[unix-history] / usr.bin / vi / docs / vi.ref.txt

EX/VI REFERENCE MANUAL(1)    BSD Reference Manual    EX/VI REFERENCE MANUAL(1)

N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
     e\bex\bx,\b, v\bvi\bi,\b, v\bvi\bie\bew\bw - text editors

D\bDE\bES\bSC\bCR\bRI\bIP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
     V\bVi\bi is a screen oriented text editor.  E\bEx\bx is a line-oriented text editor.
     E\bEx\bx and v\bvi\bi are different interfaces to the same program, and it is possi-
     ble to switch back and forth during an edit session.  V\bVi\bie\bew\bw is the equiva-
     lent of using the -\b-R\bR (read-only) option of v\bvi\bi.

     This reference manual is the one provided with the n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi versions of
     the e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi text editors.  N\bNe\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi are intended as bug-for-bug compatible
     replacements for the original Fourth Berkeley Software Distribution
     (4BSD) e\bex\bx and v\bvi\bi programs.  This reference manual is accompanied by a
     traditional-style manual page.  That manual page describes the function-
     ality found in e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi in far less detail than the description here.  In
     addition, it describes the system interface to e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi, e.g. command line
     options, environmental variables, and similar things.

     This reference is intended for users already familiar with e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi. Anyone
     else should almost certainly read a good tutorial on the editor first.
     If you're in an unfamiliar environment, and you absolutely have to get
     work done immediately, see the section entitled FAST STARTUP in the manu-
     al page.  It's probably enough to get you going.

     For the rest of this reference, n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi is used only when it's necessary
     to distinguish it from the historic implementations of e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi.

A\bAD\bDD\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL F\bFE\bEA\bAT\bTU\bUR\bRE\bES\bS
     There are a few features in n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi that are not found in historic ver-
     sions of e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi. A list of those features is as follows:

     8-bit clean data, large lines, files
             N\bNv\bvi\bi/\b/n\bne\bex\bx will edit any format file.  Line lengths are limited by
             available memory, and file sizes are limited by available disk
             space.  The command ``^Vx[0-9A-Fa-f]*'', in input mode, will in-
             sert any legal character value into the text.

     Split screens
             The command ``:sp[lit] [file ...]'' splits the screen in vi mode.
             The key ``^W'' switches between the foreground screens, and the
             ``:resize count'' command can be used to grow or shrink a partic-
             ular screen.

     Background and foreground screens
             The command ``:bg'' backgrounds the current screen, and the com-
             mand ``:fg [file]'' foregrounds the backgrounded screen that is
             editing the specified file, or, by default, the first background
             screen on the queue.  The command ``:di[splay] s[creens]'' lists
             the background screens.

     Shell screens
             The command ``:sc[ript] [file ...]'' runs a shell in the screen.
             Editing is unchanged, with the exception that a <carriage-return>
             enters the current line (stripped of any prompt) as input to the
             shell.

     Tag stacks
             Tags are now maintained in a stack.  The command ``^T'' returns
             to the previous tag location.  The command ``:tagpop [number
             file]'' returns to the most recent tag location by default, or,
             optionally to a specific tag number in the tag stack, or the most
             recent tag from the specified file.  Use the command ``:di[splay]
             t[ags]'' to view the tags stack.  The command ``:tagtop'' returns

             to the top of the tag stack.

     New displays
             The command ``:di[splay] b[uffers]  s[creens]  t[ags]'' can be
             used to display, respectively, the current cut buffers, the back-
             grounded screens, and the tags stack.

     Infinite undo
             The changes made during an edit session may be rolled backward
             and forward.  A '.' command immediately after a 'u' command con-
             tinues either forward or backward depending on whether the 'u'
             command was an undo or a redo.

     Usage information
             The command ``:exu[sage] [cmd]'' and ``viu[sage] [key]'' provide
             usage information for all of the ex and vi commands by default,
             or, optionally, for a specific command or key.

     Extended regular expressions
             The ``:set extended'' command treats search and other command
             regular expressions as extended (egrep(1) style) regular expres-
             sions.

     Word search
             The command ``^A'' searches for the word referenced by the cur-
             sor.

