vi editor FAQ (Frequently Asked Question List), Part 2/2

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From: ellidz@pobox.com (E. Larry Lidz) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions, comp.editors Subject: vi editor FAQ (Frequently Asked Question List), Part 2/2 Date: 19 Apr 2004 04:02:07 GMT Message-ID: <c5vivv$adt$1@cclinfo.perm.su> Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) about the vi editor. X-Last-Modified: 2004-04-09 Archive-name: editor-faq/vi/part2 Posting-Frequency: 2nd and 17th of every month Last-modified: 2004-04-09 Version: 1.89 5.0 - What's online at the vi archives? There is a FAQ posted frequently which gives a list of all the files that are online at the vi archive. It also gives a list of addresses which mirror the vi archive. The main address is ftp://alf.uib.no/pub/, but it is archived at many, many sites. The vi-archive faq lists all of them. Please check that faq before ftping to it, as there is almost definitely a closer and therefore faster site to you than the one in Norway. A few mirrors are: ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/ ftp://ftp.uu.net/pub/text-processing/vi. ftp://ftp.cc.monash.edu.au/pub/vi ftp://ftp.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/misc/vi-archive The site has many, many files on vi, including a few clones. It also has the UCB distribution of vi, and lots of useful macros. Check it out. 6.0 - Silly vi tricks, and silly macros This section is for silly vi tricks, and silly macros. Actually, any interesting vi tricks and macros are acceptable, as long as they are not too lengthy. I will add any that are suggested to me that I think are reasonable. 6.1 - Silly vi tricks Note: Also check out the Silly macros down below. Many macros and tricks are interchangeable. xp This will delete the character under the cursor, and put it afterwards. In other words, it swaps the location of two characters. ddp yyp uu Similar to xp, but swapping lines. duplicate a line Undo and redo last change. (This will take you to the last

modification to the file without changing anything.) You can also use this to compare the changes to a line. Make the changes to the line, press U to undo the changes to the current line, and then press u to toggle between the two versions. :g/.*/m0 This will reverse the order of the lines in the current file. m0 is the ex command to move the line to line 0. :v/./d or :g/^$/d Removes all blank lines. :g/^[ <ctrl-v><tab>]*$/d Removes all lines that only have whitespace. :v/./$s/$/<ctrl-v><enter>./|'';/./-1j|$d Replaces multiple blank lines with just one blank line. 6.2 - Silly macros Note: <ctrl-x> means hold down control, and hit x. Swap character and one vertically above: map * kxjphxkP Fold a line that's too long map g $80<ctrl-v><ctrl-v>|F r<ctrl-v><enter> Change case on most words map v ywmno<ctrl-v><esc>P:s/./\~/g<ctrl-v><enter>0"nDdd`n@n Put `and' around the current word map *` i`<ctrl-v><esc>ea'<ctrl-v><esc> Put 'and' around the current word map *' i'<ctrl-v><esc>ea'<ctrl-v><esc> Put "and" around the current word map *" i"<ctrl-v><esc>ea"<ctrl-v><esc> Put `and' around the current word map! `` <ctrl-v><esc>bi`<ctrl-v><esc>ea' Split a line at the cursor, and put a > at the beginning of the next line. (For quoting Usenet, etc). I had some trouble with my old version of this under some versions, so I've redone it, and I think that it should work. map g may0O<ctrl-v><esc>P`ao<ctrl-v><esc>P:s/./ /g<ctrlv><enter>0i><ctrl-v><esc>$mb`ay$`bP'add Insert one character map g i$<ctrl-v><esc>r Format a paragraph without the fmt program. times, then this a few times) map K 072lBhr<ctrl-v><enter> (To use, use J a few

