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1 VIM(1) VIM(1)
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2
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3
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4
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5 NAME
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6 vim - Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
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7
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8 SYNOPSIS
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9 vim [options] [file ..]
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10 vim [options] -
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11 vim [options] -t tag
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12 vim [options] -q [errorfile]
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13
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14 ex
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15 view
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16 gvim gview evim eview
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17 rvim rview rgvim rgview
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18
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19 DESCRIPTION
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20 Vim is a text editor that is upwards compatible to Vi. It can be used
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21 to edit all kinds of plain text. It is especially useful for editing
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22 programs.
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23
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24 There are a lot of enhancements above Vi: multi level undo, multi win-
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25 dows and buffers, syntax highlighting, command line editing, filename
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26 completion, on-line help, visual selection, etc.. See ":help
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27 vi_diff.txt" for a summary of the differences between Vim and Vi.
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28
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29 While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the on-line help
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30 system, with the ":help" command. See the ON-LINE HELP section below.
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31
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32 Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the command
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33
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34 vim file
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35
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36 More generally Vim is started with:
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37
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38 vim [options] [filelist]
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39
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40 If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
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41 Otherwise exactly one out of the following four may be used to choose
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42 one or more files to be edited.
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43
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44 file .. A list of filenames. The first one will be the current
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45 file and read into the buffer. The cursor will be posi-
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46 tioned on the first line of the buffer. You can get to the
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47 other files with the ":next" command. To edit a file that
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48 starts with a dash, precede the filelist with "--".
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49
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50 - The file to edit is read from stdin. Commands are read
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51 from stderr, which should be a tty.
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52
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53 -t {tag} The file to edit and the initial cursor position depends on
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54 a "tag", a sort of goto label. {tag} is looked up in the
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55 tags file, the associated file becomes the current file and
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56 the associated command is executed. Mostly this is used
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57 for C programs, in which case {tag} could be a function
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58 name. The effect is that the file containing that function
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59 becomes the current file and the cursor is positioned on
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60 the start of the function. See ":help tag-commands".
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61
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62 -q [errorfile]
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63 Start in quickFix mode. The file [errorfile] is read and
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64 the first error is displayed. If [errorfile] is omitted,
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65 the filename is obtained from the 'errorfile' option
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66 (defaults to "AztecC.Err" for the Amiga, "errors.err" on
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67 other systems). Further errors can be jumped to with the
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68 ":cn" command. See ":help quickfix".
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69
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70 Vim behaves differently, depending on the name of the command (the exe-
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71 cutable may still be the same file).
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72
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73 vim The "normal" way, everything is default.
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74
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75 ex Start in Ex mode. Go to Normal mode with the ":vi" command.
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76 Can also be done with the "-e" argument.
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77
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78 view Start in read-only mode. You will be protected from writing
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79 the files. Can also be done with the "-R" argument.
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80
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81 gvim gview
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82 The GUI version. Starts a new window. Can also be done with
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83 the "-g" argument.
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84
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85 evim eview
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86 The GUI version in easy mode. Starts a new window. Can also
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87 be done with the "-y" argument.
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88
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89 rvim rview rgvim rgview
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90 Like the above, but with restrictions. It will not be possi-
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91 ble to start shell commands, or suspend Vim. Can also be
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92 done with the "-Z" argument.
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93
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94 OPTIONS
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95 The options may be given in any order, before or after filenames.
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96 Options without an argument can be combined after a single dash.
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97
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98 +[num] For the first file the cursor will be positioned on line
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99 "num". If "num" is missing, the cursor will be positioned
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100 on the last line.
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101
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102 +/{pat} For the first file the cursor will be positioned on the
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103 first occurrence of {pat}. See ":help search-pattern" for
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104 the available search patterns.
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105
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106 +{command}
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107
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108 -c {command}
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109 {command} will be executed after the first file has been
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110 read. {command} is interpreted as an Ex command. If the
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111 {command} contains spaces it must be enclosed in double
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112 quotes (this depends on the shell that is used). Example:
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113 Vim "+set si" main.c
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114 Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.
