*vim_faq.txt*Frequently Asked QuestionsLast updated on: 11 October 2025  VIM FAQ by: Christian Brabandt <cb@256bit.org>Frequently Asked Questions                                 *vim-faq* *Vim-FAQ*This Vim FAQ is created from the questions and answers posted to thevim@vim.org user mailing list and the comp.editors newsgroup. There areseveral ways to solve a problem in Vim. This FAQ gives one of those severalpossibilities. You can explore the other ways using the information andlinks given in this FAQ. The credit for the answers in this FAQ goes toPeppe, Benji, Charles Campbell and numerous others. An online version ofthis FAQ is available athttps://vimhelp.org/vim_faq.txt.html*faq-index*INDEX ~                                                *faq-general-information*SECTION 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION ~|faq-1.1|   What is Vim?|faq-1.2|   Who wrote Vim?|faq-1.3|   Is Vim compatible with Vi?|faq-1.4|   What are some of the improvements of Vim over Vi?|faq-1.5|   Is Vim free?                                                        *faq-resources*SECTION 2 - RESOURCES ~|faq-2.1|   Where can I learn more about Vim?|faq-2.2|   Is there a mailing list available?|faq-2.3|   Is there an archive available for the Vim mailing lists?|faq-2.4|   Where can I get the Vim user manual in HTML/PDF/PS format?|faq-2.5|   I have a "xyz" (some) problem with Vim. How do I determine if it is  a problem with my setup or with Vim?|faq-2.6|   Where can I report bugs?|faq-2.7|   Where can the FAQ be found?|faq-2.8|   What if I don't find an answer in this FAQ?|faq-2.9|   I have a patch for implementing a Vim feature. Where do I send the  patch?|faq-2.10|  I have a Vim tip or developed a new Vim  syntax/indent/filetype/compiler plugin or developed a new script  or a colorscheme. Is there a public website where I can upload  this?                                                        *faq-availability*SECTION 3 - AVAILABILITY ~|faq-3.1|   What is the latest version of Vim?|faq-3.2|   Where can I find the latest version of Vim?|faq-3.3|   What platforms does it run on?|faq-3.4|   Where can I download the latest version of the Vim runtime files?                                                                *faq-help*SECTION 4 - HELP ~|faq-4.1|   How do I use the help files?|faq-4.2|   How do I search for a keyword in the Vim help files?|faq-4.3|   I am getting an error message E123, what did I do wrong?|faq-4.4|   Where can I read about the various modes in Vim?|faq-4.5|   How do I generate the Vim help tags file after adding a new Vim  help file?|faq-4.6|   Can I use compressed versions of the help files?                                                        *faq-editing-a-file*SECTION 5 - EDITING A FILE ~|faq-5.1|   How do I load a file in Vim for editing?|faq-5.2|   How do I save the current file in another name (save as) and edit  a new file?|faq-5.3|   How do I change the current directory to the directory of the  current file?|faq-5.4|   How do I write a file without the line feed (EOL) at the end of  the file?|faq-5.5|   How do I configure Vim to open a file at the last edited location?|faq-5.6|   When editing a file in Vim, which is being changed by an external  application, Vim opens a warning window (like the confirm dialog)  each time a change is detected. How do I disable this warning?|faq-5.7|   How do I edit a file whose name is under the cursor?|faq-5.8|   How do I reload/re-edit the current file?|faq-5.9|   How do I autosave a file periodically?|faq-5.10|  How do I open a file in read-only mode?|faq-5.11|  How do I open a file for editing without saving the modifications  to the current file?|faq-5.12|  How do I reduce the loading time for very large files in Vim?                                                *faq-editing-multiple-files*SECTION 6 - EDITING MULTIPLE FILES ~|faq-6.1|   How do I open multiple files at once from within Vim?|faq-6.2|   How do I switch between multiple files/buffers in Vim?|faq-6.3|   How do I open several files in Vim, with each file in a separate  window/tabpage?|faq-6.4|   How do I configure Vim to autoload several files at once similar  to "work-sets" or "projects"?|faq-6.5|   Is it possible to open multiple top level windows in a single  instance of Vim similar to Nedit or emacs?|faq-6.6|   How do I browse/explore directories from within Vim?|faq-6.7|   How do I edit files over a network using ftp/scp/rcp/http?                                                                *faq-backup*SECTION 7 - BACKUP ~|faq-7.1|   When I edit and save files, Vim creates a file with the same name  as the original file and a "~" character at the end. How do I stop  Vim from creating this file (or) How do I disable the Vim backup  file feature?|faq-7.2|   When I edit and save files, Vim creates a file with the same name  as the original file and a ".un~" extension at the end. How do I  stop Vim from creating this file (or) How do I disable the Vim  undofile feature.|faq-7.3|   How do I configure Vim to store all the backup files in a  particular directory?|faq-7.4|   When I save a file with Vim, the file permissions are changed.  How do I configure Vim to save a file without changing the file  permissions?                                                                *faq-buffers*SECTION 8 - BUFFERS ~|faq-8.1|   I have made some modifications to a buffer. How do I edit another  buffer without saving the modified buffer and also without losing  the modifications?|faq-8.2|   How do I configure Vim to auto-save a modified buffer when  switching to another buffer?|faq-8.3|   How do I replace the buffer in the current window with a blank  buffer?|faq-8.4|   Is there a keyboard shortcut to load a buffer by the buffer  number?|faq-8.5|   How do I open all the current buffers in separate windows?|faq-8.6|   How do I close (delete) a buffer without exiting Vim?|faq-8.7|   When I use the command `:%bd` to delete all the buffers, not all  the buffers are deleted. Why?|faq-8.8|   How do I display the buffer number of the current buffer/file?|faq-8.9|   How do I delete a buffer without closing the window in which the  buffer is displayed?|faq-8.10|  How do I map the <Tab> key to cycle through and open all the  buffers?                                                                *faq-windows*SECTION 9 - WINDOWS ~|faq-9.1|   What is the difference between a Vim window and a buffer?|faq-9.2|   How do I increase the width of a Vim window?|faq-9.3|   How do I zoom into or out of a window?|faq-9.4|   How do I execute an ex command on all the open buffers or open  windows or all the files in the argument list?                                                                *faq-motion*SECTION 10 - MOTION ~|faq-10.1|  How do I jump to the beginning (first line) or end (last line) of  a file?|faq-10.2|  In insert mode, when I press the <Esc> key to go to command mode,  the cursor moves one character to the left (except when the  cursor is on the first character of the line). Is it possible to  change this behavior to keep the cursor at the same column?|faq-10.3|  How do I configure Vim to maintain the horizontal cursor position  when scrolling with the <Page Up>, <Page Down>, etc keys?|faq-10.4|  Some lines in a file are more than the screen width and they are  all wrapped. When I use the j, k keys to move from one line to  the next, the cursor is moved to the next line in the file  instead of the next line on the screen. How do I move from one  screen line to the next?|faq-10.5|  What is the definition of a sentence, paragraph and section in  Vim?|faq-10.6|  How do I jump to beginning or end of a sentence, paragraph or a  section?|faq-10.7|  I have lines in a file that extends beyond the right extent of the  screen. How do I move the Vim view to the right to see the text  off the screen?|faq-10.8|  How do I scroll two or more buffers simultaneously?|faq-10.9|  When I use my arrow keys, Vim changes modes, inserts weird  characters in my document but doesn't move the cursor properly.  What's going on?|faq-10.10| How do I configure Vim to move the cursor to the end of the  previous line, when the left arrow key is pressed and the cursor  is currently at the beginning of a line?|faq-10.11| How do I configure Vim to stay only in insert mode (modeless  editing)?|faq-10.12| How do I display some context lines when scrolling text?|faq-10.13| How do I go back to previous cursor locations?                                                        *faq-searching-text*SECTION 11 - SEARCHING TEXT ~|faq-11.1|  After I searched for a text with a pattern, all the matched text  stays highlighted. How do I turn off the highlighting  temporarily/permanently?|faq-11.2|  How do I enter a carriage return character in a search pattern?|faq-11.3|  How do I search for the character "^M"?|faq-11.4|  How can I search/replace characters that display as "~R", "~S",  etc.?|faq-11.5|  How do I highlight all the non-printable characters in a file?|faq-11.6|  How do I search for whole words in a file?|faq-11.7|  How do I search for the current word under the cursor?|faq-11.8|  How do I search for a word without regard to the case (uppercase  or lowercase)?|faq-11.9|  How do I search for words that occur twice consecutively?|faq-11.10| How do I count the number of times a particular word occurs in a  buffer?|faq-11.11| How do I place the cursor at the end of the matched word when  searching for a pattern?|faq-11.12| How do I search for an empty line?|faq-11.13| How do I search for a line containing only a single character?|faq-11.14| How do I search and replace a string in multiple files?|faq-11.15| I am using the `:s` substitute command in a mapping. When a  search for a pattern fails, the map terminates. I would like the  map to continue processing the next command, even if the  substitute command fails. How do I do this?|faq-11.16| How do I search for the n-th occurrence of a character in a  line?|faq-11.17| How do I replace a tab (or any other character) with a hard  return (newline) character?|faq-11.18| How do I search for a character by its ASCII value?|faq-11.19| How do I search for long lines?|faq-11.20| How do I display all the lines in the current buffer that  contain a specified pattern?|faq-11.21| How do I search for a text string that spans multiple lines?|faq-11.22| How do I search for a pattern only within a range of lines  in a buffer?|faq-11.23| How do I clear the last searched pattern?|faq-11.24| Why does this pattern "a.\{-}p\@!" not match?|faq-11.25| How can I use "/" within a pattern, without escaping it?|faq-11.26| How can I operate on a search match?                                                        *faq-changing-text*SECTION 12 - CHANGING TEXT ~|faq-12.1|  How do I delete all the trailing white space characters (SPACE  and TAB) at the end of all the lines in a file?|faq-12.2|  How do I replace all the occurrences of multiple consecutive  space characters to a single space?|faq-12.3|  How do I reduce a range of empty lines into one line only?|faq-12.4|  How do I delete all blank lines in a file? How do I remove all  the lines containing only space characters?|faq-12.5|  How do I copy/yank the current word?|faq-12.6|  How do I yank text from one position to another position within a  line, without yanking the entire line?|faq-12.7|  When I yank some text into a register, how do I append the text  to the current contents of the register?|faq-12.8|  How do I yank a complete sentence that spans over more than one  line?|faq-12.9|  How do I yank all the lines containing a pattern into a buffer?|faq-12.10| How do I delete all the lines in a file that do not contain a  pattern?|faq-12.11| How do I add a line before each line with "pattern" in it?|faq-12.12| Is there a way to operate on a line if the previous line  contains a particular pattern?|faq-12.13| How do I execute a command on all the lines containing a  pattern?|faq-12.14| Can I copy the character above the cursor to the current cursor  position?|faq-12.15| How do I insert a blank line above/below the current line  without entering insert mode?|faq-12.16| How do I insert the name of the current file into the current  buffer?|faq-12.17| How do I insert the contents of a Vim register into the current  buffer?|faq-12.18| How do I move the cursor past the end of line and insert some  characters at some columns after the end of the line?|faq-12.19| How to replace the word under the cursor (say: junk) with  "foojunkbar" in Vim?|faq-12.20| How do I replace a particular text in all the files in a  directory?|faq-12.21| I have some numbers in a file. How do I increment or decrement  the numbers in the file?|faq-12.22| How do I reuse the last used search pattern in a `:substitute`  command?|faq-12.23| How do I change the case of a string using the `:substitute`  command?|faq-12.24| How do I enter characters that are not present in the keyboard?|faq-12.25| Is there a command to remove any or all digraphs?|faq-12.26| In insert mode, when I press the backspace key, it erases only  the characters entered in this instance of insert mode. How do I  erase previously entered characters in insert mode using the  backspace key?|faq-12.27| I have a file which has lines longer than 72 characters  terminated with "+" and wrapped to the next line. How can I  quickly join the lines?|faq-12.28| How do I paste characterwise yanked text into separate lines?|faq-12.29| How do I change the case (uppercase, lowercase) of a word or  a character or a block of text?|faq-12.30| How do I enter ASCII characters that are not present in the  keyboard?|faq-12.31| How do I replace non-printable characters in a file?|faq-12.32| How do I remove duplicate lines from a buffer?|faq-12.33| How do I prefix all the lines in a file with the corresponding  line numbers?|faq-12.34| How do I exchange (swap) two characters or words or lines?|faq-12.35| How do I change the characters used as word delimiters?                                        *faq-completion-in-insert-mode*SECTION 13 - COMPLETION IN INSERT MODE ~|faq-13.1|  How do I complete words or lines in insert mode?|faq-13.2|  How do I complete file names in insert mode?|faq-13.3|  I am using CTRL-P/CTRL-N to complete words in insert mode. How do  I complete words that occur after the just completed word?                                                        *faq-text-formatting*SECTION 14 - TEXT FORMATTING ~|faq-14.1|  How do I format a text paragraph so that a new line is inserted  at the end of each wrapped line?|faq-14.2|  How do I format long lines in a file so that each line contains  less than "n" characters?|faq-14.3|  How do I join short lines to the form a paragraph?|faq-14.4|  How do I format bulleted and numbered lists?|faq-14.5|  How do I indent lines in insert mode?|faq-14.6|  How do I format/indent an entire file?|faq-14.7|  How do I increase or decrease the indentation of the current  line?|faq-14.8|  How do I indent a block/group of lines?|faq-14.9|  When I indent lines using the > or < key, the standard 8-tabstops  are used instead of the current 'tabstop' setting. Why?|faq-14.10| How do I turn off the automatic indentation of text?|faq-14.11| How do I configure Vim to automatically set the 'textwidth'  option to a particular value when I edit mails?|faq-14.12| Is there a way to make Vim auto-magically break lines?|faq-14.13| I am seeing a lot of ^M symbols in my file. I tried setting the  'fileformat' option to 'dos' and then 'unix' and then 'mac'.  None of these helped. How can I hide these symbols?|faq-14.14| When I paste some text into a Vim buffer from another  application, the alignment (indentation) of the new text is  messed up. How do I fix this?|faq-14.15| When there is a very long wrapped line (wrap is "on") and a line  doesn't fit entirely on the screen it is not displayed at all.  There are blank lines beginning with "@" symbol instead of  wrapped line. If I scroll the screen to fit the line the "@"  symbols disappear and the line is displayed again. What Vim  setting control this behavior?|faq-14.16| How do I convert all the tab characters in a file to space  characters?|faq-14.17| What Vim options can I use to edit text that will later go to a  word processor?|faq-14.18| How do I join lines without adding or removing any space  characters?                                                        *faq-visual-mode*SECTION 15 - VISUAL MODE ~|faq-15.1|  How do I do rectangular block copying?|faq-15.2|  How do I delete or change a column of text in a file?|faq-15.3|  How do I apply an ex-command on a set of visually selected lines?|faq-15.4|  How do I execute an ex command on a column of text selected in  Visual block mode?|faq-15.5|  How do I select the entire file in visual mode?|faq-15.6|  When I visually select a set of lines and press the > key to  indent the selected lines, the visual mode ends. How can I  reselect the region for further operation?  (or) How do I  re-select the last selected visual area again?|faq-15.7|  How do I jump to the beginning/end of a visually selected region?|faq-15.8|  When I select text with mouse and then press : to enter an ex  command, the selected text is replaced with the : character. How  do I execute an ex command on a text selected using the mouse  similar to the text selected using the visual mode?|faq-15.9|  When I select a block of text using the mouse, Vim goes into  selection mode instead of Visual mode. Why?                                                *faq-command-line-mode*SECTION 16 - COMMAND-LINE MODE ~|faq-16.1|  How do I use the name of the current file in the command mode or  an ex command line?|faq-16.2|  How do I edit the text in the Vim command-line effectively?|faq-16.3|  How do I switch from Vi mode to Ex mode?|faq-16.4|  How do I copy the output from an ex-command into a buffer?|faq-16.5|  When I press the <Tab> key to complete the name of a file in the  command mode, if there are more than one matching file names,  then Vim completes the first matching file name and displays a  list of all matching filenames. How do I configure Vim to only  display the list of all the matching filenames and not complete  the first one?|faq-16.6|  How do I copy text from a buffer to the command line and from the  command line to a buffer?|faq-16.7|  How do I put a command onto the command history without executing  it?|faq-16.8|  How do I increase the height of the command-line?                                                                *faq-viminfo*SECTION 17 - VIMINFO ~|faq-17.1|  When I invoke Vim, I get error messages about illegal characters  in the viminfo file. What should I do to get rid of these  messages?|faq-17.2|  How do I disable the viminfo feature?|faq-17.3|  How do I save and use Vim marks/commands across Vim sessions?                                                        *faq-remote-editing*SECTION 18 - REMOTE EDITING ~|faq-18.1|  How do I open a file with existing instance of gvim? What  happened to the Vim 5.x OpenWithVim.exe and SendToVim.exe files?|faq-18.2|  How do I send a command to a Vim server to write all buffers to  disk?|faq-18.3|  Where can I get the documentation about the Vim remote server  functionality?                                                                *faq-options*SECTION 19 - OPTIONS ~|faq-19.1|  How do I configure Vim in a simple way?|faq-19.2|  How do I toggle the value of an option?|faq-19.3|  How do I set an option that affects only the current  buffer/window?|faq-19.4|  How do I use space characters for a Vim option value?|faq-19.5|  Can I add (embed) Vim option settings to the contents of a file?|faq-19.6|  How do I display the line numbers of all the lines in a file?|faq-19.7|  How do I change the width of the line numbers displayed using the  'number' option?|faq-19.8|  How do I display (view) all the invisible characters like space,  tabs and newlines in a file?|faq-19.9|  How do I configure Vim to always display the current line and  column number?|faq-19.10| How do I display the current Vim mode?|faq-19.11| How do I configure Vim to show pending/partial commands on the  status line?|faq-19.12| How do I configure the Vim status line to display different  settings/values?|faq-19.13| How do I configure Vim to display status line always?|faq-19.14| How do I make a Vim setting persistent across different Vim  invocations/instances/sessions?|faq-19.15| Why do I hear a beep (why does my window flash) about 1 second  after I hit the Escape key?|faq-19.16| How do I make the "c" and "s" commands display a "$" instead of  deleting the characters I'm changing?|faq-19.17| How do I remove more than one flag using a single `:set` command  from a Vim option?                                                        *faq-mapping-keys*SECTION 20 - MAPPING KEYS ~|faq-20.1|  How do I know what a key is mapped to?|faq-20.2|  How do I list all the user-defined key mappings?|faq-20.3|  How do I unmap a key?|faq-20.4|  I am not able to create a mapping for the <xxx> key. What is  wrong?|faq-20.5|  Why does mapping the <C-...> key not work?|faq-20.6|  How do I map the numeric keypad keys?|faq-20.7|  How do I create a mapping that works only in visual mode?|faq-20.8|  How do I create a mapping that works only in normal and operator  pending mode (but not in visual mode)?|faq-20.9|  In a Vim script, how do I know which keys to use for my mappings,  so that the mapped key will not collide with an already used key?|faq-20.10| How do I map the escape key?|faq-20.11| How do I map a key to perform nothing?|faq-20.12| I want to use the <Tab> key to indent a block of text and  <Shift-Tab> key to unindent a block of text. How do I map the keys  to do this?  This behavior is similar to textpad, visual studio,  etc.|faq-20.13| In my mappings the special characters like <CR> are not  recognized. How can I configure Vim to recognize special  characters?|faq-20.14| How do I use the "|" to separate multiple commands in a map?|faq-20.15| If I have a mapping/abbreviation whose ending is the beginning of  another mapping/abbreviation, how do I keep the first from  expanding into the second one?|faq-20.16| Why does it take a second or more for Vim to process a key,  sometimes when I press a key?|faq-20.17| How do I map a key to run an external command using a visually  selected text?|faq-20.18| How do I map the CTRL-I key while still retaining the  functionality of the <Tab> key?|faq-20.19| How do I define a map to accept a count?|faq-20.20| How can I make my normal mode mapping work from within Insert  Mode?                                                        *faq-abbreviations*SECTION 21 - ABBREVIATIONS ~|faq-21.1|  How do I auto correct misspelled words?|faq-21.2|  How do I create multi-line abbreviations?|faq-21.3|  When my abbreviations are expanded, an additional space character  is added at the end of the expanded text. How do I avoid this  character?|faq-21.4|  How do I insert the current date/time stamp into the file?|faq-21.5|  How do I prevent an abbreviation from expanding in insert mode?                                                *faq-record-and-playback*SECTION 22 - RECORD AND PLAYBACK ~|faq-22.1|  How do I repeat an editing operation (insertion, deletion, paste,  etc)?|faq-22.2|  How I record and repeat a set of key sequences?|faq-22.3|  How do I edit/modify a recorded set of key sequences?|faq-22.4|  How do I write recorded key sequences to a file?|faq-22.5|  I am using register 0 to record my key sequences (i.e. q0 ....  q). In the recorded key sequences, I am yanking some text.  After  the first replay of the recorded key sequence, I am no longer  able to play it back.                                                        *faq-autocommands*SECTION 23 - AUTOCOMMANDS ~|faq-23.1|  How do I execute a command when I try to modify a read-only file?|faq-23.2|  How do I execute a command every time when entering a buffer?|faq-23.3|  How do I execute a command every time when entering a window?|faq-23.4|  From an autocmd, how can I determine the name of the file or the  buffer number for which the autocommand is executed?|faq-23.5|  How do I automatically save all the changed buffers whenever Vim  loses focus?|faq-23.6|  How do I execute/run a function when Vim exits to do some  cleanup?                                                        *faq-syntax-highlight*SECTION 24 - SYNTAX HIGHLIGHT ~|faq-24.1|  How do I turn off/on syntax highlighting?|faq-24.2|  How do I change the background and foreground colors used by Vim?|faq-24.3|  How do I change the highlight colors to suit a dark/light  background?|faq-24.4|  How do I change the color of the line numbers displayed when the  `:set number` command is used?|faq-24.5|  How do I change the background color used for a Visually selected  block?|faq-24.6|  How do I highlight the special characters (tabs, trailing spaces,  end of line, etc) displayed by the 'list' option?|faq-24.7|  How do I specify a colorscheme in my .vimrc/.gvimrc file, so that  Vim uses the specified colorscheme every time?|faq-24.8|  Vim syntax highlighting is broken. When I am editing a file, some  parts of the file is not syntax highlighted or syntax highlighted  incorrectly.|faq-24.9|  Is there a built-in function to syntax-highlight the  corresponding matching bracket?|faq-24.10| How do I turn off the C comment syntax highlighting?|faq-24.11| How do I add my own syntax extensions to the standard syntax  files supplied with Vim?|faq-24.12| How do I replace a standard syntax file that comes with the Vim  distribution with my own syntax file?|faq-24.13| How do I highlight all the characters after a particular column?|faq-24.14| How do I convert a source file (.c, .h, etc) with the Vim syntax  highlighting into a HTML file?|faq-24.15| How do I list the definition of all the current highlight  groups?|faq-24.16| How can I embed one syntax highlighting language into another  one?                                                *faq-vim-script-writing*SECTION 25 - VIM SCRIPT WRITING ~|faq-25.1|  How do I list the names of all the scripts sourced by Vim?|faq-25.2|  How do I debug Vim scripts?|faq-25.3|  How do I locate the script/plugin which sets a Vim option?|faq-25.4|  I am getting some error/informational messages from Vim (possibly  when running a script), the messages are cleared immediately. How  do I display the messages again?|faq-25.5|  How do I save and restore a plugin specific information across  Vim invocations?