N". See |-C| and |-N|. Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified. At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible editing. See also 'cpoptions'.
option + set value effect
'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
'backspace' "" normal backspace 'backup' off no backup file 'cindent' off no C code indentation 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin| 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag" 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder| 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose| 'digraph' off no digraphs 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
"dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s" 'history' + 0 no commandline history 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches 'incsearch' off no incremental searching 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
characters and '_'
'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period 'modeline' + off no modelines 'more' + off no pauses in listings 'revins' off no reverse insert 'ruler' off no ruler 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown 'showmode' + off current mode not shown 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch 'smartindent' off no smart indentation 'smarttab' off no smart tab size 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
'complete' 'cpt' E535
- 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags: . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored) w scan buffers from other windows b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
- patterns are valid too. For example:
:set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
are valid too.
i scan current and included files d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
] tag completion t same as "]"
Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for whole-line completion.
- The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
- the current buffer
- buffers in other windows
- other loaded buffers
- unloaded buffers
- tags
- included files
As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'- based expansion (eg dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions)
'confirm' 'cf' 'noconfirm' 'nocf'
- 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e", instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer. If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm| command. Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
'conskey' 'consk' 'noconskey' 'noconsk'
- 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character. This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together, three methods of console input are available: 'conskey' 'bioskey' action
on on or off direct console input off on BIOS off off STDIN
'copyindent' 'ci' 'nocopyindent' 'noci'
- 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the existing line. If the new indent is greater than on the existing line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner. NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. Also see 'preserveindent'.
'cpoptions' 'cpo'
- 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
Vi default: all flags)
global {not in Vi}
A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred. 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options". Commas can be added for readability. To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
contains behavior
cpo-a
- a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the current window.
cpo-A
- A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the current window.
cpo-b
- b "|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
the map command. The '' is included in the mapping, the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands. See also |map_bar|.
cpo-B
- B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands. Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X <Esc>" results in X being mapped to:
'B' included: "^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>) 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters) ('<' excluded in both cases)
cpo-c
- c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
cursor position, but not further than the start of the next line. When not present searching continues one character from the cursor position. With 'c' "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
cpo-C
- C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
backslash. See |line-continuation|.
cpo-d
- d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
the tags file relative to the current file, but the tags file in the current directory.
cpo-D
- D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and |t|.
cpo-e
- e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
<CR> to the last line, also when the register is not linewise. If this flag is not present, the register is not linewise and the last line does not end in a <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
cpo-E
- E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
"gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when at least one character is to be operate on. Example: This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
cpo-f
- f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
cpo-F
- F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
cpo-g
g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
cpo-i
- i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
leave it modified.
cpo-j
- j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
cpo-J
- J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as white space.
cpo-k
- k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[ is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X being mapped to:
'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters) 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
Also see the '<' flag below.
cpo-K
- K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when only part of the second <F1> has been read. It enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
cpo-l
- l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
- literally, only "]" is special See |/[]|
'l' included: "/[ t]" finds <Space>, '' and 't' 'l' excluded: "/[ t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
cpo-L
- L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
'textwidth' and Virtual Replace mode (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
cpo-m
- m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
cpo-M
- M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
account. Thus in "( ( )" and "( ( )" the outer parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
cpo-n
- n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
be used for text of wrapped lines.
cpo-o
- o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
next search.
cpo-O
- O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a protection against a file unexpectedly created by someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
cpo-p
- p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
slightly better algorithm is used.
cpo-r
- r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
command, instead of the actually used search string.
cpo-R
- R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
cpo-s
- s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0. And it is the default. If not present the options are set when the buffer is created.
cpo-S
- S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
(except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting. The options are set to the values in the current buffer. When you change an option and go to another buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the buffer options global to all buffers.
's' 'S' copy buffer options no no when buffer created yes no when buffer first entered (default)
X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
cpo-t
- t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
"n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the last used search pattern.
cpo-u
u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
cpo-v
- v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are erased from the screen right away. With this flag the screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced characters.
cpo-w
- w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
character and not all blanks until the start of the next word.
cpo-W
- W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
cpo-x
- x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line, because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
cpo-y
y A yank command can be redone with ".".
cpo-!
- ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last used -filter- command is used.
cpo-$
- $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text. The changed text will be overwritten when you type the new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any command that moves the cursor from the insertion point.
cpo-%
- % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc. Does not recognize "/" and "/". Parens inside single and double quotes are also counted, causing a string that contains a paren to disturb the matching. For example, in a line like "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not match the last one. When this flag is not included, parens inside single and double quotes are treated specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes, everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if there is one). This works very well for C programs.
cpo-star
Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
cpo-<
- < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu commands. For example, the command ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
'<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters) '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
Also see the 'k' flag above.
'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc'
- 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} {not in Vi}
Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags. See |cscopepathcomp|.
'cscopeprg' 'csprg'
- 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} {not in Vi}
Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'cscopequickfix' 'csqf'
- 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| or |+quickfix| features} {not in Vi}
Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results. See |cscopequickfix|.
'cscopetag' 'cst' 'nocscopetag' 'nocst'
- 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} {not in Vi}
Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopetagorder' 'csto'
- 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} {not in Vi}
Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See |cscopetagorder|. NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopeverbose' 'csverb'
'nocscopeverbose' 'nocsverb'
- 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
global {not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} {not in Vi}
Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'debug'
- 'debug' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
When set to "msg", error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given anyway. This is useful when debugging 'foldexpr' or 'indentexpr'.
'define' 'def'
- 'define' 'def' string (default "^#s*define")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is used to recognize the defined name after the match:
{match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space or backslash. The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be useful, to include const type declarations:
^(#s*define|[a-z]*s*consts*[a-z]*)
When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
'delcombine' 'deco'
- 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature}
If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the default) the character along with its combining characters are deleted. Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want to remove only the combining ones.
'dictionary' 'dict'
- 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes. To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes. Where to find a list of words? - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words". - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory. - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
'diff' 'nodiff'
- 'diff' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+diff| feature}
Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences between files. See |vimdiff|.
'dex' 'diffexpr'
- 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+diff| feature}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'dip' 'diffopt'
- 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+diff| feature}
Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items. All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
- filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
- synchronized with a window that has inserted lines at the same position. Mostly useful when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind' is set.
- context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
- and a fold that contains unchanged lines. When omitted a context of six lines is used. See |fold-diff|.
- icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
- are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
- iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
- the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation of the "diff" command for what this does exactly. It should ignore adding trailing white space, but not leading white space.
Examples:
:set diffopt=filler,context:4 :set diffopt= :set diffopt=filler
'digraph' 'dg' 'nodigraph' 'nodg'
- 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS> {char2}. See |digraphs|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'directory' 'dir'
- 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:tmp,c:temp" for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
global
List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas. - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
possible.
Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is impossible!).
A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden" attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
A directory starting with "./" (or "." for MS-DOS et.al.) means to put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators, the swap file name will be built from the complete path to the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs. This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory name, precede it with a backslash.
To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
Careful with '' characters, type one before a space, type two to get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example:
:set dir=c:\tmp,dir\,with\,commas,\dirwithspaces
For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start of the option is removed.
Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file. "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your home directory is tried first. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons. {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
'display' 'dy'
- 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of flags: lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
in a window will be displayed. When not included, a last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
- uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
instead of using ^C and ~C.
'eadirection' 'ead'
- 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit feature}
- Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
ver vertically, width of windows is not affected hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected both width and height of windows is affected
'ed' 'edcompatible' 'noed' 'noedcompatible'
- 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
global
Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See also 'gdefault' option. Switching this option on is discouraged!
'encoding' 'enc' E543
- 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
global {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature} {not in Vi}
Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the existing text in Vim. It may cause multi-byte text to become invalid. It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim starts up. See |multibyte|.
NOTE: For GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding' to "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made the default to prevent different behaviour of the GUI and terminal versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'. This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated to '-' signs. When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name. For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected. This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the actual characterset is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using utf-8.
When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8. You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
'endofline' 'eol' 'noendofline' 'noeol'
- 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change it if you want to.
'equalalways' 'ea' 'noequalalways' 'noea'
- 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after splitting or closing a window. When off, splitting a window will reduce the size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright'). When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected. Changing the height of a window can be avoided by setting 'winfixheight'.
'equalprg' 'ep'
- 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty the internal formatting functions are used ('lisp', 'cindent' or 'indentexpr'). Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'errorbells' 'eb' 'noerrorbells' 'noeb'
- 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
global
Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep, screen flash or do nothing.