     Number increment
             The command ``#'' increments the number referenced by the cursor.

     Previous file
             The command ``:prev[ious][!]'' edits the previous file from the
             argument list.

     Left-Right scrolling
             The command ``:set leftright'' makes n\bnv\bvi\bi do left-right screen
             scrolling, instead of the traditional v\bvi\bi line wrapping.

R\bRE\bEC\bCO\bOV\bVE\bER\bRY\bY
     There is no recovery program for n\bnv\bvi\bi, nor does n\bnv\bvi\bi run setuid.  Users may
     recover any file which they may read, and the superuser may recover any
     edit session.

     Edit sessions are backed by files in _\b/_\bv_\ba_\br_\b/_\bt_\bm_\bp_\b/_\bv_\bi_\b._\br_\be_\bc_\bo_\bv_\be_\br, and are named
     ``vi.XXXX'', where ``XXXX'' is a number related to the process id.  When
     a file is first modified, a second file, which contains an email message
     for the user, is created, and is named ``recover.XXXX'', where, again,
     ``XXXX'' is associated with the process id.  Both files are removed at
     the end of a normal edit session, but will remain if the edit session is
     abnormally terminated or the user enters the ex/vi ``preserve'' command.
     The use of the _\b/_\bv_\ba_\br_\b/_\bt_\bm_\bp directory may be changed setting the r\bre\bec\bcd\bdi\bir\br op-
     tion in the user's or system startup information.

     The recovery directory should have the ``sticky-bit'' set so that only
     the owners of files may remove them.  If this is not possible on the sys-
     tem, then a pseudo-user should own the recovery directory.  The recovery
     directory must be both read and write-able by any user.

     The recovery file has all of the necessary information in it to enable
     the user to recover the edit session.  In addition, it has all of the
     necessary email headers for sendmail.  When the system is rebooted, all
     of the files in _\b/_\bv_\ba_\br_\b/_\bt_\bm_\bp_\b/_\bv_\bi_\b._\br_\be_\bc_\bo_\bv_\be_\br named ``recover.XXXX'' should be sent
     by email, using the -\b-t\bt flag of sendmail (or a similar mechanism in other
     mailers).  A simple way to do this is to insert the following script into

     your _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\br_\bc_\b._\bl_\bo_\bc_\ba_\bl (or other startup) file:
           virecovery=`echo /var/tmp/vi.recover/recover.*`
           if [ "$virecovery" != "/var/tmp/vi.recover/recover.*" ]; then
                   echo 'Recovering vi editor sessions'
                   for i in $virecovery; do
                           sendmail -t < $i
                   done
           fi

     If e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi receives a hangup (SIGHUP) signal, it will email the recovery
     information to the user itself.

     If you don't have the sendmail program on your system, the source file
     _\bn_\bv_\bi_\b/_\br_\be_\bc_\bo_\bv_\be_\br_\b._\bc will have to be modified to use your local mail delivery
     programs.

S\bST\bTA\bAR\bRT\bTU\bUP\bP I\bIN\bNF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
     E\bEx\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi interprets one of two possible environmental variables and reads up
     to three of five possible files during startup.  The variables and files
     are expected to contain e\bex\bx commands, not v\bvi\bi commands.  In addition, they
     are interpreted _\bb_\be_\bf_\bo_\br_\be the file to be edited is read, and therefore many
     e\bex\bx commands may not be used.  Generally, any command that requires output
     to the screen or that needs a file upon which to operate, will cause an
     error if included in a startup file or environmental variable.

     First, the file _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bv_\bi_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc is read.  Second, the environmental variable
     NEXINIT (or the variable EXINIT, if NEXINIT isn't set) is interpreted.
     Third, if neither NEXINIT or EXINIT was set, the file _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc (or
     the file _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc, if _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc doesn't exist) is read.  Fourth,
     the file _\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc (or the file _\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc, if _\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc doesn't exist) is read.