Or, a little less elegantly, but without the need to use J and K multiple times. map K {wma}b:'a,.j<ctrlv><enter>:s/\(.........................................................\)/\ 1<ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><enter>/g<ctrl-v><enter> Make ctrl-x work as cut, ctrl-v as paste, ctrl-p as copy. You should

mark the beginning of the area as m (use mm). (ctrl-c cannot be remapped when it is defined as the interrupt character in Unix.) map <ctrl-v><ctrl-x> "zd`m map <ctrl-v><ctrl-p> "zy`m map <ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v> "zP`m Save a read-only file. Careful, it changes the permissions. When done, it changes them to read/write owner, read for everyone else. Note that this might not be the same as the original permissions. map K :!chmod 666 %<ctrl-v><enter>:w!<ctrl-v><enter><ctrl-v><enter> :!chmod 644 %<ctrl-v><enter> vi status line (sort of...) [Note: It's slow...] map <ctrl-v><up-arrow> k<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map <ctrl-v><down-arrow> j<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map k k<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map j j<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map <ctrl-v><ctrl-f> <ctrl-v><ctrl-f><ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map <ctrl-v><ctrl-b> <ctrl-v><ctrl-b><ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map H H<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map M M<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map L L<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map G G<ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map <ctrl-v><ctrl-u> <ctrl-v><ctrl-u><ctrl-v><ctrl-g> map <ctrl-v><ctrl-d> <ctrl-v><ctrl-d><ctrl-v><ctrl-g> center a line map = 080i <ctrl-v><esc>$78hd0^D:s/ / /g<ctrl-v><enter>$p

redefine tab to insert 5 spaces instead of a tab marker map! <ctrl-v><ctrl-i> <space><space><space><space><space> switch current and last line (repeat to reverse a file) map v Gdd''Pj yank until end of line, run it in a shell and read in the result map v y$o<ctrl-v><esc>pI:r!<ctrl-v><esc>"add@a allow vi to backspace over text that was inserted in a previous insert mode map! <ctrl-v><ctrl-?> $<ctrl-v><esc>Xs map! <ctrl-v><ctrl-h> $<ctrl-v><esc>Xs print the document to the default printer (for BSD replace lp with lpr). map v 1G!Glp<ctrl-v><enter>u set # to toggle line numbers on and off: map \o# o:se nu<ctrl-v><enter>:se nonu<ctrl-v><esc>-:map \o# "wp<ctrlv><enter> map \d# "w2dd map \x# "xdd@x"xpk map # ma3L\o#\x#\d#`a:<ctrl-v><enter> Quote the current paragraph with '>'s. map Z> mc{jma}kmb:'a,'bs/^ /> /<ctrl-v><enter>'c Allow <ctrl-z> to suspend processes within insert mode map! <ctrl-v><ctrl-z> <ctrl-v<esc>:stop<ctrl-v><enter> Make all tabs spaces map! <ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-i> <ctrl-v><ctrl-v><space> Replace all tabs with the proper amount of spaces for the given tabstop. Removing the last two character (4<enter>) will allow you to

