/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...
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.
<- 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 |
line/column number z G | |
scroll amount ^D ^U |
repeat effect most of the rest |
ESC end insert or incomplete cmd |
DEL (delete or rubout) interrupts |
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.
^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 } |
^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 |
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 |
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 |
^ 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 } |
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 |
^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 |
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 |
d delete |
c change |
y yank lines to buffer |
< left shift |
> right shift |
! filter through command |
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) |
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 |
u undo last change |
U restore current line |
. repeat last change |
"dp retrieve d’th last delete |
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.
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.