     Startup files will not be read if they are owned by anyone other than the
     real user-id of the user running v\bvi\bi, (or by ``root'' in the case of the
     file _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bv_\bi_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc) or if they are writable by anyone other than the own-
     er.  Home directory startup files (i.e.  _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc and _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc)
     will not be read if the ``HOME'' environmental variable is not set.  Lo-
     cal startup files (i.e.  _\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc and _\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc) will not be read if the e\bex\bxr\brc\bc
     option is turned off in the _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bv_\bi_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc, _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\bn_\be_\bx_\br_\bc, or _\b$_\bH_\bO_\bM_\bE_\b/_\b._\be_\bx_\br_\bc
     files, or in the NEXINIT or EXINIT environmental variables.  It is not an
     error for any of the startup environmental variables or files not to ex-
     ist.

     Because the e\bex\bx command set supported by n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi is a superset of the com-
     mand set supported by most historical implementations of e\bex\bx, n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi can
     use the startup files created for the historical implementations, but the
     converse is often not true.

S\bSI\bIZ\bZI\bIN\bNG\bG T\bTH\bHE\bE S\bSC\bCR\bRE\bEE\bEN\bN
     The size of the screen can be set in a number of ways.  E\bEx\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi takes the
     following steps until values are obtained for both the number of rows and
     number of columns in the screen.

     1.   If the environmental variable LINES exists, it is used to specify
          the number of rows in the screen.
     2.   If the environmental variable COLUMNS exists, it is used to specify
          the number of columns in the screen.
     3.   The TIOCGWINSZ ioctl(2) is attempted on the standard error file de-
          scriptor.
     4.   The termcap entry is checked for the ``li'' entry (rows) and the
          ``co'' entry (columns).
     5.   The number of rows is set to 24, and the number of columns is set to
          80.

     If a window change size signal (SIGWINCH) is received, the same steps are
     taken with the exception that the first two steps are skipped.

R\bRE\bEG\bGU\bUL\bLA\bAR\bR E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS A\bAN\bND\bD R\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLA\bAC\bCE\bEM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT S\bST\bTR\bRI\bIN\bNG\bGS\bS
     Regular expressions are used in line addresses, as the first part of
     s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bte\be, g\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bal\bl, and v\bvg\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bal\bl commands, and in search patterns.

     The regular expressions supported by e\bex\bx and v\bvi\bi are, by default, the Basic
     Regular Expressions (BRE's) described in the IEEE POSIX Standard 1003.2.
     The e\bex\bxt\bte\ben\bnd\bde\bed\bd option causes all regular expressions to be interpreted as
     the Extended Regular Expressions (ERE's) described by the same standard.
     (See re_format(7) for more information.  Generally speaking, BRE's are
     ed(1) and grep(1) style regular expressions, and ERE's are egrep(1) style
     regular expressions.)

     There are some special strings and characters that can be used in RE's:
     1.   An empty RE (e.g.  ``//'') is equivalent to the last RE used.
     2.   The construct ``\<'' matches the beginning of a word.
     3.   The construct ``\>'' matches the end of a word.
     4.   The character ``~'' matches the replacement part of the last
          s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bte\be command.

     When the m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc option is _\bn_\bo_\bt set, the only characters with special mean-
     ings are ``^'' at the beginning of an RE, ``$'' at the end of an RE, and
     the escaping character ``\''. The characters ``.'', ``*'', ``['', and
     ``~'' are treated as ordinary characters unless preceded by a ``\''; when
     preceded by a ``\'' they regain their special meaning.

     Replacement strings are the second part of a s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bte\be command.

     The character ``&'' (or ``\&'' if the m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc option is _\bn_\bo_\bt set) in the re-
     placement string stands for the text matched by the RE that's being re-
     placed.  The character ``~'' (or ``\~'' if the m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc option is _\bn_\bo_\bt set)
     stands for the replacement part of the previous s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bte\be command.

     The string ``\#'', where ``#'' is an integer value from 1 to 9, stands
     for the text matched by the portion of the RE enclosed in the #'th set of
     escaped parentheses, e.g.  ``\('' and ``\)''. For example,
     ``s/abc\(.*\)def/\1/'' deletes the strings ``abc'' and ``def'' from the
     matched pattern.