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115
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116 -S {file} {file} will be sourced after the first file has been read.
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117 This is equivalent to -c "source {file}". {file} cannot
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118 start with '-'. If {file} is omitted "Session.vim" is used
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119 (only works when -S is the last argument).
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120
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121 --cmd {command}
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122 Like using "-c", but the command is executed just before
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123 processing any vimrc file. You can use up to 10 of these
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124 commands, independently from "-c" commands.
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125
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126 -A If Vim has been compiled with ARABIC support for editing
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127 right-to-left oriented files and Arabic keyboard mapping,
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128 this option starts Vim in Arabic mode, i.e. 'arabic' is
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129 set. Otherwise an error message is given and Vim aborts.
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130
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131 -b Binary mode. A few options will be set that makes it pos-
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132 sible to edit a binary or executable file.
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133
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134 -C Compatible. Set the 'compatible' option. This will make
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135 Vim behave mostly like Vi, even though a .vimrc file
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136 exists.
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137
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138 -d Start in diff mode. There should be two or three file name
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139 arguments. Vim will open all the files and show differ-
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140 ences between them. Works like vimdiff(1).
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141
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142 -d {device} Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on the Amiga.
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143 Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".
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144
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145 -D Debugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the first
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146 command from a script.
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147
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148 -e Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable was called
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149 "ex".
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150
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151 -E Start Vim in improved Ex mode, just like the executable was
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152 called "exim".
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153
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154 -f Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and
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155 detach from the shell it was started in. On the Amiga, Vim
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156 is not restarted to open a new window. This option should
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157 be used when Vim is executed by a program that will wait
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158 for the edit session to finish (e.g. mail). On the Amiga
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159 the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
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160
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161 --nofork Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not fork and
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162 detach from the shell it was started in.
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163
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164 -F If Vim has been compiled with FKMAP support for editing
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165 right-to-left oriented files and Farsi keyboard mapping,
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166 this option starts Vim in Farsi mode, i.e. 'fkmap' and
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167 'rightleft' are set. Otherwise an error message is given
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168 and Vim aborts.
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169
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170 -g If Vim has been compiled with GUI support, this option
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171 enables the GUI. If no GUI support was compiled in, an
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172 error message is given and Vim aborts.
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173
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174 -h Give a bit of help about the command line arguments and
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175 options. After this Vim exits.
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176
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177 -H If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support for editing
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178 right-to-left oriented files and Hebrew keyboard mapping,
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179 this option starts Vim in Hebrew mode, i.e. 'hkmap' and
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180 'rightleft' are set. Otherwise an error message is given
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181 and Vim aborts.
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182
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183 -i {viminfo}
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184 When using the viminfo file is enabled, this option sets
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185 the filename to use, instead of the default "~/.viminfo".
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186 This can also be used to skip the use of the .viminfo file,
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187 by giving the name "NONE".
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188
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189 -L Same as -r.
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190
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191 -l Lisp mode. Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options on.
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192
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193 -m Modifying files is disabled. Resets the 'write' option.
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194 You can still modify the buffer, but writing a file is not
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195 possible.
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196
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197 -M Modifications not allowed. The 'modifiable' and 'write'
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198 options will be unset, so that changes are not allowed and
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199 files can not be written. Note that these options can be
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200 set to enable making modifications.
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201
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202 -N No-compatible mode. Reset the 'compatible' option. This
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203 will make Vim behave a bit better, but less Vi compatible,
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204 even though a .vimrc file does not exist.
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205
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206 -n No swap file will be used. Recovery after a crash will be
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207 impossible. Handy if you want to edit a file on a very
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208 slow medium (e.g. floppy). Can also be done with ":set
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209 uc=0". Can be undone with ":set uc=200".
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210
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211 -nb Become an editor server for NetBeans. See the docs for
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212 details.
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213
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214 -o[N] Open N windows stacked. When N is omitted, open one window
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215 for each file.