|faq-25.6|  How do I start insert mode from a Vim function?|faq-25.7|  How do I change the cursor position from within a Vim function?|faq-25.8|  How do I check the value of an environment variable in the .vimrc  file?|faq-25.9|  How do I check whether an environment variable is set or not from  a Vim function?|faq-25.10| How do I call/use the Vim built-in functions?|faq-25.11| I am using some normal mode commands in my Vim script. How do I  avoid using the user-defined mappings for these normal mode  commands and use the standard Vim functionality for these normal  mode commands?|faq-25.12| How do I get a visually selected text into a Vim variable or  register?|faq-25.13| I have some text in a Vim variable "myvar". I would like to use  this variable in a `:s` substitute command to replace a text  "mytext". How do I do this?|faq-25.14| A Vim variable (bno) contains a buffer number. How do I use this  variable to open the corresponding buffer?|faq-25.15| How do I store the value of a Vim option into a Vim variable?|faq-25.16| I have copied and inserted some text into a buffer from a Vim  function. How do I indent the inserted text from the Vim  function?|faq-25.17| How do I get the character under the cursor from a Vim script?|faq-25.18| How do I get the name of the current file without the extension?|faq-25.19| How do I get the basename of the current file?|faq-25.20| How do I get the output from a Vim function into the current  buffer?|faq-25.21| How do I call external programs from a Vim function?|faq-25.22| How do I get the return status of a program executed using the  `:!` command?|faq-25.23| How do I determine whether the current buffer is modified or  not?|faq-25.24| I would like to use the carriage return character in a normal  command from a Vim script. How do I specify the carriage return  character?|faq-25.25| How do I split long lines in a Vim script?|faq-25.26| When I try to "execute" my function using the `:execute Myfunc()`  command, the cursor is moved to the top of the current buffer.  Why?|faq-25.27| How do I source/execute the contents of a register?|faq-25.28| After calling a Vim function or a mapping, when I press the "u"  key to undo the last change, Vim undoes all the changes made by  the mapping/function. Why?|faq-25.29| How can I call a function defined with s: (script local  function) from another script/plugin?|faq-25.30| Is it possible to un-source a sourced script? In other words,  reverse all the commands executed by sourcing a script.                                                                *faq-plugins*SECTION 26 - PLUGINS ~|faq-26.1|  How do I set different options for different types of files?|faq-26.2|  I have downloaded a Vim plugin or a syntax file or a indent file,  or a color scheme or a filetype plugin from the web. Where should  I copy these files so that Vim will find them?|faq-26.3|  How do I extend an existing filetype plugin?|faq-26.4|  How do I turn off loading the Vim plugins?|faq-26.5|  How do I turn on/off loading the filetype plugins?|faq-26.6|  How do I override settings made in a file type plugin in the  global ftplugin directory for all the file types?|faq-26.7|  How do I disable the Vim directory browser plugin?|faq-26.8|  How do I set the filetype option for files with names matching a  particular pattern or depending on the file extension?                                                *faq-editing-program-files*SECTION 27 - EDITING PROGRAM FILES ~|faq-27.1|  How do I enable automatic indentation for C/C++ files?|faq-27.2|  How do I configure the indentation used for C/C++ files?|faq-27.3|  How do I turn off the automatic indentation feature?|faq-27.4|  How do I change the number of space characters used for the  automatic indentation?|faq-27.5|  I am editing a C program using Vim. How do I display the  definition of a macro or a variable?|faq-27.6|  I am editing a C program using Vim. How do I jump to the  beginning or end of a code block from within the block?|faq-27.7|  When editing C++ files and when inserting new lines above or  below a comment (//) line, Vim automatically inserts the C++  comment character (//) at the beginning of the line. How do I  disable this? |faq-27.8|  How do I add the comment character "#" to a set of lines at the  beginning of each line?|faq-27.9|  How do I edit a header file with the same name as the  corresponding C source file?|faq-27.10| How do I automatically insert comment leaders while typing  comments?                                                                *faq-quickfix*SECTION 28 - QUICKFIX ~|faq-28.1|  How do I build programs from Vim?|faq-28.2|  When I run the make command in Vim I get the errors listed as the  compiler compiles the program. When it finishes this list  disappears and I have to use the `:clist` command to see the error  message again. Is there any other way to see these error  messages?|faq-28.3|  How can I perform a command for each item in the  quickfix/location list?                                                                *faq-folding*SECTION 29 - FOLDING ~|faq-29.1|  How do I extend the Vim folding support?|faq-29.2|  When I enable folding by setting the 'foldmethod' option, all the  folds are closed. How do I prevent this?|faq-29.3|  How do I control how many folds will be opened when I start  editing a file?|faq-29.4|  How do I open and close folds using the mouse?|faq-29.5|  How do I change the text displayed for a closed fold?|faq-29.6|  How do I store and restore manually created folds across  different Vim invocations?|faq-29.7|  I have enabled syntax based folding. Why is Vim so slow?                                        *faq-vim-with-external-applications*SECTION 30 - VIM WITH EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS ~|faq-30.1|  Can I run a shell inside a Vim window?|faq-30.2|  How do I pass the word under the cursor to an external command?|faq-30.3|  How do I get the output of a shell command into a Vim buffer?|faq-30.4|  How do I pipe the contents of the current buffer to an external  command and replace the contents of the buffer with the output  from the command?|faq-30.5|  How do I sort a section of my file?|faq-30.6|  How do I use Vim as a pager?|faq-30.7|  How do I view Unix man pages from inside Vim?|faq-30.8|  How do I change the diff command used by the Vim diff support?|faq-30.9|  How do I use the Vim diff mode without folding?                                                                *faq-gui-vim*SECTION 31 - GUI VIM ~|faq-31.1|  How do I create buffer specific menus?|faq-31.2|  How do I change the font used by GUI Vim?|faq-31.3|  When starting GUI Vim, how do I specify the location of the GVIM  window?|faq-31.4|  How do I add a horizontal scrollbar in GVim?|faq-31.5|  How do I make the scrollbar appear in the left side by default?|faq-31.6|  How do I remove the Vim menubar?|faq-31.7|  I am using GUI Vim. When I press the <Alt> key and a letter, the  menu starting with that letter is selected. I don't want this  behavior as I want to map the <Alt>-<key> combination. How do I do  this?|faq-31.8|  Is it possible to scroll the text by dragging the scrollbar so  that the cursor stays in the original location?|faq-31.9|  How do I get gvim to start browsing files in a particular  directory when using the `:browse` command?|faq-31.10| For some questions, like when a file is changed outside of Vim,  Vim displays a GUI dialog box. How do I replace this GUI dialog  box with a console dialog box?|faq-31.11| I am trying to use GUI Vim as the editor for my xxx application.  When the xxx application launches GUI Vim to edit a file, the  control immediately returns to the xxx application. How do I  start GUI Vim, so that the control returns to the xxx  application only after I quit Vim?|faq-31.12| Why does the "Select Font" dialog doesn't show all the fonts  installed in my system?|faq-31.13| How do I use the mouse in Vim command-line mode?|faq-31.14| When I use the middle mouse button to scroll text, it pastes the  last copied text. How do I disable this behavior?|faq-31.15| How do I change the location and size of a GUI Vim window?|faq-31.16| When splitting the Vim window vertically, Vim changes  the position.                                                        *faq-vim-on-unix*SECTION 32 - VIM ON UNIX ~|faq-32.1|  I am running Vim in a xterm. When I press the CTRL-S key, Vim  freezes. What should I do now?|faq-32.2|  I am seeing weird screen update problems in Vim. What can I do to  solve this screen/display update problems?|faq-32.3|  I am using the terminal/console version of Vim. In insertmode,  When I press the backspace key, the character before the cursor  is not erased. How do I configure Vim to do this?|faq-32.4|  I am using Vim in a xterm. When I quit Vim, the screen contents  are restored back to the original contents. How do I disable  this?|faq-32.5|  When I start Vim, it takes quite a few seconds to start. How do I  minimize the startup time?|faq-32.6|  How can I make the cursor in gvim in unix stop blinking?|faq-32.7|  How do I change the menu font on GTK Vim?|faq-32.8|  How do I prevent CTRL-Z from suspending Vim?|faq-32.9|  When I kill the xterm running Vim, the Vim process continues to  run and takes up a lot of CPU (99%) time. Why is this happening?|faq-32.10| How do I get the Vim syntax highlighting to work in a Unix  terminal?                                                *faq-vim-on-ms-windows*SECTION 33 - VIM ON MS-WINDOWS ~|faq-33.1|  In MS-Windows, CTRL-V doesn't start the blockwise visual mode.  What happened?|faq-33.2|  When I press the CTRL-Y key, it acts like the CTRL-R key. How do  I configure Vim to treat CTRL-Y as CTRL-Y?|faq-33.3|  How do I start GUI Vim in a maximized window always?|faq-33.4|  After doing some editing operations, Vim freezes. The cursor  becomes an empty rectangle. I am not able enter any characters.  What is happening?|faq-33.5|  I am using Windows XP, the display speed of maximized GVim is  very slow. What can I do to speed the display updates?|faq-33.6|  What are the recommended settings for using Vim with cygwin?|faq-33.7|  I am trying to use GNU diff with Vim diff mode. When I run the  diff from command line, it works. When I try to use the diff with  Vim it doesn't work. What should I do now?|faq-33.8|  Is it possible to use Vim as an external editor for MS-Windows  Outlook email client?|faq-33.9|  I am using Vim to edit HTML files. How do I start internet  explorer with the current file to preview the HTML file?|faq-33.10| I would like to use Vim with Microsoft Visual Studio. How do I  do this?|faq-33.11| Where do I place the _vimrc and _gvimrc files?|faq-33.12| Every time I save a file, Vim warns about the file being changed  outside of Vim. Why?                                                                *faq-printing*SECTION 34 - PRINTING ~|faq-34.1|  How do I print a file along with line numbers for all the lines?|faq-34.2|  How do I print a file with the Vim syntax highlighting colors?                                                *faq-building-vim-from-source*SECTION 35 - BUILDING VIM FROM SOURCE ~|faq-35.1|  How do I build Vim from the sources on a Unix system?|faq-35.2|  How do I install Vim in my home directory or a directory other  than the default installation directory in Unix?|faq-35.3|  How do I build Vim from the sources on a MS-Windows system?|faq-35.4|  The Vim help, syntax, indent files are missing from my Vim  installation. How do I install these files?|faq-35.5|  I have built Vim from the source and installed the Vim package  using "make install". Do I need to keep the Vim source directory?|faq-35.6|  How do I determine the Vim features which are enabled at compile  time?|faq-35.7|  Can I build Vim without the GUI support?|faq-35.8|  When building Vim on a Unix system, I am getting "undefined  reference to term_set_winsize" error. How do I resolve this  error?|faq-35.9|  Vim configure keeps complaining about the lack of gtk-config  while trying to use GTK 2.03. This is correct, since in GTK 2  they moved to using the generic pkg-config. I can get pkg-config  to list the various includes and libs for gtk, but for some  reason the configure script still isn't picking this up.|faq-35.10| I did successfully download the sources and compiled Vim on  Unix. But feature ... still does not work. What is wrong and  how can I fix it?                                                                *faq-various*SECTION 36 - VARIOUS ~|faq-36.1|  How do I edit binary files with Vim?|faq-36.2|  How do I disable the visual error flash and the error beep?|faq-36.3|  How do I display the ascii value of a character displayed in a  buffer?|faq-36.4|  Can I use zero as a count for a Vim command?|faq-36.5|  How do I disable the Vim welcome screen?|faq-36.6|  How do I avoid the "hit enter to continue" prompt?|faq-36.7|  How do I invoke Vim from command line to run a group of commands  on a group of files?|faq-36.8|  How do I use a normal mode command from insert mode without  leaving the insert mode?|faq-36.9|  How do I start Vim in insert mode?|faq-36.10| How do I use Copy and Paste with Vim?|faq-36.11| Why shouldn't I modify the files in the system runtime  directory?                                                                *faq-unicode*SECTION 37 - UNICODE ~|faq-37.1|  Is it possible to create Unicode files using Vim?|faq-37.2|  Which Vim settings are particularly important for editing Unicode  files?|faq-37.3|  What is the 'encoding' option?|faq-37.4|  How does Vim name the various Unicode encodings?|faq-37.5|  How does Vim specify the presence or absence of a byte-order  mark?|faq-37.6|  What is the 'fileencoding' option?|faq-37.7|  What is the 'fileencodings' option?|faq-37.8|  What is the 'termencoding' option?|faq-37.9|  What is the 'bomb' option?|faq-37.10| Where can I find an example of a typical use of all these  options?|faq-37.11| How can I insert Unicode characters into a file using Vim?|faq-37.12| How can I know which digraphs are defined and for which  characters?============================================================================= *faq-1*SECTION 1 - GENERAL INFORMATION ~ *faq-1.1*1.1. What is Vim?Vim stands for Vi IMproved. It used to be Vi IMitation, but there are somany improvements that a name change was appropriate. Vim is a text editorwhich includes almost all the commands from the Unix program "Vi" and a lotof new ones. All commands can be given with the keyboard. This has theadvantage that you can keep your fingers on the keyboard and your eyes onthe screen. For those who want it, there is mouse support and a GUI versionwith scrollbars and menus.Vim is an editor, not a word processor. A word processor is used mainlyto do layout of text. This means positioning it, changing the way itappears on output. More often than not, the final document is meant tobe printed or typeset or what have you, in order to present it in apleasing manner to others. Examples of word processors are MicrosoftWord, FrameMaker, and OpenOffice Writer.An editor is simply for entering text. Any typesetting or laying out of thedocument is secondary. With an editor, one's main concern is entering text,not making the text look good. Examples of editors other than Vim and Viare Emacs, TextMate, Ultraedit and gedit. And Notepad.For more information, read:    |intro| *faq-1.2*1.2. Who wrote Vim?Most of Vim is based on Stevie and was written by Bram Moolenaar, withcontributions from too many people to mention here.For more information, read:    |author|    |credits| *faq-1.3*1.3. Is Vim compatible with Vi?Yes. Vim is very much compatible with Vi.  You can use the "-C"command-line flag to start Vim in Vi compatible mode: >    $ vim -C<You can also use: >    $ vim -u NONE<You can also set the 'compatible' option to enable Vi compatibility: >    :set compatible<If you want to make sure, to start Vim in a 'nocompatible' mode tooriginal Vi, supply the -N command line argument: >    $ vim -N<For more information, read:    |-C|    |-N|    |'compatible'|    |compatible-default| *faq-1.4*1.4. What are some of the improvements of Vim over Vi?A short summary of the improvements of Vim over vi is listed below.  Thelist shows that Vim is a thoroughly modern and feature-packed editor.Standard features of modern editors are implemented, and there is an equalemphasis on general power-user features and features for programmers.Features to modernise Vi: ~  Multi-level undo ~     Allows you to set the number of times you can undo your changes in a     file buffer. You can also redo an undone change.     Also starting with version 7.3 Vim can permanently store your undo     information, so that you can undo your changes which you have done     in a previous editing session.  Tabs, Multiple windows and buffers ~     Each file can be displayed in its own window. You can move easily from     one window to another. Each file opened during a Vim session also has     an associated buffer and you can easily jump from one to the other.     Also like any modern GUI, Vim supports opening several files in tabs.     You can do batch processing for tabs, buffers, windows and the     argumentlist.  Flexible insert mode ~     Vim allows you to use the arrow keys while in insert mode to move     around in the file. No more hitting <Esc>, moving around, then hitting     `i' or `a'.  Macros ~     Vim has a facility which allows you to record a sequence of typed     characters and repeat them any number of times.  Visual mode ~     You can highlight sections of text and execute operations on this     section of text only.  Block operators ~     Allow selection and highlighting of rectangular blocks of text in     order do execute specific operations on them.  Online help system ~     You can easily find help on any aspect of using Vim. Help is displayed     in its own window.  Command-line editing and history ~     History allows you to use the arrow keys to repeat or search for a     command that has already been typed. Allows you to match the beginning     of a command with the beginning of another similar command in the     history buffer. You can also edit a command to correct typos or change     a few values.  Command line completion. ~     Using the <Tab> key, you can complete commands, options, filenames,     etc. as needed.  Horizontal scrolling. ~     Long lines can be scrolled horizontally (with or without the GUI).  Unicode and internationalization improvements. ~     Vim is able to edit files in unicode encoding and uses internally an     utf-8 encoding. Additionally Vim can display text right to left     oriented.Advanced user features: ~  Text formatting ~     With two keystrokes, you can format large sections of text, without     the use of external programs.  Completion in Insert mode ~     Vim provides several different possibilities to complete your text.     For example Vim can complete words while you are typing, by matching     the current word with other similar words in the file.  Jump tags ~     Just like in an internet browser, you can jump back to previous parts     of the text you were editing, and then forward again.  Your brain is     thus free to edit instead of navigate.  Automatic commands ~     Commands automatically executed when reading or writing a file,     jumping to another buffer, etc.  Viminfo ~     Allows storing of the command line history, marks and registers in a     file to be read on startup.  Therefore, you can recall old search     patterns, macros, etc., in a new Vim session.  Mouse support ~     The mouse is supported in an xterm and for MS-DOS. It can be used to     position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a register, etc.  Graphical User Interface (GUI) ~     There are several different graphical user interfaces available.     Also, it's very easy to add your own menus.  Of course, console vim is     still supported, and very widely used.  Scripting language ~     Vim has a powerful scripting language so new commands can be created.     You can also use Perl, Python, TCL, Lua and Ruby to achieve the same     thing!  Plugins ~     Extra functionality implemented via vim commands (regular commands or     the scripting language) that is automatically loaded on startup.     Examples: file explorer, network editing, enhanced autocompletion,     syntax checks.     More are being developed and shared on VimOnline all the time.  Syntax highlighting for many programming languages ~     Syntax highlighting (including concealing items) for hundreds of     programming languages is supported. Support for others can be     added.  Extended regular expressions ~     Vim supports extended regular expressions which are similar in     functionality to that of Perl regular expressions.  Integrated Spell checking ~     Spell checking has been integrated into Vim.  Diff mode ~     Vim can highlight the differences between two, three or four files.     Identical lines will be folded away and hidden.  Encryption using the blowfish algorithm ~     Vim allows to encrypt your files using the symmetric block cipher     blowfish as well as the swap file.  Extensive customizable ~     Vim can be tuned and customized to work like you want by setting     options. You can define your own commands, macros and even plugins     to extend its capabilities  Packages ~     Packages have been added to keep the installation of the growing     number of plugins manageable. This is a convenient way to get one     or more plugins, drop them in a directory and keep them updated.     Vim will load them automatically, or only when desired.Programming performance features: ~  Edit-compile-edit speedup ~     You can compile within Vim and automatically jump to the location of     errors in the source code.  Indenting for many programming languages ~     C, C++, Java, Perl, XML and many other languages can be automatically     indented by vim while you type.  Support for others can be added.  Searching for words in include files ~     Vim allows you to search for a match of the word under the cursor in     the current and included files.  Advanced text objects ~     Instantly select, delete, copy, indent, format, change case, or ...     to all the text between ( and ), or { and }, or < and >, or [ and     ].  Or a word, sentence, or paragraph.  Very powerful.  Folding ~     Certain parts of the text can be "folded" away.  The best example is     the body of a function.  You can get an overview of the code, and then     open the fold of the function whose detail you need to see.  ctags and cscope integration ~     Using these two powerful programs, you can jump to a definition of a     function from a calling instance of it, and use other tricks to     navigate source code.  Integration of several programming languages ~     If you find the internal scripting language not powerful enough, you     can extend Vim using Lua, Ruby, Tcl, Perl and Python 2 and 3.  Asynchronous I/O support ~     Vim uses jobs and channels to talk to other programs     asynchronously. This allows to have e.g. a compiler run in the     background and open the quickfix list as soon as it is finished to     fix warnings and errors.  Timers ~     Timers are asynchronous and can fire once or repeatedly to invoke a     function to do any work.For more information, read: ~    |vi-differences| *faq-1.5*1.5. Is Vim free?Vim is Charityware. There are no restrictions on using or copying Vim, butthe author encourages you to make a donation to charity. A documentexplaining how to do so is included in the distribution.For more information, read:    |copyright|============================================================================= *faq-2*SECTION 2 - RESOURCES ~ *faq-2.1*2.1. Where can I learn more about Vim?You can post your Vim questions to the vim@vim.org mailing list.  You canpost your Vim development related questions to the vim-dev@vim.org mailinglist. Vim does not have a newsgroup of its own. But the appropriatenewsgroup to post to is comp.editors."VimOnline" is a web page that serves as a de facto homepage for vim,although the main purpose of it is to gather tips and scripts fromeverywhere.  Get involved!  The URL ishttps://www.vim.orgFinally, read the Vi FAQ:http://www.faqs.org/faqs/editor-faq/vi/part1/index.htmlFinally, there are also some communities, where you can discuss featuresor ask questions:https://vi.stackexchange.comhttps://vim.reddit.comFor more information, read:    |mail-list|    |internet| *faq-2.2*2.2. Is there a mailing list available?There are several:    NAME              DESCRIPTION ~    ----------------  --------------------------------------------- ~    vim-announce      Announcements of new releases    vim               General discussion    vim-dev           Patches, bug reports, development discussions    vim-mac           Macintosh discussion    vim-fr            General discussion in FrenchOf these, only vim and vim-dev are of general interest. vim-announce isread-only to most people, and its messages are sent to the other lists aswell. The remaining four are very low volume.    ACTION            EMAIL SEND TO ~    ----------------  -------------------------- ~    To subscribe:     <NAME>-subscribe@vim.org    To unsubscribe:   <NAME>-unsubscribe@vim.org    To get help:      <NAME>-help@vim.orgThe available mailing lists are also mentioned here:https://www.vim.org/maillist.php *faq-2.3*2.3. Is there an archive available for the Vim mailing lists?Yes. Visithttps://groups.yahoo.com/, where name is one of:vimannounce, vim, vimdev, vim-fr, vim-mac, vim-vms.Alternatively, visitwww.gmane.org to find out about GMANE, which allowsyou to access the mailing lists as though they were newsgroups.  Thisoffers some convenience to those who wish to browse the history or casuallyobserve the current threads. *faq-2.4*2.4. Where can I get the Vim user manual in HTML/PDF/PS format?You can download the HTML/PDF/PS format of the Vim user manual from:https://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/Note, the user manual from that page is currently pretty outdated. It'sbest to either use the documentation that comes with vim or use theonline version athttps://vimhelp.orgYou can find a pdf version of the full English help, including this faq(in letter, A4 and Ipad format) at:https://nathangrigg.com/vimhelp/This document is cross-referenced, so you can use the hyperlinkfunctionality. *faq-2.5*2.5. I have a "xyz" (some) problem with Vim. How do I determine if it is a     problem with my setup or with Vim?  / Have I found a bug in Vim?First, you need to find out, whether the error is in the actual runtimefiles or any plugin that is distributed with Vim or whether it is asimple side effect of any configuration option from your .vimrc or.gvimrc. So first, start vim like this: >    vim -u NONE -U NONE -N -i NONE<This starts Vim in nocompatible mode (-N), without reading your viminfofile (-i NONE), without reading any configuration file (-u NONE for notreading .vimrc file and -U NONE for not reading a .gvimrc file) or evenplugin.In this invocation, try to reproduce your problem. If the errorpersists, the chance is good you've found a bug in Vim (see alsoQuestion 2.6. |faq-2.6|)If the error does not occur when starting Vim this way, then the problemis either related to some plugin of yours or some setting in one of yourlocal setup files. You need to find out, what triggers the error, youtry starting Vim this way: >    vim -u NONE -U NONE -N<If the error occurs, the problem is your .viminfo file. Simply deletethe viminfo file then. If the error does not occur, try: >    vim -u ~/.vimrc --noplugin -N -i NONE<This will simply use your .vimrc as configuration file, but not load anyplugins. If the error occurs this time, the error is possibly caused bysome configuration option inside your .vimrc file. Depending on thelength of your vimrc file, it can be quite hard to trace the originwithin that file.The best way is to add `:finish` command in the middle of your .vimrc.Then restart again using the same command line. If the error stilloccurs, the bug must be caused because of a setting in the first half ofyour .vimrc. If it doesn't happen, the problematic setting must be inthe second half of your .vimrc. So move the `:finish` command to themiddle of that half, of which you know that triggers the error and moveyour way along, until you find the problematic option. If your .vimrc is350 lines long, you need at a maximum 9 tries to find the offending line(in practise, this can often be further reduced, since often linesdepend on each other).If the problem does not occur, when only loading your .vimrc file, theerror must be caused by a plugin or another runtime file (indentautoload or syntax script). Check the output of the `:scriptnames` commandto see what files have been loaded and for each one try to disable eachone by one and see which one triggers the bug. Often files that areloaded by vim, have a simple configuration variable to disable them, butyou need to check inside each file separately.You can also use the -V command line argument to get more debuginformation to analyze the problem: >    $ vim -V2logfile<You can increase the value passed to the -V argument to get more debuginformation. By also specifying a logfile name, this makes sure, thedebug messages don't appear on the screen and won't disturb you whentrying to reproduce the problem.For more information, read:    |-u|    |-U|    |-N|    |-V|    |'verbose'|    |:verbose|    |:set-verbose| *faq-2.6*2.6. Where can I report bugs?First collect the required information using the following command: >    :source $VIMRUNTIME/bugreport.vim<Now send the resulting text from the above command to the bugs@vim.orge-mail address. There is also a public bug tracker available athttps://github.com/vim/vim/issues. A copy of each message therewill be forwarded to the Vim Development list.The Vim Development mailing list (see Question 2.2 |faq-2.2|) is a good place todiscuss general bugs.  If the bug you find is with syntax highlighting,a runtime file, or some other "added feature" (i.e. not directlyprogrammed into vim), attempt to inform the maintainer of that feature.His e-mail address will be mentioned at the top of the correspondingruntime file.For more information, read:    |bug-reports| *faq-2.7*2.7. Where can the FAQ be found?The FAQ can be found athttps://vimhelp.org/vim_faq.txt.html.It will be auto-generated from the source that is managed in the githubrepositoryhttps://www.github.com/chrisbra/vim_faq (Patches are welcome).The repository also includes the faq in different formats, e.g. manpage,pdf file, html file, plain text version and a version in vim help format.A slightly older version (which doesn't seem to get updated anymore) canstill be found at VimOnline (https://www.vim.org/). *faq-2.8*2.8. What if I don't find an answer in this FAQ?This FAQ covers mainly Vim-specific questions. You may find moreinformation suitable for most Vi clones by reading the Vi FAQ. It is postedregularly on comp.editors. You can also find a copy athttp://www.faqs.org/faqs/editor-faq/vi/part1/index.htmlAlso, since Vim has gathered so many features in the last few years,successfully documenting the frequently asked questions here is anear-impossible task. To make it possible, please email the maintainer ifyou have a good question. A good question is one that you've tried toanswer yourself (remember, Vim has great documentation) but struggled. *faq-2.9*2.9. I have a patch for implementing a Vim feature. Where can I send this     patch?You can send your patches to the Vim developer mailing listvim-dev@vim.org.For more information, read:    |vim-dev| *faq-2.10*2.10. I have a Vim tip or developed a new Vim syntax/indent/filetype/      compiler plugin or developed a new script or a colorscheme.      Is there a public website where I can upload this?Yes. You can use the Vim Online website to upload your plugins/scripts,colorschemes, etc. The site is athttps://www.vim.orgNowadays people also seem to share their plugins/runtime files atgithub.Tips can also be shared in the Wiki which you can find athttp://vim.wikia.com============================================================================= *faq-3*SECTION 3 - AVAILABILITY ~ *faq-3.1*3.1. What is the latest version of Vim?The latest version of Vim is 8.2 released on 12th December 2019.The release history of different versions of Vim is below:    VERSION         RELEASE DATE ~    --------------  -------------------- ~    Version 9.1     2nd January, 2024    Version 9.0     28th June, 2022    Version 8.2     12th December, 2019    Version 8.1     17th May, 2018    Version 8.0     12th September, 2016    Version 7.4     10th August, 2013    Version 7.3     15th August, 2010    Version 7.2     9th August, 2008    Version 7.1     12th May, 2007    Version 7.0     8th May, 2006    Version 6.4     15th October, 2005    Version 6.3     8th June, 2004    Version 6.2     1st June, 2003    Version 6.1     24th March, 2002    Version 6.0     27th September, 2001    Version 5.8     31st May, 2001    Version 5.7     24th June, 2000    Version 5.6     16th January, 2000    Version 5.5     21st September, 1999    Version 5.4     26th July, 1999    Version 5.3     31st August, 1998    Version 5.2     24th August, 1998    Version 5.1     7th April, 1998    Version 5.0     19th February, 1998    Version 4.6     13th March, 1997    Version 4.5     17th October, 1996    Version 4.2     5th July, 1996    Version 4.0     29th May, 1996    Version 3.0     12th August, 1994    Version 2.0     21st December, 1993    Version 1.27    23rd April, 1993    Version 1.17    21st April, 1992    Version 1.14    2nd November, 1991If you are interested in the old release history, check out thevim-history git repository:https://github.com/vim/vim-historyand especially for the release history:https://github.com/vim/vim-history#release-historyFor more information, read:    |new-9|    |new-8|    |changed-9.1|    |changed-8.2|    |changed-8.1| *faq-3.2*3.2. Where can I find the latest version of Vim?You can download the sources for the latest version of Vim from theGithub repository. The URL for this site ishttps://github.com/vim/vimA mercurial mirror is also available:https://www.vim.org/hgweb/vim/Some users keep updated repositories for distributing latest binaryversions of Vim. You can find those repositories here:http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Where_to_download_Vim *faq-3.3*3.3. What platforms does it run on?All Unix platforms.All Windows platforms (10 and later).Amiga, Macintosh, MachTen, VMS, IBM z/OS.For MS-DOS support has been removed with the latest releases of Vim.16-bit DOS: latest supported version 7.132-bit DOS: latest supported version 7.3Windows XP and Visat: latest supported version 9.0 *faq-3.4*3.4. Where can I download the latest version of the Vim runtime files?You can download the latest version of the Vim runtime files (syntax files,filetype plugins, compiler files, color schemes, documentation, indentationfiles and keymaps) from the Vim github repositoryhttps://github.com/vim/vim/tree/master/runtimeAnother way of downloading the runtime files is this: >    wgethttps://github.com/vim/vim/archive/master.tar.gz -O- |    tar zfx - vim-master/runtime/ --strip-components=1<See also:https://www.vim.org/runtime.php============================================================================= *faq-4*SECTION 4 - HELP ~ *faq-4.1*4.1. How do I use the help files?Help can be found for all functions of Vim. In order to use it, use the`:help` command.  This will bring you to the main help page. On that firstpage, you will find explanations on how to move around. Basically, you movearound in the help pages the same way you would in a read-only document.You can jump to specific subjects by using tags. This can be done in twoways:   * Use the CTRL-] command while standing on the name of a command     or option. This only works when the tag is a keyword.     <Ctrl-LeftMouse> and g<LeftMouse> work just like CTRL-].   * use the `:tag <subject>` command. This works with all characters.Use CTRL-T to jump back to previous positions in the help files. Use`:q` to close the help window.If you want to jump to a specific subject on the help pages, use`:help {subject}` . If you don't know what to look for, try `:help index`to get a list of all available subjects. Use the standard search keys tolocate the information you want.You can abbreviate the `:help` command as `:h`.For searching the help, see the next Question 4.2. |faq-4.2|For more information, read:    |online-help| *faq-4.2*4.2. How do I search for a keyword in the Vim help files?a)  You can press the CTRL-D key after typing the help keyword to get a    list of all the help keywords containing the supplied pattern. You can    also use the meta characters like *, \+, etc to specify the help    search pattern: >    :help init<C-D>    :help str*()<C-D>    :help '*indent<C-D><b)  You can press the <Tab> key after typing a partial help keyword to expand    to the matching keyword. You can continue to press the <Tab> key to see    other keyword matches.c)  From the help window, you can use the `:tag` command to search for    keywords. For example, >    :tselect /window<    This command will list all the help keywords containing the text    "window". You can select one from the list and jump to it.d)  You can use the `:helpgrep` command to search for the given text in    all the help files. The quickfix window will be opened with all the    matching lines.For more information, read:    |help-summary|    |c_CTRL-D|    |c_<Tab>|    |:tselect|    |:help|    |:helpgrep| *faq-4.3*4.3. I am getting an error message E123, what did I do wrong?You can get more information about the error and the error message using:    |E123|For more information, read:    |error-messages| *faq-4.4*4.4. Where can I read about the various modes in Vim?You can get information about the different modes in Vim by reading    |vim-modes| *faq-4.5*4.5. How do I generate the Vim help tags file after adding a new Vim help     file?You can use the `:helptags` command to regenerate the Vim help tag filefrom within Vim. For example: >    :cd $VIMRUNTIME/doc    :helptags .<To update all "doc" directories in your 'runtimepath', you can use    :helptags ALLFor more information, read:    |:helptags|    |add-local-help| *faq-4.6*4.6. Can I use compressed versions of the help files?Yes. You can compress the help files and still be able to view them withVim.  This makes accessing the help files a bit slower and requires the"gzip" utility. Follow these steps to compress and use the Vim help files:- Compress all the help files using "gzip doc/*.txt".- Edit the "doc/tags" file and change the ".txt" to ".txt.gz" using        :%s=\(\t.*\.txt\)\t=\1.gz\t=- Add the following line to your vimrc:        set helpfile={dirname}/help.txt.gzWhere {dirname} is the directory where the help files are.  The gzip.vimplugin supplied with the standard Vim distribution will take care ofdecompressing the files.  You must make sure that $VIMRUNTIME is set towhere the other Vim files are, when they are not in the same location asthe compressed "doc" directory.Note, that the `:helpgrep` command does not work with compressed help pages.For more information, read:    |gzip-helpfile|    |'helpfile'|    |gzip|    |$VIMRUNTIME|============================================================================= *faq-5*SECTION 5 - EDITING A FILE ~ *faq-5.1*5.1. How do I load a file in Vim for editing?There are several ways to load a file for editing. The simplest is touse the `:e` (:edit) command: >    :e <filename><You can also use the `:n` (:next) command to load files into Vim: >    :n <filename(s)><You can also use the `:args` command to load files into Vim: >    :args <filename(s)><For more information, read:    |usr_07.txt|    |edit-files|    |:edit|    |:next_f|    |:args_f| *faq-5.2*5.2. How do I save the current file in another name (save as) and edit a     new file?You can use the `:saveas` command to save the current file in another name: >    :saveas <newfilename><Alternatively, you can also use the following commands: >    :w <newfilename>    :edit #<You can also use the `:file` command, followed by `:w` command: >    :file <newfilename>    :w<For more information, read:    |07.7|    |:saveas|    |:file_f|    |:w| *faq-5.3*5.3. How do I change the current directory to the directory of the current     file?You can use the following command to change the current directory to thedirectory of the current file: >    :cd %:p:h<To automatically change the current directory to the directory of thecurrent file, simply set the option 'autochdir'. >    :set autochdir<For more information, read:    |:cd|    |:lcd|    |filename-modifiers|    |autocommand|    |'acd'|    |getcwd()| *faq-5.4*5.4. How do I write a file without the line feed (EOL) at the end of the     file?You can turn off the 'eol' option and turn on the 'binary' option to writea file without the EOL at the end of the file: >    :set binary    :set noeol    :w<Alternatively, you can use: >    :set noeol    :w ++bin<If you rather only like Vim not to write missing EOLs, you can reset the'fixeol' option. This needs a Vim newer 7.4.785, so you should wrap thisin an if condition in your .vimrc like this: >    if exists('+fixeol')        set nofixeol    endif<This has the advantage of avoiding the many side effects that the'binary' option has.For more information, read:    |'endofline'|    |'fixeol'|    |'binary'|    |23.4| *faq-5.5*5.5. How do I configure Vim to open a file at the last edited location?Vim stores the cursor position of the last edited location for each bufferin the '"' register. You can use the following autocmd in your .vimrc or.gvimrc file to open a file at the last edited location: >    au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") |                         \ exe "normal! g`\"" | endif<Alternatively, you can simply source the vimrc_example.vim file, which isdistributed with Vim.For more information, read:    |'quote|    |last-position-jump|    |vimrc_example.vim| *faq-5.6*5.6. When editing a file in Vim, which is being changed by an external     application, Vim opens a warning window (like the confirm dialog) each     time a change is detected. How do I disable this warning?You can set the Vim 'autoread' option to automatically read the file againwhen it is changed outside of Vim: >    :set autoread<You can also use the following autocommand: >    autocmd FileChangedShell *          \ echohl WarningMsg |          \ echo "File has been changed outside of vim." |          \ echohl None<For more information, read:    |'autoread'|    |FileChangedShell|    |timestamp|    |:checktime| *faq-5.7*5.7. How do I edit a file whose name is under the cursor?You can use the gf command to edit a file whose name is under the cursor.You can use the CTRL-W f command to edit the file in a new window andfinally you can use CTRL-W gf top open a new tab page that contains thefile name under the cursor.For more information, read:    |gf|    |CTRL-W_f|    |CTRL-W_gf|    |'isfname'|    |'path'|    |'suffixesadd'|    |'includeexpr'| *faq-5.8*5.8. How do I reload/re-edit the current file?You can use the `:edit` command, without specifying a file name, to reloadthe current file.  If you have made modifications to the file, you can use`:edit!` to force the reload of the current file (you will lose yourmodifications, but depending on your 'undoreload' settings, thosechanges might be saved into the undo history).For more information, read:    |:edit|    |:edit!|    |'confirm'|    |'undoreload'| *faq-5.9*5.9. How do I autosave a file periodically?Vim doesn't support auto-saving a file periodically.For more information, read:    |'updatetime'|    |CursorHold|    |swap-file| *faq-5.10*5.10. How do I open a file in read-only mode?You can open a file in read-only mode using the `:view` command: >    :view <filename><This command sets the 'readonly' option for the opened buffer. You can alsouse the "-R" command-line option to open a file in read-only mode: >    $ vim -R <filename><You can also use the symbolic link executable "view" to open a file inread-only mode from the command-line: >    $ view <filename><For more information, read:    |07.6|    |'readonly'|    |'modifiable'|    |:view|    |:sview|    |view|    |-R|    |-M| *faq-5.11*5.11. How do I open a file for editing without saving the modifications to      the current file?You can open a file for editing without saving the modifications to thecurrent file and without losing the changes using one of the followingmethods: >    :split <new_filename>    :new <new_filename><You can also set the 'hidden' option and edit a new file: >    :set hidden    :e <new_filename><If you want to discard the changes made to the current file and loadanother file for editing, then you can use the following command: >    :e! <new_filename><For more information, read:    |:edit!_f|    |'hidden'|    |:split|    |:new| *faq-5.12*5.12. How do I reduce the loading time for very large files in Vim?You can use the following settings to reduce the loading time forvery large files in Vim: >    :set lazyredraw    :set noswapfile    :set undolevels=-1    :set eventignore=all    :set nohidden    :set syntax=off<Note that the above settings will disable many Vim features including thefollowing: Swap files support for crash recovery, undo support, syntaxhighlighting, filetype detection and other autocommand based features.There is also the LargeFile plugin available athttps://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1506which automatically sets these options, when working with large files(it is configurable, what is considered to be a large file, by default,it is 100MB).============================================================================= *faq-6*SECTION 6 - EDITING MULTIPLE FILES ~ *faq-6.1*6.1. How do I open multiple files at once from within Vim?Make a difference between args, buffers, tabs and windows. They are alldifferent things in VIM.args is a list of arguments. Buffers are place to edit text, almostalways attached to a file but not necessarily. Window is a place for abuffer and tab is set of windows, better name would be "layout".There are several ways to open multiple files at once from within Vim. Youcan use the `:next` command to specify a group of files: >    :next f1.txt f2.txt    :next *.c<You can use the `:args` command to specify a group of files as arguments: >    :args f1.txt f2.txt    :args *.c<After loading the files, you can use the `:next` and `:prev` command toswitch between the files.To execute command for all files in argument-list use `:argdo`For more information, read:    |07.2|    |:next|    |:args_f|    |argument-list| *faq-6.2*6.2. How do I switch between multiple files/buffers in Vim?To list all buffers use `:ls`, to list buffers without file attached to(also known as unlisted buffers, ex. scratch buffer and help-window) use`:ls!`There are several ways to switch between multiple files. You can use the`:buffer` command to switch between multiple files. You can also shortencommand as `:b` and use only part of the filename. For example, >    :buffer file1    :buffer file2    :b e2<You can also use <TAB> after `:b` for autocompletion. Try also `:b`followed by CTRL-D to see all available buffers. This works also for`:e`.You can also use the CTRL-^ key to switch between buffers. By specifying acount before pressing the key, you can edit the buffer with that number.Without the count, you can edit the alternate buffer by pressing CTRL-^You can also use the `:e #` command to edit a particular buffer: >    :e #5<To close a buffer use `:bd` -command.To execute command for all files in buffer-list use `:bufdo`For more information, read:    |edit-files|    |:buffer|    |CTRL-^|    |alternate-file|    |22.4|    |07.3| *faq-6.3*6.3. How do I open several files in Vim, with each file in a separate     window/tab?You can use the -o and -O Vim command line arguments to open multiple filesin separate horizontally or vertically split Vim windows. For example: >    $ vim -o3 f1.txt f2.txt f3.txt<The above command will open the files f1.txt, f2.txt and f3.txt in threeseparate horizontally split Vim windows. >    $ vim -O3 f1.txt f2.txt f3.txt<The above command will open the files f1.txt, f2.txt and f3.txt in threeseparate vertically split Vim windows. >    $ vim -p f1.txt f2.txt f3.txt<The above command will open the files f1.txt, f2.txt and f3.txt in threeseparate tab windows. The option 'tabpagemax' defines, how many tabpagescan be opened at the same time, by default it is set to 10.For more information, read:    |-o|    |-O|    |-p|    |startup-options|    |'tabpagemax'| *faq-6.4*6.4. How do I configure Vim to autoload several files at once similar to     "work-sets" or "projects"?You can use the `:mksession` and the `:mkview` commands to autoload severalfiles in Vim.The `:mksession` command creates a Vim script that restores the currentediting session. You can use the `:source` command to source the fileproduced by the mksession command.The `:mkview` command creates a Vim script that restores the contents ofthe current window. You can use the `:loadview` command to load the viewfor the current file.For more information, read:    |21.4|    |21.5|    |views-sessions|    |'sessionoptions'|    |:mksession|    |:source|    |v:this_session|    |:mkview|    |:loadview|    |'viewdir'|    |buffers| *faq-6.5*6.5. Is it possible to open multiple top level windows in a single instance     of Vim similar to Nedit or Emacs?No. It is currently not possible to open multiple top-level windows in asingle instance of Vim. This feature is in the todo list. *faq-6.6*6.6. How do I browse/explore directories from within Vim?You can use the netrw.vim plugin, supplied with the standard Viminstallation, to browse/explore directories from within Vim. You can startthe file explorer using one of the following commands: >    :e <directory>    :Explore    :Sexplore    :Vexplore    :Texplore<From the file explorer, you can browse through directories, rename, deleteand edit files.For more information, read:    |netrw.vim|    |22.1| *faq-6.7*6.7. How do I edit files over a network using ftp/scp/rcp/http?You can use the netrw.vim plugin, supplied with the standard Vim package,to edit files over a network using ftp/scp/rcp/http. Using this plugin, Vimwill transparently load and save the files over ftp/scp/rcp/http. Forexample, to edit a file over ftp, you can use the following command: >    $ vim ftp://machine/path<For more information, read:    |netrw.vim|============================================================================= *faq-7*SECTION 7 - BACKUP ~ *faq-7.1*7.1. When I edit and save files, Vim creates a file with the same name as     the original file and a "~" character at the end. How do I stop Vim     from creating this file? (or) How do I disable the Vim backup file     feature?You have set the 'backup' option, so Vim creates a backup file when savingthe original file. You can stop Vim from creating the backup file, byclearing the option: >    :set nobackup<Note that, by default this option is turned off. You have explicitlyenabled the 'backup' option in one of the initialization files. You mayalso have to turn off the 'writebackup' option: >    :set nowritebackup<For more information, read:    |07.4|    |backup-table|    |'backup'|    |'writebackup'|    |'backupskip'|    |'backupdir'|    |'backupext'|    |'backupcopy'|    |backup| *faq-7.2*7.2. When I edit and save files, Vim creates a file with the same name as     the original file and a "un~" extension at the end. How do I stop Vim     from creating this file (or) How do I disable the Vim undofile feature?Vim 7.3 contains as new feature persistent undo, that is, undo informationwon't be lost when quitting Vim and be stored in a file that ends with".un~" You have set the 'undofile' option, so Vim creates an undo file whensaving the original file. You can stop Vim from creating the backup file,by clearing the option: >    :set noundofile<Note that, by default this option is turned off. You have explicitlyenabled the 'undofile' option in one of the initialization files. If youwant your undofiles to be stored only in a particular directory, you canpoint the 'undodir' option to a directory that will contain all youraggregated undofiles.For more information, read:    |'undodir'|    |'undofile'|    |undo-persistence| *faq-7.3*7.3. How do I configure Vim to store all the backup files in a particular     directory?You can configure Vim to store all the backup files in a particulardirectory using the 'backupdir' option. For example, to store all thebackup files in the ~/backup directory, you can use the following command: >    :set backupdir=~/backup<For more information, read:    |07.4|    |'backupdir'|    |backup| *faq-7.4*7.4. When I save a file with Vim, the file permissions are changed.     