     The strings ``\l'', ``\u'', ``\L'', and ``\U'' can be used to modify the
     case of elements in the replacement string.  The string ``\l'' causes the
     next character to be converted to lowercase; the string ``\u'' behaves
     similarly, but converts to uppercase.  The strings ``\L'' causes charac-
     ters up to the end of the string or the next occurrence of the strings
     ``\e'' or ``\E'' to be converted to lowercase; the string ``\U'' behaves
     similarly, but converts to uppercase.

     In v\bvi\bi, inserting a <control-M> into the replacement string will cause the
     matched line to be split into two lines at that point.

S\bSE\bET\bT O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS
     There are a large number of options that may be set (or unset) to change
     the editor's behavior.  This section describes the options, their abbre-
     viations and their default values.

     In each entry below, the first part of the tag line is the full name of
     the option, followed by any equivalent abbreviations.  (Regardless of the
     abbreviations, it is only necessary to use the minimum number of charac-
     ters necessary to distinguish an abbreviation from all other commands for
     it to be accepted, in n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi. Historically, only the full name and the
     official abbreviations were accepted by e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi. Using full names in your
     startup files and environmental variables will probably make them more
     portable.)  The part in square brackets is the default value of the op-
     tion.  Most of the options are boolean, i.e. they are either on or off,
     and do not have an associated value.


     Options apply to both e\bex\bx and v\bvi\bi modes, unless otherwise specified.

     For information on modifying the options or to display the options and
     their current values, see the ``set'' command in the Ex Commands section.
     altwerase [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Change how v\bvi\bi does word erase during text input.  When
           this option is set, text is broken up into three classes: alphabet-
           ic, numeric and underscore characters, other non-blank characters,
           and blank characters.  Changing from one class to another marks the
           end of a word.  In addition, the class of the first character
           erased is ignored (which is exactly what you want when erasing
           pathname components).
     autoindent, ai [off]
           If this option is set, whenever you create a new line (using the v\bvi\bi
           A\bA, a\ba, C\bC, c\bc, I\bI, i\bi, O\bO, o\bo, R\bR, r\br, S\bS, and s\bs commands, or the e\bex\bx a\bap\bpp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd,
           c\bch\bha\ban\bng\bge\be, and i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt commands) the new line is automatically indented
           to align the cursor with the first non-blank character of the line
           from which you created it.  Lines are indented using tab characters
           to the extent possible (based on the value of the t\bta\bab\bbs\bst\bto\bop\bp option)
           and then using space characters as necessary.  For commands insert-
           ing text into the middle of a line, any blank characters to the
           right of the cursor are discarded, and the first non-blank charac-
           ter to the right of the cursor is aligned as described above.

           The indent characters are themselves somewhat special.  If you do
           not enter more characters on the new line before moving moving to
           another line, or entering <escape>, the indent character will be
           deleted and the line will be empty.  For example, if you enter
           <carriage-return> twice in succession, the line created by the
           first <carriage-return> will not have any characters in it, regard-
           less of the indentation of the previous or subsequent line.

           Indent characters also require that you enter additional erase
           characters to delete them.  For example, if you have an indented
           line, containing only blanks, the first <word-erase> character you
           enter will erase up to end of the indent characters, and the second
           will erase back to the beginning of the line.  (Historically, only
           the ^\b^D\bD key would erase the indent characters.  Both the ^\b^D\bD key and
           the usual erase keys work in n\bnv\bvi\bi .\b.)\b) In addition, if the cursor is
           positioned at the end of the indent characters, the keys ``0^D''
           will erase all of the indent characters for the current line, re-
           setting the indentation level to 0.  Similarly, the keys ``^^D''
           (i.e. a carat followed by a <control-D>) will erase all of the in-
           dent characters for the current line, leaving the indentation level
           for future created lines unaffected.