'errorfile' 'ef'
- 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
others: "errors.err")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|). When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the following argument. See |-q|. NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'errorformat' 'efm'
- 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file (see |errorformat|).
'esckeys' 'ek' 'noesckeys' 'noek'
- 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global {not in Vi}
Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys won't work by default. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'eventignore' 'ei'
- 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd| feature}
A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored. When set to "all", all autocommand events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed. Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example:
:set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
'expandtab' 'et' 'noexpandtab' 'noet'
- 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'exrc' 'ex' 'noexrc' 'noex'
- 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care! also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'fileencoding' 'fenc' E213
- 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
local to buffer {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature} {not in Vi}
Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer. When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be done when reading and writing the file. When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When 'encoding' is "utf-8" conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some characters may be lost!
See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be specified that can be handled by the converter, see |mbyte-conversion|. When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'. To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored. When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2". When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified' option is set, because the file would be different when written. If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to avoid this. This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
'fe'
NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
'fileencodings' 'fencs'
- 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom", "ucs-bom,utf-8,latin1"
when 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
global {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature} {not in Vi}
This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit a file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works, 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants) conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" special characters may be lost!
For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used. If you prefer another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your preferred encoding is to be used. Example:
- au BufReadPost * if search('S', 'w') == 0 |
- set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain non-blank characters. The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly. An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last, because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always accepted. WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
file
cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified. See 'fileencoding' for the possible values. Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file is read.
'fileformat' 'ff'
- 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
Unix default: "unix", Macintosh default: "mac")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
dos <CR> <NL> unix <NL> mac <CR>
When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored. See |file-formats| and |file-read|. For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'. When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O works like it was set to "unix'. This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off. When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified' option is set, because the file would be different when written. This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off. For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos", 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
'fileformats' 'ffs'
- 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix", Vim Unix: "unix,dos", Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos", Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos", Vi others: "")
global {not in Vi}
This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing buffer: - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
always. It is not set automatically.
When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>: 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
'fileformat' is set to "dos".
- If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat' is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
- If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac". This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present, or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file. Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
- If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from 'fileformats' is used.
When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that file only, the option is not changed.
When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be done: - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
format will be used.
- When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is used.
Also see |file-formats|. For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset, otherwise 'textauto' is set. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'filetype' 'ft'
- 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd| feature}
When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered. All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file name. Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type. This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype| Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline, for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized. Example, for in an IDL file:
/* vim: set filetype=idl : */
|FileType| |filetypes| Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file type that is actually stored with the file. This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
'fillchars' 'fcs'
- 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:YXXY,fold:-")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+windows| and |+folding| features}
Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators. It is a comma separated list of items:
item default Used for stl:c '' '' or '^' statusline of the current window stlnc:c '' '' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit| fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext' diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-' otherwise.
- Example:
- :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:|,fold:-,diff:-
This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also be used when there is highlighting.
- The highlighting used for these items:
item highlight group stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine| stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC| vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit| fold:c Folded |hl-Folded| diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
'fkmap' 'fk' 'nofkmap' 'nofk'
- 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) E198
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set. Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
'foldclose' 'fcl'
- 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to automatically close when moving out of them.
'foldcolumn' 'fdc'
- 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum value is 12. See |folding|.
'foldenable' 'fen' 'nofoldenable' 'nofen'
- 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when 'foldenable' is off. This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold. See |folding|.
'foldexpr' 'fde'
- 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| or |+eval| feature}
The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|. Also see |eval-sandbox|.
'foldignore' 'fdi'
- 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character. The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
'foldlevel' 'fdl'
- 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed. Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will close fewer folds. This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|. See |fold-foldlevel|.
'foldlevelstart' 'fdls'
- 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window. Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero), some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99). This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also ignores this option and closes all folds. It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files. When the value is negative, it is not used.
'foldmarker' 'fmr' E536
- 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow). See |fold-marker|.
'foldmethod' 'fdm'
- 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values: |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually. |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold. |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line. |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds. |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds. |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
'foldminlines' 'fml'
- 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed closed. Also for manually closed folds. Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
'foldnestmax' 'fdn'
- 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax" methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
'foldopen' 'fdo'
- 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
search,tag,undo")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated list of items.
item commands all any block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc. hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc. insert any command in Insert mode jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc. mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc. percent "%" quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc. search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
(not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc. undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect. When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%") this option is not used. This means the operator will include the whole closed fold. Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it very difficult to move onto a closed fold. In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open when text is inserted. To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
'foldtext' 'fdt'
- 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
'formatoptions' 'fo'
- 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can be inserted for readability. To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'formatprg' 'fp'
- 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines selected with the "gq" command. The program must take the input on stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is such a program. If this option is an empty string, the internal format function will be used |C-indenting|. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'gdefault' 'gd' 'nogdefault' 'nogd'
- 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off :s/// subst. all subst. one :s///g subst. one subst. all :s///gg subst. all subst. one
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'grepformat' 'gfm'
- 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
global {not in Vi}
Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output. This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
'grepprg' 'gp'
- 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null", Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
Program to use for the ":grep" command. This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command- line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep" also work well with a single file:
:set grepprg=grep-nH
See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there apply equally to 'grepprg'. For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found, otherwise it's "grep -n". This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'guicursor' 'gcr' E545 E546 E548 E549
- 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
ve:ver35-Cursor, o:hor50-Cursor, i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor, r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor, sm:block-Cursor -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
- for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
- "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15, r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or horizontal cursor.
The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a mode-list and an argument-list:
mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
- The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
n Normal mode v Visual mode ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
if not specified)
o Operator-pending mode i Insert mode r Replace mode c Command-line Normal (append) mode ci Command-line Insert mode cr Command-line Replace mode sm showmatch in Insert mode a all modes
- The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width block block cursor, fills the whole character
[only one of the above three should be present]
blinkwait{N} cursor-blinking blinkon{N} blinkoff{N}
blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250". These numbers are used for a missing entry. This means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while executing a command. To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see |xterm-blink|.
- {group-name}
- a highlight group name, that sets the color and font for the cursor
- {group-name}/{group-name}
- Two highlight group names, the first is used when no language mappings are used, the other when they are. |language-mapping|
- Examples of parts:
- n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
- block cursor with colors from the "nCursor" highlight group
- i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
- In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit faster.
The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off blinking: "a:blinkon0"
- Examples of cursor highlighting:
:highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
'guifont' 'gfn'
E235 E596 E610 E611
- 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim. In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas. The first valid font is used. When 'guifontset' is not empty, 'guifont' is not used. Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra backslash before a space and a backslash. See also |option-backslash|. For example:
:set guifont=Screen15,7x13,font\,with\,commas
will make vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead. For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this:
:set guifont=AndaleMono11
That's all. XLFDs are no longer accepted.
E236
Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same width). To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel" program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts. For Win32, GTK and Photon only:
:set guifont=*
will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want. If none of the fonts can be loaded, vim will keep the current setting. If an empty font list is given, vim will try using other resource settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
For the Win32 GUI E244 E245 - takes these options in the font name:
hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point) wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point) b - bold i - italic u - underline s - strikeout cXX - character set XX. valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK, HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS, SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
Use a ':' to separate the options.
A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use backslashes to escape the spaces.
- Examples:
:set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
See also |font-sizes|.
'guifontset' 'gfs'
E250 E252 E234 E597 E598
- 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and with the |+xfontset| feature} {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See |xfontset|. Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the |:highlight| command. The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting 'guifontset' will fail. Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont' the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name, including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative fontset names. This example works on many X11 systems:
:set guifontset=---medium-r-normal--16----c---
'guifontwide' 'gfw' E231 E533 E534
- 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is used. Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
All GUI versions but GTK+ 2:
'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and 'guifontset' is empty or invalid. When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
GTK+ 2 GUI only: guifontwide_gtk2
If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8". Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide' automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice made by Pango/Xft.
'guiheadroom' 'ghr'
- 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
global {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started, e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the screen.
'guioptions' 'go'
- 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
"agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of vim. It is a sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the GUI should be used. To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
Valid letters are as follows:
guioptions_a
- 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the windowing system's global selection. This means that the Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text is automatically yanked into the "* selection register. Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to by a yank or delete operation for the "* register. The same applies to the modeless selection.
- 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
applies to the modeless selection.
