|
7
|
1 *tips.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2004 Feb 17
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
7 Tips and ideas for using Vim *tips*
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
9 Don't forget to browse the user manual, it also contains lots of useful tips
|
|
|
10 |usr_toc.txt|.
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
12 Editing C programs |C-editing|
|
|
|
13 Finding where identifiers are used |ident-search|
|
|
|
14 Switching screens in an xterm |xterm-screens|
|
|
|
15 Scrolling in Insert mode |scroll-insert|
|
|
|
16 Smooth scrolling |scroll-smooth|
|
|
|
17 Correcting common typing mistakes |type-mistakes|
|
|
|
18 Counting words, lines, etc. |count-items|
|
|
|
19 Restoring the cursor position |restore-position|
|
|
|
20 Renaming files |rename-files|
|
|
|
21 Speeding up external commands |speed-up|
|
|
|
22 Useful mappings |useful-mappings|
|
|
|
23 Compressing the help files |gzip-helpfile|
|
|
|
24 Hex editing |hex-editing|
|
|
|
25 Executing shell commands in a window |shell-window|
|
|
|
26 Using <> notation in autocommands |autocmd-<>|
|
|
|
27
|
|
|
28 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
29 Editing C programs *C-editing*
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
31 There are quite a few features in Vim to help you edit C program files. Here
|
|
|
32 is an overview with tags to jump to:
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
34 |usr_29.txt| Moving through programs chapter in the user manual.
|
|
|
35 |usr_30.txt| Editing programs chapter in the user manual.
|
|
|
36 |C-indenting| Automatically set the indent of a line while typing
|
|
|
37 text.
|
|
|
38 |=| Re-indent a few lines.
|
|
|
39 |format-comments| Format comments.
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
41 |:checkpath| Show all recursively included files.
|
|
|
42 |[i| Search for identifier under cursor in current and
|
|
|
43 included files.
|
|
|
44 |[_CTRL-I| Jump to match for "[i"
|
|
|
45 |[I| List all lines in current and included files where
|
|
|
46 identifier under the cursor matches.
|
|
|
47 |[d| Search for define under cursor in current and included
|
|
|
48 files.
|
|
|
49
|
|
|
50 |CTRL-]| Jump to tag under cursor (e.g., definition of a
|
|
|
51 function).
|
|
|
52 |CTRL-T| Jump back to before a CTRL-] command.
|
|
|
53 |:tselect| Select one tag out of a list of matching tags.
|
|
|
54
|
|
|
55 |gd| Go to Declaration of local variable under cursor.
|
|
|
56 |gD| Go to Declaration of global variable under cursor.
|
|
|
57
|
|
|
58 |gf| Go to file name under the cursor.
|
|
|
59
|
|
|
60 |%| Go to matching (), {}, [], /* */, #if, #else, #endif.
|
|
|
61 |[/| Go to previous start of comment.
|
|
|
62 |]/| Go to next end of comment.
|
|
|
63 |[#| Go back to unclosed #if, #ifdef, or #else.
|
|
|
64 |]#| Go forward to unclosed #else or #endif.
|
|
|
65 |[(| Go back to unclosed '('
|
|
|
66 |])| Go forward to unclosed ')'
|
|
|
67 |[{| Go back to unclosed '{'
|
|
|
68 |]}| Go forward to unclosed '}'
|
|
|
69
|
|
|
70 |v_ab| Select "a block" from "[(" to "])", including braces
|
|
|
71 |v_ib| Select "inner block" from "[(" to "])"
|
|
|
72 |v_aB| Select "a block" from "[{" to "]}", including brackets
|
|
|
73 |v_iB| Select "inner block" from "[{" to "]}"
|
|
|
74
|
|
|
75 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
76 Finding where identifiers are used *ident-search*
|
|
|
77
|
|
|
78 You probably already know that |tags| can be used to jump to the place where a
|
|
|
79 function or variable is defined. But sometimes you wish you could jump to all
|
|
|
80 the places where a function or variable is being used. This is possible in
|
|
|
81 two ways:
|
|
|
82 1. Using the |:grep| command. This should work on most Unix systems,
|
|
|
83 but can be slow (it reads all files) and only searches in one directory.