           Finally, if a\bau\but\bto\boi\bin\bnd\bde\ben\bnt\bt is set, the S\bS and c\bcc\bc commands change from
           the first non-blank of the line to the end of the line, instead of
           from the beginning of the line to the end of the line.
     autoprint, ap [off]
           E\bEx\bx only.  E\bEx\bx only.  Cause the current line to be automatically dis-
           played after the e\bex\bx commands <\b<, >\b>, c\bco\bop\bpy\by, d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be, j\bjo\boi\bin\bn, m\bmo\bov\bve\be, p\bpu\but\bt,
           t\bt, U\bUn\bnd\bdo\bo, and u\bun\bnd\bdo\bo. This automatic display is suppressed during
           g\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bal\bl and v\bvg\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bal\bl commands, and for any command where optional
           flags are used to explicitly display the line.
     autowrite, aw [off]
           If this option is set, the v\bvi\bi !\b! ^\b^^\b^ ^\b^]\b] and ^\b^Z\bZ commands, and the e\bex\bx
           e\bed\bdi\bit\bt, n\bne\bex\bxt\bt, r\bre\bew\bwi\bin\bnd\bd, s\bst\bto\bop\bp, s\bsu\bus\bsp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd, t\bta\bag\bg, t\bta\bag\bgp\bpo\bop\bp, and t\bta\bag\bgt\bto\bop\bp commands
           automatically write the current file back to the current file name
           if it has been modified since it was last written.  If the write
           fails, the command fails and goes no further.

           Appending the optional force flag ``!'' to the e\bex\bx commands n\bne\bex\bxt\bt,
           r\bre\bew\bwi\bin\bnd\bd, s\bst\bto\bop\bp, s\bsu\bus\bsp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd, t\bta\bag\bg, t\bta\bag\bgp\bpo\bop\bp, and t\bta\bag\bgt\bto\bop\bp stops the automatic
           write from being attempted.


           (Historically, the n\bne\bex\bxt\bt command ignored the optional force flag.)
           Note, the e\bex\bx commands e\bed\bdi\bit\bt, q\bqu\bui\bit\bt, s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl, and x\bxi\bit\bt are _\bn_\bo_\bt affected
           by the a\bau\but\bto\bow\bwr\bri\bit\bte\be option.
     beautify, bf [off]
           If this option is set, all control characters that are not current-
           ly being specially interpreted, other than <tab>, <newline>, and
           <form-feed>, are discarded from commands read in by e\bex\bx from command
           files, and from input text entered to v\bvi\bi (either into the file or
           to the colon command line).  Text files read by e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi are _\bn_\bo_\bt af-
           fected by the b\bbe\bea\bau\but\bti\bif\bfy\by option.
     cdpath [environment variable CDPATH, or ``.'']
           This option is used to specify a colon separated list of directo-
           ries which are used as path prefixes for any relative path names
           used as arguments for the c\bcd\bd command.  The value of this option de-
           faults to the value of the environmental variable CDPATH if it is
           set, otherwise to the current directory.  For compatibility with
           the POSIX 1003.2 shell, the c\bcd\bd command does _\bn_\bo_\bt check the current
           directory as a path prefix for relative path names unless it is ex-
           plicitly specified.  It may be so specified by entering an empty
           string or a ``.'' into the CDPATH variable or the option value.
     columns, co [80]
           The number of columns in the screen.  Setting this option causes
           e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi to set (or reset) the environmental variable COLUMNS. See the
           SCREEN SIZING section for more information.
     comment [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  If the first non-empty line of the file begins with the
           string ``/*'', this option causes v\bvi\bi to skip to the end of that C
           comment (probably a terribly boring legal notice) before displaying
           the file.
     directory, dir [environment variable TMPDIR, or /tmp]
           The directory where temporary files are created.  The environmental
           variable TMPDIR is used as the default value if it exists, other-
           wise _\b/_\bt_\bm_\bp is used.
     edcompatible, ed [off]
           This option causes the presence or absence of g\bg and c\bc suffixes on
           s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bte\be commands to be remembered, and to be toggled by repeat-
           ing the suffices.  The suffix r\br makes the substitution be as in the
           ~\b~ command, instead of like the &\b& command.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     errorbells, eb [off]
           E\bEx\bx only.  Causes e\bex\bx error messages to be preceded by a bell.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     exrc, ex [off]
           If this option is turned off in the system or $HOME startup files,
           the local startup files are never read (unless they are the same as
           the system or $HOME startup files).  Turning it on has no effect,
           i.e. the normal checks for local startup files are performed, re-
           gardless.  See the STARTUP INFORMATION section for more informa-
           tion.
     extended [off]
           This option causes all regular expressions to be treated as POSIX
           1003.2 extended regular expressions (which are similar to historic
           egrep(1) style expressions).
     flash [on]
           This option causes the screen to flash instead of beeping the key-
           board, on error, if the terminal has the capability.
     hardtabs, ht [8]
           This option defines the spacing between hardware tab settings, i.e.
           the tab expansion done by the operating system and/or the terminal
           itself.  As n\bne\bex\bx/\b/n\bnv\bvi\bi never writes tabs to the terminal, unlike his-
           toric versions of e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi, this option does not currently have any
           affect.
     ignorecase, ic [off]
           This option causes regular expressions, both in e\bex\bx commands and in