How do I configure Vim to save a file without changing the file     permissions?This may happen, if the 'backupcopy' option is set to "no" or "auto". Notethat the default value for this option is set in such a way that this willcorrectly work in most of the cases. If the default doesn't work for you,try setting the 'backupcopy' option to "yes" to keep the file permissionwhen saving a file: >    :set backupcopy=yes<This applies, only if you have configured Vim to make a backup wheneveroverwriting a file. By default, Vim will not backup files.For more information, read:    |'backupcopy'|    |backup|    |'backup'|    |'writebackup'|============================================================================= *faq-8*SECTION 8 - BUFFERS ~ *faq-8.1*8.1. I have made some modifications to a buffer. How do I edit another     buffer without saving the modified buffer and also without losing the     modifications?You can set the 'hidden' option to edit a file without losing modificationsto the current file: >    :set hidden<By setting the 'hidden' option, you can also save the modification history(undo-history) for the buffer. Otherwise, as you switch between files, theundo-history will be lost (unless you use persistent undofiles).For more information, read:    |'hidden'|    |hidden-quit|    |:hide| *faq-8.2*8.2. How do I configure Vim to auto-save a modified buffer when switching     to another buffer?You can set the 'autowrite' option to auto-save a modified buffer whenswitching to another buffer: >    :set autowrite<For more information, read:    |'autowrite'|    |'autowriteall'|    |'hidden'| *faq-8.3*8.3. How do I replace the buffer in the current window with a blank buffer?You can use the `:enew` command to load an empty buffer in place of thebuffer in the current window.For more information, read:    |:enew| *faq-8.4*8.4. Is there a keyboard shortcut to load a buffer by the buffer number?You can use the CTRL-^ command to load a buffer by specifying the buffernumber. For example, to load buffer number 5, you have to use the 5 CTRL-^command.For more information, read:    |CTRL-^| *faq-8.5*8.5. How do I open all the current buffers in separate windows?You can use the `:ball` or `:sball` commands to open all the buffersin the buffer list: >    :ball<If you want all buffers to be opened in new tabs, simply prefix the `:tab`command: >    :tab :sball<For more information, read:    |:ball| *faq-8.6*8.6. How do I close (delete) a buffer without exiting Vim?You can use any of `:bdelete`, `:bwipeout` or `:bunload` commands todelete a buffer without exiting Vim. For example: >    :bdelete file1<For more information, read:    |:bdelete|    |:bwipeout|    |:bunload| *faq-8.7*8.7. When I use the command `:%bd` to delete all the buffers, not all the     buffers are deleted. Why?In the `:%bd` command, the "%" range will be replaced with the starting andending line numbers in the current buffer. Instead of using "%" as therange, you should specify numbers for the range. For example, to delete allthe buffers, you can use the command `:1,9999bd`.For more information, read:    |:bd|(This behaviour has been fixed with patch 7.4.530) *faq-8.8*8.8. How do I display the buffer number of the current buffer/file?You can use 2<CTRL-G> command to display the buffer number for the currentfile/buffer. Note the use of count before the CTRL-G command. If the countis greater than 1, then Vim will display the buffer number.You can also use the following command to display the current buffernumber: >    :echo bufnr("%")<You can also include the "%n" field to the 'statusline' option to displaythe current buffer number on the statusline.For more information, read:    |CTRL-G|    |bufnr()|    |:echo|    |'statusline'| *faq-8.9*8.9. How do I delete a buffer without closing the window in which the     buffer is displayed?You can use the following command to open the next buffer and deletethe current buffer. >    :bnext | bdelete #<For more information, read:    |:bnext|    |:bdelete|    |:buffers| *faq-8.10*8.10. How do I map the <Tab> key to cycle through and open all the buffers?You can use the following two map commands, to map the <Ctrl-Tab> key to openthe next buffer and the <Ctrl-Shift-Tab> key to open the previous buffer: >    :nnoremap <C-Tab> :bnext<CR>    :nnoremap <S-C-Tab> :bprevious<CR><Note, this might not work in the terminal version of Vim.For more information, read:    |:bnext|    |:bprevious|============================================================================= *faq-9*SECTION 9 - WINDOWS ~ *faq-9.1*9.1. What is the difference between a Vim window and a buffer?A Vim buffer is a file loaded into memory for editing. The original fileremains unchanged until you write the buffer to the file. A Vim window is aviewport onto a buffer. You can use multiple windows on one buffer orseveral windows on different buffers.For more information, read:    |usr_08.txt|    |22.4|    |windows-intro|    |Q_wi| *faq-9.2*9.2. How do I increase the width of a Vim window?You can increase the width of a Vim window using one of the followingcommands: >    :vert resize +N    :vert resize -N    :vert resize N<You can also use CTRL-W < or CTRL-W > or CTRL-W | commands.For more information, read:    |:vertical-resize|    |CTRL-W_>|    |CTRL-W_<|    |window-resize| *faq-9.3*9.3. How do I zoom into or out of a window?You can zoom into a window (close all the windows except the currentwindow) using the "<CTRL-W>o" command or the `:only` ex command.You can use the "<CTRL-W>_" command or the `:resize` ex command to increasethe current window height to the highest possible without closing otherwindows.You can use the "<CTRL-W>|" command or the `:vertical resize` ex command toincrease the current window width to the highest possible without closingother windows.You can use the "<CTRL-W>=" command to make the height and width of all thewindows equal.You can also set the following options to get better results with the abovecommands:Method 1:Set the 'winminheight' option to 0: >    :set winminheight=0<By default, this option is set to 1.This option controls the minimum height of an inactive window (when it isnot the current window).  When the 'winminheight' option is set to 0, onlythe status line will be displayed for inactive windows.Method 2:Set the 'noequalalways' option and set the 'winheight' option to a largevalue (like 99999): >    :set noequalalways    :set winheight=99999<Now, the active window will always open to its maximum size, while theother windows will stay present, but shrunken to just a status line.With any of the above mentioned methods, you cannot restore the windowlayout after zooming into a window.  If you want to restore the Vim windowlayout after zooming into a window, you can use the ZoomWin plugin. You candownload this plugin from the Vim online website at:https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=508For more information, read:    |CTRL-W_o|    |window-resize|    |'winminheight'|    |'equalalways'|    |'winheight'|    |08.3| *faq-9.4*9.4. How do I execute an ex command on all the open buffers or open windows     or all the files in the argument list?You can use the `:bufdo` command to execute an ex command on all the openbuffers.  You can use the `:windo` command to execute an ex command on allthe open windows.  You can use the `:argdo` command to execute an excommand on all the files specified in the argument list. And finally youcan use the `:tabdo` command to execute an ex command in all open tab pages.For more information, read:    |:windo|    |:bufdo|    |:argdo|    |:tabdo|    |26.3|============================================================================= *faq-10*SECTION 10 - MOTION ~ *faq-10.1*10.1. How do I jump to the beginning (first line) or end (last line) of a     file?You can use "G" command to jump to the last line in the file and the "gg"command to jump to the first line in the file.For more information, read:    |G|    |gg| *faq-10.2*10.2. In insert mode, when I press the <Esc> key to go to command mode, the     cursor moves one character to the left (except when the cursor is on     the first character of the line). Is it possible to change this     behavior to keep the cursor at the same column?No. It is not possible to change this behavior. The cursor is alwayspositioned on a valid character (unless you have virtual-edit modeenabled). So, if you are appending text to the end of a line, when youreturn to command mode the cursor *must* drop back onto the last characteryou typed. For consistency sake, the cursor drops back everywhere, even ifyou are in the middle of a line.You can use the CTRL-O or CTRL-\ CTRL-O command in insert mode to execute asingle ex command and return back to insert mode without moving the cursorcolumn.For more information, read:    |'virtualedit'|    |i_CTRL-O|    |i_CTRL-\_CTRL-O| *faq-10.3*10.3. How do I configure Vim to maintain the horizontal cursor position when     scrolling with the <Page Up>, <Page Down>, etc keys?You can reset the 'startofline' option to keep the cursor at the samehorizontal location when scrolling text: >    :set nostartofline<For more information, read:    |'startofline'| *faq-10.4*10.4. Some lines in a file are more than the screen width and they are all     wrapped. When I use the j, k keys to move from one line to the next,     the cursor is moved to the next line in the file instead of the next     line on the screen. How do I move from one screen line to the next?You can use the gj and gk commands to move from one screen line to thenext/previous screen line. The j and k commands move the cursor from onefile line to the next file line. You can also avoid the line wrapping byresetting the 'wrap' option: >    :set nowrap<For more information, read:    |gj|    |gk|    |'wrap'|You can use the following mappings: >    :map <Up> gk    :imap <Up> <C-o>gk    :map <Down> gj    :imap <Down> <C-o>gj    :noremap j gj    :noremap k gk< *faq-10.5*10.5. What is the definition of a sentence, paragraph and section in Vim?A sentence is defined as ending at a ".", "!" or "?" followed by either theend of a line, or by a space (or two) or tab. Which characters and thenumber of spaces needed to constitute a sentence ending is determined bythe 'joinspaces' and 'cpoptions' options.A paragraph begins after each empty line, and also at each of a set ofparagraph macros, specified by the pairs of characters in the 'paragraphs'option.A section begins after a form-feed (<C-L>) in the first column and at eachof a set of section macros, specified by the pairs of characters in the'sections' option.For more information, read:    |sentence|    |'joinspaces'|    |'cpoptions'|    |paragraph|    |section|    |word| *faq-10.6*10.6. How do I jump to beginning or end of a sentence, paragraph or a     section?You can use the following motion commands to jump to the beginning or endof a sentence or a paragraph or a section:      motion  position    where ~      ------  ---------   ----------------- ~      (       beginning   current sentence      )       end         current sentence      {       beginning   current paragraph      }       end         current paragraph      []      end         previous section      [[      beginning   current section      ][      end         current section      ]]      beginning   next sectionEach of these motions can be preceded by a number which will extend thejump forward (or backward).For more information, read:    |object-motions| *faq-10.7*10.7. I have lines in a file that extends beyond the right extent of the     screen. How do I move the Vim view to the right to see the text off     the screen?You can use one of the following commands to horizontally scroll the screento the left or right:    cmd  scroll to ~    ---  -------------------------- ~    zl   scroll to the left    zh   scroll to the right    zL   scroll half a screenwidth to the left    zH   scroll half a screenwidth to the right    zs   scroll to position the cursor at the start of the screen    ze   scroll to position the cursor at the end of the screenYou can use the g0 command to move the cursor to the first character of thescreen line and the g$ command to move the cursor to the last character ofthe screen line without scrolling the screen.For more information, read:    |scroll-horizontal| *faq-10.8*10.8. How do I scroll two or more buffers simultaneously?You can set the 'scrollbind' option for each of the buffers to scroll themsimultaneously.For more information, read:    |'scrollbind'|    |scroll-binding|    |'scrollopt'|    |'cursorbind'| *faq-10.9*10.9. When I use my arrow keys, Vim changes modes, inserts weird characters     in my document but doesn't move the cursor properly. What's going on?There are a couple of things that could be going on: either you are usingVim over a slow connection or Vim doesn't understand the key sequence thatyour keyboard is generating.If you are working over a slow connection (such as a 2400 bps modem), youcan try to set the 'timeout' or 'ttimeout' option. These options, combinedwith the 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen' options, may fix the problem.The preceding procedure will not work correctly if your terminal sends keycodes that Vim does not understand. In this situation, your best option isto map your key sequence to a matching cursor movement command and savethese mappings in a file. You can then `:source` the file whenever you workfrom that terminal.For more information, read:    |'timeout'|    |'ttimeout'|    |'timeoutlen'|    |'ttimeoutlen'|    |:map|    |vt100-cursor-keys| *faq-10.10*10.10. How do I configure Vim to move the cursor to the end of the previous      line, when the left arrow key is pressed and the cursor is currently      at the beginning of a line?You can add the "<" flag to the 'whichwrap' option to configure Vim to movethe cursor to the end of the previous line, when the left arrow key ispressed and the cursor is currently at the beginning of a line: >    :set whichwrap+=<<Similarly, to move the cursor the beginning of the next line, when theright arrow key is  pressed and the cursor is currently at the end of aline, add the ">" flag to the 'whichwrap' option: >    :set whichwrap+=><The above will work only in normal and visual modes. To use this in insertand replace modes, add the "[" and "]" flags respectively.For more information, read:    |'whichwrap'|    |05.7| *faq-10.11*10.11. How do I configure Vim to stay only in insert mode (modeless      editing)?You can set the 'insertmode' option to configure Vim to stay only in insertmode: >    :set insertmode<By setting this option, you can use Vim as a modeless editor. If you pressthe <Esc> key, Vim will not go to the normal mode. To execute a singlenormal mode command, you can press CTRL-O followed by the normal modecommand.  To execute more than one normal command, you can use CTRL-Lfollowed by the commands. To return to insert mode, press the <Esc> key. Todisable this option, reset the 'insertmode' option: >    :set noinsertmode<You can also start vim using the "evim" command or you can use "vim -y" touse Vim as a modeless editor.You can also start Vim in insert mode using the `:startinsert` ex command.For more information, read:    |'insertmode'|    |:startinsert|    |:stopinsert|    |i_CTRL-O|    |i_CTRL-L|    |evim|    |evim-keys| *faq-10.12*10.12. How do I display some context lines when scrolling text?You can set the 'scrolloff' option to display a minimal number of screenlines (context) above and below the cursor. >    :set scrolloff=10<For more information, read:    |'scrolloff'|    |'sidescrolloff'| *faq-10.13*10.13. How do I go back to previous cursor locations?You can go back to the cursor location before the latest jump using the ''or `` command. You can use the CTRL-O command to go back to older cursorpositions and the CTRL-I command to go to the newer cursor positions in thejump list.For more information, read:    |03.10|    |mark-motions|    |jump-motions|============================================================================= *faq-11*SECTION 11 - SEARCHING TEXT ~ *faq-11.1*11.1. After I searched for a text with a pattern, all the matched text      stays highlighted. How do I turn off the highlighting      temporarily/permanently?The 'hlsearch' option controls whether all the matches for the lastsearched pattern are highlighted or not. By default, this option is notenabled. If this option is set in a system-wide vimrc file, then you canturn off the search highlighting by using the following command: >    :set nohlsearch<To temporarily turn off the search highlighting, use >    :nohlsearch<You can also clear the search highlighting, by searching for a pattern thatis not in the current file (for example, search for the pattern "asdf").You can use this mapping, to clear the search highlighting whenredrawing the window pressing CTRL-L >    :nnoremap <silent> <C-L> <C-L>:nohls<CR><For more information, read:    |'hlsearch'|    |:nohlsearch| *faq-11.2*11.2. How do I enter a carriage return character in a search pattern?You can either use "\r" or <CTRL-V><CTRL-M> to enter a carriage returncharacter in a pattern. In Vim scripts, it is better to use "\r" for thecarriage return character.For more information, read:    |sub-replace-special| *faq-11.3*11.3. How do I search for the character ^M?You can enter the ^M character in a search command by first pressing theCTRL-V key and then pressing the CTRL-M key. >    /^V^M<You can also use the "\r" character. In Vim scripts, "\r" is preferred.For more information, read:    |c_CTRL-V|    |using_CTRL-V|    |/\r| *faq-11.4*11.4. How can I search/replace characters that display as "~R", "~S", etc.?You can use the "ga" command to display the ASCII value/code for thespecial character. For example, let us say the ASCII value is 142. Then youcan use the following command to search for the special character: >    /^V142<where, ^V is entered by pressing CTRL-V.For more information, read:    |ga|    |using_CTRL-V|    |24.8| *faq-11.5*11.5. How do I highlight all the non-printable characters in a file?You can use the following commands and search pattern to highlight all thenon-printable characters in a file: >    :set hlsearch    /\(\p\|$\)\@!.<For more information, read:    |/\p|    |/bar|    |/$|    |/\(|    |/\@!|    |'hlsearch'| *faq-11.6*11.6. How do I search for whole words in a file?You can search for whole words in a file using the \< and \> atoms. Forexample: >    /\<myword\><The \< atom matches the beginning of the word and the \> atom matches theend of the word.For more information, read:    |/\<|    |/\>| *faq-11.7*11.7. How do I search for the current word under the cursor?You can press the * key to search forward for the current word under thecursor.  To search backward, you can press the # key. Note that only wholekeywords will be searched using these commands.For more information, read:    |star|    |#|    |gstar|    |g#|    |03.8|    |search-commands| *faq-11.8*11.8. How do I search for a word without regard to the case (uppercase or      lowercase)?To always ignore case while searching for a pattern, set the 'ignorecase'option: >    :set ignorecase<To ignore case only when searching a particular pattern, use the special \cdirective: >    /\c<pattern><For more information, read:    |'ignorecase'|    |/ignorecase|    |/\c| *faq-11.9*11.9. How do I search for words that occur twice consecutively?You can use one of the following search commands to locate words that occurtwice consecutively: >     /\(\<\w\+\)\_s\+\1\>     /\(\<\k\+\)\_s\+\1\><The main difference is the use of "\w" and "\k", where the latter is basedon the 'iskeyword' option which may include accented and other languagespecific characters.For more information, read:    |/\1|    |/\(|    |/\)|    |/\<|    |/\>|    |/\w|    |/\k|    |/\+|    |/\_x|    |'iskeyword'| *faq-11.10*11.10. How do I count the number of times a particular word occurs in a       buffer?You can use the following set of commands to count the number of times aparticular word occurs in a buffer: >    :let cnt=0    :g/\<your_word\>/let cnt=cnt+1    :echo cnt<This only counts the number of lines where the word occurs. You can alsouse the following command: >    :%s/\<word\>/&/gn<To count the number of alphabetic words in a file, you can use >    :%s/\a\+/&/gn<To count the number of words made up of non-space characters, you can use >    :%s/\S\+/&/gn<For more information, read:    |count-items|    |word-count|    |v_g_CTRL-G|    |12.5|    |:s_flags| *faq-11.11*11.11. How do I place the cursor at the end of the matched word when       searching for a pattern?You can use the "e" offset to the search command to place the cursor at theend of the matched word. For example >    /mypattern/e<For more information about search offsets, read:    |search-offset|    |/| *faq-11.12*11.12. How do I search for an empty line?You can search for an empty line using: >    /^$<    or >    /^\s*$<The latter also matches lines, that consist only of white space, while theformer only matches true empty lines. For more information, read:    |/^|    |/$|    |/\s|    |/star|    |search-commands| *faq-11.13*11.13. How do I search for a line containing only a single character?You can search for a line containing only a single character using: >    /^\s*\a\s*$<For more information, read:    |/^|    |/\a|    |/\s|    |/star|    |/$| *faq-11.14*11.14. How do I search and replace a string in multiple files?You can use the `:argdo`, `:bufdo`, `:windo` or `:tabdo` commands to executean ex command on multiple files. For example: >    :argdo %s/foo/bar/g|upd<For more information, read:    |:argdo|    |:bufdo|    |:windo|    |:tabdo| *faq-11.15*11.15. I am using the `:s` substitute command in a mapping. When a search       for a pattern fails, the map terminates. I would like the map to       continue processing the next command, even if the substitute command       fails. How do I do this?You can use the "e" flag to the substitute command to continue processingother commands in a map, when a pattern is not found.For more information, read:    |:s_flags| *faq-11.16*11.16. How do I search for the n-th occurrence of a character in a line?To search for the n-th occurrence of a character in a line, you can prefixthe "f" command with a number. For example, to search for the 5thoccurrence of the character @ in a line, you can use the command 5f@. Thisassumes the cursor is at the beginning of the line - and that this firstcharacter is not the one your are looking for.For more information, read:    |f|    |F|    |t|    |T|    |;|    |,| *faq-11.17*11.17. How do I replace a tab (or any other character) with a hard return       (newline) character?You can replace a tab (or any other character) with a hard return (newline)character using the following command: >    :s/\t/\r/<Note that in the above command, if you use \n instead of \r, then the tabcharacters will not be replaced by a new-line character.For more information, read:    |sub-replace-special|    |NL-used-for-Nul|    |CR-used-for-NL| *faq-11.18*11.18. How do I search for a character by its ASCII value?You can search for a character by its ASCII value by pressing CTRL-Vfollowed by the decimal or hexadecimal or octal value of that character inthe search "/" command.  To determine the ASCII value of a character youcan use the `:ascii` or the "ga" command.For example, to search for the ASCII character with value 188, you canuse one of the following search commands: >    /<CTRL-V>188    /<CTRL-V>o274    /<CTRL-V>xBC    /<CTRL-V>u00bc<You can also search for the character with the decimal/octal/hex numberusing a collation [] like this: >    /[\d188]    /[\o274]    /[\xbc]    /[\u00bc]<Alternatively, you can use the special atom \%d \%o \%x \%u: >    /\%d188    /\%o274    /\%xbc    /\%u00bc<Or you use digraphs to enter the character. For example enter: >    /CTRL-K14<to search for the above character.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-V_digit|    |:ascii|    |ga|    |/\]|    |/\%d|    |digraphs| *faq-11.19*11.19. How do I search for long lines?You can search for long lines or lines containing more than a specificnumber of characters using the Vim regular-expressions in the searchcommand. For example, to search for all the lines containing more than 80characters, you can use one of the following commands: >    /^.\{80}.\+$    /^.*\%>80c.*$    /^.*\%>80v.*$<For more information, read:    |/\{|    |/\%c|    |/\%v| *faq-11.20*11.20. How do I display all the lines in the current buffer that contain a       specified pattern?You can use the following command to display all the lines in the currentbuffer that contain a specified pattern: >    :g/<pattern>/p<For example, the following command will display all the lines in thecurrent buffer that contain "vim": >    :g/vim/p<Since `:p` is the default command to be executed for the ex command `:g`, youcan also use: >    :g/vim<If you also want the corresponding line numbers, then you can use thefollowing command: >    :g/<pattern>/#<For more information, read:    |:global|    |:print|    |:number| *faq-11.21*11.21. How do I search for a text string that spans multiple lines?You can search for a text string that spans multiple lines using the \_xregular expression atom. For example, to search for the text string "HelloWorld", you can use the following search command: >    /Hello\_sWorld<This will match the word "Hello" followed by a newline character and thenthe word "World" at the beginning of the next line. This will also matchthe word "Hello" immediately followed by a space character and then theword "World". When searching for the "Hello World" string, to include thespace characters at the end and beginning of the line, you can use thefollowing search command: >    /Hello\_s\+World<For more information, read:    |27.8|    |pattern-atoms|    |/\_|    |pattern-searches| *faq-11.22*11.22. How do I search for a pattern within the specified range of lines       in a buffer?You can search for a pattern within a range of lines using the \%>land \%<l regular expression atoms.For example, to search for the word "white" between the lines 10 and 30 ina buffer, you can use the following command: >    /white\%>9l\%<31l<For more information, read:    |/\%l| *faq-11.23*11.23. How do I clear the last searched pattern?The last searched pattern is stored in the "/" register. You can clearthis register using the following command: >    :let @/=""<To clear the last search pattern whenever a buffer is unloaded, you can usethe following command: >    :autocmd BufUnload * let @/ = ""<For more information, read:    |@/|    |:let-@|    |autocmd-searchpat|    |last-pattern| *faq-11.24*11.24. Why does this pattern "a.