specify the tabstop: #t4<enter> map #t 1G!Gpr -t -e4<ctrl-v><enter> map #T !}pr -t -e4<ctrl-v><enter>} Insert a ruler above the current line map #r O<ctrlv><esc>i....+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+.. ..7....+....8<ctrl-v><esc> This is a macro that redefines itself: (more for heuristic reasons than anything else) It inserts foo the first time it is run, and bar all subsequent times. map K ifoo<ctrl-v><esc>:map K ibar<ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><esc><ctrlv><enter> This makes end notes. It will insert a [#] at the current location and put a [#] at the bottom of the document and let you type there. Hitting `a will take you back to the original location once you are done with your end note. [#] will be the number of the end note, not the literal # character. (Pretty crazy, huh?) map K ma1GO[0]<ctrl-v><esc>G$?\[[0-9]*\]<ctrl-v><enter>lyt]`aa<ctrlv><enter><ctrl-v><esc>O<ctrl-v><esc>pI:r!echo '1 <ctrl-v><esc>A + p' <ctrlv><ctrl-v>| dc<ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrlv><enter><ctrl-v><esc>0"yD@y0i[<ctrl-v><esc>A]<ctrlv><esc>kkJJJmb1Gdd`bF[yf]Go<ctrl-v><esc>pA 7.0 - Alphabetical vi quick reference ... means that something needs to be specified before or after the command, as appropriate. This is normally a cursor movement key (h,j,k,l,w,b, etc.) or a line number. # (where # is a number) following command n times... : go to ex-mode ) next sentence ( previous sentence } next paragraph { previous paragraph ]] next section [[ previous section 0 beginning of line $ end of line ^ first non-whitespace character + first character of next line - first character of previous line (spacebar) next character (return) next line / search forward ? search backward % find match of current parenthesis, brace, or bracket , reverse direction of last f, F, t, or T ; repeat last f, F, t, or T . repeat last command ` goto mark ' goto beginning of line with mark `` return to previous mark or location before a search '' go to start of line of previous mark or location before search ~ switch case of current character " store in register @ execute command in register ! send next to command, replace output (eg !}fmt passes the current paragraph to the command fmt, and replaces the output with whatever fmt returns.)

!! >> << >% <% a A ^a b B ^b c C ^c d D ^d e E ^e f F ^f g G ^g h H ^h i I ^i j J ^j k K ^k l L ^l m M ^m n N ^n o O ^o p P ^p q Q ^q r R ^r s S ^s

send line to command shift line one shiftwidth to the right shift line one shiftwidth to the left shift until matching (, [, or { to the right shift until matching (, [, or { to the left append after the current location append at the end of the line unused beginning of previous word beginning of previous word, ignore punctuation scroll back one screen change until... change to end of line ends insert mode, unused in command mode (if defined as interrupt) delete until... delete to end of line scroll down half a window, moves to previous shiftwidth in insert mode end of word end of word, ignore punctuation scroll screen down one line find... find backward... scroll forward one screen unused ...Goto [defaults to end of file] show status line left first line on screen backspace in insert mode, left in command mode insert before current location insert before first non-whitespace character on line tab in insert, unused in command down join next line with current line down in command, create newline in insert up unused unused right last line on screen redraw screen mark position into register middle of screen carriage return repeat last search repeat last search, reverse direction down in command open line below current open line above current unused put below current line put above current line up in command unused quit and run ex unused replace current character replace characters until insert mode is left redraw screen in command mode substitute substitute entire line unused

t T ^t u U ^u v V ^v w W ^w x X ^x y Y ^y z ZZ ^z

to... backward to... moves to next shiftwidth. undo last change undo changes to current line scroll up half a window unused unused unused in command, quotes next character in insert beginning of next word beginning of next word, ignore punctuation unused in command, in insert move back to beginning of previous word delete current character delete previous character unused yank... yank current line scroll screen up one line reposition screen around line (Return to top of screen, . to middle, - to bottom) write (only if changes have been made) and quit unused

7.1 - Command mode input options ( : commands) (Note: this is not a canonical list, just some of the more important ones.) :r <file> :r !<command> :nr <file> :!<file> :sh :so <file> :x :wq :l1,l2w <file> read <file> into current text read output from command <command> into current text read in at line number run command, return goto shell read and execute commands from <file> write (only if changes have been made) and quit write and quit write between lines l1 and l2 to <file>. If <file> is not specified, assume current. If l1,l2 not specified, assume entire file (making it :w) :w >> <file> append to <file>. May use line numbers :w! overwrite current file :q quit :q! quit, forget changes :e <file> edit <file> without leaving vi :e! forget changes since last write :n edit next file :e +n <file> edit <file> at line n, if no end, assume end of file :n <files> specify <files> as new list of files to edit :e# edit alternate file (if :e <file> is used, alternate is the original file) :args show files to be edited :rew rewind list of files to top :map m n create a macro (make m do n) :map! m n create an insert mode macro (make m do n) :unmap m destroy macro m :unmap! m destroy insert mode macro m :ab <1> <2> abbreviate - replace <1> with <2> whenever typed as a word :unab <1> unabbreviate <1> :cd <directory> cd to <directory> :set <option> set <option>...