|
|
|
84 2. Using ID utils. This is fast and works in multiple directories. It uses a
|
|
|
85 database to store locations. You will need some additional programs for
|
|
|
86 this to work. And you need to keep the database up to date.
|
|
|
87
|
|
|
88 Using the GNU id-tools:
|
|
|
89
|
|
|
90 What you need:
|
|
|
91 - The GNU id-tools installed (mkid is needed to create ID and lid is needed to
|
|
|
92 use the macros).
|
|
|
93 - An identifier database file called "ID" in the current directory. You can
|
|
|
94 create it with the shell command "mkid file1 file2 ..".
|
|
|
95
|
|
|
96 Put this in your .vimrc: >
|
|
|
97 map _u :call ID_search()<Bar>execute "/\\<" . g:word . "\\>"<CR>
|
|
|
98 map _n :n<Bar>execute "/\\<" . g:word . "\\>"<CR>
|
|
|
99
|
|
|
100 function! ID_search()
|
|
|
101 let g:word = expand("<cword>")
|
|
|
102 let x = system("lid --key=none ". g:word)
|
|
|
103 let x = substitute(x, "\n", " ", "g")
|
|
|
104 execute "next " . x
|
|
|
105 endfun
|
|
|
106
|
|
|
107 To use it, place the cursor on a word, type "_u" and vim will load the file
|
|
|
108 that contains the word. Search for the next occurrence of the word in the
|
|
|
109 same file with "n". Go to the next file with "_n".
|
|
|
110
|
|
|
111 This has been tested with id-utils-3.2 (which is the name of the id-tools
|
|
|
112 archive file on your closest gnu-ftp-mirror).
|
|
|
113
|
|
|
114 [the idea for this comes from Andreas Kutschera]
|
|
|
115
|
|
|
116 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
117 Switching screens in an xterm *xterm-screens* *xterm-save-screen*
|
|
|
118
|
|
|
119 (From comp.editors, by Juergen Weigert, in reply to a question)
|
|
|
120
|
|
|
121 :> Another question is that after exiting vim, the screen is left as it
|
|
|
122 :> was, i.e. the contents of the file I was viewing (editing) was left on
|
|
|
123 :> the screen. The output from my previous like "ls" were lost,
|
|
|
124 :> ie. no longer in the scrolling buffer. I know that there is a way to
|
|
|
125 :> restore the screen after exiting vim or other vi like editors,
|
|
|
126 :> I just don't know how. Helps are appreciated. Thanks.
|
|
|
127 :
|
|
|
128 :I imagine someone else can answer this. I assume though that vim and vi do
|
|
|
129 :the same thing as each other for a given xterm setup.
|
|
|
130
|
|
|
131 They not necessarily do the same thing, as this may be a termcap vs.
|
|
|
132 terminfo problem. You should be aware that there are two databases for
|
|
|
133 describing attributes of a particular type of terminal: termcap and
|
|
|
134 terminfo. This can cause differences when the entries differ AND when of
|
|
|
135 the programs in question one uses terminfo and the other uses termcap
|
|
|
136 (also see |+terminfo|).
|
|
|
137
|
|
|
138 In your particular problem, you are looking for the control sequences
|
|
|
139 ^[[?47h and ^[[?47l. These switch between xterms alternate and main screen
|
|
|
140 buffer. As a quick workaround a command sequence like >
|
|
|
141 echo -n "^[[?47h"; vim ... ; echo -n "^[[?47l"
|
|
|
142 may do what you want. (My notation ^[ means the ESC character, further down
|
|
|
143 you'll see that the databases use \E instead).
|
|
|
144
|
|
|
145 On startup, vim echoes the value of the termcap variable ti (terminfo:
|
|
|
146 smcup) to the terminal. When exiting, it echoes te (terminfo: rmcup). Thus
|
|
|
147 these two variables are the correct place where the above mentioned control
|
|
|
148 sequences should go.