           searches, to be evaluated in a case-insensitive manner.
     keytime [6]
           The 10th's of a second e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi waits for a subsequent key to complete
           a key mapping.
     leftright [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  This option causes the screen to be scrolled left-right
           to view lines longer than the screen, instead of the traditional v\bvi\bi
           screen interface which folds long lines at the right-hand margin of
           the terminal.
     lines, li [24]
           V\bVi\bi only.  The number of lines in the screen.  Setting this option
           causes e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi to set (or reset) the environmental variable LINES.
           See the Screen Sizing section for more information.
     lisp [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  This option changes the behavior of the v\bvi\bi (\b(, )\b), {\b{, }\b}, [\b[[\b[
           and ]\b]]\b] commands to match the Lisp language.  Also, the a\bau\but\bto\boi\bin\bnd\bde\ben\bnt\bt
           option's behavior is changed to be appropriate for Lisp.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     list [off]
           This option causes lines to be displayed in an unambiguous fashion.
           Specifically, tabs are displayed as control characters, i.e.
           ``^I'', and the ends of lines are marked with a ``$'' character.
     magic [on]
           This option is on by default.  Turning the m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc option off causes
           all regular expression characters except for ``^'' and ``$'', to be
           treated as ordinary characters.  To re-enable characters individu-
           ally, when the m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc option is off, precede them with an ``\''. See
           the REGULAR EXPRESSIONS AND REPLACEMENT STRINGS section for more
           information.
     matchtime [7]
           V\bVi\bi only.  The 10th's of a second e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi pauses on the matching char-
           acter when the s\bsh\bho\bow\bwm\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh option is set.
     mesg [on]
           This option allows other users to contact you using the talk(1) and
           write(1) utilities, while you are editing.  E\bEx\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi does not turn
           message on, i.e. if messages were turned off when the editor was
           invoked, they will stay turned off.  This option only permits you
           to disallow messages for the edit session.  See the mesg(1) utility
           for more information.
     modelines, modeline [off]
           If the m\bmo\bod\bde\bel\bli\bin\bne\bes\bs option is set, e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi has historically scanned the
           first and last five lines of each file as it is read for editing,
           looking for any e\bex\bx commands that have been placed in those lines.
           After the startup information has been processed, and before the
           user starts editing the file, any commands embedded in the file are
           executed.  Commands are recognized by the letters ``e'' or ``v''
           followed by ``x'' or ``i'', at the beginning of a line or following
           a tab or space character, and followed by a ``:'', an e\bex\bx command,
           and another ``:''. This option is a security problem of immense
           proportions, and should not be used under any circumstances.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bw_\bi_\bl_\bl _\bn_\be_\bv_\be_\br _\bb_\be _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     number, nu [off]
           Precede each line displayed with its current line number.
     open [on]
           E\bEx\bx only.  If this option is not set, the o\bop\bpe\ben\bn and v\bvi\bis\bsu\bua\bal\bl commands
           are disallowed.
     optimize, opt [on]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Throughput of text is expedited by setting the terminal
           to no do automatic carriage returns when printing more than one
           (logical) line of output, greatly speeding output on terminals
           without addressable cursors when text with leading white space is
           printed.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     paragraphs, para [IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Define additional paragraph boundaries for the {\b{ and }\b}
           commands.  The value of this option must be a character string con-
           sisting of zero or more character pairs.