7.2 - set options The abbreviations in parenthesis may be used. Syntax:

:set <option> <param> (If <param> is expected) Multiple options may be specified on one line. :set <option>? displays the value of the <option> :set all displays the value of all the options. For options without a value, set no<option> turns it off. Option: autoindent (ai) autoprint (ap) autowrite (aw) beautify (bf) directory= (dir=) edcompatible errorbells (eb) exrc (ex) hardtabs= (ht=) ignore case (ic) lisp list magic mesg number (nu) open optimize (opt) paragraphs= (para=) prompt readonly (ro) redraw remap report= scroll Default: noai ap noaw nobf /tmp noedcompatible errorbells noexrc 8 noic nolisp nolist magic mesg nonumber open optimize IPLPPPQPPLIbp prompt noro noredraw remap 5 1/2 window What it does: Makes new lines automatically indent to the position as the line above or below Display changes after each command Automatically save file before :n, :! Ignore all control characters during input (except tab, newline, formfeed) Name of the directory to store buffer Use ed-like features on substitute Sound bell on error Allow .exrc files outside home dir Set boundary for hardware tabs Ignore case in regex expressions Turn on lisp mode Display all tabs, end of lines Enable more regex expressions Allows mesgs to be sent to terminal Displays line numbers in file Allows open and visual Optimizes throughput of text by not sending carriage returns when printing text Sets the delimiters for { & } Command mode input gives : prompt Cannot write unless ! is given Redraw screen when edits are made Allows macros that point to other macros Report changes if they effect > x lines Amount of screen to scroll when scroll down is received in command mode. Also, number of lines printer by z. (z prints 2*scroll) Defines end of section for [[ and ]] Default shell. Uses SHELL environment, if set Characters to shift when using shift commands Show matching {, }, (, ), [, or ] Shows which mode you are in. Do not update display

sections= shell= (sh=) shiftwidth= (sw=) showmatch (sm) showmode slowopen (slow)

SHNHH HU /bin/sh 8 nosm noshowmode

tabstop= (ts=) taglength= (tl=) tags= term= terse timeout (to) ttytype= warn window= (w=) wrapmargin= (wm=) wrapscan (ws) writeany (wa)

immediately after insert Sets tabstop length Number of characters significant for tags (0 means all characters) tag, /usr/lib/tags Define pathname of files containing tags. Set the terminal type noterse Display shorter error messages timeout Keyboard maps timeout after one second Set the terminal type warn Display "No write since last change" messages Number of lines in window in visual mode 0 Set the right margin. Greater than 0 will word wrap n spaces from the edge of the screen ws Searches wrap around end of file nowa Allow saving to any file 8 0

8.0 - Setting up .exrc file Any commands that can be used in command input mode ( : commands), may be used in a .exrc, which will load automatically whenever you start vi. In addition, the source command (so), abbreviations (ab), and macros may be used. There may not be any blank lines in your .exrc. A " in the first column may be used to tell vi that what follows is a comment. 8.1 - Sample .exrc file This .exrc file is a real one. Mine. Because of that, it doesn't set as many options as one might wish it did to get a good idea of what may be used. However, it should get the basic idea down, and it is quite straightforward. First, note that you do not need to specify the :, it is assumed. " Ignore case on search set ic " set wordwrap 9 characters from the right set wm=9 " show matching parenthesis set sm " set the shell to be zsh set sh=/nfs/kimbark/k4/ellidz/bin/zsh " a few abbreviations for my email addresses ab zidlle E. Larry Lidz - ellidz@midway.uchicago.edu ab --l -Larry " uppercase V will run ispell -x (-x tells it not to save backups) on current " file map V :w<ctrl-v><enter>:!ispell -x %<ctrl-v><enter>:e!<ctrl-v><enter><ctrlv><enter> " = will center the line... if I can get it to work map = 80I <ctrl-v><esc>$78hd0:s/ / /g<ctrl-v><enter>$p " v will reformat the current paragraph map v {0!}fmt<ctrl-v><enter> " Splits a line in two at current cursor location, puts a > at the "beginning of the line