- 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless
- "" - - "a" yes yes "A" - yes "aA" yes yes
- 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
- choices.
- 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
- where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the foreground. |gui-fork| Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have happened already when the gvimrc file is read.
- 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
- corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
'm' Menu bar is present. 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the .gvimrc file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
- 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
- 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all. Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
- 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
- GTK+, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
- 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, and
- Athena GUIs.
'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present. 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present. 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present.
And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
- 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
- a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a vertical layout is used anyway.
- 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
- window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done before starting the GUI. Set it in your gvimrc. Adding or removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
'guipty' 'noguipty'
- 'guipty' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
'helpfile' 'hf'
- 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIMEdochelp.txt"
(others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
global {not in Vi}
Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories in 'runtimepath' will be used. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example: "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'helpheight' 'hh'
- 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +windows feature}
Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
'helplang' 'hlg'
- 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or emtpy)
global {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang| feature} {not in Vi}
Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that language and not in the English help. Example:
:set helplang=de,it
This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help files. When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will try to find the tag in the current language before using this option. See |help-translated|.
'hidden' 'hid' 'nohidden' 'nohid'
- 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course. The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!' flag was used. See also |windows.txt|. This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|. WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers. Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
'highlight' 'hl'
- 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
"8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory, e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg, M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question, s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu, f:Folded,F:FoldColumn")
global {not in Vi}
This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to use for that occasion. The occasions are: |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map" |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
characters from 'showbreak'
- |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
- things in listings
- |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
- h (obsolete, ignored)
|hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch') |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt| |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --") |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line| |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc. |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows |hl-Visual| v Visual mode |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and |xterm-clipboard|.
|hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu' |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
- The display modes are:
- r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me") i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR") b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me") s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se") u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue") n no highlighting - no highlighting : use a highlight group
The default is used for occasions that are not included. If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors| for an example. When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion. See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
'hlsearch' 'hls' 'nohlsearch' 'nohls'
- 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+extra_search| feature}
When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches. The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets are not applied. See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|. When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the highlighting comes back. When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not drawn may not continue in an newly drawn line. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'history' 'hi'
- 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
global {not in Vi}
A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|). NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'hkmap' 'hk' 'nohkmap' 'nohk'
- 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set. Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'hkmapp' 'hkp' 'nohkmapp' 'nohkp'
- 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on. This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard. See |rileft.txt|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'icon' 'noicon'
- 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+title| feature}
When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used. Overridden by the 'iconstring' option. Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the builtin termcap). When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on X11.
'iconstring'
- 'iconstring' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+title| feature}
When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on. Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option). Does not work for MS Windows. When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be restored if possible |X11|. When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See 'titlestring' for example settings. {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
'ignorecase' 'ic' 'noignorecase' 'noic'
- 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
global
Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags file. Also see 'smartcase'. Can be overruled by using "c" or "C" in the pattern, see |/ignorecase|.
'ignorefncase' 'ifnc' 'noignorefncase' 'noifnc'
- 'ignorefncase' 'ifnc' boolean (default on for systems where filename case is
usually ignored)
global {not in Vi}
Ignore case when doing file name completion (see |cmdline-completion|). Turning this option off will result in Unix like file name ordering when moving through file names on the command line.
'imactivatekey' 'imak'
- 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with |+xim| and YXXY+GUI_GTK|}
Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'. You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option tells Vim what the key is. Format:
[MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
- These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
- S Shift key L Lock key C Control key 1 Mod1 key 2 Mod2 key 3 Mod3 key 4 Mod4 key 5 Mod5 key
Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are both shift+ctrl+space. See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
- Example:
- :set imactivatekey=S-space
"S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 + canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
'imcmdline' 'imc' 'noimcmdline' 'noimc'
- 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+xim| |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that). Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented characters with dead keys.
'imdisable' 'imd' 'nodisable' 'noimd'
- 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+xim| |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable the IM when it doesn't work properly. Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX machines. This may change in later releases.
'iminsert' 'imi'
- 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in Insert mode. Valid values:
0 :lmap is off and IM is off 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim| or |global-ime|. To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc> this can be used:
:inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert mode. Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode |i_CTRL-^|. The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name. It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f". The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
'imsearch' 'ims'
- 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when entering a search pattern. Valid values:
-1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern 0 :lmap is off and IM is off 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode |c_CTRL-^|. The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap' option to a valid keymap name. The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
'include' 'inc'
- 'include' 'inc' string (default "^#s*include")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+find_in_path| feature}
Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i", "]I", "[d", etc.. The 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that comes after the matched pattern. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
'includeexpr' 'inex'
- 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include' option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java:
:set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\.','/','g')
The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected. Evaluated in the |sandbox|. Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement. Also used for |<cfile>|.
'incsearch' 'is' 'noincsearch' 'nois'
- 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+extra_search| feature}
While typing a search command, show immediately where the so far typed pattern matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated often, this is only useful on fast terminals. Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor is not actually positioned there. You still need to finish the search command with <CR> to move the cursor. The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'. See also: 'hlsearch'. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'indentexpr' 'inde'
- 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cindent| or |+eval| features}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line. It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option. When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and 'smartindent' indenting. When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting. The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also as this line when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around). The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is used for the indent). Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()| and |lispindent()|. The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved. Normally this option would be set to call a function:
:set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains "msg". See |indent-expression|. Also see |eval-sandbox|. NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
'indentkeys' 'indk'
- 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cindent| feature}
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty. The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|. See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
'infercase' 'inf' 'noinfercase' 'noinf'
- 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter, and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
'insertmode' 'im' 'noinsertmode' 'noim'
- 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|. These Insert mode commands will be useful: - Use the cursor keys to move around. - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off. Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
i_CTRL-L
- Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use <Esc> to get back to Insert mode.
These items change when 'insertmode' is set: - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode. - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps. - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode. - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
- CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. i_CTRL-Z
However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set. When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'isfname' 'isf'
- 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
"@,48-57,/,,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:" for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~" for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=" otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
global {not in Vi}
The characters specified by this option are included in file names and path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in the tags file. It is also used for "f" in a |pattern|. Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the characters up to 255 are specified with this option. For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for cmd.exe.
The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does not work for digits). Example:
- "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
- 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the option or the end of a range. Example:
"^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z, plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
- "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
- case letters.
"a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
A comma can be included by using it where a character number is expected. Example:
"48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
- A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
- " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
- comma, plus <Tab>.
See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
'isident' 'isi'
- 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
global {not in Vi}
The characters given by this option are included in identifiers. Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "i" in a |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
'iskeyword' 'isk'
- 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands: "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "k" in a |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>". For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except '*', '"'' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that command). When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'isprint' 'isp'
- 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
"@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
global {not in Vi}
The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the screen. It is also used for "p" in a |pattern|. The characters from space (ascii 32) to '~' (ascii 126) are always displayed directly, even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
- Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
- 32 - 126 always single characters
- 127 "^?"
128 - 159 "~@" - "~_" 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
255 "~?"
When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte. When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are displayed as <xx>. The NonText highlighting will be used for unprintable characters. |hl-NonText|
Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character is printable but it is not available in the current font, a replacement character will be shown. Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>. There is no option to specify these characters.
'joinspaces' 'js' 'nojoinspaces' 'nojs'
- 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command. When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'. Otherwise only one space is inserted. NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
'key'
- 'key' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer. See |encryption|. Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty:
:set key=
It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it, be careful not to make a typing error!
'keymap' 'kmp' E544
- 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+keymap| feature}
Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|. Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective. 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
'keymodel' 'km'
- 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys can do. These values can be used:
- startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
- Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being present in 'selectmode').
stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>, <PageUp> and <PageDown>. The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
'keywordprg' 'kp'
- 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty value did this, which is now deprecated.) When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the "-s" is removed when there is no count. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. Example:
:set keywordprg=man-s
This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'langmap' 'lmap' E357 E358
- 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+langmap| feature}
This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes care of translating these special characters to the original meaning of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to be able to execute Normal mode commands. This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are mapped in Insert mode. This only works for 8-bit characters. The value of 'langmap' may be specified with multi-byte characters (e.g., UTF-8), but only the lower 8 bits of each character will be used.