           In the text to be edited, the character string <newline>.<char-
           pair>, (where <char-pair> is one of the character pairs in the op-
           tion's value) defines a paragraph boundary.  For example, if the
           option were set to ``LaA ##'', then all of the following additional
           paragraph boundaries would be recognized:
                 <newline>.La
                 <newline>.A<space>
                 <newline>.##
     prompt [on]
           E\bEx\bx only.  This option causes e\bex\bx to prompt for command input with a
           ``:'' character; when it's not set, no prompt is displayed.
     readonly, ro [off]
           This option causes a force flag to be required to attempt to write
           the file back to the original file name.  Setting this option is
           equivalent to using the -\b-R\bR command line option, or editing a file
           which lacks write permission.
     recdir [/var/tmp/vi.recover]
           The directory where recovery files are stored.
     redraw, re [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  The editor simulates (using great amounts of output), an
           intelligent terminal on a dumb terminal (e.g. during insertions in
           visual mode the characters to the right of the cursor are refreshed
           as each input character is typed).
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     remap [on]
           If this option is set, it's possible to define macros in terms of
           other macros.  Otherwise, each key is only remapped up to one time.
           For example, if ``A'' is mapped to ``B'', and ``B'' is mapped to
           ``C'', The keystroke ``A'' will be mapped to ``C'' if r\bre\bem\bma\bap\bp is set,
           and to ``B'' if it is not set.
     remapmax [on]
           If this option is set, a key may only be remapped 50 times.  If it
           is not set, a key may be remapped an infinite number of times, and
           the editor can be placed into infinite loops.
     report [5]
           Set the threshold of the number of lines that need to be changed
           before a message will be displayed to the user.  The value is the
           largest value about which the editor is silent, i.e. by default, 6
           lines must change before the user is notified.
     ruler [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Display a row/column ruler on the colon command line.
     scroll, scr [window / 2]
           Set the number of lines scrolled by the v\bvi\bi commands ^\b^D\bD and ^\b^U\bU.

           Historically, the e\bex\bx z\bz command, when specified without a count,
           used two times the size of the scroll value; the POSIX 1003.2 stan-
           dard specified the window size, which is a better choice.
     sections, sect [NHSHH HUnhsh]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Define additional section boundaries for the [\b[[\b[ and ]\b]]\b]
           commands.  The s\bse\bec\bct\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs option should be set to a character string
           consisting of zero or more character pairs.  In the text to be
           edited, the character string <newline>.<char-pair>, (where <char-
           pair> is one of the character pairs in the option's value), defines
           a section boundary in the same manner that p\bpa\bar\bra\bag\bgr\bra\bap\bph\bh option bound-
           aries are defined.
     shell, sh [environment variable SHELL, or /bin/sh]
           Select the shell used by the editor.  The specified path is the
           pathname of the shell invoked by the v\bvi\bi !\b! shell escape command and
           by the e\bex\bx s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl command.  This program is also used to resolve any
           shell meta-characters in e\bex\bx commands.
     shiftwidth, sw [8]
           Set the autoindent and shift command indentation width.  This width
           is used by the a\bau\but\bto\boi\bin\bnd\bde\ben\bnt\bt option and by the <\b<, >\b>, and s\bsh\bhi\bif\bft\bt com-