\{-}p\@!" not match?"\{-}" doesn't just mean "as few as possible", it means "as few aspossible to make the whole pattern succeed". If it didn't match the "p",the whole pattern would fail (because of the "p\@!") so it does matchthe "p". It is a longer match, but it is the shortest match that makesthe whole pattern succeed.If you wanted "as few as possible regardless" you would use "\@>", whichbasically divides a pattern up so that the pieces either side behaveindependently. If the pattern were "a.\{-}\@>p\@!" then ".\{-}" wouldalways match nothing because that's the smallest match that can succeedwhen there are not other restrictions. The whole pattern then wouldbehave the same as "ap\@!", i.e. it would match any "a" not followed bya "p").This means, it matches as few as possible "a"s without trying to keepgoing until Vim finds the longest match. This means, it will still match"ap". *faq-11.25*11.25. How can I use "/" within a pattern, without escaping it?When using / to search for a pattern, you need to escape all "/" withinthe pattern, because they would otherwise terminate the pattern. So youcan't directly search for /usr/share/doc/ but need to search for\/usr\/share\/doc\/The easiest solution around that, would be to use "?" to start abackward search and afterwards use /<CR> to use the last search-patternin forward direction.If you have a Vim, that has the eval-feature built in (which needs atleast a normal built or higher), you can also directly paste the patterninto the search register::let @/ = '/usr/share/doc/'Then use "n" to jump to the next occurrence.See also the help at    |@/|    |/<CR>| *faq-11.26*11.26. How can I operate on a search match?The "gn" command makes it easy to operate on regions of text that matchthe current search pattern. By default, it will search forward for thelast used search pattern and visually select the match. If the cursor isalready on the match, it will be visually selected. If you used the "gn"command after an operator (e.g. "c" to change text), it will be appliedon the match.If Visual mode is active before using gn, the visual selection will beextended until the end of the next match.The "gN" commands works similar but searches backwards.This allows to repeat simple operations on each match. For example, youmight want to change each occurence of apples by peaches. So you searchusing "/apple" then you can use "cgnpeach<Esc>" to replace the currentmatch by peach. Now you can use the dot "." command to redo thereplacement for the rest of the buffer.See also the help at    |gn|    |gN|============================================================================= *faq-12*SECTION 12 - CHANGING TEXT ~ *faq-12.1*12.1. How do I delete all the trailing white space characters (SPACE and      TAB) at the end of all the lines in a file?You can use the `:substitute` command on the entire file to search andremove all the trailing white space characters: >    :%s/\s\+$//<For more information, read:    |:%|    |:s|    |/\s|    |/\+|    |/$| *faq-12.2*12.2. How do I replace all the occurrences of multiple consecutive space      characters to a single space?You can use the following command to replace all the occurrences ofmultiple consecutive space characters to a single space: >    :%s/ \{2,}/ /g<Alternatively use: >    :%s/  \+/ /g<For more information, read:    |:%|    |:s|    |/\{|    |:s_flags| *faq-12.3*12.3. How do I reduce a range of empty lines into one line only?You can use the following command to reduce a range of empty lines into oneline only: >    :v/./.,/./-1join<The explanation for this command is below:    part            description ~    -----           -------------------------- ~    :v/./           Execute the following command for all lines not                    containing a character (empty lines).     .,             Use the current line as the start of the range of                    lines.     /./            Use the line containing a character as the last line.     -1             Adjust the range of lines to end with the line before                    the last line.     j              Join the lines in the range.Note that this will give an error message if the empty lines are at the endof the file. To correct this, you have to add a temporary line at the endof the file, execute the command and then remove the temporary line.For more information, read:    |:v|    |:join|    |cmdline-ranges|    |collapse| *faq-12.4*12.4. How do I delete all blank lines in a file? How do I remove all the      lines containing only space characters?To remove all blank lines, use the following command: >    :g/^$/d<To remove all lines with only whitespace (spaces or tabs) in them, use thefollowing command: >    :g/^\s\+$/d<To remove all the lines with only whitespace, if anything, use thefollowing command: >    :g/^\s*$/d< *faq-12.5*12.5. How do I copy/yank the current word?You can use the "yiw" (yank inner word without whitespace) command or the"yaw" (yank a word with whitespace) command to copy/yank the currentword.For more information, read:    |04.6|    |04.8|    |iw|    |yank|    |text-objects|    |objects| *faq-12.6*12.6. How do I yank text from one position to another position within a      line, without yanking the entire line?You can specify a motion command with the yank operator (y) to yank textfrom one position to another position within a line. For example, to yankfrom the current cursor position till the next letter x, use yfx or Fx ortx or Tx. To yank till the nth column, use n|. To yank till the nextoccurrence of a "word", use /word. To do a yank till the nth column onanother line, first mark the position using the "ma" command, go to thestart of the yank position, and then yank till the mark using y`a (note thedirection of the quote)For more information, read:    |yank|    |motion.txt|    |04.6| *faq-12.7*12.7. When I yank some text into a register, how do I append the text to      the current contents of the register?When you specify the register for some operation, if you use the upper-casefor the register name, then the new text will be appended to the existingcontents. For example, if you have some text in the register "a". If youwant to append some new text to this, you have to use the "A" registername. If you use the lowercase register name, then the contents of theregister will be overwritten with the new text.For more information, read:    |quote|    |quote_alpha|    |10.1| *faq-12.8*12.8. How do I yank a complete sentence that spans over more than one line?To yank a complete sentence that spans over more than one line you have touse the yank operator followed by a motion command. For example: >        y)<From inside the sentence you can use "yi)" to yank the sentence.For more information, read:    |yank|    |{motion}|    |object-motions|    |04.6| *faq-12.9*12.9. How do I yank all the lines containing a pattern into a buffer?You can use the `:global` command to yank all the lines containing thepattern into a register and then paste the contents of the register intothe buffer: >    :let @a=''    :g/mypattern/y A<The first command, clears the contents of the register "a". The secondcommand copies all the lines containing "mypattern" into the register "a".Note that the capital letter "A" is used to append the matched lines. Nowyou can paste the contents of register "a" to a buffer using "ap command.If you only want to collect all matches, you can use a differentapproach. For that run the `:s` command with the flags "gn" so that itwon't actually  change the buffer ("n" flag) but select each match ("g"flag). Combining this with the "\=" part in the replacement part, youcan copy each match to e.g. a list. Altogether this looks like this: >    :let list=[]    :%s/pattern/\=add(list, submatch(0))/gn<Now all matches will be in the list and you can post process them aswanted.For more information, read:    |:g|    |:y|    |:let-register|    |quote_alpha|    |put|    |registers|    |:registers|    |sub-replace-\=| *faq-12.10*12.10. How do I delete all the lines in a file that do not contain a       pattern?You can use `:v` command to delete all the lines that do not contain apattern: >    :v/pattern/d<or >    :g!/pattern/d<For more information, read:    |:v|    |:g| *faq-12.11*12.11. How do I add a line before each line with "pattern" in it?You can use the following command to add a line before each line with"pattern" in it: >    :g/pattern/normal! Oi<line of text goes here><Alternatively you can yank the line using the Y command and then insert theline using the following command: >    :g/pattern/put!<For more information, read:    |:g|    |:put|    |insert|    |0| *faq-12.12*12.12. Is there a way to operate on a line if the previous line contains a       particular pattern?You can use the `:global` command to operate on a line, if the previousline contains a particular pattern: >    :g/<pattern>/+{cmd}<For more information, read:    |:g|    |:range| *faq-12.13*12.13. How do I execute a command on all the lines containing a pattern?You can use the `:global` (:g) command to execute a command on all thelines containing a pattern. >    :g/my pattern/d<If you want to use a non-Ex command, then you can use the `:normal`command: >    :g/my pattern/normal {command}<Unless you want the normal mode commands to be remapped, consider using a`:normal!` command instead (note the "!").For more information, read:    |:global|    |:v|    |:normal| *faq-12.14*12.14. Can I copy the character above the cursor to the current cursor       position?In Insert mode, you can copy the character above the cursor to the currentcursor position by typing CTRL-Y. The same can be done with thecharacters below the cursor by typing CTRL-E.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-Y|    |i_CTRL-E| *faq-12.15*12.15. How do I insert a blank line above/below the current line without       entering insert mode?You can use the `:put` ex command to insert blank lines. For example, try >    :put =''    :put! =''<For more information, read:    |:put| *faq-12.16*12.16. How do I insert the name of the current file into the current buffer?There are several ways to insert the name of the current file into thecurrent buffer. In insert mode, you can use the <C-R>% or the<C-R>=expand("%") command. In normal mode, you can use the `:put =@%`command.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-R|    |expand()|    |!!| *faq-12.17*12.17. How do I insert the contents of a Vim register into the current       buffer?In insert mode, you can use the <CTRL-R><register> command to insert thecontents of <register>. For example, use <CTRL-R>a to insert the contentsof register "a" into the current buffer.In normal mode, you can use the `:put <register>` command to insert thecontents of <register>. For example, use the `:put d` command to insertthe contents of register "d" into the current buffer.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-R|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-R|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-O|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-P|    |:put| *faq-12.18*12.18. How do I move the cursor past the end of line and insert some       characters at some columns after the end of the line?You can set the 'virtualedit' option to move the cursor past theend-of-line and insert characters in a column after the end-of-line. Tostart the virtual mode, use >    :set virtualedit=all<For more information, read:    |'virtualedit'| *faq-12.19*12.19. How to replace the word under the cursor (say: junk) with      "foojunkbar" in Vim?There are several ways to do this. If the word is the first such word onthe line, use the following command: >    :exe "s/".expand("<cword>")."/foo&bar/"<To match specifically you could use a more complex substitution like this: >    :exe 's/\<'.expand("<cword>").'\%>'.(col(".")-1).'c\>/foo&bar/'<You can also use the command: ciwfoo<C-R>"bar<Esc>For more information, read:    |:substitute|    |expand()|    |col()|    |/\%c| *faq-12.20*12.20. How do I replace a particular text in all the files in a directory?You can use the `:argdo` command to execute the substitute command on allthe files specified as arguments: >    :args *    :argdo %s/<your_text>/<replacement_text>/ge | update<For more information, read:    |:args_f|    |:argdo|    |:s_flags| *faq-12.21*12.21. I have some numbers in a file. How do I increment or decrement the       numbers in the file?You can use the CTRL-A key to increment the number and the CTRL-X key todecrement the number. You can also specify the number toincrement/decrement from the number by specifying a count to the key. Thisworks for decimal, octal and hexadecimal numbers. You can change the baseused by Vim for this operation by modifying the 'nrformats' option.For more information, read:    |26.2|    |CTRL-A|    |CTRL-X|    |'nrformats'| *faq-12.22*12.22. How do I reuse the last used search pattern in a `:substitute`       command?To reuse the last used search pattern in a `:substitute` command, don'tspecify a new search pattern: >    :s/pattern/newtext/    :s//sometext/<In the second `:s` command, as a search pattern is not specified, thepattern specified in the first `:s` command "pattern" will be used.If you want to change the search pattern but repeat the substitutionpattern you can use the special right hand side, you can use the tildecharacter: >    :s/newpattern/~/<For more information, read:    |:s|    |:&|    |:~|    |&|    |sub-replace-special| *faq-12.23*12.23. How do I change the case of a string using the `:substitute`       command?You can use special characters in the replacement string for a`:substitute` command to change the case of the matched string. Forexample, to change the case of the string "MyString" to all uppercase, youcan use the following command: >    :%s/MyString/\U&/g<To change the case to lowercase, you can use the following command: >    :%s/MyString/\L&/g<To change the case of the first character in all the words in the currentline to uppercase, you can use the following command: >    :s/\<\(.\)\(\k*\)\>/\u\1\L\2/g<For more information, read:    |sub-replace-special|    |:substitute|    |/\U|    |/\L|    |/\u| *faq-12.24*12.24. How do I enter characters that are not present in the keyboard?You can use digraphs to enter characters that are not present in thekeyboard. You can use the `:digraphs` command to display all the currentlydefined digraphs. You can add a new digraph to the list using the`:digraphs` command.For more information, read:    |digraphs|    |'digraph'|    |24.9| *faq-12.25*12.25. Is there a command to remove any or all digraphs?No. The digraphs table is defined at compile time. You can only add newones. Adding a command to remove digraphs is on the todo list. *faq-12.26*12.26. In insert mode, when I press the backspace key, it erases only the       characters entered in this instance of insert mode. How do I erase       previously entered characters in insert mode using the backspace       key?This is traditional vi behaviour. You can set the 'backspace' option toerase previously entered characters in insert mode: >    :set backspace=indent,eol,start<For more information, read:    |'backspace'|    |i_backspacing| *faq-12.27*12.27. I have a file which has lines longer than 72 characters terminated       with "+" and wrapped to the next line. How can I quickly join the       lines?You can use the `:global` command to search and join the lines: >    :g/+$/j<This will, however, only join every second line. A couple of more complexexamples which will join all consecutive lines with a "+" at the end are: >    :g/+$/,/\(^\|[^+]\)$/j    :g/+$/mark a | .,/\(^\|[^+]\)$/s/+$// | 'a,.j<For more information, read:    |:g|    |:j|    |:mark| *faq-12.28*12.28. How do I paste characterwise yanked text into separate lines?You can use the `:put` command to paste characterwise yanked text into newlines: >    :put =@"<For more information, read:    |:put|    |quote_=| *faq-12.29*12.29. How do I change the case (uppercase, lowercase) of a word or a       character or a block of text?You can use the "~" command to switch the case of a character.You can change the case of the word under the cursor to uppercase using the"gUiw" or "viwU" command and to lowercase using the "guiw" or "viwu"command.You can switch the case (upper case to lower case and vice versa) of theword under the cursor using the "viw~" or "g~iw" command.You can use the "gUgU" command to change the current line to uppercase andthe "gugu" command to change the current line to lowercase.You can use the "g~g~" command to switch the case of the current line. Youcan use the "g~{motion}" or "{Visual}~" commands to switch the case of ablock of text.If you set 'tildeop' the "~" command behaves like an operator and expectsa motion command to act on. If you have >    :set tildeop<and you want to change the case from the current cursor position to the endof line, simply use "~$".For more information, read:    |case|    |'tildeop'| *faq-12.30*12.30. How do I enter ASCII characters that are not present in the       keyboard?You can enter ASCII characters that are not present in the keyboard bypressing CTRL-V and then the ASCII character number. You can also usedigraphs to enter special ASCII characters.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-V_digit|    |digraphs|    |45.5| *faq-12.31*12.31. How do I replace non-printable characters in a file?To replace a non-printable character, you have to first determine the ASCIIvalue for the character. You can use the `:ascii` ex command or the "ga"normal-mode command to display the ASCII value of the character under thecursor.You can enter the non-printable character by entering CTRL-V followed bythe decimal number 1-255 (with no leading zero), or by x and a hex number00-FF, or by an octal number 0-0377 (with leading zero), or by u and a hexnumber 0-FFFF, or by U and a hex number 0-7FFFFFFFAnother alternative is to use the `:digraphs` ex command to display thedigraphs for all characters, together with their value in decimal andalpha. You can enter a non-printable character by entering CTRL-K followedby two alphanumeric characters (a digraph).For more information, read:    |:ascii|    |i_CTRL-V|    |i_CTRL-V_digit|    |:digraphs| *faq-12.32*12.32. How do I remove duplicate lines from a buffer?You can use the following user-defined command to remove all the duplicatelines from a buffer::command -range=% Uniq <line1>,<line2>g/^\%<<line2>l\(.*\)\n\1$/dAdd the above command to your .vimrc file and invoke `:Uniq` to remove allthe duplicate lines. *faq-12.33*12.33. How do I prefix all the lines in a file with the corresponding line       numbers?You can prefix the lines in a file with the corresponding line number inseveral ways. Some of them are listed below: >    :%s/^/\=line('.'). ' '    :%s/^/\=printf('%5d ', line('.'))/    :%s/^/\=strpart(line('.').'.     ', 0, 5)    :%s/^/\=strpart('   ', strlen(line('.'))).line('.').'. '<The last two commands will pad the line numbers with space characters.  Thelast command will right align the numbers and the command before that willleft align the numbers.If you don't want to number consecutive lines but rather non-consecutiveregions, you can also use this idiom: >    :let i = 1    :g/TODO/s/^/\=printf('%2d.',i)|let i+=1<This first initializes the variable i with 1. In the next line, a `:g`command is used to perform a substitute command only on lines, thatmatch "TODO". After the substitute command has taken place, the variablei will be incremented by 1.For more information, read:    |sub-replace-special|    |line()|    |expr6|    |strpart()|    |printf()|    |:execute|    |:global| *faq-12.34*12.34. How do I exchange (swap) two characters or words or lines?You can exchange two characters with the "xp" command sequence. The "x"will delete the character under the cursor and "p" will paste the justdeleted character after the character under the cursor. This will resultin exchanging the two characters.You can exchange two words with the "deep" command sequence (start with thecursor in the blank space before the first word).You can exchange two lines with the "ddp" command sequence. The "dd" willdelete the current line and "p" will paste the just deleted line after thecurrent line. This will result in exchanging the two lines.All of the above operations will change the " unnamed register.You can use the `:m +` ex command to exchange two lines without changing theunnamed register.For more information, read:    |x|    |p|    |dd|    |d|    |e|    |linewise-register|    |quotequote|    |:move| *faq-12.35*12.35. How do I change the characters used as word delimiters?Vim uses the characters specified by the 'iskeyword' option as worddelimiters. The default setting for this option is "@,48-57,_,192-255".For example, to add ":" as a word delimiter, you can use >    :set iskeyword+=:<To remove "_" as a word delimiter, you can use >    :set iskeyword-=_<For more information, read:    |'iskeyword'|    |word|============================================================================= *faq-13*SECTION 13 - COMPLETION IN INSERT MODE ~ *faq-13.1*13.1. How do I complete words or lines in insert mode?In insert mode, you can complete words using the CTRL-P and CTRL-N keys.The CTRL-N command searches forward for the next matching keyword.The CTRL-P command searches backwards for the next matching keyword.In insert mode, you can use the CTRL-X CTRL-L command sequence to completelines that starts with the same characters as in the current line beforethe cursor. To get the next matching line, press the CTRL-P or CTRL-N keys.There are a lot of other keys/ways available to complete words in insertmode.Vim supports completion of the following items: >    CTRL-X CTRL-L    whole lines    CTRL-X CTRL-N    keywords in the current file    CTRL-X CTRL-K    words from a dictionary    CTRL-X CTRL-T    words from a thesaurus    CTRL-X CTRL-I    current and included files    CTRL-X CTRL-]    tags    CTRL-X CTRL-F    file names    CTRL-X CTRL-D    macro definitions (also in included files)    CTRL-X CTRL-V    Vim command line    CTRL-X CTRL-U    User defined completion    CTRL-X CTRL-O    Omni completion<User defined completions and omni completions are often set by filetypeplugins.For more information, read:    |24.3|    |ins-completion| *faq-13.2*13.2. How do I complete file names in insert mode?In insert mode, you can use the CTRL-X CTRL-F command sequence to completefilenames that start with the same characters as in the current line beforethe cursor.For more information, read:    |compl-filename| *faq-13.3*13.3. I am using CTRL-P/CTRL-N to complete words in insert mode. How do I      complete words that occur after the just completed word?You can use CTRL-X CTRL-N and CTRL-X CTRL-P keys to complete words that arepresent after the just completed word.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-P|    |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-N|    |ins-completion|============================================================================= *faq-14*SECTION 14 - TEXT FORMATTING ~ *faq-14.1*14.1. How do I format a text paragraph so that a new line is inserted at      the end of each wrapped line?You can use the "gq" command to format a paragraph. This will format thetext according to the current 'textwidth' setting. An alternative would beto use the "gw" command that formats like "gq" but does not move thecursor.Note that the gq operator can be used with a motion command to operate on arange of text. For example: >    gqgq - Format the current line    gqap - Format current paragraph    gwap - Format current paragraph (and don't move cursor)    gq3j - Format the current and the next 3 lines<For more information, read:    |gq|    |gw|    |formatting|    |usr_25.txt|    |motion.txt| *faq-14.2*14.2. How do I format long lines in a file so that each line contains less      than "n" characters?You can set the 'textwidth' option to control the number of characters thatcan be present in a line. For example, to set the maximum width of a lineto 70 characters, you can use the following command: >    set textwidth=70<Now to break the long lines in a file to the length defined by the'textwidth' option, you can use >    :g/./normal gqq<For more information, read:    |'textwidth'|    |gq| *faq-14.3*14.3. How do I join short lines to form a paragraph?First, make sure the 'textwidth' option is set to a high value: >    :set textwidth=99999<Next, join the short lines to form a paragraph using the command: >    1GgqG<The above command will operate on the entire file. To do the formatting onall paragraphs in a specific range, use: >    :'a,'bg/\S/normal gq}<For more information, read:    |gq|    |G|    |gqq| *faq-14.4*14.4. How do I format bulleted and numbered lists?You can configure Vim to format bulleted and numbered lists using the'formatoptions' option. For example, you can format the list of thefollowing format:  - this is a test. this is a test. this is a test. this is a test.  this is a test.into this format:  - this is a test. this is a test. this is a test. this is a test.    this is a test.You can use the "n" flag in the 'formatoptions' to align the text. >    :set fo+=n<With this option, when formatting text, Vim will recognize numbered lists.For this option to work, the 'autoindent' option also must be set.For more information, read:    |'formatoptions'|    |fo-table|    |format-comments| *faq-14.5*14.5. How do I indent lines in insert mode?In insert mode, you can press the CTRL-T key to insert one shiftwidth ofindent at the start of the current line. In insert mode, you can use theCTRL-D key to delete on shiftwidth of indent at the start of the currentline. You can also use the CTRL-O >> and CTRL-O << commands to indent thecurrent line in insert mode.