|
|
|
149
|
|
|
150 Compare your xterm termcap entry (found in /etc/termcap) with your xterm
|
|
|
151 terminfo entry (retrieved with /usr/5bin/infocmp -C xterm). Both should
|
|
|
152 contain entries similar to: >
|
|
|
153 :te=\E[2J\E[?47l\E8:ti=\E7\E[?47h:
|
|
|
154
|
|
|
155 PS: If you find any difference, someone (your sysadmin?) should better check
|
|
|
156 the complete termcap and terminfo database for consistency.
|
|
|
157
|
|
|
158 NOTE 1: If you recompile Vim with FEAT_XTERM_SAVE defined in feature.h, the
|
|
|
159 builtin xterm will include the mentioned "te" and "ti" entries.
|
|
|
160
|
|
|
161 NOTE 2: If you want to disable the screen switching, and you don't want to
|
|
|
162 change your termcap, you can add these lines to your .vimrc: >
|
|
|
163 :set t_ti= t_te=
|
|
|
164
|
|
|
165 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
166 Scrolling in Insert mode *scroll-insert*
|
|
|
167
|
|
|
168 If you are in insert mode and you want to see something that is just off the
|
|
|
169 screen, you can use CTRL-X CTRL-E and CTRL-X CTRL-Y to scroll the screen.
|
|
|
170 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-E|
|
|
|
171
|
|
|
172 To make this easier, you could use these mappings: >
|
|
|
173 :inoremap <C-E> <C-X><C-E>
|
|
|
174 :inoremap <C-Y> <C-X><C-Y>
|
|
|
175 (Type this literally, make sure the '<' flag is not in 'cpoptions').
|
|
|
176 You then lose the ability to copy text from the line above/below the cursor
|
|
|
177 |i_CTRL-E|.
|
|
|
178
|
|
|
179 Also consider setting 'scrolloff' to a larger value, so that you can always see
|
|
|
180 some context around the cursor. If 'scrolloff' is bigger than half the window
|
|
|
181 height, the cursor will always be in the middle and the text is scrolled when
|
|
|
182 the cursor is moved up/down.
|
|
|
183
|
|
|
184 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
185 Smooth scrolling *scroll-smooth*
|
|
|
186
|
|
|
187 If you like the scrolling to go a bit smoother, you can use these mappings: >
|
|
|
188 :map <C-U> <C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y><C-Y>
|
|
|
189 :map <C-D> <C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E><C-E>
|
|
|
190
|
|
|
191 (Type this literally, make sure the '<' flag is not in 'cpoptions').
|
|
|
192
|
|
|
193 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
194 Correcting common typing mistakes *type-mistakes*
|
|
|
195
|
|
|
196 When there are a few words that you keep on typing in the wrong way, make
|
|
|
197 abbreviations that correct them. For example: >
|
|
|
198 :ab teh the
|
|
|
199 :ab fro for
|
|
|
200
|
|
|
201 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
202 Counting words, lines, etc. *count-items*
|
|
|
203
|
|
|
204 To count how often any pattern occurs in a buffer, set 'report' to 0, and use
|
|
|
205 the substitute command to replace the pattern with itself. The reported
|
|
|
206 number of substitutions is the number of items. Examples: >
|
|
|
207
|
|
|
208 :set report=0
|
|
|
209 :%s/./&/g characters
|
|
|
210 :%s/\i\+/&/g words
|
|
|
211 :%s/^ lines
|
|
|
212 :%s/the/&/g "the" anywhere
|
|
|
213 :%s/\<the\>/&/g "the" as a word
|
|
|
214
|
|
|
215 You might want to reset 'hlsearch' or do ":nohlsearch".
|
|
|
216
|
|
|
217 This does not work if the 'modifiable' option is off. An alternative is using
|
|
|
218 |v_g_CTRL-G| in Visual mode.