           mands.
     showdirty [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Display an asterisk on the colon command line if the file
           has been modified.
     showmatch, sm [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  This option causes v\bvi\bi, when a ``}'' or ``)'' is entered,
           to briefly move the cursor the matching ``{'' or ``(''. See the
           m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bht\bti\bim\bme\be option for more information.
     showmode [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  This option causes v\bvi\bi to display the strings ``Command''
           or ``Input'' on the colon command line, based on the current mode
           of the editor.
     sidescroll [16]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Sets the number of columns that are shifted to the left
           or right, when v\bvi\bi is doing left-right scrolling and the left or
           right margin is crossed.  See the l\ble\bef\bft\btr\bri\big\bgh\bht\bt option for more infor-
           mation.
     slowopen, slow [off]
           This option affects the display algorithm used by v\bvi\bi, holding off
           display updating during input of new text to improve throughput
           when the terminal in use is slow and unintelligent.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bi_\bs _\bn_\bo_\bt _\by_\be_\bt _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     sourceany [off]
           If this option is turned on, v\bvi\bi historically read startup files
           that were owned by someone other than the editor user.  See the
           STARTUP INFORMATION section for more information.  This option is a
           security problem of immense proportions, and should not be used un-
           der any circumstances.
           _\bT_\bh_\bi_\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bw_\bi_\bl_\bl _\bn_\be_\bv_\be_\br _\bb_\be _\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\be_\bd_\b.
     tabstop, ts [8]
           This option sets tab widths for the editor display.
     taglength, tl [0]
           This option sets the maximum number of characters that are consid-
           ered significant in a tag name.  Setting the value to 0 makes all
           of the characters in the tag name significant.
     tags, tag [tags /var/db/libc.tags /sys/kern/tags]
           Sets the list of tags files, in search order, which are used when
           the editor searches for a tag.
     term, ttytype, tty [environment variable TERM]
           Set the terminal type.  Setting this option causes e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi to set (or
           reset) the environmental variable TERM.
     terse [off]
           This option has historically made editor messages less verbose.  It
           has no effect in this implementation.  See the v\bve\ber\brb\bbo\bos\bse\be option for
           more information.
     timeout, to [on]
           If this option is set, e\bex\bx/\b/v\bvi\bi waits for a specific period for a sub-
           sequent key to complete a key mapping (see the k\bke\bey\byt\bti\bim\bme\be option).  If
           the option is not set, the editor waits until enough keys are en-
           tered to resolve the ambiguity, regardless of how long it takes.
     ttywerase [off]
           V\bVi\bi only.  This option changes how v\bvi\bi does word erase during text
           input.  If this option is set, text is broken up into two classes,
           blank characters and non-blank characters.  Changing from one class
           to another marks the end of a word.
     verbose [off]
           only.  V\bVi\bi historically bells the terminal for many obvious mis-
           takes, e.g. trying to move past the left-hand margin, or past the
           end of the file.  If this option is set, an error message is dis-
           played for all errors.
     w300 [no default]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Set the window size if the baud rate is less than 1200
           baud.  See the w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw option for more information.
     w1200 [no default]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Set the window size if the baud rate is equal to 1200

           baud.  See the w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw option for more information.
     w9600 [no default]
           V\bVi\bi only.  Set the window size if the baud rate is greater than 1200
           baud.  See the w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw option for more information.
     warn [on]
           E\bEx\bx only.  This option causes a warning message to the terminal if
           the file has been modified, since it was last written, before a !\b!
           command.
     window, w, wi [environment variable LINES]
           This option determines the default number of lines in a screenful,
           as written by the z\bz command.  It also determines the number of
           lines scrolled by the v\bvi\bi commands ^\b^F\bF and ^\b^B\bB. The value of window
           can be unrelated to the real screen size, although it starts out as
           the number of lines on the screen (see the SCREEN SIZING section).
           Setting the value of the w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw option is the same as using the -\b-w\bw
           command line option.

           If the value of w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw (as set by the w\bwi\bin\bnd\bdo\bow\bw, w\bw3\b30\b00\b0, w\bw1\b12\b20\b00\b0 or w\bw9\b96\b60\b00\b0
           options) is smaller than the actual size of the screen, large
           screen movements will result in displaying only that smaller number
           of lines on the screen.  (Further movements in that same area will
           result in the screen being filled.)  This can provide a performance
           improvement when viewing different places in one or more files over
           a slow link.
     wrapmargin, wm [0]
           V\bVi\bi only.  If the value of wrapmargin is non-zero, v\bvi\bi will break
           lines, that are more than that number of characters long, into two
           lines at the blank character closest to the value.  If wrapmargin
           is 0, or if there is no blank character upon which to break the
           line, the line will not be broken.
     wrapscan, ws [on]
           This option causes searches to wrap around the end or the beginning
           of the file, and back to the starting point.  Otherwise, the end or
           beginning of the file terminates the search.
     writeany, wa [off]
           If this option is set, file-overwriting checks that would usually
           be made before the w\bwr\bri\bit\bte\be and x\bxi\bit\bt commands, or before an automatic
           write (see the a\bau\but\bto\bow\bwr\bri\bit\bte\be option), are not made.  This allows a
           write to any file, provided the file permissions allow it.

4.4BSD                          March 18, 1994                              10