- Example (for Greek): greek
- :set langmap=ÁA,ÂB,ØC,ÄD,ÅE,ÖF,ÃG,ÇH,ÉI,ÎJ,ÊK,ËL,ÌM,ÍN,ÏO,ÐP,QQ,ÑR,ÓS,ÔT,ÈU,ÙV,WW,×X,ÕY,ÆZ,áa,âb,øc,äd,åe,öf,ãg,çh,éi,îj,êk,ël,ìm,ín,ïo,ðp,qq,ñr,ós,ôt,èu,ùv,òw,÷x,õy,æz
- Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands):
- :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each part can be in one of two forms: 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
- A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to" characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE" Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are ";", ',' and backslash itself.
This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the langmap mappings) in the following cases:
o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings) o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings. Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
'langmenu' 'lm'
- 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and |+multi_lang| features}
Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath':
"lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
(without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no matter what $LANG is set to:
:set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used. If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use the English menus:
:set langmenu=none
This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting this option has no effect. But you could do this:
:source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
'laststatus' 'ls'
- 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi}
The value of this option influences when the last window will have a status line:
0: never 1: only if there are at least two windows 2: always
The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
'lazyredraw' 'lz' 'nolazyredraw' 'nolz'
- 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been typed. To force an update use |:redraw|.
'linebreak' 'lbr' 'nolinebreak' 'nolbr'
- 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak| feature}
If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file, it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines. This option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on. Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed with the right amount of white space.
'lines' E593
- 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
global
Number of lines in the display. Normally you don't need to set this. That is done automatically by the terminal initialization code. When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file. When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
'linespace' 'lsp'
- 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
global {not in Vi} {only in the GUI}
Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other. When non-zero there is room for underlining.
'lisp' 'nolisp'
- 'lisp' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent| feature}
Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p' flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or better. Also see 'lispwords'. The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty. This option is not used when 'paste' is set. {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
'lispwords' 'lw'
- 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent| feature}
Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting. |'lisp'|
'list' 'nolist'
- 'list' boolean (default off)
local to window
List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I, show end of line with $. Useful to see the difference between tabs and spaces and for trailing blanks. Note that this will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth' or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for changing the way tabs are displayed.
'listchars' 'lcs'
- 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
global {not in Vi}
Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string settings.
- eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
- omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the line.
- tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a Tab. The first
- char is used once. The second char is repeated to fill the space that the Tab normally occupies. "tab:>-" will show a Tab that takes four spaces as ">---". When omitted, a Tab is show as ^I.
- trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
- trailing spaces are blank.
- extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
- off and the line continues beyond the right of the screen.
- precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
- is off and there is text preceding the character visible in the first column.
The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable characters are allowed.
- Examples:
- :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:- :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:< :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "tab" and "trail".
'lpl' 'nolpl' 'loadplugins' 'noloadplugins'
- 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|. This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading of plugins. Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
'magic' 'nomagic'
- 'magic' boolean (default on)
global
Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns. See |pattern|. NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when 'magic' is on.
'makeef' 'mef'
- 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|) and the |:grep| command. When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used. When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an existing file. NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'makeprg' 'mp'
- 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|. This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-line. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called "myfilter" do it like this:
:set makeprg=gmake\|myfilter
The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify where the arguments will be included, for example:
:set makeprg=latex\\nonstopmode\\input\{$*}
This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'matchpairs' 'mps'
- 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the other. Currently only single character pairs are allowed, and they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon. The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and '>' (HTML):
:set mps+=<:>
A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an assignment, useful for languages like C and Java:
:au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
'matchtime' 'mat'
- 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
global {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd'
- 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
global {not in Vi}
Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted. See also |:function|.
'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' E223
- 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
global {not in Vi}
Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg", because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also |key-mapping|.
'maxmem' 'mm'
- 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory available)
global {not in Vi}
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause other memory to be freed. Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
'maxmemtot' 'mmt'
- 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory available)
global {not in Vi}
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for all buffers together. Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. Also see 'maxmem'.
'menuitems' 'mis'
- 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+menu| feature}
Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
'modeline' 'ml' 'nomodeline' 'noml'
- 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
local to buffer
'modelines' 'mls'
- 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
global {not in Vi}
If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero no lines are checked. See |modeline|. NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'modifiable' 'ma' 'nomodifiable' 'noma'
- 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
{not in Vi} E21
When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed. Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
'modified' 'mod' 'nomodified' 'nomod'
- 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set when: 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
|undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from when it was written.
- 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be reset.
When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but will be ignored.
'more' 'nomore'
- 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global {not in Vi}
When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the listing continues until finished. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'mouse' E538
- 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
global {not in Vi}
Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, qnx pterm, and Linux console with gpm). For using the mouse in the GUI, see |gui-mouse|. The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
n Normal mode v Visual mode i Insert mode c Command-line mode h all previous modes when editing a help file a all previous modes r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt A auto-select in Visual mode
- Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with:
- :set mouse=a
When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed. Also see the 'clipboard' option.
'mousefocus' 'mousef' 'nomousefocus' 'nomousef'
- 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only works in the GUI}
The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated. When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
'mousehide' 'mh' 'nomousehide' 'nomh'
- 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi} {only works in the GUI}
When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed. The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
'mousemodel' 'mousem'
- 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
global {not in Vi}
Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what the right mouse button is used for:
- extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
- like in an xterm.
- popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
- mouse button extends a selection. This works like with Microsoft Windows
- popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
- position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the selected operation will act upon the clicked object. If clicking inside a selection, that selection will be acted upon, ie. no cursor move. This implies of course, that right clicking outside a selection will end Visual mode.
Overview of what button does what for each model: mouse extend popup(_setpos) left click place cursor place cursor left drag start selection start selection shift-left search word extend selection right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor) right drag extend selection - middle click paste paste
In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu. You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings. See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
'mouseshape' 'mouses' E547
- 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow"
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape| feature}
This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list and an argument-list:
mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
- The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
In a normal window:
n Normal mode v Visual mode ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
if not specified)
o Operator-pending mode i Insert mode r Replace mode
Others:
c appending to the command-line ci inserting in the command-line cr replacing in the command-line m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts ml idem, but cursor in the last line e any mode, pointer below last window s any mode, pointer on a status line sd any mode, while dragging a status line vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line a everywhere
The shape is one of the following: avail name looks like w x arrow Normal mouse pointer w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!) w x beam I-beam w x updown up-down sizing arrows w x leftright left-right sizing arrows w x busy The system's usual busy pointer w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
x udsizing indicates up-down resizing x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing x crosshair like a big thin + x hand1 black hand x hand2 white hand x pencil what you write with x question big ? x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
- w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
- x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32, x for X11. Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse pointer.
- Example:
- :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
'mousetime' 'mouset'
- 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
global {not in Vi}
Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be recognized as a multi click.
'nrformats' 'nf'
- 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands. alpha if included, single alphabetical characters will be
incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a letter index a), b), etc.
- octal if included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
- to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
- hex if included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
- considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not recognized as octal or hex.
'number' 'nu' 'nonumber' 'nonu'
- 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
local to window
Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set). When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-' characters are put before the number. See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
'osfiletype' 'oft' E366
- 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
others default: "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype| feature}
Some operating systems store extra information about files besides name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra information, the nature of which will vary between systems. The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and use to set the file type when file is written. It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands. |autocmd-osfiletypes|
'paragraphs' 'para'
- 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp")
global
Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs of two letters (see |object-motions|).
'paste' 'nopaste'
- 'paste' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid unexpected effects. Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste' being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the mouse clicks itself. When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
- mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
- abbreviations are disabled
- 'textwidth' is set to 0
- 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
- 'autoindent' is reset
- 'smartindent' is reset
- 'softtabstop' is set to 0
- 'revins' is reset
- 'ruler' is reset
- 'showmatch' is reset
- 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
- These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
- 'lisp'
- 'indentexpr'
- 'cindent'
NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to set the 'paste' option again. When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on. Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect. Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
'pastetoggle' 'pt'
- 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste' option. This is like specifying a mapping:
:map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'. The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set. 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in Command-line mode. Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However, when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do this:
:map <F10> :set paste<CR> :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR> :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR> :imap <F11> <nop> :set pastetoggle=<F11>
This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode. Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key sequence.
'pex' 'patchexpr'
- 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+diff| feature}
Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
'patchmode' 'pm' E206
- 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is created. When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made. Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always recognized as a compressed file.
'path' 'pa' E343 E345 E347
- 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,," other systems: ".,,")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find| and other commands, provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not starting with '/'). The directories in the 'path' option may be relative or absolute. - Use commas to separate directory names:
:set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space:
:set path=.,/dir/with\space
To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra backslash:
:set path=.,/dir/with\,comma
- To search relative to the directory of the current file, use:
:set path=.