|
|
|
219
|
|
|
220 *count-bytes*
|
|
|
221 If you want to count bytes, you can use this:
|
|
|
222
|
|
|
223 Visually select the characters (block is also possible)
|
|
|
224 Use "y" to yank the characters
|
|
|
225 Use the strlen() function: >
|
|
|
226 :echo strlen(@")
|
|
|
227 A line break is counted for one byte.
|
|
|
228
|
|
|
229 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
230 Restoring the cursor position *restore-position*
|
|
|
231
|
|
|
232 Sometimes you want to write a mapping that makes a change somewhere in the
|
|
|
233 file and restores the cursor position, without scrolling the text. For
|
|
|
234 example, to change the date mark in a file: >
|
|
|
235 :map <F2> msHmtgg/Last [cC]hange:\s*/e+1<CR>"_D"=strftime("%Y %b %d")<CR>p'tzt`s
|
|
|
236
|
|
|
237 Breaking up saving the position:
|
|
|
238 ms store cursor position in the 's' mark
|
|
|
239 H go to the first line in the window
|
|
|
240 mt store this position in the 't' mark
|
|
|
241
|
|
|
242 Breaking up restoring the position:
|
|
|
243 't go to the line previously at the top of the window
|
|
|
244 zt scroll to move this line to the top of the window
|
|
|
245 `s jump to the original position of the cursor
|
|
|
246
|
|
|
247 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
248 Renaming files *rename-files*
|
|
|
249
|
|
|
250 Say I have a directory with the following files in them (directory picked at
|
|
|
251 random :-):
|
|
|
252
|
|
|
253 buffer.c
|
|
|
254 charset.c
|
|
|
255 digraph.c
|
|
|
256 ...
|
|
|
257
|
|
|
258 and I want to rename *.c *.bla. I'd do it like this: >
|
|
|
259
|
|
|
260 $ vim
|
|
|
261 :r! ls *.c
|
|
|
262 :%s/\(.*\).c/mv & \1.bla
|
|
|
263 :w !sh
|
|
|
264 :q!
|
|
|
265
|
|
|
266 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
267 Speeding up external commands *speed-up*
|
|
|
268
|
|
|
269 In some situations, execution of an external command can be very slow. This
|
|
|
270 can also slow down wildcard expansion on Unix. Here are a few suggestions to
|
|
|
271 increase the speed.
|
|
|
272
|
|
|
273 If your .cshrc (or other file, depending on the shell used) is very long, you
|
|
|
274 should separate it into a section for interactive use and a section for
|
|
|
275 non-interactive use (often called secondary shells). When you execute a
|
|
|
276 command from Vim like ":!ls", you do not need the interactive things (for
|
|
|
277 example, setting the prompt). Put the stuff that is not needed after these
|
|
|
278 lines: >
|
|
|
279
|
|
|
280 if ($?prompt == 0) then
|
|
|
281 exit 0
|
|
|
282 endif
|
|
|
283
|
|
|
284 Another way is to include the "-f" flag in the 'shell' option, e.g.: >
|
|
|
285
|
|
|
286 :set shell=csh\ -f
|
|
|
287
|
|
|
288 (the backslash is needed to include the space in the option).
|
|
|
289 This will make csh completely skip the use of the .cshrc file. This may cause
|
|
|
290 some things to stop working though.
|
|
|
291
|
|
|
292 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
293 Useful mappings *useful-mappings*
|
|
|
294
|
|
|
295 Here are a few mappings that some people like to use.
|
|
|
296
|
|
|
297 *map-backtick* >
|
|
|
298 :map ' `
|
|
|
299 Make the single quote work like a backtick. Puts the cursor on the column of
|
|
|
300 a mark, instead of going to the first non-blank character in the line.