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-T|    |i_CTRL-D|    |i_0_CTRL-D|    |i_CTRL-O|    |>>|    |<<| *faq-14.6*14.6. How do I format/indent an entire file?You can format/indent an entire file using the gg=G command, where >    gg - Goto the beginning of the file    =  - apply indentation    G  - till end of file<For more information, read:    |gg|    |=|    |G|    |'formatprg'|    |C-indenting| *faq-14.7*14.7. How do I increase or decrease the indentation of the current line?You can use the ">>" and "<<" commands to increase or decrease theindentation of the current line.For more information, read:    |shift-left-right|    |>>|    |<<|    |'shiftwidth'| *faq-14.8*14.8. How do I indent a block/group of lines?You can visually select the group of lines and press the > or < key toindent/unindent the lines. You can also use the following ex-command toindent the lines >    :10,20><For more information, read:    |shift-left-right|    |v_>|    |v_<|    |:<|    |:>| *faq-14.9*14.9. When I indent lines using the > or < key, the standard 8-tabstops are      used instead of the current 'tabstop' setting. Why?The number of spaces used when lines are indented using the ">" operator iscontrolled by the 'shiftwidth' option. The 'tabstop' setting is onlyused, when the 'shiftwidth' option is zero. >    :set shiftwidth=4<For more information, read:    |'shiftwidth'|    |>>|    |'softtabstop'| *faq-14.10*14.10. How do I turn off the automatic indentation of text?By default, the automatic indentation of text is not turned on. Check theconfiguration files (.vimrc, .gvimrc) for settings related to indentation.Make sure the `:filetype indent on` command is not present. If it ispresent, remove it. Also, depending on your preference, you may also wantto check the value of the 'autoindent', 'smartindent', 'cindent' and'indentexpr' options and turn them off as needed.For more information, read:    |:filetype-indent-off|    |'autoindent'|    |'smartindent'|    |'cindent'|    |'indentexpr'| *faq-14.11*14.11. How do I configure Vim to automatically set the 'textwidth' option       to a particular value when I edit mails?You can use the "FileType" autocommand to set the 'textwidth' option: >    autocmd FileType mail set tw=<your_value><For more information, read:    |:autocmd|    |FileType|    |usr_43.txt| *faq-14.12*14.12. Is there a way to make Vim auto-magically break lines?Yes. Set the 'textwidth' option to the preferred length for a line. ThenVim will auto-magically break the newly entered lines. For example: >    :set textwidth=75<For more information, read:    |'textwidth'|    |ins-textwidth|    |'formatoptions'|    |fo-table|    |formatting| *faq-14.13*14.13. I am seeing a lot of ^M symbols in my file. I tried setting the       'fileformat' option to "dos" and then "unix" and then "mac". None of       these helped. How can I hide these symbols?When a file is loaded in Vim, the format of the file is determined asbelow:- If all the lines end with a new line (<NL>), then the fileformat is  "unix".- If all the lines end with a carriage return (<CR>) followed by a new line  (<NL>), then the fileformat is "dos".- If all the lines end with carriage return (<CR>), then the fileformat is  "mac".If the file has some lines ending with <CR> and some lines ending with <CR>followed by a <NL>, then the fileformat is set to "unix".You can change the format of the current file, by saving it explicitly indos format: >    :w ++ff=dos<To display the format of the current file, use >    :set fileformat?<The above behavior is also controlled by the 'fileformats' option. You cantry the following commands: >    :set fileformats+=unix    :e <your_file>    :set fileformat=unix    :w<To remove the carriage return (<CR>) character at the end of all the linesin the current file, you can use the following command: >    :%s/\r$//<To force Vim to use a particular file format, when editing a file, you canuse the following command: >    :e ++ff=dos filename<For more information, read:    |'fileformats'|    |'fileformat'|    |file-formats|    |DOS-format-write|    |Unix-format-write|    |Mac-format-write|    |dos-file-formats|    |23.1|    |++ff| *faq-14.14*14.14. When I paste some text into a Vim buffer from another application,      the alignment (indentation) of the new text is messed up. How do I      fix this?When you paste text into a GUI Vim using the mouse, Vim is able todetect that you are pasting text. So all the indentation relatedsettings (like autoindent, smartindent, cindent, etc.) are ignored andthe text is pasted literally.When pasting text into a Vim running in a terminal (like xterm) usingthe mouse, Vim may not be able to detect that you are pasting text. Thisdepends on several things: the capability of the terminal to pass themouse events to Vim, Vim is compiled to handle mouse events and accessthe clipboard, the DISPLAY variable is set properly, the Vim 'mouse'option is set correctly.If Vim is able to detect that you are pasting text using the mouse, thenthe pasted text will be inserted literally.If Vim is not able to detect that you are pasting using the mouse, thenit will see the pasted text as though you literally typed the text.After the first line from the pasted text is inserted, when Vimencounters the newline character, because of the indentation settings,the next line will start indented. The spaces at the beginning of thesecond line in the pasted text will be inserted leading to additionalindentation. This will be repeated for subsequent lines. So the pastedtext will be inserted with stair case indentation.You can fix this problem in a terminal Vim in several ways:1. Build Vim with the +mouse and +xterm_clipboard compile-time options.   The normal or big or huge build of Vim includes these options.  Set   the 'mouse' option to either "a" or include "i".  When pasting text   using the mouse, don't press the Shift key. This will work only if   Vim can access the X display. For more information, read the   following Vim help topics:    |+feature-list|    |'mouse'|    |<MiddleMouse>|    |x11-selection|    |xterm-clipboard|1.1 Some Linux distributions build their terminal vim packages    without X support.  This makes no sense and leaves many users    with the impression that Vim in terminal mode doesn't support    some operations such as properly pasting text with a mouse. >    If your distribution includes gvim, which it almost certainly    does these days, the solutions to this include the following.<    a)  Start Vim as >            gvim -v<    b)  Put this alias in your shell's configuration file, e.g.        ~/.bashrc: >            alias vim='gvim -v'<    c)  Put the following command in a file named "vim" and put that        file in your ~/bin directory: >            gvim -v "$@"<    d)  Link the distribution's gvim to ~/bin/vim with the following        command, which needs to be executed only once. >            ln -s $(which gvim) ~/bin/vim<    For c) and d), make sure that ~/bin precedes /usr/bin in your    PATH.2. Paste the text using the CTRL-R CTRL-O * command.  This will paste   the text literally without any automatic indentation. If you want to   paste the text and then fix the indentation, then you can use CTRL-R   CTRL-P *. These commands will work only if Vim can access the X   display. For more information, read the following Vim help topics:    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-O|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-P|    |quotestar|3. Set the 'paste' option before pasting the text. This option will   disable the effect of all the indentation related settings. Make   sure to turn off this option using `:set nopaste` after pasting the   text. Otherwise the Vim indentation feature will not work.  Do not   permanently set the 'paste' option in your .vimrc file. If you are   going to repeat these steps often, then you can set the   'pastetoggle' option to a key. When you press the specified key,   the 'paste' option will be toggled. You can press the key once   before pasting the text and the press the key once after pasting   the text. Note that when the 'paste' option is set, all the   mappings and abbreviations are disabled.  For more information,   read the following Vim help topics:    |'paste'|    |'pastetoggle'|You can also refer to the following topics in the user manual:    |04.7|    |09.3| *faq-14.15*14.15. When there is a very long wrapped line (wrap is "on") and a line      doesn't fit entirely on the screen it is not displayed at all. There      are blank lines beginning with "@" symbol instead of wrapped line. If      I scroll the screen to fit the line the "@" symbols disappear and the      line is displayed again. What Vim setting control this behavior?You can set the 'display' option to "lastline" to display as much aspossible of the last line in a window instead of displaying the "@"symbols. >    :set display=lastline<For more information, read:    |'display'| *faq-14.16*14.16. How do I convert all the tab characters in a file to space       characters?You can use the `:retab` command to update all the tab characters in thecurrent file with the current setting of 'expandtab' and 'tabstop'. Forexample, to convert all the tabs to white spaces, use >    :set expandtab    :retab<For more information, read:    |:retab|    |'expandtab'|    |'tabstop'|    |25.3| *faq-14.17*14.17. What Vim options can I use to edit text that will later go to a word       processor?You can set the following options to edit text that will later go into aword processor: >    :set wrap    :set linebreak    :set textwidth=0    :set showbreak=>>><You can use the "gk" and "gj" commands to move one screen line up and down.For more information, read:    |'wrap'|    |'linebreak'|    |'textwidth'|    |'showbreak'|    |gk|    |gj| *faq-14.18*14.18. How do I join lines without adding or removing any space characters?By default, when you join lines using the "J" or `:join` command, Vim willreplace the line break, leading white space and trailing white space with asingle space character. If there are space characters at the end of a lineor a line starts with the ")" character, then Vim will not add a spacecharacter.To join lines without adding or removing any space characters, you can usethe gJ or `:join!` commands.For more information, read:    |gJ|    |:join|    |J|    |10.5|    |'joinspaces'|    |'cpoptions'|    |'formatoptions'|============================================================================= *faq-15*SECTION 15 - VISUAL MODE ~ *faq-15.1*15.1. How do I do rectangular block copying?You can do rectangular block copying in Vim using the blockwise visualmode. To start blockwise visual mode use the CTRL-V key. Move the cursorusing any of the motion commands and then use the y operator to yank tovisually selected text.If CTRL-V does not work as expected, it may have been remapped to CTRL-Q bythe mswin.vim script which is often sourced by a vimrc on Windows machinesto mimic some common short cuts from other programs.For more information, read:    |04.4|    |blockwise-visual|    |visual-mode|    |Q_vi| *faq-15.2*15.2. How do I delete or change a column of text in a file?You can use the Vim block-wise visual mode to select the column of text andapply an operator (delete, change, copy, etc) on it.For more information, read:    |visual-block|    |visual-operators| *faq-15.3*15.3. How do I apply an ex-command on a set of visually selected lines?When you select a range of lines in visual mode, the < register is set tothe start of the visual region and the > register is set to the end of thevisual region. You can use these registers to specify the range for an excommand. After visually selecting the lines, press ":" to go to the commandmode.  Vim will automatically insert the visual range '<,'>. You can runany ex-command on the visual range.For more information, read:    |v_:|    |'<|    |'>| *faq-15.4*15.4. How do I execute an ex command on a column of text selected in Visual      block mode?All the ex commands operate on whole lines only. If you try to executean ex command on a column of text selected in visual block mode, Vimwill operate on all the selected lines (instead of the selectedcolumns). You can use the vis.vim or NrrwRgn plugin script fromhttps://www.vim.org scripts archive to do this.For more information, read:    |cmdline-ranges|    |10.3|    |cmdline-lines| *faq-15.5*15.5. How do I select the entire file in visual mode?You can select the entire file in visual mode using ggVG. >    gg - go to the beginning of the file.    V  - Start linewise visual mode    G  - goto the end of the file.<For more information, read:    |gg|    |linewise-visual|    |G| *faq-15.6*15.6. When I visually select a set of lines and press the > key to indent      the selected lines, the visual mode ends. How can I reselect the      region for further operation?  (or) How do I re-select the last      selected visual area again?You can use the "gv" command to reselect the last selected visual area. Youcan also use the marks '< and '> to jump to the beginning or the end of thelast selected visual area.For more information, read:    |gv|    |'<|    |'>| *faq-15.7*15.7. How do I jump to the beginning/end of a visually selected region?You can use the "o" command to jump to the beginning/end of a visuallyselected region.For more information, read:    |v_o| *faq-15.8*15.8. When I select text with mouse and then press : to enter an ex      command, the selected text is replaced with the : character. How do I      execute an ex command on a text selected using the mouse similar to      the text selected using the visual mode?This will happen if you have configured Vim to use select mode instead ofVisual mode by setting the 'selectmode' option. Check the value of thisoption: >    :set selectmode?<This mode is known as selectmode and is similar to the visual mode. Thisoption is also automatically set when you use the "behave mswin" command.Select mode looks like visual mode, but it is similar to the selection modein MS-Windows.For more information, read:    |Select-mode|    |'selectmode'|    |09.4|    |:behave| *faq-15.9*15.9. When I select a block of text using the mouse, Vim goes into      selection mode instead of Visual mode. Why?The 'selectmode' option controls whether Select mode will be started whenselecting a block of text using the mouse. To start Visual mode whenselecting text using mouse, remove the "mouse" value from the 'selectmode'option: >    :set selectmode-=mouse<Note that by default, the 'selectmode' option will be set to empty, so thatalways visual mode is used.For more information, read:    |'selectmode'|    |Select-mode|    |:behave| *faq-15.10*15.10. How do I visually select the last copy/pasted text?You can use the '[ and '] marks to visually select the last copy/pastedtext. The '[ mark is set to the beginning of the last changed/yanked textand the '] mark is set to the end of the last changed/yanked text. Tovisually select this block of text use the command '[v']For more information, read:    |'[|    |']|    |`a|    |v|============================================================================= *faq-16*SECTION 16 - COMMAND-LINE MODE ~ *faq-16.1*16.1. How do I use the name of the current file in the command mode or an      ex command line?In the command line, the "%" character represents the name of the currentfile. In some commands, you have to use `expand("%")` to get the filename: >    :!perl %<Another example is to load the latex generated pdf file from the file youare currently editing: >    :!xpdf %<.pdf<For more information, read:    |:_%|    |cmdline-special|    |expand()| *faq-16.2*16.2. How do I edit the text in the Vim command-line effectively?You can use the command-line window for editing Vim command-line text. Toopen the Vim command-line window use the "q:" command in normal mode. Incommand-line mode, use the CTRL-F key. In this window, the command linehistory will be displayed. You can use normal Vim keys/commands to edit anyprevious/new command line. To execute a command line, press theenter/return key.In a similar vain, the search history can be edited with "q/" and "q?"commands.For more information, read:    |cmdline-window| *faq-16.3*16.3. How do I switch from Vi mode to Ex mode?You can use the Q command to switch from Vi mode to Ex mode. To switch fromEx mode back to the Vi mode, use the `:vi` command.For more information, read:    |Q|    |gQ|    |Ex-mode|    |:vi| *faq-16.4*16.4. How do I copy the output from an ex-command into a buffer?To copy the output from an ex-command into a buffer, you have to first getthe command output into a register. You can use the `:redir` command to getthe output into a register. For example, >    :redir @a    :g/HelloWord/p    :redir END<Now the register "a" will contain the output from the ex command`:g/HelloWord/p`. Now you can paste the contents of the register "a" into abuffer. You can also send or append the output of an ex-command into a fileusing the `:redir` command.You can prefix the `:global` command with `:silent`, to avoid having thelines printed to the screen.To redirect the output from an ex-command to a file, you can use thefollowing set of commands: >    :redir > myfile    :g/HelloWord/p    :redir END<For more information, read:    |:redir|    |:silent| *faq-16.5*16.5. When I press the <Tab> key to complete the name of a file in the      command mode, if there are more than one matching file names, then      Vim completes the first matching file name and displays a list of all      matching filenames. How do I configure Vim to only display the list      of all the matching filenames and not complete the first one?You can modify the 'wildmode' option to configure the way Vim completesfilenames in the command mode. In this case, you can set the 'wildmode'option to "list": >    :set wildmode=list<For more information, read:    |'wildmode'| *faq-16.6*16.6. How do I copy text from a buffer to the command line and from the      command line to a buffer?To copy text from a buffer to the command line, after yanking the text fromthe buffer, use "<CTRL-R>0" in the command line to paste the text. You canalso yank the text to a specific register and use CTRL-R <register> topaste the text to the command line.  You can use CTRL-R CTRL-W to paste theword under the cursor in the command line.To copy text from the command line into a buffer, you can paste thecontents of the : register using the ":p command. The most recentlyexecuted command line is stored in the : register.Another approach for copying and pasting text to and from the command lineis to open the command line window using q: from normal mode or CTRL-F fromthe command-line mode. In the command line window you can use all the Vimcommands to edit the command line.For more information, read:    |c_CTRL-R|    |quote_:|    |cmdline-window| *faq-16.7*16.7. How do I put a command onto the command history without executing it?To put a command onto the command history without executing it, press the<Esc> key to cancel the command.An alternative solution, is to use the histadd() function like this: >    :call histadd(':', 'echo strftime("%c")')<For more information, read:    |c_<Esc>|    |histadd()| *faq-16.8*16.8. How do I increase the height of the command-line?You can increase the height of the command-line by changing the 'cmdheight'option: >    :set cmdheight=2<For more information, read:    |'cmdheight'|    |hit-enter|    |05.7|============================================================================= *faq-17*SECTION 17 - VIMINFO ~ *faq-17.1*17.1. When I invoke Vim, I get error messages about illegal characters in      the viminfo file. What should I do to get rid of these messages?You can remove the $HOME/.viminfo or the $HOME/_viminfo file to get rid ofthese error messages.For more information, read:    |viminfo-errors|    |viminfo-file-name|    |viminfo|    |21.3| *faq-17.2*17.2. How do I disable the viminfo feature?By default, the viminfo feature is disabled. If the viminfo feature isenabled by a system-wide vimrc file, then you can disable the viminfofeature by setting the 'viminfo' option to an empty string in your local.vimrc file: >    :set viminfo=""<For more information, read:    |'viminfo'| *faq-17.3*17.3. How do I save and use Vim marks/commands across Vim sessions?You can save and restore Vim marks across Vim sessions using the viminfofile. To use the viminfo file, make sure the 'viminfo' option is not empty.To save and restore Vim marks, the 'viminfo' option should not contain the"f" flag or should have a value greater than zero for the "f" option.You can also use the viminfo file to synchronize the commandline historyacross different sessions using `:wvimfo` and `:rviminfo` commands togetherwith the FocusGained and FocusLost autocommands: >    augroup viminfo        au!        au FocusLost   * wviminfo        au FocusGained * rviminfo    augroup end<Note, this will only work reliably, when Vim can detect the FocusLostand FocusGained autocommands correctly. This means it should work withGVim but might depend on your terminal for konsole vim.For more information, read:    |21.3|    |viminfo|    |'viminfo'|    |:wviminfo|    |:rviminfo|    |FocusLost|    |FocusGained|============================================================================= *faq-18*SECTION 18 - REMOTE EDITING ~ *faq-18.1*18.1. How do I open a file with existing instance of gvim? What happened to      the Vim 5.x OpenWithVim.exe and SendToVim.exe files?Starting with Vim6, the OLE version of OpenWithVim.exe and SendToVim.exeVim utilities are replaced by the new client-server feature. To open thefile j.txt with an existing instance of Gvim (MyVim), use: >    $ gvim --servername MyVim --remote-silent j.txt<To list the server names of all the currently running Vim instances, use >    $ vim --serverlist<To get more information about client-server feature, read    |client-server| *faq-18.2*18.2. How do I send a command to a Vim server to write all buffers to disk?You can use the Vim remote server functionality to do this: >    $ gvim --servername myVIM --remote-send "<C-\><C-N>:wall<CR>"<For more information, read:    |client-server|    |CTRL-\_CTRL-N|    |:wall| *faq-18.3*18.3. Where can I get the documentation about the Vim remote server      functionality?You can get more information about the Vim remote server functionality byreading    |client-server|============================================================================= *faq-19*SECTION 19 - OPTIONS ~ *faq-19.1*19.1. How do I configure Vim in a simple way?You can use the `:options` command to open the Vim option window: >    :options<This window can be used for viewing and setting all the options.For more information, read:    |:options| *faq-19.2*19.2. How do I toggle the value of an option?You can prefix the option with "inv" to toggle the value of the option: >    :set invignorecase    :set invhlsearch<You can also suffix the option with "!" to toggle the value: >    :set ignorecase!    :set hlsearch!<For more information, read:    |set-option| *faq-19.3*19.3. How do I set an option that affects only the current buffer/window?Some of the Vim options can have a local or global value. A local valueapplies only to a specific buffer or window. A global value applies to allthe buffers or windows.When a Vim option is modified using the `:set` command, both the global andlocal values for the option are changed. You can use the `:setlocal`command to modify only the local value for the option and the `:setglobal`command to modify only the global value.You can use the `:setlocal` command to set an option that will affect onlythe current file/buffer: >    :setlocal textwidth=70<Note that not all options can have a local value. You can use `:setlocal`command to set an option locally to a buffer/window only if the option isallowed to have a local value.You can also use the following command to set an option locally: >    :let &l:{option-name} = <value><For more information, read:    |:setlocal|    |local-options| *faq-19.4*19.4. How do I use space characters for a Vim option value?To use space characters in a Vim option value, you have to escape the spacecharacter. For example: >    :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags<For more information, read:    |option-backslash| *faq-19.5*19.5. Can I add (embed) Vim option settings to the contents of a file?You can use modelines to add Vim option settings to the contents of a file.For example, in a C file, you can add the following line to the top or thebottom of the file: >    /* vim:sw=4: */<This will set the 'shiftwidth' option to 4, when editing that C file.For this to work, the 'modeline' option should be set. By default, the'modeline' option is set. An alternative example is given in this documentin the first line.The 'modelines' settings specifies the number oflines that will be checked for the Vim set commands.For more information, read:    |21.6|    |modeline|    |auto-setting|    |'modeline'|    |'modelines'| *faq-19.6*19.6. How do I display the line numbers of all the lines in a file?You can set the 'number' option to display the line numbers for all thelines. >    :set number<For more information, read:    |'number'| *faq-19.7*19.7. How do I change the width of the line numbers displayed using the      'number' option?You can set the minimum number of columns to be used for line numbering bysetting the 'numberwidth' option: >    :set numberwidth=3<This set's the width for the line number to 3 digits, which is enough, ifyour buffer contains less than 999 lines. However, if your current buffercontains more lines than 999, the 'numberwidth' will be adjusted accordingly,so that the maximum line number will fit on the screen. *faq-19.8*19.8. How do I display (view) all the invisible characters like space, tabs      and newlines in a file?You can set the 'list' option to see all the invisible characters in yourfile. >    :set list<With this option set, you can view space characters, tabs, newlines,trailing space characters and wrapped lines.To not display the invisible characters (which is the default), you have toreset the 'list' option: >    :set nolist    (or)    :set list!<The `:set list!` command will toggle the current setting of the boolean'list' option.You can modify the 'listchars' option to configure how and which invisiblecharacters are displayed. For example, with the following command all thetrailing space characters will be displayed with a "." character. >    :set listchars=trail:.