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216
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217 -O[N] Open N windows side by side. When N is omitted, open one
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218 window for each file.
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219
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803
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220 -p[N] Open N tab pages. When N is omitted, open one tab page for
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221 each file.
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222
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223 -R Read-only mode. The 'readonly' option will be set. You
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224 can still edit the buffer, but will be prevented from acci-
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803
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225 dently overwriting a file. If you do want to overwrite a
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226 file, add an exclamation mark to the Ex command, as in
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227 ":w!". The -R option also implies the -n option (see
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228 below). The 'readonly' option can be reset with ":set
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229 noro". See ":help 'readonly'".
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230
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803
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231 -r List swap files, with information about using them for
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232 recovery.
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233
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803
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234 -r {file} Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover a crashed
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235 editing session. The swap file is a file with the same
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236 filename as the text file with ".swp" appended. See ":help
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237 recovery".
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238
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803
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239 -s Silent mode. Only when started as "Ex" or when the "-e"
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240 option was given before the "-s" option.
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241
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242 -s {scriptin}
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243 The script file {scriptin} is read. The characters in the
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244 file are interpreted as if you had typed them. The same
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245 can be done with the command ":source! {scriptin}". If the
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246 end of the file is reached before the editor exits, further
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247 characters are read from the keyboard.
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248
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249 -T {terminal}
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250 Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are using. Only
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251 required when the automatic way doesn't work. Should be a
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252 terminal known to Vim (builtin) or defined in the termcap
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253 or terminfo file.
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254
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803
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255 -u {vimrc} Use the commands in the file {vimrc} for initializations.
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256 All the other initializations are skipped. Use this to
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257 edit a special kind of files. It can also be used to skip
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258 all initializations by giving the name "NONE". See ":help
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259 initialization" within vim for more details.
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260
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803
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261 -U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI initializa-
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262 tions. All the other GUI initializations are skipped. It
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263 can also be used to skip all GUI initializations by giving
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264 the name "NONE". See ":help gui-init" within vim for more
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265 details.
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266
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803
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267 -V[N] Verbose. Give messages about which files are sourced and
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268 for reading and writing a viminfo file. The optional num-
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269 ber N is the value for 'verbose'. Default is 10.
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270
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803
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271 -v Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable was called
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272 "vi". This only has effect when the executable is called
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273 "ex".
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274
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275 -w {scriptout}
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803
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276 All the characters that you type are recorded in the file
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277 {scriptout}, until you exit Vim. This is useful if you
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278 want to create a script file to be used with "vim -s" or
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279 ":source!". If the {scriptout} file exists, characters are
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280 appended.
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281
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282 -W {scriptout}
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283 Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
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284
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285 -x Use encryption when writing files. Will prompt for a crypt
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286 key.
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287
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803
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288 -X Don't connect to the X server. Shortens startup time in a
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289 terminal, but the window title and clipboard will not be
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290 used.
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291
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292 -y Start Vim in easy mode, just like the executable was called
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803
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293 "evim" or "eview". Makes Vim behave like a click-and-type
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294 editor.
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295
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803
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296 -Z Restricted mode. Works like the executable starts with
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297 "r".
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298
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803
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299 -- Denotes the end of the options. Arguments after this will
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300 be handled as a file name. This can be used to edit a
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301 filename that starts with a '-'.
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302
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303 --echo-wid GTK GUI only: Echo the Window ID on stdout.
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304
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305 --help Give a help message and exit, just like "-h".
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306
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803
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307 --literal Take file name arguments literally, do not expand wild-
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308 cards. This has no effect on Unix where the shell expands
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309 wildcards.
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310
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311 --noplugin Skip loading plugins. Implied by -u NONE.
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312
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313 --remote Connect to a Vim server and make it edit the files given in
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314 the rest of the arguments. If no server is found a warning
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315 is given and the files are edited in the current Vim.
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316
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317 --remote-expr {expr}
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803
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318 Connect to a Vim server, evaluate {expr} in it and print
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319 the result on stdout.
