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1 .TH VIM 1 "2002 Feb 22"
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2 .SH NAME
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3 vim \- Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
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4 .SH SYNOPSIS
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5 .br
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6 .B vim
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7 [options] [file ..]
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8 .br
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9 .B vim
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10 [options] -
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11 .br
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12 .B vim
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13 [options] \-t tag
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14 .br
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15 .B vim
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16 [options] \-q [errorfile]
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17 .PP
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18 .br
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19 .B ex
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20 .br
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21 .B view
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22 .br
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23 .B gvim
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24 .B gview
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25 .B evim
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26 .B eview
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27 .br
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28 .B rvim
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29 .B rview
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30 .B rgvim
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31 .B rgview
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32 .SH DESCRIPTION
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33 .B Vim
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34 is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi.
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35 It can be used to edit all kinds of plain text.
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36 It is especially useful for editing programs.
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37 .PP
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38 There are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo,
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39 multi windows and buffers, syntax highlighting, command line
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40 editing, filename completion, on-line help, visual selection, etc..
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41 See ":help vi_diff.txt" for a summary of the differences between
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42 .B Vim
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43 and Vi.
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44 .PP
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45 While running
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46 .B Vim
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47 a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line help system, with the ":help"
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48 command.
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49 See the ON-LINE HELP section below.
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50 .PP
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51 Most often
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52 .B Vim
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53 is started to edit a single file with the command
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54 .PP
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55 vim file
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56 .PP
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57 More generally
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58 .B Vim
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59 is started with:
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60 .PP
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61 vim [options] [filelist]
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62 .PP
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63 If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
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64 Otherwise exactly one out of the following four may be used to choose one or
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65 more files to be edited.
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66 .TP 12
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67 file ..
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68 A list of filenames.
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69 The first one will be the current file and read into the buffer.
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70 The cursor will be positioned on the first line of the buffer.
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71 You can get to the other files with the ":next" command.
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72 To edit a file that starts with a dash, precede the filelist with "--".
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73 .TP
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74 -
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75 The file to edit is read from stdin. Commands are read from stderr, which
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76 should be a tty.
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77 .TP
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78 -t {tag}
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79 The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on a "tag", a sort
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80 of goto label.
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81 {tag} is looked up in the tags file, the associated file becomes the current
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82 file and the associated command is executed.
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83 Mostly this is used for C programs, in which case {tag} could be a function
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84 name.
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85 The effect is that the file containing that function becomes the current file
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86 and the cursor is positioned on the start of the function.
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87 See ":help tag-commands".
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88 .TP
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89 -q [errorfile]
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90 Start in quickFix mode.
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91 The file [errorfile] is read and the first error is displayed.
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92 If [errorfile] is omitted, the filename is obtained from the 'errorfile'
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93 option (defaults to "AztecC.Err" for the Amiga, "errors.err" on other
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94 systems).
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95 Further errors can be jumped to with the ":cn" command.
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96 See ":help quickfix".
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97 .PP
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98 .B Vim
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99 behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the executable may
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100 still be the same file).
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101 .TP 10
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102 vim
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103 The "normal" way, everything is default.
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104 .TP
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105 ex
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106 Start in Ex mode.
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107 Go to Normal mode with the ":vi" command.
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108 Can also be done with the "-e" argument.
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109 .TP
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110 view
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111 Start in read-only mode. You will be protected from writing the files. Can
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112 also be done with the "-R" argument.
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113 .TP
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114 gvim gview
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115 The GUI version.
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116 Starts a new window.
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117 Can also be done with the "-g" argument.
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118 .TP
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119 evim eview
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120 The GUI version in easy mode.
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121 Starts a new window.
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122 Can also be done with the "-y" argument.
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123 .TP
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124 rvim rview rgvim rgview
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125 Like the above, but with restrictions. It will not be possible to start shell
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126 commands, or suspend
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127 .B Vim.
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128 Can also be done with the "-Z" argument.
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129 .SH OPTIONS
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130 The options may be given in any order, before or after filenames.
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131 Options without an argument can be combined after a single dash.
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132 .TP 12
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133 +[num]
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134 For the first file the cursor will be positioned on line "num".
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135 If "num" is missing, the cursor will be positioned on the last line.
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136 .TP
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137 +/{pat}
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138 For the first file the cursor will be positioned on the
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139 first occurrence of {pat}.
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140 See ":help search-pattern" for the available search patterns.