To search in the current directory use an empty string between two commas:
:set path=,,
A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
- "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree: 1) "*" matches a sequence of characters, e.g.:
- :set path=/usr/include/*
means all subdirectories in /usr/include (but not /usr/include itself).
- :set path=/usr/*c
-
matches /usr/doc and /usr/src.
- "**" matches a subtree, up to 100 directories deep. Example:
- :set path=/home/user_x/src/**
means search in the whole subtree under "/home/usr_x/src".
- If the path ends with a ';', this path is the startpoint for upward search.
See |file-searching| for more info and exact syntax. {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
- Careful with '' characters, type two to get one in the option:
:set path=.,c:\include
- Or just use '/' instead:
:set path=.,c:/include
Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as the file! The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters. You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of 'path', see |:checkpath|. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. To remove the current directory use:
:set path-=
- To add the current directory use:
- :set path+=
To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory names are separated with a semi-colon:
:let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
'preserveindent' 'pi' 'nopreserveindent' 'nopi'
- 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required. NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of tabs and spaces. You might not like this. NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. Also see 'copyindent'. Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
'previewheight' 'pvh'
- 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or |+quickfix| feature}
Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
'previewwindow' 'nopreviewwindow'
'pvw' 'nopvw' E590
- 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or |+quickfix| feature}
Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
'printdevice' 'pdev'
- 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+printer| feature}
This defines the name of the printer to be used when the |:hardcopy| command is issued with a bang (!) to skip the printer selection dialog. On Win32, it should be the printer name exactly as it appears in the standard printer dialog. If the option is empty, then vim will use the system default printer for ":hardcopy!"
'printencoding' 'penc' E620
- 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for:
Windows, OS/2: cp1252, Macintosh: mac-roman, VMS: dec-mcs, HPUX: hp-roman8, EBCDIC: ebcdic-uk)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+printer| and |+postscript| features}
Sets the character encoding used when printing. This option tells VIM which print character encoding file from the "print" directory in 'runtimepath' to use.
This option will accept any value from |encoding-names|. Any recognized names are converted to VIM standard names - see 'encoding' for more details. Names not recognized by VIM will just be converted to lower case and underscores replaced with '-' signs.
If 'printencoding' is empty or VIM cannot find the file then it will use 'encoding' (if VIM is compiled with |+multi_byte| and it is set an 8-bit encoding) to find the print character encoding file. If VIM is unable to find a character encoding file then it will use the "latin1" print character encoding file.
When 'encoding' is set to a multi-byte encoding, VIM will try to convert characters to the printing encoding for printing (if 'printencoding' is empty then the conversion will be to latin1). Conversion to a printing encoding other than latin1 will require VIM to be compiled with the |+iconv| feature. If no conversion is possible then printing will fail. Any characters that cannot be converted will be replaced with upside down question marks.
Four print character encoding files are provided to support default Mac, VMS, HPUX, and EBCDIC character encodings and are used by default on these platforms. Code page 1252 print character encoding is used by default on Windows and OS/2 platforms.
'printexpr' 'pexpr'
- 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+printer| and |+postscript| features}
Expression that is evaluated to print the PostScript produced with ":hardcopy". The file name to be printed is in |v:fname_in|. The arguments to the ":hardcopy" command are in |v:cmdarg|. The expression must take care of deleting the file after printing it. When there is an error, the expression must return a non-zero number. If there is no error, return zero or an empty string. The default for non MS-Windows or VMS systems is to simply use "lpr" to print the file:
system('lpr' . (&printdevice == '' ? '' : ' -P' . &printdevice) . ' ' . v:fname_in) . delete(v:fname_in) + v:shell_error
On MS-Windows machines the default is to copy the file to the currently specified printdevice:
- system('copy' . ' ' . v:fname_in . ' "' . &printdevice . '"')
- . delete(v:fname_in)
On VMS machines the default is to send the file to either the default or currently specified printdevice:
- system('print' . (&printdevice == '' ? '' : ' /queue=' .
- &printdevice) . ' ' . v:fname_in) . delete(v:fname_in)
If you change this option, using a function is an easy way to avoid having to escape all the spaces. Example:
:set printexpr=PrintFile(v:fname_in) :function PrintFile(fname) : call system("ghostview " . a:fname) : call delete(a:fname) : return v:shell_error :endfunc
Be aware that some print programs return control before they have read the file. If you delete the file too soon it will not be printed. These programs usually offer an option to have them remove the file when printing is done.
E365
If evaluating the expression fails or it results in a non-zero number, you get an error message. In that case Vim will delete the file. In the default value for non-MS-Windows a trick is used: Adding "v:shell_error" will result in a non-zero number when the system() call fails. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'printfont' 'pfn' E613
- 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+printer| feature}
This is the name of the font that will be used for the |:hardcopy| command's output. It has the same format as the 'guifont' option, except that only one font may be named, and the special "guifont=*" syntax is not available. In the Win32 GUI version this specifies a font name with its extra attributes, as with the 'guifont' option. For other systems, only ":h11" is recognized, where "11" is the point size of the font. When omitted, the points size is 10.
'printheader' 'pheader'
- 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+printer| feature}
This defines the format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output. The option is defined in the same way as the 'statusline' option. If Vim has not been compiled with the |+statusline| feature, this option has no effect and a simple default header is used, which shows the page number.
'printoptions' 'popt'
- 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
This is a comma-separated list of items that control the format of the output of YXXY:hardcopy|:
left:{spec} left margin (default: 10pc) right:{spec} right margin (default: 5pc) top:{spec} top margin (default: 5pc) bottom:{spec} bottom margin (default: 5pc)
{spec} is a number followed by "in" for inches, "pt" for points (1 point is 1/72 of an inch), "mm" for millimeters or "pc" for a percentage of the media size. Weird example:
left:2in,top:30pt,right:16mm,bottom:3pc
If the unit is not recognized there is no error and the default value is used.
- header:{nr} Number of lines to reserve for the header.
- Only the first line is actually filled, thus when {nr} is 2 there is one empty line. The header is formatted according to 'printheader'.
header:0 Do not print a header. header:2 (default) Use two lines for the header
- syntax:n Do not use syntax highlighting. This is
- faster and thus useful when printing large files.
syntax:y Do syntax highlighting. syntax:a (default) Use syntax highlighting if the printer appears
to be able to print color or grey.
number:y Include line numbers in the printed output. number:n (default) No line numbers.
wrap:y (default) Wrap long lines. wrap:n Truncate long lines.
duplex:off Print on one side. duplex:long (default) Print on both sides (when possible), bind on
long side.
- duplex:short Print on both sides (when possible), bind on
- short side.
collate:y (default) Collating: 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 collate:n No collating: 1 1 1, 2 2 2, 3 3 3
jobsplit:n (default) Do all copies in one print job jobsplit:y Do each copy as a separate print job. Useful
when doing N-up postprocessing.
portrait:y (default) Orientation is portrait. portrait:n Orientation is landscape.
a4 letter
paper:A4 (default) Paper size: A4 paper:{name} Paper size from this table:
{name} size in cm size in inch 10x14 25.4 x 35.57 10 x 14 A3 29.7 x 42 11.69 x 16.54 A4 21 x 29.7 8.27 x 11.69 A5 14.8 x 21 5.83 x 8.27 B4 25 x 35.3 10.12 x 14.33 B5 17.6 x 25 7.17 x 10.12 executive 18.42 x 26.67 7.25 x 10.5 folio 21 x 33 8.27 x 13 ledger 43.13 x 27.96 17 x 11 legal 21.59 x 35.57 8.5 x 14 letter 21.59 x 27.96 8.5 x 11 quarto 21.59 x 27.5 8.5 x 10.83 statement 13.97 x 21.59 5.5 x 8.5 tabloid 27.96 x 43.13 11 x 17
- formfeed:n (default) Treat form feed characters (0x0c) as a normal
- print character.
- formfeed:y When a form feed character is encountered,
- continue printing of the current line at the beginning of the first line on a new page.
The item indicated with (default) is used when the item is not present. The values are not always used, especially when using a dialog to select the printer and options. Example:
:set printoptions=paper:letter,duplex:off
'readonly' 'ro' 'noreadonly' 'noro'
- 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view". {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is set for the newly edited buffer. When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current buffer.
'remap' 'noremap'
- 'remap' boolean (default on)
global
Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
'report'
- 'report' number (default 2)
global
Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0. For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used instead of the number of lines.