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320
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321 --remote-send {keys}
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322 Connect to a Vim server and send {keys} to it.
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323
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324 --remote-silent
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803
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325 As --remote, but without the warning when no server is
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326 found.
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327
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328 --remote-wait
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803
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329 As --remote, but Vim does not exit until the files have
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330 been edited.
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331
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332 --remote-wait-silent
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333 As --remote-wait, but without the warning when no server is
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334 found.
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335
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336 --serverlist
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337 List the names of all Vim servers that can be found.
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338
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339 --servername {name}
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803
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340 Use {name} as the server name. Used for the current Vim,
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341 unless used with a --remote argument, then it's the name of
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342 the server to connect to.
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343
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344 --socketid {id}
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803
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345 GTK GUI only: Use the GtkPlug mechanism to run gvim in
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346 another window.
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347
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348 --version Print version information and exit.
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349
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350 ON-LINE HELP
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803
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351 Type ":help" in Vim to get started. Type ":help subject" to get help
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352 on a specific subject. For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the
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353 "ZZ" command. Use <Tab> and CTRL-D to complete subjects (":help cmd-
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354 line-completion"). Tags are present to jump from one place to another
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355 (sort of hypertext links, see ":help"). All documentation files can be
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356 viewed in this way, for example ":help syntax.txt".
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357
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358 FILES
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359 /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/*.txt
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803
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360 The Vim documentation files. Use ":help doc-file-list"
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361 to get the complete list.
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362
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363 /usr/local/lib/vim/doc/tags
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803
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364 The tags file used for finding information in the docu-
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365 mentation files.
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366
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367 /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/syntax.vim
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368 System wide syntax initializations.
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369
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370 /usr/local/lib/vim/syntax/*.vim
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371 Syntax files for various languages.
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372
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373 /usr/local/lib/vim/vimrc
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374 System wide Vim initializations.
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375
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170
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376 ~/.vimrc Your personal Vim initializations.
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377
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378 /usr/local/lib/vim/gvimrc
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379 System wide gvim initializations.
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380
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170
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381 ~/.gvimrc Your personal gvim initializations.
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382
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383 /usr/local/lib/vim/optwin.vim
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803
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384 Script used for the ":options" command, a nice way to
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385 view and set options.
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386
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387 /usr/local/lib/vim/menu.vim
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388 System wide menu initializations for gvim.
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389
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390 /usr/local/lib/vim/bugreport.vim
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391 Script to generate a bug report. See ":help bugs".
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392
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393 /usr/local/lib/vim/filetype.vim
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803
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394 Script to detect the type of a file by its name. See
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7
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395 ":help 'filetype'".
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396
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397 /usr/local/lib/vim/scripts.vim
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803
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398 Script to detect the type of a file by its contents.
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7
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399 See ":help 'filetype'".
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400
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401 /usr/local/lib/vim/*.ps
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402 Files used for PostScript printing.
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403
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404 For recent info read the VIM home page:
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405 <URL:http://www.vim.org/>
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406
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407 SEE ALSO
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408 vimtutor(1)
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409
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410 AUTHOR
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411 Most of Vim was made by Bram Moolenaar, with a lot of help from others.
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412 See ":help credits" in Vim.
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803
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413 Vim is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson, Tony Andrews and
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414 G.R. (Fred) Walter. Although hardly any of the original code remains.
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7
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415
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416 BUGS
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417 Probably. See ":help todo" for a list of known problems.
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418
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803
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419 Note that a number of things that may be regarded as bugs by some, are
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420 in fact caused by a too-faithful reproduction of Vi's behaviour. And
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421 if you think other things are bugs "because Vi does it differently",
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422 you should take a closer look at the vi_diff.txt file (or type :help
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423 vi_diff.txt when in Vim). Also have a look at the 'compatible' and
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7
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424 'cpoptions' options.
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425
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426
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427
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826
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428 2006 Apr 11 VIM(1)
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