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Name

vi, view, vedit - screen-oriented (visual) display editor based on ex

Synopsis

/usr/bin/vi [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

/usr/bin/view [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

/usr/bin/vedit [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

/usr/xpg4/bin/vi [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

/usr/xpg4/bin/view [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

/usr/xpg4/bin/vedit [ - | -s ] [-l] [-L] [-R] [ -r [ filename]] [ -t tag ] [-v] [-V] [-x] [ -wn ] [-C] [ +command | -c command ] filename...

Availability

/usr/bin/vi

/usr/bin/view

/usr/bin/vedit

SUNWcsu

/usr/xpg4/bin/vi

/usr/xpg4/bin/view

/usr/xpg4/bin/vedit

SUNWxcu4

Description

vi (visual) is a display-oriented text editor based on an underlying line editor ex. It is possible to use the command mode of ex from within vi and to use the command mode of vi from within ex. The visual commands are described on this manual page; how to set options (like automatically numbering lines and automatically starting a new output line when you type carriage return) and all ex line editor commands are described on the ex(1) manual page.

When using vi, changes you make to the file are reflected in what you see on your terminal screen. The position of the cursor on the screen indicates the position within the file.

The view invocation is the same as vi except that the readonly flag is set.

The vedit invocation is intended for beginners. It is the same as vi except that the report flag is set to 1, the showmode and novice flags are set, and magic is turned off. These defaults make it easier to learn how to use vi.

Options

Invocation Options

The following invocation options are interpreted by vi (previously documented options are discussed in the NOTES section of this manual page):
- | -s
Suppress all interactive user feedback. This is useful when processing editor scripts.
-l
Set up for editing LISP programs.
-L
List the name of all files saved as the result of an editor or system crash.
-R
Readonly mode; the readonly flag is set, preventing accidental overwriting of the file.
-r filename
Edit filename after an editor or system crash. (Recovers the version of filename that was in the buffer when the crash occurred.)
-t tag
Edit the file containing the tag and position the editor at its definition.
-v
Start up in display editing state using vi. You can achieve the same effect by simply typing the -vi command itself.
-V
Verbose. Any non-tty input will be echoed on standard error. This may be useful when processing editor commands within shell scripts.
-x
Encryption option; when used, vi simulates the X command of ex and prompts the user for a key. This key is used to encrypt and decrypt text using the algorithm of the crypt command. The X command makes an educated guess to determine whether text read in is encrypted or not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted also, using a transformed version of the key typed in for the -x option.
-wn
Set the default window size to n. This is useful when using the editor over a slow speed line.
-C
Encryption option; same as the -x option, except that vi simulates the C command of ex. The C command is like the X command of ex, except that all text read in is assumed to have been encrypted.
+command | -c command
Begin editing by executing the specified editor command (usually a search or positioning command).

/usr/xpg4/bin/vi

If both the -t tag and the -c command options are given, the -t tag will be processed first. That is, the file containing the tag is selected by -t and then the command is executed.

Operands

The following operands are supported:
filename
A file to be edited.

Command Summary

vi Modes

Command
Normal and initial mode. Other modes return to command mode upon completion. ESC (escape) is used to cancel a partial command.
Input
Entered by setting any of the following options: a A i I o O c C s S R. Arbitrary text may then be entered. Input mode is normally terminated with ESC character, or, abnormally, with an interrupt.
Last line
Reading input for : / ? or !; terminate by typing a carriage return; an interrupt cancels termination.

Sample commands

In the descriptions, CR stands for carriage return and ESC stands for the escape key.