|
|
|
301
|
|
|
302 *emacs-keys*
|
|
|
303 For Emacs-style editing on the command-line: >
|
|
|
304 " start of line
|
|
|
305 :cnoremap <C-A> <Home>
|
|
|
306 " back one character
|
|
|
307 :cnoremap <C-B> <Left>
|
|
|
308 " delete character under cursor
|
|
|
309 :cnoremap <C-D> <Del>
|
|
|
310 " end of line
|
|
|
311 :cnoremap <C-E> <End>
|
|
|
312 " forward one character
|
|
|
313 :cnoremap <C-F> <Right>
|
|
|
314 " recall newer command-line
|
|
|
315 :cnoremap <C-N> <Down>
|
|
|
316 " recall previous (older) command-line
|
|
|
317 :cnoremap <C-P> <Up>
|
|
|
318 " back one word
|
|
|
319 :cnoremap <Esc><C-B> <S-Left>
|
|
|
320 " forward one word
|
|
|
321 :cnoremap <Esc><C-F> <S-Right>
|
|
|
322
|
|
|
323 NOTE: This requires that the '<' flag is excluded from 'cpoptions'. |<>|
|
|
|
324
|
|
|
325 *format-bullet-list*
|
|
|
326 This mapping will format any bullet list. It requires that there is an empty
|
|
|
327 line above and below each list entry. The expression commands are used to
|
|
|
328 be able to give comments to the parts of the mapping. >
|
|
|
329
|
|
|
330 :let m = ":map _f :set ai<CR>" " need 'autoindent' set
|
|
|
331 :let m = m . "{O<Esc>" " add empty line above item
|
|
|
332 :let m = m . "}{)^W" " move to text after bullet
|
|
|
333 :let m = m . "i <CR> <Esc>" " add space for indent
|
|
|
334 :let m = m . "gq}" " format text after the bullet
|
|
|
335 :let m = m . "{dd" " remove the empty line
|
|
|
336 :let m = m . "5lDJ" " put text after bullet
|
|
|
337 :execute m |" define the mapping
|
|
|
338
|
|
|
339 (<> notation |<>|. Note that this is all typed literally. ^W is "^" "W", not
|
|
|
340 CTRL-W. You can copy/paste this into Vim if '<' is not included in
|
|
|
341 'cpoptions')
|
|
|
342
|
|
|
343 Note that the last comment starts with |", because the ":execute" command
|
|
|
344 doesn't accept a comment directly.
|
|
|
345
|
|
|
346 You also need to set 'textwidth' to a non-zero value, e.g., >
|
|
|
347 :set tw=70
|
|
|
348
|
|
|
349 A mapping that does about the same, but takes the indent for the list from the
|
|
|
350 first line (Note: this mapping is a single long line with a lot of spaces): >
|
|
|
351 :map _f :set ai<CR>}{a <Esc>WWmmkD`mi<CR><Esc>kkddpJgq}'mJO<Esc>j
|
|
|
352 <
|
|
|
353 *collapse*
|
|
|
354 These two mappings reduce a sequence of empty (;b) or blank (;n) lines into a
|
|
|
355 single line >
|
|
|
356 :map ;b GoZ<Esc>:g/^$/.,/./-j<CR>Gdd
|
|
|
357 :map ;n GoZ<Esc>:g/^[ <Tab>]*$/.,/[^ <Tab>]/-j<CR>Gdd
|
|
|
358
|
|
|
359 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
360 Compressing the help files *gzip-helpfile*
|
|
|
361
|
|
|
362 For those of you who are really short on disk space, you can compress the help
|
|
|
363 files and still be able to view them with Vim. This makes accessing the help
|
|
|
364 files a bit slower and requires the "gzip" program.
|
|
|
365
|
|
|
366 (1) Compress all the help files: "gzip doc/*.txt".
|
|
|
367
|
|
|
368 (2) Edit "doc/tags" and change the ".txt" to ".txt.gz": >
|
|
|
369 :%s=\(\t.*\.txt\)\t=\1.gz\t=
|
|
|
370
|
|
|
371 (3) Add this line to your vimrc: >
|
|
|
372 set helpfile={dirname}/help.txt.gz
|
|
|
373
|
|
|
374 Where {dirname} is the directory where the help files are. The |gzip| plugin
|
|
|
375 will take care of decompressing the files.
|
|
|
376 You must make sure that $VIMRUNTIME is set to where the other Vim files are,
|
|
|
377 when they are not in the same location as the compressed "doc" directory. See
|
|
|
378 |$VIMRUNTIME|.