'restorescreen' 'rs' 'norestorescreen' 'nors'
- 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also happens when executing external commands.
For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te' options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
set t_ti= t_te=
- To enable restoring (for an xterm):
- set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
(Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
'revins' 'ri' 'norevins' 'nori'
- 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_ command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
'rightleft' 'rl' 'norightleft' 'norl'
- 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., character that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left. Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic. This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' 'norightleftcmd' 'norlc'
- 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
local to window {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature}
Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
search "/" and "?" commands
This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
'ruler' 'ru' 'noruler' 'noru'
- 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_info| feature}
Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed text in the file is shown on the far right:
Top first line is visible Bot last line is visible All first and last line are visible 45% relative position in the file
If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler. Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (ie. not empty), this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat' If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown, separated with a dash. For an empty line "0-1" is shown. For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1". This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set. If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'rulerformat' 'ruf'
- 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option. The format of this option, is like that of 'statusline'. The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end. Example:
:set rulerformat=%15(%c%V%p%%%)
'runtimepath' 'rtp' vimfiles
- 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
- Unix: "$HOME/.vim,
- $VIM/vimfiles, $VIMRUNTIME, $VIM/vimfiles/after, $HOME/.vim/after"
- Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
- $VIM/vimfiles, $VIMRUNTIME, $VIM/vimfiles/after, home:vimfiles/after"
- PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
- $VIM/vimfiles, $VIMRUNTIME, $VIM/vimfiles/after, $HOME/vimfiles/after"
- Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles,
- $VIMRUNTIME, $VIM:vimfiles:after"
- RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
- $VIMRUNTIME, Choices:vimfiles/after"
- VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
- $VIM/vimfiles, $VIMRUNTIME, $VIM/vimfiles/after, sys$login:vimfiles/after"
global {not in Vi}
This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime files:
filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype| scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts| colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme| compiler/ compiler files |:compiler| doc/ documentation |write-local-help| ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin| indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression| keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap| lang/ menu translations |:menutrans| menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim| plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin| print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding| syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile| tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations: 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences. 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
administrator.
In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
after-directory
In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed defaults (rarely needed)
In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid wildcards. See |:runtime|. Example:
:set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime files). You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed runtime files. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'scroll' 'scr'
- 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
local to window
Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference when lines wrap}
'scrollbind' 'scb' 'noscrollbind' 'noscb'
- 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind| feature}
See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'. See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be interpreted. This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
'scrolljump' 'sj'
- 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi}
Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E, CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly. NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
'scrolloff' 'so'
- 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi}
Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor. This will make some context visible around where you are working. If you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or when long lines wrap). For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'. NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'scrollopt' 'sbo'
- 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
global {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind| feature} {not in Vi}
This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how 'scrollbind' windows should behave. The following words are available:
ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first displayed line of the bound windows. When moving around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may reach a position before the start or after the end of the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll to the desired position when possible. When now making that window the current one, two things can be done with the relative offset: 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
adjusted for the scroll position in the new current window. When going back to the other window, the the new relative offset will be used.
- When "jump" is included, the other windows are scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When going back to the other window, it still uses the same relative offset.
Also see |scroll-binding|.
'sections' 'sect'
- 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
global
Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
'secure' 'nosecure' E523
- 'secure' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'selection' 'sel'
- 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
global {not in Vi}
This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used in Visual and Select mode. Possible values:
value past line inclusive old no yes inclusive yes yes exclusive yes no
"past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one character past the line. "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the selection.
The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
'selectmode' 'slm'
- 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started. Possible values:
mouse when using the mouse key when using shifted special keys cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
See |Select-mode|. The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
'sessionoptions' 'ssop'
- 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
help,options,winsize")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +mksession feature}
Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
word save and restore blank empty windows buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows curdir the current directory folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
fold options
- globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
- and contain at least one lowercase letter.
help the help window localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
global values for local options)
- options all options and mappings (also global values for local
- options)
resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns' sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
will become the current directory (useful with projects accessed over a network from different systems)
- slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
- slashes
- unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
- on Windows or DOS
winpos position of the whole Vim window winsize window sizes
Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir". When "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored with absolute paths. "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts, but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
'shell' 'sh' E91
- 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
global
Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash' 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'. It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f". See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose it in quotes. Example:
:set shell="c:programfilesunixsh.exe"-f
Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path separators. For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the libc.inf file of DJGPP. Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com" works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g., filtering). For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is changed to "C:". To avoid this set 'shell' like this:
:set shell=command.com/c4dos
This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shellcmdflag' 'shcf'
- 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
global {not in Vi}
Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g., "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shellpipe' 'sp'
- 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")|||
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix| feature}
String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value of this option). For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly saved in a file and not echoed to the screen. For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included. The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc" and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was explicitly set before. When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg' that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space. Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=". In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will become obsolete (at least for Unix). This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shellquote' 'shq'
- 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
contains "sh" somewhere: """)
global {not in Vi}
Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's probably not useful to set both options. This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell or bash, where it should be """. The default is adjusted according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the user. See |dos-shell|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shellredir' 'srr'
- 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
global {not in Vi}
String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes. The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value of this option). The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh" or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included. For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with ".exe" appended are checked for. The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc" and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was explicitly set before. In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will become obsolete (at least for Unix). This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shellslash' 'ssl' 'noshellslash' 'nossl'
- 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to forward slashes by Vim. Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening any file for best results. This might change in the future. 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path separator. To test if this is so use:
if exists('+shellslash')
'shelltype' 'st'
- 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work which use a shell. 0 and 1: always use the shell 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
'shellxquote' 'sxq'
- 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh" somewhere: """ for Unix, when using system(): """)
global {not in Vi}
Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful to set both options. This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn Shell or bash, where it should be """. The default is adjusted according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the user. See |dos-shell|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'shiftround' 'sr' 'noshiftround' 'nosr'
- 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and < commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible). NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'shiftwidth' 'sw'
- 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
'shortmess' 'shm'
- 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "")
global {not in Vi}
This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages. It is a list of flags:
- flag meaning when present
f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)" i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]" l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters" m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]" n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]" r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]" w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
- x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
- "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
a all of the above abbreviations
- o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
- for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
- O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
- Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
- s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
- hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
- t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
- on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column. Ignored in Ex mode.
- T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
- fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle. Ignored in Ex mode.
W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
is found.
I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!" Useful values:
shm= No abbreviation of message. shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information. shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'shortname' 'sn' 'noshortname' 'nosn'
- 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this option is always on by default.
'showbreak' 'sbr' E595
- 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak| feature}
String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful values are "> " or "+++ ". Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line). The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in 'highlight'. Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently. If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
'showcmd' 'sc' 'noshowcmd' 'nosc'
- 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_info| feature}
Show (partial) command in status line. Set this option off if your terminal is slow. In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown: - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters. - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines. - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters: linesxcolumns. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'showfulltag' 'sft' 'noshowfulltag' 'nosft'
- 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are required (coding style permitting).
'showmatch' 'sm' 'noshowmatch' 'nosm'
- 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
global
When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to show the match can be set with 'matchtime'. A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set. When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs. See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and blinking when showing the match. The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite matches. Note: For the use of the short form parental guidance is advised.
'showmode' 'smd' 'noshowmode' 'nosmd'
- 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line. Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for this message. When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is not set. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'sidescroll' 'ss'
- 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi}
The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen. When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen. When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl" commands.
'sidescrolloff' 'siso'
- 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi}
The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in horizontally (except at the end and beginning of the line). Setting this option to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too close to the beginning or end of the line. NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
- Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
in the following example to never allow the cursor to move onto the "extends" character:
:set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:< :set sidescrolloff=1
'smartcase' 'scs' 'nosmartcase' 'noscs'
- 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N", ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command, recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'smartindent' 'si' 'nosmartindent' 'nosi'
- 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+smartindent| feature}
Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict, see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect. 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative. Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'. An indent is automatically inserted: - After a line ending in '{'. - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'. - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command). When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is given the same indent as the matching '{'. When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H. When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted right. NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste' is set smart indenting is disabled.