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141 .TP
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142 +{command}
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143 .TP
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144 -c {command}
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145 {command} will be executed after the
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146 first file has been read.
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147 {command} is interpreted as an Ex command.
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148 If the {command} contains spaces it must be enclosed in double quotes (this
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149 depends on the shell that is used).
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150 Example: Vim "+set si" main.c
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151 .br
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152 Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.
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153 .TP
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154 -S {file}
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155 {file} will be sourced after the first file has been read.
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156 This is equivalent to -c "source {file}".
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157 {file} cannot start with '-'.
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158 If {file} is omitted "Session.vim" is used (only works when -S is the last
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159 argument).
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160 .TP
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161 --cmd {command}
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162 Like using "-c", but the command is executed just before
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163 processing any vimrc file.
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164 You can use up to 10 of these commands, independently from "-c" commands.
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165 .TP
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166 -A
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167 If
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168 .B Vim
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169 has been compiled with ARABIC support for editing right-to-left
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170 oriented files and Arabic keyboard mapping, this option starts
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171 .B Vim
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172 in Arabic mode, i.e. 'arabic' is set. Otherwise an error
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173 message is given and
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174 .B Vim
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175 aborts.
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176 .TP
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177 -b
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178 Binary mode.
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179 A few options will be set that makes it possible to edit a binary or
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180 executable file.
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181 .TP
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182 -C
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183 Compatible. Set the 'compatible' option.
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184 This will make
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185 .B Vim
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186 behave mostly like Vi, even though a .vimrc file exists.
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187 .TP
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188 -d
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189 Start in diff mode.
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190 There should be two or three file name arguments.
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191 .B Vim
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192 will open all the files and show differences between them.
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193 Works like vimdiff(1).
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194 .TP
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195 -d {device}
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196 Open {device} for use as a terminal.
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197 Only on the Amiga.
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198 Example:
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199 "\-d con:20/30/600/150".
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200 .TP
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201 -D
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202 Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first command from a
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203 script.
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204 .TP
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205 -e
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206 Start
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207 .B Vim
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208 in Ex mode, just like the executable was called "ex".
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209 .TP
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210 -E
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211 Start
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212 .B Vim
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213 in improved Ex mode, just like the executable was called "exim".
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214 .TP
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215 -f
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216 Foreground. For the GUI version,
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217 .B Vim
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218 will not fork and detach from the shell it was started in.
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219 On the Amiga,
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220 .B Vim
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221 is not restarted to open a new window.
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222 This option should be used when
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223 .B Vim
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224 is executed by a program that will wait for the edit
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225 session to finish (e.g. mail).
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226 On the Amiga the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
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227 .TP
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228 --nofork
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229 Foreground. For the GUI version,
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230 .B Vim
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231 will not fork and detach from the shell it was started in.
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232 .TP
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233 -F
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234 If
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235 .B Vim
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236 has been compiled with FKMAP support for editing right-to-left
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237 oriented files and Farsi keyboard mapping, this option starts
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238 .B Vim
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239 in Farsi mode, i.e. 'fkmap' and 'rightleft' are set.
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240 Otherwise an error message is given and
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241 .B Vim
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242 aborts.
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243 .TP
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244 -g
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245 If
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246 .B Vim
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247 has been compiled with GUI support, this option enables the GUI.
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248 If no GUI support was compiled in, an error message is given and
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249 .B Vim
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250 aborts.
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251 .TP
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252 -h
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253 Give a bit of help about the command line arguments and options.
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254 After this
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255 .B Vim
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256 exits.
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257 .TP
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258 -H
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259 If
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260 .B Vim
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261 has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing right-to-left
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262 oriented files and Hebrew keyboard mapping, this option starts
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263 .B Vim
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264 in Hebrew mode, i.e. 'hkmap' and 'rightleft' are set.
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265 Otherwise an error message is given and
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266 .B Vim
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267 aborts.
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268 .TP
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269 -i {viminfo}
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270 When using the viminfo file is enabled, this option sets the filename to use,
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271 instead of the default "~/.viminfo".
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272 This can also be used to skip the use of the .viminfo file, by giving the name
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273 "NONE".
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274 .TP
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275 -L
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276 Same as -r.
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277 .TP
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278 -l
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279 Lisp mode.
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280 Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options on.
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281 .TP
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282 -m
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283 Modifying files is disabled.
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284 Resets the 'write' option.