|
|
|
379
|
|
|
380 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
381 Executing shell commands in a window *shell-window*
|
|
|
382
|
|
|
383 There have been questions for the possibility to execute a shell in a window
|
|
|
384 inside Vim. The answer: you can't! Including this would add a lot of code to
|
|
|
385 Vim, which is a good reason not to do this. After all, Vim is an editor, it
|
|
|
386 is not supposed to do non-editing tasks. However, to get something like this,
|
|
|
387 you might try splitting your terminal screen or display window with the
|
|
|
388 "splitvt" program. You can probably find it on some ftp server. The person
|
|
|
389 that knows more about this is Sam Lantinga <slouken@cs.ucdavis.edu>.
|
|
|
390 An alternative is the "window" command, found on BSD Unix systems, which
|
|
|
391 supports multiple overlapped windows. Or the "screen" program, found at
|
|
|
392 www.uni-erlangen.de, which supports a stack of windows.
|
|
|
393
|
|
|
394 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
395 Hex editing *hex-editing* *using-xxd*
|
|
|
396
|
|
|
397 See section |23.4| of the user manual.
|
|
|
398
|
|
|
399 If one has a particular extension that one uses for binary files (such as exe,
|
|
|
400 bin, etc), you may find it helpful to automate the process with the following
|
|
|
401 bit of autocmds for your <.vimrc>. Change that "*.bin" to whatever
|
|
|
402 comma-separated list of extension(s) you find yourself wanting to edit: >
|
|
|
403
|
|
|
404 " vim -b : edit binary using xxd-format!
|
|
|
405 augroup Binary
|
|
|
406 au!
|
|
|
407 au BufReadPre *.bin let &bin=1
|
|
|
408 au BufReadPost *.bin if &bin | %!xxd
|
|
|
409 au BufReadPost *.bin set ft=xxd | endif
|
|
|
410 au BufWritePre *.bin if &bin | %!xxd -r
|
|
|
411 au BufWritePre *.bin endif
|
|
|
412 au BufWritePost *.bin if &bin | %!xxd
|
|
|
413 au BufWritePost *.bin set nomod | endif
|
|
|
414 augroup END
|
|
|
415
|
|
|
416 ==============================================================================
|
|
|
417 Using <> notation in autocommands *autocmd-<>*
|
|
|
418
|
|
|
419 The <> notation is not recognized in the argument of an :autocmd. To avoid
|
|
|
420 having to use special characters, you could use a self-destroying mapping to
|
|
|
421 get the <> notation and then call the mapping from the autocmd. Example:
|
|
|
422
|
|
|
423 *map-self-destroy* >
|
|
|
424 " This is for automatically adding the name of the file to the menu list.
|
|
|
425 " It uses a self-destroying mapping!
|
|
|
426 " 1. use a line in the buffer to convert the 'dots' in the file name to \.
|
|
|
427 " 2. store that in register '"'
|
|
|
428 " 3. add that name to the Buffers menu list
|
|
|
429 " WARNING: this does have some side effects, like overwriting the
|
|
|
430 " current register contents and removing any mapping for the "i" command.
|
|
|
431 "
|
|
|
432 autocmd BufNewFile,BufReadPre * nmap i :nunmap i<CR>O<C-R>%<Esc>:.g/\./s/\./\\./g<CR>0"9y$u:menu Buffers.<C-R>9 :buffer <C-R>%<C-V><CR><CR>
|
|
|
433 autocmd BufNewFile,BufReadPre * normal i
|
|
|
434
|
|
|
435 Another method, perhaps better, is to use the ":execute" command. In the
|
|
|
436 string you can use the <> notation by preceding it with a backslash. Don't
|
|
|
437 forget to double the number of existing backslashes and put a backslash before
|
|
|
438 '"'.
|
|
|
439 >
|
|
|
440 autocmd BufNewFile,BufReadPre * exe "normal O\<C-R>%\<Esc>:.g/\\./s/\\./\\\\./g\<CR>0\"9y$u:menu Buffers.\<C-R>9 :buffer \<C-R>%\<C-V>\<CR>\<CR>"
|
|
|
441
|
|
|
442 For a real buffer menu, user functions should be used (see |:function|), but
|
|
|
443 then the <> notation isn't used, which defeats using it as an example here.
|
|
|
444
|
|
|
445 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
|