<For more information, read:    |'listchars'|    |'list'| *faq-19.9*19.9. How do I configure Vim to always display the current line and column      number?You can set the 'ruler' option to display current column and line number inthe status line: >    :set ruler<For more information, read:    |'ruler'| *faq-19.10*19.10. How do I display the current Vim mode?You can set the 'showmode' option to display the current Vim mode. InInsert, Replace and Visual modes, Vim will display the current mode on thelast line. >    :set showmode<For more information, read:    |'showmode'| *faq-19.11*19.11. How do I configure Vim to show pending/partial commands on the       status line?You can set the 'showcmd' option to display pending/partial commands in thestatus line: >    :set showcmd<For more information, read:    |'showcmd'| *faq-19.12*19.12. How do I configure the Vim status line to display different       settings/values?You can set the 'statusline' option to display different values/settings inthe Vim status line.For more information, read:    |'statusline'|    |'laststatus'|    |'rulerformat'|    |'ruler'| *faq-19.13*19.13. How do I configure Vim to display status line always?You can set the 'laststatus' option to 2 to display the status line always. >    :set laststatus=2<For more information, read:    |'laststatus'| *faq-19.14*19.14. How do I make a Vim setting persistent across different Vim       invocations/instances/sessions?To make a Vim option setting persistent across different Vim instances, addyour setting to the .vimrc or .gvimrc file. You can also use the `:mkvimrc`command to generate a vimrc file for the current settings.For more information, read:    |save-settings|    |vimrc|    |gvimrc|    |vimrc-intro|    |:mkvimrc|    |initialization| *faq-19.15*19.15. Why do I hear a beep (why does my window flash) about 1 second after       I hit the Escape key?This is normal behavior. If your window flashes, then you've got the visualbell on. Otherwise, you should hear a beep.Vim needs a timeout to tell the difference between a simple escape and,say, a cursor key sequence.  When you press a key in normal mode (and evenin insert mode) and that key is the beginning of a mapping, Vim waits acertain amount of time to see if the rest of the mapping sequence follows.If the mapping sequence is completed before a given timeout period, themapping for that sequence of keys is applied. If you interrupt the mapping,the normal actions associated with the keys are executed.For example, if you have a mapping defined as `:imap vvv Vim is great!!`and you type "vvv" quickly, the "Vim is great!!" will be inserted into yourtext. But if you type "vv v" then that is what will put into your text.This is also true if you type "vvv" too slowly where "too slowly" is longerthan the value for the timeout option. Setting the timeout option to alarger value can help alleviate problems that appear when using functionkeys over a slow line.For more information, read:    |'ttimeout'| *faq-19.16*19.16. How do I make the "c" and "s" commands display a "$" instead of       deleting the characters I'm changing?To make the "c" and "s" commands display a "$" instead of deleting thecharacters, add the $ flag to the 'cpoptions' option: >    :set cpoptions+=$<For more information, read:    |'cpoptions'| *faq-19.17*19.17. How do I remove more than one flag using a single `:set` command       from a Vim option?You can remove more than one flag from a Vim option using a single `:set`command, by specifying the flags in exactly the same order as they appearin the option. For example, if you use the following command to remove the"t" and "n" flags from the 'formatoptions' option: >    :set formatoptions-=tn<The "t" and "n" flags will be removed from the 'formatoptions' option, onlyif the 'formatoptions' option contains these flags in this order: "tn".Otherwise, it will not remove the flags. To avoid this problem, you canremove the flags one by one: >    :set formatoptions-=t formatoptions-=n<For more information, read:    |:set-=|============================================================================= *faq-20*SECTION 20 - MAPPING KEYS ~ *faq-20.1*20.1. How do I know what a key is mapped to?To see what a key is mapped to, use the following commands: >    :map <key>    :map! <key><You can also check the mappings in a particular mode using one of the`:cmap`, `:nmap`, `:vmap`, `:imap`, `:omap`, etc commands.To find out, where the key has been mapped, prefix the `:verbose` command: >    :verbose :map <key><For more information, read:    |map-listing|    |map-overview| *faq-20.2*20.2. How do I list all the user-defined key mappings?You can list all the user-defined key mappings using: >    :map<For more information, read:    |map-listing| *faq-20.3*20.3. How do I unmap a previously mapped key?You can unmap a previously mapped key using the `:unmap` command: >    :unmap <key>    :unmap! <key><For mode specific mappings, you can use one of the these commands: >    :nunmap    :vunmap    :ounmap    :iunmap    :lunmap    :cunmap<The following command will fail to unmap a buffer-local mapped key: >    :unmap <key><To unmap a buffer-local mapped key, you have to use the <buffer> keyword inthe unmap command: >    :unmap <buffer> <key>    :unmap! <buffer> <key><For more information, read:    |:unmap|    |map-modes|    |:map-local|    |mapleader| *faq-20.4*20.4. I am not able to create a mapping for the <xxx> key. What is wrong?1) First make sure, the key is passed correctly to Vim. To determine if   this is the case, put Vim in Insert mode and then hit CTRL-V (or   CTRL-Q if your CTRL-V is remapped to the paste operation (e.g. on   Windows if you are using the mswin.vim script file) followed by your   key.   If nothing appears in the buffer (and assuming that you have   'showcmd' on, ^V remains displayed near the bottom right of the Vim   screen), then Vim doesn't get your key correctly and there is nothing   to be done, other than selecting a different key for your mapping or   using GVim, which should recognise the key correctly.2) Possibly, Vim gets your key, but sees it as no different than   something else. Say you want to map <Ctrl-Right>, then in Insert mode   hit CTRL-K followed by <Ctrl-Right>. If Vim displays <C-Right> it has   correctly seen the keystroke and you should be able to map it (by   using <C-Right> as your {lhs}). If it displays <Right> it has seen   the keystroke but as if you hadn't held <Ctrl> down: this means your   temrinal passes <Ctrl-Right> as if it were just <Right>. Anything else   means the key has been misidentified.3) If the key is seen, but not as itself and not as some recognizable   key, then there is probably an error in the terminal library for the   current terminal (termcap or terminfo database). In that case >        :set term?<   will tell you which termcap or terminfo Vim is using. You can try to   tell vim, what termcode to use in that terminal, by adding the   following to your vimrc: >        if &term == <termname>            set <C-Right>=<keycode>        endif<   where <termname> above should be replaced by the value of 'term'   (with quotes around it) and <keycode> by what you get when hitting   CTRL-V followed by <Ctrl-Right> in Insert mode (with nothing around   it). <C-Right> should be left as-is (9 characters). Don't forget that   in a `:set` command, white space is not allowed between the equal sign   and the value, and any space, double quote, vertical bar or backslash   present as part of the value must be backslash-escaped.   Now you should be able to see the keycode corresponding to the key   and you can create a mapping for the key using the following command: >        :map <C-Right>  <your_command_to_be_mapped><For more information, read:    |map-keys-fails|    |:map-special-keys|    |key-codes| *faq-20.5*20.5. Why does mapping the <C-...> key not work?The only <Ctrl>-<printable-key> chords which Vim can reliably detect(because they are defined in the ASCII standard) are the following: >        CTRL-@                 0x00            NUL        CTRL-A to CTRL-Z       0x01 to 0x1A        CTRL-a to CTRL-z       0x01 to 0x1A        CTRL-[                 0x1B            ESC        CTRL-\                 0x1C        CTRL-]                 0x1D        CTRL-^                 0x1E        CTRL-_                 0x1F        CTRL-?                 0x7F            DEL<Most of these, however, already have a function in Vim (and some arealiases of other keys: CTRL-H and <BS>, CTRL-I and <Tab>, CTRL-M and <Enter>,CTRL-[ and <Esc>, CTRL-? and <Del>).The "safest" keys to use in Vim for the {lhs} of a mapping are the Fkeys, with or without Shift: <F2> to <F12> and <S-F1> to <S-F12>. (SomeOSes, including mine, intercept <Ctrl-Fn> and <Alt-Fn>, which never reach anapplication program such as vim or gvim).You can try other combinations of <Ctrl> + any key, but they may eithernot work everywhere (e.g. the terminal might not pass that key to Vim,or they might have unintended side effects (e.g. mapping <C-I> meansalso to map <Tab>).This is a known issue, that has been discussed and might be implementedin the future to enable Vim to distinguish between various keys even inconsole mode. (e.g.https://groups.google.com/d/msg/vim_dev/2bp9UdfZ63M/sajb9KM0pNYJ) *faq-20.6*20.6. How do I map the numeric keypad keys?First make sure that the numeric keypad keys are passed to Vim. Next, youcan use the following command to map the numeric keypad keys: >    :map <kSomething>  <your_command><where, <kSomething> can be kHome, kEnd, kPageUp, kPageDown, kPlus, kMinus,kDivide, kMultiply, kEnter, etc.For more information, read:    |key-codes|    |terminal-options| *faq-20.7*20.7. How do I create a mapping that works only in visual mode?You can create mappings that work only in specific modes (normal, command,insert, visual, etc). To create a mapping that works only in the visualmode, use the `:vmap` command: >    :vmap <F3> <your mapping here><This mapping will work in visual and select mode. If you want the map towork only in visual mode (excluding select mode), use: >    :xmap <F3> <your mapping here><and to have the mapping only work in select mode (but not visual mode),use: >    :smap <F3> <your mapping here><For more information, read:    |:vmap|    |:xmap|    |:smap|    |map-modes|    |40.1| *faq-20.8*20.8. How do I create a mapping that works only in normal and operator   pending mode (but not in visual mode)?Using `:map` creates a mapping that works in normal, visual+select mode andoperator pending mode. You can use `:nmap` to have the mapping only work innormal mode and `:vmap` to have the mapping only be defined for visual andselect mode or use `:omap` to have the mapping only defined in operatorpending mode.But if you want to have a mapping defined, that works in both operatorpending mode and normal mode, but not in visual and select mode, you needto first define the mapping using `:map` and afterwards delete the mappingfor visual and select mode::map <f3> <your mapping here>:vunmap <f3> *faq-20.9*20.9. In a Vim script, how do I know which keys to use for my mappings, so      that the mapped key will not collide with an already used key?Vim uses most of the keys in the keyboard. You can use the <leader> prefixin maps to define keys which will not overlap with Vim keys. For example: >    :map <leader>S <C-W>s    :map <leader>j <C-W>j    :map <leader>k <C-W>k<where by default <leader> gets substituted with a backslash (\), so theuser would enter >        \s        \j        \k<to invoke the above map commands. The user can change the mapleadervariable to be whatever they wanted: >    :let mapleader = ","<When writing a plugin or other script, more often than not, it is advisableto use `:noremap` instead of `:map` to avoid side effects from user definedmappings.For more information, read:    |<Leader>|    |<LocalLeader>|    |write-plugin| *faq-20.10*20.10. How do I map the escape key?You can map the Escape key to some other key using the `:map` command. Forexample, the following command maps the escape key to CTRL-O. >    :map <C-O> <Esc>< *faq-20.11*20.11. How do I map a key to perform nothing?You can map a key to <Nop> to perform nothing when the key is pressed. Forexample, with the following mappings, the <F7> key will do nothing whenpressed. >    :map <F7> <Nop>    :map! <F7> <Nop><For more information, read:    |<Nop>|    |:map|    |:map!|    |map-modes| *faq-20.12*20.12. I want to use the <Tab> key to indent a block of text and <Shift-Tab>       key to unindent a block of text. How do I map the keys to do this?       This behavior is similar to textpad, visual studio, etc.Use the following mapping: >    :inoremap <S-Tab> <C-O><lt><lt>    :nnoremap <Tab> >>    :nnoremap <S-Tab> <lt><lt>    :vnoremap <Tab> >    :vnoremap <S-Tab> <lt><Note, that the <S-Tab> mapping will work only if Vim receives the correctkey sequence. This is mostly the case with GUI Vim.For more information, read:    |:inoremap|    |:nnoremap|    |:vnoremap|    |<S-Tab>|    |i_CTRL-O|    |>>|    |<<|    |<lt>| *faq-20.13*20.13. In my mappings the special characters like <CR> are not recognized.       How can I configure Vim to recognize special characters?Check the value of the 'cpoptions' option: >    :set cpoptions?<If this option contains the "<" flag, then special characters will not berecognized in mappings. Remove the "<" flag from 'cpoptions' option: >    :set cpo-=<<Also, check the value of the 'compatible' option: >    :set compatible?<The 'compatible' option must be reset: >    :set nocompatible<For more information, read:    |'cpoptions'|    |'compatible'| *faq-20.14*20.14. How do I use the "|" to separate multiple commands in a map?You can escape the "|" character using backslash (\) to use "|" in a map. >    :map _l :!ls \| more<CR><You can also try the following command: >    :map _l :!ls <bar> more<CR><There are also other ways to do this.For more information, read:    |map_bar| *faq-20.15*20.15. If I have a mapping/abbreviation whose ending is the beginning of       another mapping/abbreviation, how do I keep the first from expanding       into the second one?Instead of using the `:map lhs rhs` command, use the `:noremap lhs rhs`command. For abbreviations, use "noreabbrev lhs rhs". The "nore" prefixprevents the mapping or abbreviation from being expanded again.For more information, read:    |:noremap|    |:noreabbrev| *faq-20.16*20.16. Why does it take a second or more for Vim to process a key,       sometimes when I press a key?Make sure you have not defined a mapping for this key using the followingcommand: >    :map <key><If a mapping is defined for this key and the mapped key contains more thanone character, then Vim will wait for the next character to be pressed todetermine whether it is the mapped key or not. For example, if you havemapped "ab", then if you press "a", Vim will wait for the next key to bepressed. If the next key is "b", Vim will execute the mapped sequence.Otherwise, Vim will proceed with the normal processing of "a" followed bythe next key. If the 'timeout' option is set (which is the default), thenVim will timeout after waiting for the period specified with the'timeoutlen' option (default is 1 second).For more information, read:    |map-typing|    |'timeoutlen'|    |'ttimeoutlen'|    |'timeout'|    |'ttimeout'|    |vt100-cursor-keys|    |slow-fast-terminal| *faq-20.17*20.17. How do I map a key to run an external command using a visually       selected text?You can the `:vmap` command to map a key in the visual mode. In the mappedcommand sequence, you have to first yank the text. The yanked text isavailable in the '"' register. Now, you can use the contents of thisregister to run the external command. For example, to run the externalcommand "perldoc" on a visually selected text, you can use the followingmapping: >    :vmap <F7> y:!exec "!perldoc '" . @" . "'"<CR><If you want the mapping to work in the visual mode, but not with thehighlighted text, you can use the following command: >    :vmap <F7> :<C-U>!perldoc <cword><CR><The above mapping will use the word under the cursor instead of thehighlighted text. Note the use of the <C-U> before invoking the "perldoc"external command. The <C-U> is used to erase the range of text selected inthe visual mode and displayed on the command line. If the visual range isnot removed using <C-U>, then the output from the external command willreplace the visually selected text.For more information, read:    |:vmap|    |quote_quote|    |:let-register|    |c_CTRL-U|    |:!cmd| *faq-20.18*20.18. How do I map the CTRL-I key while still retaining the functionality       of the <Tab> key?The CTRL-I key and the <Tab> key produce the same keycode, so Vim cannotdistinguish between the CTRL-I and the <Tab> key. When you map the CTRL-Ikey, the <Tab> key is also mapped (and vice versa). The same restrictionapplies for the CTRL-[ key and the <Esc> key.For more information, read:    |keycodes| *faq-20.19*20.19. How do I define a map to accept a count?Use the @= command to use an expression. For example, >    nnoremap = @='3l'<Now you can specify a count to the "=" command.    |complex-repeat| *faq-20.20*20.20. How can I make my normal mode mapping work from within Insert       Mode?Mappings in normal mode can be executed after CTRL-O from insert mode aswell but if there are more commands included in the mapping {rhs}, only thefirst one will be executed in normal mode and the rest of {rhs} will beprinted literally in insert mode. One of ways to workaround this problem isto make {rhs} be one command, via wrapping it to the function. For example: >    function GetFontNameOfFirstChar()    normal! 0    echo getfontname()    endfunction<    :nmap <F9> :call GetFontNameOfFirstChar()<CR>A more technical and detailed solution to this problem follows and canbe found athttps://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/msg/75f1f2dfc00908bbNot every normal mode-mapping is automatically suitable for execution viaCTRL-O from within insert mode; you need to explicitly design your mappingsfor that purpose.The CTRL-O command allows execution of one normal mode command fromwithin insert mode, then returns to insert mode. If a normal mode mappingconcatenates multiple normal mode commands, this breaks down in temporarynormal mode and literally inserts the second part of the command into thebuffer instead. To support execution of normal mode mappings from withininsert mode, these strategies can be used:1) Instead of concatenating multiple normal mode commands, use one `:normal`    mapping: >    :nnoremap <silent> zC :<C-U>normal! zCVzC<CR><2) Concatenate multiple Ex commands via <Bar> on the rhs: >    :nnoremap zC :<C-U>call MyMap1()<Bar>call MyMap2()<CR><3) Shadow normal mode mappings by insert mode mappings that    re-enter normal mode, then invoke the normal mode mapping: >    :nnoremap <silent> <SID>MyMap2 :<C-U>call MyMap2()<CR>    :inoremap <silent> <script> <SID>MyMap2 <C-\><C-O><SID>MyMap2    :nnoremap <silent> <script> zC <SID>MyMap1<SID>MyMap2<4) Normal mode mappings that consist of multiple Ex command lines (and    where Ex commands cannot be concatenated via <Bar>) replace `:<C-U>`    with <SID>NM; the <SID>NM mapping enters normal mode for one ex command    line: >    :nnoremap <silent> <SID>NM :<C-U>    :inoremap <silent> <SID>NM <C-\><C-O>:    :nnoremap <silent> <script> zC <SID>MyMap1<SID>NMcall MyMap2()<CR><5)  If none of the above is possible, at least force normal mode for    subsequent commands via CTRL-\ CTRL-N to avoid accidental insertion    of the remainder of the mapping. >    :nnoremap zC zC<C-\><C-N>VzCzz<For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-O|    |map_bar|    |i_CTRL-\_CTRL-O|    |CTRL-\_CTRL-N|============================================================================= *faq-21*SECTION 21 - ABBREVIATIONS ~ *faq-21.1*21.1. How do I auto correct misspelled words?You can auto correct misspelled words using abbreviations. For example, thefollowing abbreviation can be used to correct "teh" with "the": >    :abbreviate teh the<Vim supports abbreviations in insert mode, replace mode and command-linemode.For more information, read:    |24.7|    |abbreviations|    |Q_ab| *faq-21.2*21.2. How do I create multi-line abbreviations?You can create multi-line abbreviations by embedding the "<CR>"key code in the text: >    iabbrev #c --------------<CR>-- Date:<CR>--<CR>---------<With the above abbreviation, when you type #c, it will be expanded tothe following text:---------------- Date:-----------For more information, read:    |abbreviations| *faq-21.3*21.3. When my abbreviations are expanded, an additional space character is      added at the end of the expanded text. How do I avoid this character?To avoid an additional space character at the end of the expanded text, youcan expand the abbreviation by pressing the CTRL-] key.  The abbreviationwill be expanded without adding a space character at the end.Another alternative is to use the following function and command: >    function! Eatchar(pat)        let c = nr2char(getchar())        return (c =~ a:pat) ? '' : c    endfunction    command! -nargs=+ Iabbr execute "iabbr" <q-args> . "<C-R>=Eatchar('\\s')<CR>"<Now, define your abbreviations using the new "Iabbr" command instead of thebuiltin `:iabbrev` command. With this command, after expanding theabbreviated text, the next typed space character will be discarded.For more information, read:    |abbreviations| *faq-21.4*21.4. How do I insert the current date/time stamp into the file?You can use the strftime() function to insert the current data/time stampin a file. For example, you can use the following abbreviation: >    iabbrev dts <C-R>=strftime("%y/%m/%d %H:%M")<CR><With this abbreviation, when you type dts in insert mode, it will beexpanded to the date/time stamp.Some other forms of the above abbreviation are listed below: >    iabbrev mdyl <C-R>=strftime("%a %d %b %Y")<CR>    iabbrev mdys <C-R>=strftime("%y%m%d")<CR>    iabbrev mdyc <C-R>=strftime("%c")<CR>    iabbrev hml  <C-R>=strftime("%d/%m/%y %H:%M:%S")<CR>    iabbrev hms  <C-R>=strftime("%H:%M:%S")<CR><For more information, read:    |strftime()|    |i_CTRL-R| *faq-21.5*21.5. How do I prevent an abbreviation from expanding in insert mode?You can prevent an abbreviation from expanding in insert mode by typingCTRL-V before the character after the abbreviated word.For more information, read:    |abbreviations|============================================================================= *faq-22*SECTION 22 - RECORD AND PLAYBACK ~ *faq-22.1*22.1. How do I repeat an editing operation (insertion, deletion, paste,      etc)?You can repeat the last editing operation using the "." command. This willrepeat the last simple change like a insert, delete, change, paste, etc.For more information, read:    |04.3|    |single-repeat|    |Q_re| *faq-22.2*22.2. How I record and repeat a set of key sequences?You can use the "q" command in normal mode to record a set of key sequencesand store it in a register. For example, in the normal mode you can press qfollowed by a register name {0-9a-bA-Z"} to start the recording.  Toend/stop the recording press q again. You can playback/repeat the recordedkey sequences by pressing @ followed by the register name. e.g. @a.Another approach is to start Vim with the "-w" command-line argument. >    $ vim -w <file_name><Vim will record all the characters typed in the session in thespecified file "file_name". You can use the recorded file with the "-s"command line argument to play it back: >    $ vim -s <file_name><For more information, read:    |10.1|    |recording|    |-w|    |-s| *faq-22.3*22.3. How do I edit/modify a recorded set of key sequences?The recorded key sequences are stored in a register. You can paste thecontents of the register into a Vim buffer, edit the pasted text and againyank the text into the register. You can also use the `:let` command tomodify the register. For example: >    :let @a = "iHello World\<Esc>"<For more information, read:    |recording|    |10.1|    |:let-register|    |<>|    |'cpoptions'| *faq-22.4*22.4. How do I write recorded key sequences to a file?The recorded key sequences are stored in a register. You can paste thecontents of the register into a Vim buffer. Now you can save the bufferinto a file. You can also modify the pasted text and again yank into theregister to modify the recorded key sequence. For example, if you record aset of key sequences using qa ..... q. The recorded key sequences arestored in the register "a". You can paste the contents of register "a"using "ap.For more information, read:    |recording|    |10.1| *faq-22.5*22.5. I am using register 0 to record my key sequences (i.e. q0 .... q).      