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285 You can still modify the buffer, but writing a file is not possible.
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286 .TP
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287 -M
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288 Modifications not allowed. The 'modifiable' and 'write' options will be unset,
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289 so that changes are not allowed and files can not be written. Note that these
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290 options can be set to enable making modifications.
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291 .TP
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292 -N
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293 No-compatible mode. Reset the 'compatible' option.
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294 This will make
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295 .B Vim
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296 behave a bit better, but less Vi compatible, even though a .vimrc file does
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297 not exist.
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298 .TP
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299 -n
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300 No swap file will be used.
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301 Recovery after a crash will be impossible.
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302 Handy if you want to edit a file on a very slow medium (e.g. floppy).
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303 Can also be done with ":set uc=0".
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304 Can be undone with ":set uc=200".
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305 .TP
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306 -nb
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307 Become an editor server for NetBeans. See the docs for details.
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308 .TP
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309 -o[N]
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310 Open N windows stacked.
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311 When N is omitted, open one window for each file.
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312 .TP
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313 -O[N]
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314 Open N windows side by side.
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315 When N is omitted, open one window for each file.
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316 .TP
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317 -R
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318 Read-only mode.
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319 The 'readonly' option will be set.
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320 You can still edit the buffer, but will be prevented from accidently
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321 overwriting a file.
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322 If you do want to overwrite a file, add an exclamation mark to the Ex command,
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323 as in ":w!".
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324 The -R option also implies the -n option (see below).
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325 The 'readonly' option can be reset with ":set noro".
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326 See ":help 'readonly'".
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327 .TP
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328 -r
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329 List swap files, with information about using them for recovery.
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330 .TP
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331 -r {file}
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332 Recovery mode.
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333 The swap file is used to recover a crashed editing session.
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334 The swap file is a file with the same filename as the text file with ".swp"
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335 appended.
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336 See ":help recovery".
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337 .TP
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338 -s
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339 Silent mode. Only when started as "Ex" or when the "-e" option was given
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340 before the "-s" option.
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341 .TP
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342 -s {scriptin}
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343 The script file {scriptin} is read.
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344 The characters in the file are interpreted as if you had typed them.
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345 The same can be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}".
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346 If the end of the file is reached before the editor exits, further characters
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347 are read from the keyboard.
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348 .TP
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349 -T {terminal}
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350 Tells
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351 .B Vim
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352 the name of the terminal you are using.
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353 Only required when the automatic way doesn't work.
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354 Should be a terminal known
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355 to
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356 .B Vim
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357 (builtin) or defined in the termcap or terminfo file.
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358 .TP
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359 -u {vimrc}
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360 Use the commands in the file {vimrc} for initializations.
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361 All the other initializations are skipped.
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362 Use this to edit a special kind of files.
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363 It can also be used to skip all initializations by giving the name "NONE".
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364 See ":help initialization" within vim for more details.
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365 .TP
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366 -U {gvimrc}
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367 Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI initializations.
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368 All the other GUI initializations are skipped.
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369 It can also be used to skip all GUI initializations by giving the name "NONE".
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370 See ":help gui-init" within vim for more details.
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371 .TP
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372 -V[N]
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373 Verbose. Give messages about which files are sourced and for reading and
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374 writing a viminfo file. The optional number N is the value for 'verbose'.
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375 Default is 10.
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376 .TP
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377 -v
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378 Start
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379 .B Vim
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380 in Vi mode, just like the executable was called "vi". This only has effect
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381 when the executable is called "ex".
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382 .TP
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383 -w {scriptout}
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384 All the characters that you type are recorded in the file
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385 {scriptout}, until you exit
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386 .B Vim.
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387 This is useful if you want to create a script file to be used with "vim -s" or
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388 ":source!".
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389 If the {scriptout} file exists, characters are appended.
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390 .TP
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391 -W {scriptout}
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392 Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
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393 .TP
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394 -x
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395 Use encryption when writing files. Will prompt for a crypt key.
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396 .TP
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397 -X
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398 Don't connect to the X server. Shortens startup time in a terminal, but the
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399 window title and clipboard will not be used.
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400 .TP
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401 -y
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402 Start
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403 .B Vim
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404 in easy mode, just like the executable was called "evim" or "eview".
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405 Makes
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406 .B Vim
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407 behave like a click-and-type editor.
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408 .TP
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409 -Z
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410 Restricted mode. Works like the executable starts with "r".