map g may0O<ctrl-v><esc>P`ay$:s/./ /g<ctrl-v><enter>0i><ctrl-v><esc>`aPa <ctrl-v><esc>D " Change the case on the current word map K ywmno<ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrl-v><esc>P:s/./\~/g<ctrl-v><ctrl-v><ctrlv><enter>0"nDdd`n@n 9.0 - Bugs in vi I'd like to say that vi is bug free, but unfortunately, it's not. These bugs are bugs in the original vi, not necessarily in any of the different clones. Macros for _ do not always work properly. #~ does not work under AIX The left and right hand side of macro definitions can be at most 100 characters. If they're more than 100 characters it doesn't give a decent error message -- it either says that it is too dangerous to map or that the rhs is missing. 10.0 - Glossary of terms This glossary will be updated as people suggest terms that they do not understand. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. command mode Command mode is the mode within vi where the user gives commands to vi. (Including cursor movement commands, editing commands, etc.) ed A non-visual editor under Unix. <Esc> The escape key. A key on a keyboard normally marked by escape. Sometimes ^[ will work in its place. If there is no escape key, sometimes the Meta key will work. ex An editor under Unix, all commands preceded with : are passed to it. insert mode Insert mode is the mode within vi where text is inserted into the document. macro A macro is a shortcut key combination. For example, a macro allows one to hit one letter and have it execute a few different commands. open mode Open mode is the mode that vi will start in if it cannot determine your terminal type, or if it believes you have a hardware or glass-tube terminal. regular expressions (RegEx) (RE) Regular expressions, commonly known as "RegEx" or "REs" are a set of key combinations that are meant to allow people to have a large variety of control over what they are searching for. RegEx is used a lot under Unix, and is common between many programs. sed Stream editor. An editor that has no interface. are given from the command line. All commands

vi The editor to which this FAQ is dedicated. 11.0 - Bibliography of Books that cover vi VI QUICK REFERENCE/HELP CARDS Specialized System Consultants, Inc. (206)-367-8649 P.O. Box 55549 Seattle, WA 98155 Unix Programming Tools, Eric Foster-Johnson M and T Books, 1997. ISBN 1-55851-482-1 Includes a CD-ROM containing vim. http://www.pconline.com/~erc/Unixprog.htm The ULTIMATE GUIDE to the VI and EX Text Editors Hewlett Packard Company (authors) The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-8053-4460-8 A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE Unix SYSTEM Mark G. Sobell Benjamin Cummings Publisher LEARNING THE VI EDITOR Linda Lamb O'Reilly & Associates ISBN 0-937175-67-6 Unix POWER TOOLS (particularly for macros) O'Reilly & Associates MASTERING REGULAR EXPRESSIONS (for RegEx) Jeffrey Friedl O'Reilly & Associates, 1997 ISBN 1-56592-257-3 Unix TEXT PROCESSING Hayden Books, 1987 Dale Dougherty and Tim O'Reilly ISBN 0-8104-6291-5 An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi' & 'EX reference Manual' in Unix programmers Manual vol. II Bill Joy Berkeley Software Vi iMproved (VIM) Steve Oualline New Riders ISBN 0735710015 EL EDITOR VI. MANUAL DE REFERENCIA RA-MA Editorial. Please make suggestions as to what books are most useful for learning vi. I will add books to this section as people suggest them to me. Copyright, E. Larry Lidz, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003.

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