'smarttab' 'sta' 'nosmarttab' 'nosta'
- 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' is used in other places. A <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the line. When off a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or right |shift-left-right|. What gets inserted (a Tab or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab' option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of spaces minimized by using <Tab>s. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'softtabstop' 'sts'
- 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However, commands like "x" still work on the actual characters. When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off. 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s. NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'splitbelow' 'sb' 'nosplitbelow' 'nosb'
- 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +windows feature}
When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current one. |:split|
'splitright' 'spr' 'nosplitright' 'nospr'
- 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit feature}
When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the current one. |:vsplit|
'startofline' 'sol' 'nostartofline' 'nosol'
- 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B, CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", , and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>" with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+". In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column where it was the last time the buffer was edited. NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
'statusline' 'stl' E540 E541 E542
- 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line. Also see |status-line|.
The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
%-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
field meaning - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'. minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
Value must be 50 or less.
- maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
- on the left for text items. Numeric items will be shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number where number is the amount of missing digits, much like an exponential notation.
item A one letter code as described below.
Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The second character in "item" is the type:
N for number S for string F for flags as described below - not applicable
item meaning f S Path to the file in the buffer, relative to current directory. F S Full path to the file in the buffer. t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer. m F Modified flag, text is " [+]" or " [-]" if 'modifiable' is off. M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-". r F Readonly flag, text is " [RO]". R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO". h F Help buffer flag, text is " [help]". H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP". w F Preview window flag, text is " [Preview]". W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV". y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., " [vim]". See 'filetype'. Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
{not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
- k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
- being used: "<keymap>"
n N Buffer number. b N Value of byte under cursor. B N As above, in hexadecimal. o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added) {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
O N As above, in hexadecimal. N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.) l N Line number. L N Number of lines in buffer. c N Column number. v N Virtual column number. V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'. p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|. P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
- a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
- Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
{ NF Evaluate expression between '{' and '}' and substitute result. ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
) - End of item group. No width fields allowed. < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
No width fields allowed.
- = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
- No width fields allowed.
- Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the minwid field. eg. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*. The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows. The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
Display of flags are controlled by the following heuristic: If a flag text starts with comma it is assumed that it wants to separate itself from anything but preceding plaintext. If it starts with a space it is assumed that it wants to separate itself from anything but other flags. That is: A leading comma is removed if the preceding character stems from plaintext. A leading space is removed if the preceding character stems from another active flag. This will make a nice display when flags are used like in the examples below.
When all items in a group becomes an empty string (ie. flags that are not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set.
:set statusline=...%([%M%R%H]%)...
Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context. The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the real current buffer. The expression is evaluated in the |sandbox|.
If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by setting an option without changing its value. Example:
:let &ro = &ro
A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes. Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules described above.
Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable ! If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
Examples: Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set
:set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)%P
- Similar, but add ascii value of char under the cursor (like "ga")
- :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b0x%B%l,%c%V%P
- Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red.
- :set statusline=%<%f%=[%1*%M%*%n%R%H]%-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b' :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
- Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded
- :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','[GZ]')}%h...
- In the YXXY:autocmd|'s:
- :let b:gzflag = 1
- And:
- :unlet b:gzflag
- And define this function:
:function VarExists(var, val) : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif :endfunction
'suffixes' 'su'
- 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
global {not in Vi}
Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes). See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default.
'suffixesadd' 'sua'
- 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+file_in_path| feature}
Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example:
:set suffixesadd=.java
'swapfile' 'swf' 'noswapfile' 'noswf'
- 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with confidential information that even root must not be able to access. Careful: All text will be in memory:
- Don't use this for big files.
- Recovery will be impossible!
A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and 'swapfile' is set. When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is non-zero, a swap file is immediately created. Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
'swapsync' 'sws'
- 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
global {not in Vi}
When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems. When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work. On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it, so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
'switchbuf' 'swb'
- 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
global {not in Vi}
This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers. Possible values (comma separated list):
- useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
- contains the specified buffer (if there is one). Otherwise: Do not examine other windows. This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is also used in all buffer related split commands, for example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
- split If included, split the current window before loading
a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window. Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
'syntax' 'syn'
- 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
local to buffer {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+syntax| feature}
When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off". Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the b:current_syntax variable does). This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is not automatically recognized. Example, for in an IDL file:
/* vim: set syntax=idl : */
- To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use:
- :set syntax=OFF
To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the 'filetype' option:
:set syntax=ON
What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument. This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
'tabstop' 'ts'
- 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim: 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
(or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing Tab and BS will behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only works when using Vim to edit the file.
Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only) for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is changed.
'tagbsearch' 'tbs' 'notagbsearch' 'notbs'
- 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted. Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted:
- !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some command/
[The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search. Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only be found in the retry.
If a tag file indicates that is is case-fold sorted, the second, linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version 5.3 or higher the -f or --fold-case-sort switch can be used for this as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this to work.
When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off. When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above must be included in the tags file. This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g., command-line completion and ":help"). {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
'taglength' 'tl'
- 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
global
If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
'tagrelative' 'tr' 'notagrelative' 'notr'
- 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global {not in Vi}
If on and using a tag file in another directory, file names in that tag file are relative to the directory where the tag file is. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'tags' 'tag' E433
- 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
|+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes). When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see |tags-option|. "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature} If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags| The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
'tagstack' 'tgst' 'notagstack' 'notgst'
- 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
global {not in all versions of Vi}
When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry. Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a mapping which should not change the tagstack.
'term' E529 E530 E531
- 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
- on Amiga: "amiga"
- on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
- on Mac: "mac-ansi"
- on MiNT: "vt52"
- on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
on OS/2: "os2ansi" on Unix: "ansi"
- on VMS: "ansi"
- on Win 32: "win32")
global
Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
:set term=$TERM
See |termcap|.
'termbidi' 'tbidi'
'notermbidi' 'notbidi'
- 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+arabic| feature}
The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping that some languages (such as Arabic) require. Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored. Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically. This option is reset when the GUI is started. For further details see |arabic.txt|.
'termencoding' 'tenc'
- 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default "")
global {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature} {not in Vi}
Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the display). In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
E617
Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 GUI. After the GUI has been successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set to "utf-8". Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected, and an error message is shown. When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option. This is the normal value. Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See |encoding-table|. The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters. Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and want to edit a UTF-8 file:
:let &termencoding = &encoding :set encoding=utf-8
You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
'terse' 'noterse'
- 'terse' boolean (default off)
global
When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi shortens a lot of messages}
'textauto' 'ta' 'notextauto' 'nota'
- 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global {not in Vi}
This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'. For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is reset, 'fileformats' is made empty. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'textmode' 'tx' 'notextmode' 'notx'
- 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
others: default off)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'. For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to "unix".
'textwidth' 'tw'
- 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
local to buffer {not in Vi}
Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'thesaurus' 'tsr'
- 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
global or local to buffer |global-local| {not in Vi}
List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes. To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk . To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes. The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default. Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
'tildeop' 'top' 'notildeop' 'notop'
- 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'timeout' 'to' 'notimeout' 'noto'
- 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
global
'ttimeout' 'nottimeout'
- 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
These two options together determine the behavior when part of a mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
- 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action
- off off do not time out on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes off on time out on key codes
If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'. When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for the next character to arrive. After that the already received characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option. On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and reset the 'timeout' option.
NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'timeoutlen' 'tm'
- 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
global {not in all versions of Vi}
'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm'
- 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
global {not in Vi}
The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-CTRL-N and CTRL-CTRL-G when part of a command has been typed. Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to a non-negative number.
- ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay
< 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
>= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options tell so. A useful setting would be
:set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
(time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after a tenth of a second).
'title' 'notitle'
- 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+title| feature}
When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
- Where:
- filename the name of the file being edited - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off + indicates the file was modified = indicates the file is read-only =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified (path) is the path of the file being edited - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
X11
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11" when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also works for the icon name |'icon'|. But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title will not work (except in the GUI). If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'. You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then. When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the title of the window should change back to what it should be after exiting Vim.
'titlelen'
- 'titlelen' number (default 85)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+title| feature}
Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this. Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters available also depends on the font used and other things in the title bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise, values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used. 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
'titleold'
- 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
global {not in Vi} {only available when compiled with the |+title| feature}
This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or 'titlestring' is not empty.
'titlestring'
- 'titlestring' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+title| feature}
When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on. Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a non-empty 't_ts' option). When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will be restored if possible |X11|. When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. Example: :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p") :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70 The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right of the available space. Some people prefer to have the file name first: :set titlestring=%t%(%M%)%((%{expand("%:~:.:h")})%)%(%a%) Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file, without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a separating space only when needed. NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character). {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
'toolbar' 'tb'
- 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
global {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif| and YXXY+GUI_Photon|}
The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The possible values are:
icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons. text Toolbar buttons shown with text. horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the following:
:set tb=icons,text
Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They will show icons if both are requested.