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411 .TP
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412 --
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413 Denotes the end of the options.
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414 Arguments after this will be handled as a file name.
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415 This can be used to edit a filename that starts with a '-'.
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416 .TP
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417 --echo-wid
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418 GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.
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419 .TP
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420 --help
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421 Give a help message and exit, just like "-h".
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422 .TP
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423 --literal
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424 Take file name arguments literally, do not expand wildcards. This has no
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425 effect on Unix where the shell expands wildcards.
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7
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426 .TP
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427 --noplugin
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428 Skip loading plugins. Implied by -u NONE.
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429 .TP
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430 --remote
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431 Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in the rest of the
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432 arguments. If no server is found a warning is given and the files are edited
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433 in the current Vim.
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434 .TP
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435 --remote-expr {expr}
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436 Connect to a Vim server, evaluate {expr} in it and print the result on stdout.
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437 .TP
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438 --remote-send {keys}
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439 Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.
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440 .TP
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441 --remote-silent
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442 As --remote, but without the warning when no server is found.
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443 .TP
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444 --remote-wait
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445 As --remote, but Vim does not exit until the files have been edited.
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446 .TP
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447 --remote-wait-silent
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448 As --remote-wait, but without the warning when no server is found.
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449 .TP
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450 --serverlist
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451 List the names of all Vim servers that can be found.
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452 .TP
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453 --servername {name}
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454 Use {name} as the server name. Used for the current Vim, unless used with a
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455 --remote argument, then it's the name of the server to connect to.
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456 .TP
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457 --socketid {id}
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458 GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug mechanism to run gvim in another window.
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459 .TP
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460 --version
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461 Print version information and exit.
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462 .SH ON-LINE HELP
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463 Type ":help" in
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464 .B Vim
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465 to get started.
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466 Type ":help subject" to get help on a specific subject.
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467 For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the "ZZ" command.
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468 Use <Tab> and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmdline-completion").
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469 Tags are present to jump from one place to another (sort of hypertext links,
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470 see ":help").
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471 All documentation files can be viewed in this way, for example
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472 ":help syntax.txt".
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473 .SH FILES
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474 .TP 15
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475 /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/*.txt
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476 The
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477 .B Vim
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478 documentation files.
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479 Use ":help doc-file-list" to get the complete list.
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480 .TP
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481 /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/tags
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482 The tags file used for finding information in the documentation files.
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483 .TP
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484 /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/syntax.vim
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485 System wide syntax initializations.
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486 .TP
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487 /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/*.vim
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488 Syntax files for various languages.
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489 .TP
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490 /usr/local/lib/vim/vimrc
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491 System wide
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492 .B Vim
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493 initializations.
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494 .TP
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495 /usr/local/lib/vim/gvimrc
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496 System wide gvim initializations.
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497 .TP
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498 /usr/local/lib/vim/optwin.vim
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499 Script used for the ":options" command, a nice way to view and set options.
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500 .TP
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501 /usr/local/lib/vim/menu.vim
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502 System wide menu initializations for gvim.
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503 .TP
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504 /usr/local/lib/vim/bugreport.vim
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505 Script to generate a bug report. See ":help bugs".
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506 .TP
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507 /usr/local/lib/vim/filetype.vim
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508 Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See ":help 'filetype'".
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509 .TP
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510 /usr/local/lib/vim/scripts.vim
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511 Script to detect the type of a file by its contents. See ":help 'filetype'".
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512 .TP
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513 /usr/local/lib/vim/*.ps
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514 Files used for PostScript printing.
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515 .PP
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516 For recent info read the VIM home page:
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517 .br
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518 <URL:http://www.vim.org/>
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519 .SH SEE ALSO
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520 vimtutor(1)
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521 .SH AUTHOR
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522 Most of
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523 .B Vim
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524 was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others.
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525 See ":help credits" in
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526 .B Vim.
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527 .br
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528 .B Vim
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529 is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson,
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530 Tony Andrews and G.R. (Fred) Walter.
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531 Although hardly any of the original code remains.
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532 .SH BUGS
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533 Probably.
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534 See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.
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535 .PP
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536 Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some, are in fact
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537 caused by a too-faithful reproduction of Vi's behaviour.
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538 And if you think other things are bugs "because Vi does it differently",
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539 you should take a closer look at the vi_diff.txt file (or type :help
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540 vi_diff.txt when in Vim).
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541 Also have a look at the 'compatible' and 'cpoptions' options.
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