<- da ^ ->    arrow keys move the cursor
h j k l    same as arrow keys
itextESC    insert text
cwnewESC    change word to new
easESC    pluralize word (end of word; append s;
   escape from input state)
x    delete a character
dw    delete a word
dd    delete a line
3dd    delete 3 lines
u    undo previous change
ZZ    exit vi, saving changes
:q!CR    quit, discarding changes
/textCR    search for text
^U ^D    scroll up or down
:cmdCR    any ex or ed command

Counts before vi commands

Numbers may be typed as a prefix to some commands. They are interpreted in one of these ways.
line/column number    z G |
scroll amount    ^D ^U
repeat effect    most of the rest

Interrupting, canceling

ESC    end insert or incomplete cmd
DEL    (delete or rubout) interrupts

File manipulation

ZZ    if file modified, write and exit; otherwise, exit
:wCR    write back changes
:w!CR    forced write, if permission originally not valid
:qCR    quit
:q!CR    quit, discard changes
:e nameCR    edit file name
:e!CR    reedit, discard changes
:e + nameCR    edit, starting at end
:e +nCR    edit starting at line n
:e #CR    edit alternate file
:e! #CR    edit alternate file, discard changes
:w nameCR    write file name
:w! nameCR    overwrite file name
:shCR    run shell, then return
:!cmdCR    run cmd, then return
:nCR    edit next file in arglist
:n argsCR    specify new arglist
^G    show current file and line
:ta tagCR    position cursor to tag

In general, any ex or ed command (such as substitute or global) may be typed, preceded by a colon and followed by a carriage return.

Positioning within file

^F    forward screen
^B    backward screen
^D    scroll down half screen
^U    scroll up half screen
nG    go to the beginning of the specified line (end default),
   where n is a line number
/pat    next line matching pat
?pat    previous line matching pat
n    repeat last / or ? command
N    reverse last / or ? command
/pat/+n    nth line after pat
?pat?-n    nth line before pat
]]    next section/function
[[    previous section/function
(    beginning of sentence
)    end of sentence
{    beginning of paragraph
}    end of paragraph
%    find matching ( ) { or }

Adjusting the screen

^L    clear and redraw window
^R    clear and redraw window if ^L is -> key
zCR    redraw screen with current line at top of window
z-CR    redraw screen with current line at bottom of window
z.CR    redraw screen with current line at center of window
/pat/z-CR    move pat line to bottom of window
zn.CR    use n-line window
^E    scroll window down 1 line
^Y    scroll window up 1 line

Marking and returning

gaga    move cursor to previous context
´´    move cursor to first non-white space in line
mx    mark current position with the ASCII lower-case letter x
gax    move cursor to mark x
´x    move cursor to first non-white space in line marked by x

Line positioning

H    top line on screen
L    last line on screen
M    middle line on screen
+    next line, at first non-white
-    previous line, at first non-white
CR    return, same as +
da or j    next line, same column
^ or k    previous line, same column

Character positioning

^    first non white-space character
0    beginning of line
$    end of line
l or ->    forward
h or <-    backward
^H    same as <- (backspace)
space    same as -> (space bar)
fx    find next x
Fx    find previous x
tx    move to character prior to next x
Tx    move to character following previous x
;    repeat last f, F, t, or T
,    repeat inverse of last f, F, t, or T
n|    move to column n
%    find matching ( { ) or }

Words, sentences, paragraphs

w    forward a word
b    back a word
e    end of word
)    to next sentence
}    to next paragraph
(    back a sentence
{    back a paragraph
W    forward a blank-delimited word
B    back a blank-delimited word
E    end of a blank-delimited word

Corrections during insert

^H    erase last character (backspace)
^W    erase last word
erase    your erase character, same as ^H (backspace)
kill    your kill character, erase this line of input
\    quotes your erase and kill characters
ESC    ends insertion, back to command mode
CTRL-C    interrupt, suspends insert mode
^D    backtab one character; reset left margin of autoindent
^^D    caret (^) followed by control-d (^D);
   backtab to beginning of line;
   do not reset left margin of autoindent
0^D    backtab to beginning of line; reset left margin of autoindent
^V    quote non-printable character