If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example:
:set guioptions-=T
Also see |gui-toolbar|.
'toolbariconsize' 'tbis'
- 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
global {not in Vi} {only in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
- Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
- tiny Use tiny toolbar icons. small Use small toolbar icons (default). medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons. large Use large toolbar icons.
The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24, small=20x20 and tiny=16x16.
If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined by user preferences or the current theme is used.
'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' 'nottybuiltin' 'notbi'
- 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones. When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones. When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for the change to take effect, for example:
:set notbi term=$TERM
See also |termcap|. Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty xterm entries...).
'ttyfast' 'tf' 'nottyfast' 'notf'
- 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in a DOS console)
global {not in Vi}
Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region. Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
'ttymouse' 'ttym'
- 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
global {not in Vi} {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not available when compiled without YXXY+mouse|}
Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized. Currently these three strings are valid:
xterm-mouse
- xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
- "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
- "s" = button state "c" = column plus 33 "r" = row plus 33
- xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to work. See below for how Vim detects this automatically.
netterm-mouse
- netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
"<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers for the row and column.
dec-mouse
- dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
jsbterm-mouse
jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
pterm-mouse
pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm| |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|. Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict). This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm" or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can handle xterm mouse codes. The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be 95 of higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse| feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly. If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set t_RV to an empty string:
:set t_RV=
'ttyscroll' 'tsl'
- 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
global
Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number, e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
'ttytype' 'tty'
- 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
global
Alias for 'term', see above.
'undolevels' 'ul'
- 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
Win32 and OS/2)
global {not in Vi}
Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory). Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes itself:
set ul=0
But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo. Set to a negative number for no undo at all:
set ul=-1
This helps when you run out of memory for a single change. Also see |undo-two-ways|.
'updatecount' 'uc'
- 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
global {not in Vi}
After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly mode this option will be initialized to 10000. The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|. When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount' is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted. Also see |'swapsync'|. This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile" or "nowrite".
'updatetime' 'ut'
- 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
global {not in Vi}
If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the |CursorHold| autocommand event.
'verbose' 'vbs'
- 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean verbose option}
When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing. Currently, these messages are given: >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written. >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed. >= 5 Every searched tags file. >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed. >= 9 Every executed autocommand. >= 12 Every executed function. >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded. >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause. >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|. This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
'viewdir' 'vdir'
- 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
"$VIM/vimfiles/view",
for Unix: "~/.vim/view", for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view" for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view" for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +mksession feature}
Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'viewoptions' 'vop'
- 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +mksession feature}
Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
word save and restore cursor cursor position in file and in window folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
fold options
- options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
- global values for local options)
- slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
- slashes
- unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
- on Windows or DOS
"slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts, but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
'viminfo' 'vi' E526 E527 E528
- 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
Windows and OS/2: '20,"50,h,rA:,rB:, for Amiga: '20,"50,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2: for others: '20,"50,h)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo| feature}
When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular character is left out, then the default value is used for that parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and the effect of their value. CHAR VALUE ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis" and "_K_L_M" are not.
- " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
- registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are saved. Dont forget to put a backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the start of a comment!
- % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
- started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers without a file name and buffers for help files are not written to the viminfo file.
- '' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
- are remembered. This parameter must always be included when 'viminfo' is non-empty. Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
- / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
- saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
- : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
- saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
- @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
- saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
- c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
- 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
- f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
- to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
- h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
- file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch" has been used since the last search command.
- n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
- the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded when opening the file, not when setting the option.
- r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
- ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50 characters.
- Example:
- :set viminfo='50,"1000,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
- '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
- edited.
- "1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
- remembered.
:0 Command-line history will not be saved. n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo". no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
that is, save all of the search history, and also the previous search and substitute patterns.
no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back. no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.
'virtualedit' 've'
- 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+virtualedit| feature}
- A comma separated list of these words:
- block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode. insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode. all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is no actual character. This can be halfway into a Tab or beyond the end of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and editing a table.
'visualbell' 'vb' 'novisualbell' 'novb' beep
- 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted, use ":set vb t_vb=". Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|. In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f", where 40 is the time in msec. Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash. Also see 'errorbells'.
'warn' 'nowarn'
- 'warn' boolean (default on)
global
Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer has been changed.
'weirdinvert' 'wiv' 'noweirdinvert' 'nowiv'
- 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi}
This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' termcap option. It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x. Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
'whichwrap' 'ww'
- 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
global {not in Vi}
Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
- char key mode
- b <BS> Normal and Visual s <Space> Normal and Visual h "h" Normal and Visual l "l" Normal and Visual < <Left> Normal and Visual > <Right> Normal and Visual ~ "~" Normal [ <Left> Insert and Replace ] <Right> Insert and Replace
- For example:
- :set ww=<,>,[,]
allows wrap only when cursor keys are used. When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h" different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the cursor. When 'l' is included, you get a side effect: "yl" on an empty line will include the <EOL>, so that "p" will insert a new line. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'wildchar' 'wc'
- 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
global {not in Vi}
Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'. The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See 'wildcharm' for that. Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key:
:set wc=<Esc>
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'wildcharm' 'wcm'
- 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
global {not in Vi}
'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.:
:set wcm=<C-Z> :cmap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
'wildignore' 'wig'
- 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore| feature}
A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names. The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|. Also see 'suffixes'. Example:
:set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses another default.
'wildmenu' 'wmnu' 'nowildmenu' 'nowmnu'
- 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
global {not in Vi} {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu| feature}
When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion, the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match. When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode. If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls as needed. The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used for selecting a completion. While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special meanings:
<Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N) <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
subdirectory or submenu.
- <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
- dot: move into a submenu.
- <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
- parent directory or parent menu.
This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead of selecting a different match, use this:
:cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left> :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match |hl-WildMenu|.
'wildmode' 'wim'
- 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
global {not in Vi}
Completion mode that is used for the character specified with 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar. The first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar', The second part for the second use, etc. These are the possible values for each part: "" Complete only the first match. "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
the original string is used and then the first match again.
- "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
- result in a longer string, use the next part.
- "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
- enabled.
"list" When more than one match, list all matches. "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
complete first match.
- "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
- complete till longest common string.
When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
- Examples:
- :set wildmode=full
- Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default)
- :set wildmode=longest,full
- Complete longest common string, then each full match
- :set wildmode=list:full
- List all matches and complete each full match
- :set wildmode=list,full
- List all matches without completing, then each full match
- :set wildmode=longest,list
Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
'winaltkeys' 'wak'
- 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
global {not in Vi} {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
- no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
- mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be done with the |:simalt| command.
- yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
- combinations cannot be mapped.
- menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
- shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other keys can be mapped.
If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT key is never used for the menu. In the Win32 version, the <F10> key is handled like this too, since Windows uses it to select a menu.
'winheight' 'wh' E591
- 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +windows feature}
Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of the height of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing. Minimum value is 1. The height is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the height of the current window. 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set the minimal height for other windows.
'winfixheight' 'wfh'
- 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
local to window {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +windows feature}
Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and 'equalalways' is set. Set by default for the |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|. The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
'winminheight' 'wmh'
- 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +windows feature}
The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window. This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller. When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.) Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window. This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
'winminwidth' 'wmw'
- 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit feature}
The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window. This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller. When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.) Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window. This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
'winwidth' 'wiw' E592
- 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
global {not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit feature}
Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing. The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the width of the current window. 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set the minimal width for other windows.
'wrap' 'nowrap'
- 'wrap' boolean (default on)
local to window {not in Vi}
This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that. When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary. To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this:
:set sidescroll=5 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
'wrapmargin' 'wm'
- 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
local to buffer
Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted and inserting continues on the next line. Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible. When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used. See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently and less usefully}
'wrapscan' 'ws' 'nowrapscan' 'nows'
- 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) E384 E385
global
Searches wrap around the end of the file.
'write' 'nowrite'
- 'write' boolean (default on)
global {not in Vi}
Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed. Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires writing a temporary file.
'writeany' 'wa' 'nowriteany' 'nowa'
- 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
global
Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
'writebackup' 'wb' 'nowritebackup' 'nowb'
- 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
otherwise)
global {not in Vi}
Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See |backup-table| for another explanation. When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway. NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is set.
'writedelay' 'wd'
- 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
global {not in Vi}
The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.