Insert and replace

a    append after cursor
A    append at end of line
i    insert before cursor
I    insert before first non-blank
o    open line below
O    open above
rx    replace single char with x
RtextESC    replace characters

Operators

Operators are followed by a cursor motion, and affect all text that would have been moved over. For example, since w moves over a word, dw deletes the word that would be moved over. Double the operator, for example, dd to affect whole lines.
d    delete
c    change
y    yank lines to buffer
<    left shift
>    right shift
!    filter through command

Miscellaneous Operations

C    change rest of line (c$)
D    delete rest of line (d$)
s    substitute chars (cl)
S    substitute lines (cc)
J    join lines
x    delete characters (dl)
X    delete characters before cursor (dh)
Y    yank lines (yy)

Yank and Put

Put inserts the text most recently deleted or yanked; however, if a buffer is named (using the ASCII lower-case letters a - z), the text in that buffer is put instead.
3yy    yank 3 lines
3yl    yank 3 characters
p    put back text after cursor
P    put back text before cursor
"xp    put from buffer x
"xy    yank to buffer x
"xd    delete into buffer x

Undo, Redo, Retrieve

u    undo last change
U    restore current line
.    repeat last change
"dp    retrieve d’th last delete

Author

vi and ex were developed by The University of California, Berkeley California, Computer Science Division, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Environment

If any of the LC_* variables ( LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, LC_TIME, LC_COLLATE, LC_NUMERIC, and LC_MONETARY ) (see environ(5) ) are not set in the environment, the operational behavior of vi for each corresponding locale category is determined by the value of the LANG environment variable. If LC_ALL is set, its contents are used to override both the LANG and the other LC_* variables. If none of the above variables is set in the environment, the "C" (U.S. style) locale determines how vi behaves.

LC_CTYPE
Determines how vi handles characters. When LC_CTYPE is set to a valid value, vi can display and handle text and filenames containing valid characters for that locale. vi can display and handle Extended Unix code (EUC) characters where any individual character can be 1, 2, or 3 bytes wide. vi can also handle EUC characters of 1, 2, or more column widths. In the "C" locale, only characters from ISO 8859-1 are valid.
LC_TIME
Determines how vi handles date and time formats. In the "C" locale, date and time handling follows the U.S. rules.

Files

/var/tmp
default directory where temporary work files are placed; it can be changed using the directory option (see the ex(1) set command)
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
compiled terminal description database
/usr/lib/.COREterm/?/*
subset of compiled terminal description database

See Also

intro(1) , ed(1) , edit(1) , ex(1) , environ(5)

Notes

Two options, although they continue to be supported, have been replaced in the documentation by options that follow the Command Syntax Standard (see intro(1) ). A -r option that is not followed with an option-argument has been replaced by -L and +command has been replaced by -c command.

The message file too large to recover with -r option , which is seen when a file is loaded, indicates that the file can be edited and saved successfully, but if the editing session is lost, recovery of the file with the -r option will not be possible.

The editing environment defaults to certain configuration options. When an editing session is initiated, vi attempts to read the EXINIT environment variable. If it exists, the editor uses the values defined in EXINIT , otherwise the values set in $HOME /.exrc are used. If $HOME /.exrc does not exist, the default values are used.

To use a copy of .exrc located in the current directory other than $HOME , set the exrc option in EXINIT or $HOME /.exrc. Options set in EXINIT can be turned off in a local .exrc only if exrc is set in EXINIT or $HOME /.exrc.

Tampering with entries in /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* or /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* (for example, changing or removing an entry) can affect programs such as vi that expect the entry to be present and correct. In particular, removing the "dumb" terminal may cause unexpected problems.

Software tabs using ^T work only immediately after the autoindent.

Left and right shifts on intelligent terminals do not make use of insert and delete character operations in the terminal.

The standard Solaris version of vi will be replaced by the POSIX.2 conformant version in the future. Scripts which use the ex family of addressing and features should use the /usr/xpg4/bin version of these utilities.


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