In the recorded key sequences, I am yanking some text. After the      first replay of the recorded key sequence, I am no longer able to      play it back.Register 0 contains the text from the last yank operation. In your recordedkey sequence, when the yank is performed, register 0 is overwritten withthe yanked text. So your recording stored in register 0 is lost. You haveto use some other register.For more information, read:    |registers|============================================================================= *faq-23*SECTION 23 - AUTOCOMMANDS ~ *faq-23.1*23.1. How do I execute a command when I try to modify a read-only file?You can use the FileChangedRO autocommand event to execute a command when aread-only file is modified. For example, you can use this event to checkout aread-only file: >    :autocmd FileChangedRO * call MyCheckoutFunction()<For more information, read:    |FileChangedRO| *faq-23.2*23.2. How do I execute a command every time when entering a buffer?You can use the BufEnter autocommand event to execute a command every timewhen entering a buffer. For example: >    :autocmd BufEnter *.c set formatoptions=croqt<For more information, read:    |BufEnter| *faq-23.3*23.3. How do I execute a command every time when entering a window?You can use the WinEnter autocommand event to execute a command every timewhen entering a window. For example: >    :autocmd WinEnter *.c call MyFunction()<For more information, read:    |WinEnter| *faq-23.4*23.4. From an autocmd, how can I determine the name of the file or the      buffer number for which the autocommand is executed?You can use the special words <afile> or <abuf> in an autocmd to get thename of the file or the buffer number for which the autocommand isexecuted.For more information, read:    |:<afile>|    |:<abuf>|    |:<amatch>| *faq-23.5*23.5. How do I automatically save all the changed buffers whenever Vim      loses focus?You can define an autocommand for the FocusLost event which will save allthe modified buffers whenever Vim loses focus: >    :autocmd FocusLost * wall<For more information, read:    |FocusLost|    |:wall| *faq-23.6*23.6. How do I execute/run a function when Vim exits to do some cleanup?You can use VimLeave autocmd event to execute a function just before Vimexits. For example, >    :autocmd VimLeave * call MyCleanupFunction()<For more information, read:    |VimLeave|============================================================================= *faq-24*SECTION 24 - SYNTAX HIGHLIGHT ~ *faq-24.1*24.1. How do I turn off/on syntax highlighting?By default, the Vim syntax highlighting is turned off. To enable the syntaxhighlighting, you can use one of the following commands: >    :syntax enable<    or >    :syntax on<To disable the syntax highlighting, you can use the following command: >    :syntax off<For more information, read:    |06.1|    |06.4|    |:syntax-enable|    |:syntax-on|    |:syn-clear| *faq-24.2*24.2. How do I change the background and foreground colors used by Vim?Vim uses the "Normal" highlight group for the background and foregroundcolors. To change the foreground/background colors, you have to modify the"Normal" highlight group. For example, to set the background color to blueand foreground color to white, you can use >    :highlight Normal ctermbg=blue ctermfg=white guibg=blue guifg=white<If you are using the Motif or the Athena version of the GUI Vim, then youcan modify the foreground and background resource names in the .Xdefaultsfiles to change the colors: >    Vim.foreground:     Black    Vim.background:     Wheat<You can also use the "-foreground" and "-background" command-line argumentsto specify the foreground and background colors. These arguments aresupported only in the Motif or Athena versions: >    $ gvim -foreground Black -background Wheat<For more information, read:    |:highlight|    |.Xdefaults|    |-gui| *faq-24.3*24.3. How do I change the highlight colors to suit a dark/light background?You can set the 'background' option to either "dark" or "light" to changethe highlight colors to suit a dark/light background: >    :set background=dark<For more information, read:    |'background'|    |06.2| *faq-24.4*24.4. How do I change the color of the line numbers displayed when the      `:set number` command is used?The line numbers displayed use the LineNr highlighting group. To displaythe current colors used, use >    :hi LineNr<To change the color modify the LineNr highlight group. For example: >    :hi linenr guifg=red guibg=black<This will give red numbers on a black background in GVIM.For more information, read:    |:highlight| *faq-24.5*24.5. How do I change the background color used for a Visually selected      block?You can modify the "Visual" highlight group to change the color used for avisually selected block: >    :highlight Visual guibg=red<For more information, read:    |:highlight|    |hl-Visual| *faq-24.6*24.6. How do I highlight the special characters (tabs, trailing spaces, end      of line, etc) displayed by the 'list' option?You can modify the "NonText" and "SpecialKey" highlight groups to highlightthe special characters displayed by the 'list' option: >    :highlight NonText guibg=red    :highlight SpecialKey guibg=green<The "NonText" highlighting group is used for "eol", "extends" and"precedes" settings in the 'listchars' option.  The "SpecialKey"highlighting group is used for the "tab" and "trail" settings.For more information, read:    |'listchars'|    |hl-NonText|    |hl-SpecialKey| *faq-24.7*24.7. How do I specify a colorscheme in my .vimrc/.gvimrc file, so that Vim      uses the specified colorscheme every time?You can specify the color scheme using the `:colorscheme` command in your.vimrc or .gvimrc file: >    colorscheme evening<For more information, read:    |:colorscheme| *faq-24.8*24.8. Vim syntax highlighting is broken. When I am editing a file, some      parts of the file is not syntax highlighted or syntax highlighted      incorrectly.Vim doesn't read the whole file to parse the text for syntax highlighting.It starts parsing wherever you are viewing the file. That saves a lot oftime, but sometimes the colors are wrong. A simple fix is refreshing thescreen using the CTRL-L key. Or scroll back a bit and then forward again.You can also use the command: >    :syntax sync fromstart<Note that this might considerably slow down the screen refreshing.For more information, read:    |:syn-sync|    |:syn-sync-first| *faq-24.9*24.9. Is there a built-in function to syntax-highlight the corresponding      matching bracket?Yes. Vim includes the matchparen Plugin as standard plugin that is enabledby default. Whenever the cursor moves over an item defined with the'matchpairs' option, Vim will highlight the corresponding bracket using theMatchParen highlighting group.However, if the corresponding parenthesis is not visible in the currentwindow, the cursor won't jump to it.The matchit plugin provides a similar function, that lets the cursorjump to related items (e.g. "if", "else", "endif" items) and skipsmatches in comments. This uses the % command to jump to correspondingitems. Though both plugins provide similar functions they are unrelatedand work differently.For more information, read:    |matchparen|    |'matchpairs'|    |matchit-install|    |matchit-intro| *faq-24.10*24.10. How do I turn off the C comment syntax highlighting?You can use the following command to turn off C comment syntaxhighlighting: >    :highlight clear comment<For more information, read:    |ft-c-syntax| *faq-24.11*24.11. How do I add my own syntax extensions to the standard syntax files       supplied with Vim?You should not modify the syntax files supplied with Vim to add yourextensions. When you install the next version of Vim, you will lose yourchanges. Instead you should create a file under the ~/.vim/after/syntaxdirectory with the same name as the original syntax file and add youradditions to this file.For more information, read:    |mysyntaxfile-add|    |'runtimepath'| *faq-24.12*24.12. How do I replace a standard syntax file that comes with the Vim       distribution with my own syntax file?You can replace a standard syntax file that comes with the Vim distributionby creating a file with the same name as the original syntax file andplacing it in the vim runtime syntax (~/.vim/syntax) directory. Forexample, to replace the c.vim syntax file in a Unix system, place the newc.vim in the ~/.vim/syntax directory. In a MS-Windows system, place the newsyntax file in the $HOME/vimfiles/syntax or $VIM/vimfiles/syntax directory.For more information, read:    |mysyntaxfile-replace|    |44.11|    |mysyntaxfile| *faq-24.13*24.13. How do I highlight all the characters after a particular column?You can use the `:match` command to highlight all the characters after aparticular column: >    :match Todo '\%>75v.\+'<This will highlight all the characters after the 75th column.You can also set the 'colorcolumn' option to highlight a particularcolumn:   :set colorcolumn=+2which highlights 2 columns after the current 'textwidth' setting(alternatively, you can use the exact column number).For more information, read:    |:match|    |/\%v|    |/\+|    |/.|    |'colorcolumn'| *faq-24.14*24.14. How do I convert a source file (.c, .h, etc) with the Vim syntax       highlighting into a HTML file?You can use the 2html.vim script to convert a source file into a HTML filewith the Vim syntax highlighting. Use the following command: >    :TOhtml<For more information, read:    |convert-to-HTML|    |:TOhtml| *faq-24.15*24.15. How do I list the definition of all the current highlight groups?You can list the definition of all the current highlight groups using the`:highlight` (without any arguments) ex command.For more information, read:    |:highlight| *faq-24.16*24.16. How can I embed one syntax highlighting language into another one?It is possible to include one syntax highlighting into another one,however most of the currently deployed syntax highlighting scripts arenot prepared to be included into another syntax script.You can however create your own custom script to define your ownregions, which will be highlighted with a different language.See the wiki for a comprehensive solution:http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Different_syntax_highlighting_within_regions_of_a_fileFor more information, read:    |:syn-include|    |sh-awk|============================================================================= *faq-25*SECTION 25 - VIM SCRIPT WRITING ~ *faq-25.1*25.1. How do I list the names of all the scripts sourced by Vim?You can use the `:scriptnames` command to list the names of all the scriptssourced by Vim: >    :scriptnames<For more information, read:    |:scriptnames| *faq-25.2*25.2. How do I debug Vim scripts?Vim has built-in support for a primitive debugger to debug Vim plugins andscripts. Using this debugger you can set breakpoints and step through theplugin functions.For more information, read:    |debug-scripts|    |-D| *faq-25.3*25.3. How do I locate the script/plugin which sets a Vim option?You can use the `:verbose` command to locate the plugin/script which lastmodified a Vim option. For example: >    :verbose set textwidth?<For more information, read:    |:set-verbose|    |:verbose| *faq-25.4*25.4. I am getting some error/informational messages from Vim (possibly      when running a script), the messages are cleared immediately. How do      I display the messages again?You can use the `:messages` command to display the previous messages. >    :messages<For more information, read:    |:messages|    |:echoerr|    |:echomsg|    |message-history| *faq-25.5*25.5. How do I save and restore a plugin specific information across Vim      invocations?Vim will save and restore global variables that start with an uppercaseletter and don't contain a lower case letter. For this to work, the'viminfo' option must contain the "!" flag. Vim will store the variables inthe viminfo file.For more information, read:    |'viminfo'|    |viminfo-file|    |variables| *faq-25.6*25.6. How do I start insert mode from a Vim function?You can use the `:startinsert` command to start the insert mode from insidea Vim function.For more information, read:    |:startinsert| *faq-25.7*25.7. How do I change the cursor position from within a Vim function?You can use the cursor() function to position the cursor. >        call cursor(lnum, col)<Alternatively, use the setpos() function: >        call setpos('.', [bufnum, lnum, col, off])<which set's the cursor in the buffer bufnum to line lnum, column col andoffset for 'virtualedit'. You can use the getpos() function, to return alist with these values, that can then be fed back to the setpos() function.If you want to save and restore the viewpoint on a window, use thewinsaveview() and winrestview() function calls.You can also use the following command to change the cursor position: >        exe "normal! " . lnum . "G" . col . "|"<For more information, read:    |cursor()|    |bar|    |getpos()|    |setpos()|    |winsaveview()|    |winrestview()| *faq-25.8*25.8. How do I check the value of an environment variable in the .vimrc      file?You can use prefix the environment variable name with the "$" character touse it from a Vim script/function.  You can refer to the value of anenvironment variable using the $env_var syntax: >    if $EDITOR == 'vi'    endif<For more information, read:    |expr-env| *faq-25.9*25.9. How do I check whether an environment variable is set or not from a      Vim function?You can use the exists() function to check for the existence of anenvironment variable. >    if exists("$MY_ENV_VAR")    endif<For more information, read:    |exists()|    |expr-env| *faq-25.10*25.10. How do I call/use the Vim built-in functions?You can use the `:call` command to invoke a Vim built-in function: >    :call cursor(10,20)<You can use the `:echo` command to echo the value returned by a function: >    :echo char2nr('a')<You can use the `:let` command to assign the value returned by a functionto a variable: >    :let a = getline('.')<To store the return value from a function into a Vim register, you can usethe following command: >    :let @a = system('ls')<The above command will store the output of the "ls" command intothe register "a".For more information, read:    |:call|    |:echo|    |:let|    |:let-register|    |user-functions|    |usr_41.txt| *faq-25.11*25.11. I am using some normal mode commands in my Vim script. How do I       avoid using the user-defined mappings for these normal mode commands       and use the standard Vim functionality for these normal mode       commands?You can use the `:normal!` command in your script to invoke a normal-modecommand. This will use the standard functionality of the normal modecommand and will not use the user-defined mapping.For more information, read:    |:normal| *faq-25.12*25.12. How do I get the current visually selected text into a Vim variable       or register?You can get the current visually selected text into a Vim variable byyanking the text into Vim register and then assigning the contents of theregister into the variable: >    :normal! gvy    :let myvar = @"<The above command copies the visually selected text into the variable"myvar".You can also use the command: >    :normal! gv"*y<In the above command, gv reselects the last visually selected text and therest of the command copies the selected text into the * (clipboard)register. Alternatively, you can set the "a" flag in the 'guioptions'option to automatically copy a visually selected text into the * register.To do this as part of a visual map, you can use a command similar to theone shown below: >    :vmap <F3> "*y:call ...<For more information, read:    |gv|    |:normal|    |:let-@|    |quotestar|    |clipboard|    |registers| *faq-25.13*25.13. I have some text in a Vim variable "myvar". I would like to use this       variable in a `:s` substitute command to replace a text "mytext".       How do I do this?You can use the `:execute` command to evaluate the variable: >    :execute '%s/mytext/' . myvar . '/'<For more information, read:    |:execute|You can also use "\=" in the substitute command to evaluate the variable: >    :%s/mytext/\=myvar/<For more information, read:    |sub-replace-special| *faq-25.14*25.14. A Vim variable (bno) contains a buffer number. How do I use this       variable to open the corresponding buffer?The `:buffer` command will not accept a variable name. It accepts only abuffer number or buffer name. You have to use the `:execute` command toevaluate the variable into the corresponding value. For example: >    :execute "buffer " . bno<For more information, read:    |:execute| *faq-25.15*25.15. How do I store the value of a Vim option into a Vim variable?You can prefix the option name with the "&" character and assign the optionvalue to a Vim variable using the `:let` command. For example, to store thevalue of the 'textwidth' option into the Vim variable "old_tw", you can usethe following command: >    :let old_tw = &tw<To explicitly save buffer local options, use the prefix "l:" >    :let old_tw = &l:tw<If you want to explicitly select the global option, use the "g:" prefix tothe option name.To do the opposite, to set the 'textwidth' option with the value stored inthe "old_tw" variable, you can use the following command: >    :let &tw = old_tw<For more information, read:    |expr-option|    |:let-option| *faq-25.16*25.16. I have copied and inserted some text into a buffer from a Vim       function. How do I indent the inserted text from the Vim function?You can use the following command to format the just inserted text: >    :normal '[=']<For more information, read:    |'[|    |']|    |=|    |:normal| *faq-25.17*25.17. How do I get the character under the cursor from a Vim script?You can use the getline() function and use string index [] to get thecharacter: >    :echo getline(".")[col(".") - 1]<In the above command, getline(".") returns  the text in the current line.The indexing of the string starts at zero, and you can get a singlecharacter in a string by its index with the "string[index]" notation. Thecol(".") returns the column of the cursor position; the adjustment is toget the right character of the string. However, this does NOT work withmultibyte characters as this command only returns the byte index.Alternatively, you can use the following sequence of commands to get thecharacter under the cursor: >    normal! vy    let ch=@"<Note, that the above commands will change the '< and '> marks.For more information, read:    |getline()|    |col()|    |expr-[]| *faq-25.18*25.18. How do I get the name of the current file without the extension?You can get the name of the current file without the extension using: >    :echo expand("%:r")<With some commands, you can use the file name modifiers directly: >    :cd %:p:h    :!gcc -o %:r.o %    :!xpdf %<.pdf<For more information, read:    |filename-modifiers|    |expand()|    |cmdline-special|    |fnamemodify()| *faq-25.19*25.19. How do I get the basename of the current file?You can use the ":t" filename modifier to get the basename of the currentfile: >    :echo expand("%:t")<For more information, read:    |filename-modifiers| *faq-25.20*25.20. How do I get the output from a Vim function into the current buffer?You can insert the return value from a function using the following commandin insert mode: >    <C-R>=MyFunc()<Note, that this will only insert the return value of the function.For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-R|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-R|    |i_CTRL-R_CTRL-O|    |expression| *faq-25.21*25.21. How do I call external programs from a Vim function?There are several ways to call external programs from a Vim function. Youcan use the builtin system() function to invoke external programs and getthe result: >    :let output = system("ls")<You can also use "!" ex-command to run an external command.For more information, read:    |system()|    |:!|    |10.9| *faq-25.22*25.22. How do I get the return status of a program executed using the `:!`       command?You can use the predefined Vim v:shell_error variable to get the returnstatus of the last run shell command.For more information, read:    |v:shell_error| *faq-25.23*25.23. How do I determine whether the current buffer is modified or not?You can check the value of the 'modified' option to determine whether thecurrent buffer is modified: >    :set modified?<From a Vim script, you can check the value of the 'modified' option: >    if &modified        echo "File is modified"    endif<For more information, read:    |'modified'| *faq-25.24*25.24. I would like to use the carriage return character in a normal       command from a Vim script. How do I specify the carriage return       character?You can use the `:execute` command to specify the special (control)character in a normal mode command: >    :execute "normal \<CR>"    :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"<For more information, read:    |:execute|    |expr-quote| *faq-25.25*25.25. How do I split long lines in a Vim script?You can split long lines in a Vim script by inserting the backslashcharacter ("\") at the start of the next line. For example, >    set comments=sr:/*,mb:*,el:*/,                \://,                \b:#,                \:%,                \n:>,                \fb:-<For more information, read:    |line-continuation| *faq-25.26*25.26. When I try to "execute" my function using the `:execute Myfunc()`       command, the cursor is moved to the top of the current buffer.       Why?The `:execute` command runs the ex command specified by the argument.In the case of the following command: >    :execute Myfunc()<The call to Myfunc() will return 0. The `:execute` command will runthe ex command `:0`, which moves the cursor to the top of the file.To call a Vim function, you should use the `:call` command instead of the`:execute` command: >    :call Myfunc()<For more information, read:    |:call|    |:execute|    |:echo|    |user-functions|    |41.5|    |41.6|    |cmdline-lines| *faq-25.27*25.27. How do I source/execute the contents of a register?If you have yanked a set of Vim commands into a Vim register (for exampleregister "a"), then you can source the contents of the register using oneof the following commands:    :@aor    :exe @aFor more information, read:    |:@| *faq-25.28*25.28. After calling a Vim function or a mapping, when I press the "u"       key to undo the last change, Vim undoes all the changes made by       the mapping/function. Why?When you call a function or a mapping, all the operations performed by thefunction/mapping are treated as one single operation. When you undo thelast operation by pressing "u", all the changes made by thefunction/mapping are reversed.For more information, read:    |undo-redo|    |:map-undo| *faq-25.29*25.29. How can I call a function defined with s: (script local function)       from another script/plugin?The s: prefix for a Vim function name is used to create a script localfunction. A script local function can be called only from within thatscript and cannot be called from other scripts. To define a function in ascript/plugin, so that it can be called from other plugins/scripts, definethe function without the s: prefix.For more information, read:    |script-variable|    |script-local|    |:scriptnames| *faq-25.30*25.30. Is it possible to un-source a sourced script? In other words, reverse       all the commands executed by sourcing a script.No. It is not possible to reverse or undo all the commands executed bysourcing a script.For more information, read:    |:source|============================================================================= *faq-26*SECTION 26 - PLUGINS ~ *faq-26.1*26.1. How do I set different options for different types of files?You can create filetype plugins to set different options for differenttypes of files. You should first enable filetype plugins using the command: >    :filetype plugin on<A filetype plugin is a vim script that is loaded whenever Vim opens orcreates a file of that type.  For example, to ensure that the 'textwidth'option is set to 80 when editing a C program (filetype "c"), create one ofthe following files: >        ~/.vim/ftplugin/c.vim (Unix)        %HOME%\vimfiles\ftplugin\c.vim (Windows)<with the following text in it: >        setlocal textwidth=80<You can also use autocommands to set specific options when editing specifictype of files. For example, to set the 'textwidth' option to 75 for only*.txt files, you can use the following autocmd: >    autocmd BufRead *.txt setlocal textwidth=80<For more information, read:    |filetype-plugin|    |add-filetype-plugin|    |:autocmd|    |40.3| *faq-26.2*26.2. I have downloaded a Vim plugin or a syntax file or a indent file, or      a color scheme or a filetype plugin from the web. Where should I copy      these files so that Vim will find them?You can place the Vim runtime files (plugins, syntax files, indent files,color schemes, filetype plugins, etc) under one of the directoriesspecified in the 'runtimepath' option. To determine the current value ofthe 'runtimepath' option, use the following command: >    :set runtimepath<For Unix systems, this is usually the "$HOME/.vim" directory. For MS-Windowssystems, this is usually the $VIM\vimfiles or $HOME\vimfiles directory.Depending on the type of the runtime file, you have to place it under aspecific directory under the above runtime directory. The names of thedirectories are listed below:    name        description ~    ----------  ------------------ ~    colors/     color scheme files    compiler/   compiler files    doc/        documentation    ftplugin/   filetype plugins    indent/     indent scripts    keymap/     key mapping files    lang/       menu translations    plugin/     plugin scripts    syntax/     syntax files    tutor/      files for vimtutorFor more information, read:    |your-runtime-dir|    |'runtimepath'|    |:runtime| *faq-26.3*26.3. How do I extend an existing filetype plugin?You can extend an existing filetype plugin by creating a file in theafter/ directory in any of the 'runtimepath' directories.- for small changes to be done after (and in addition to) what is  already done by the ftplugin installed with Vim, use an after-directory,  as follows (replacing foobar by the 'filetype' of the concerned  files):    - For changes private to one user:        - on Windows:            $HOME/vimfiles/after/ftplugin/foobar.vim        - on Unix-like OSes:            $HOME/.vim/after/ftplugin/foobar.vim    - For changes affecting all users on the system:        $VIM/vimfiles/after/ftplugin/foobar.vim- when replacing the whole filetype-plugin by a different version, or  when installing a new ftplugin for some filetype not yet supported by  Vim out of the box: use the same paths without the after/ in them. In  that case you should place near the start of your plugin an "if...  finish... endif... let" block like the one in the plugins distributed  with Vim.All the above paths are given in Vim terminology (which is similar toUnix terminology, but is understood even by Vim for Windows); they don'texist by default, so the first time you need them you will have tocreate them using mkdir (on any OS including DOS/Windows) or md (onDOS/Windows only). $VIM and, on DOS/Windows, $HOME, do not necessarilyexist outside Vim. If $HOME has no value (or no valid value) inside Vim,you can use $VIM instead; but on any but possibly very old versions ofWindows, $HOMEDRIVE and $HOMEPATH are defined by the system, and if$HOME is undefined at Vim startup, Vim will set it by expanding$HOMEDRIVE$HOMEPATH before sourcing your vimrc. To know which values Vimuses, you can type (in a running Vim): >    :echo $VIM    :echo $HOME<If you placed the file in the after/ftplugin runtime directory, then Vimwill first source the existing filetype plugin file and then will sourcethe new file.  If you placed the file in the $VIMRTUNTIME/ftplugin runtimedirectory, then Vim will first source the new file and then will source theexisting filetype plugin file.For more information, read:    |ftplugin-overrule|    |filetype-plugin|    |add-filetype-plugin|    |'runtimepath'| *faq-26.4*26.4. How do I turn off loading the Vim plugins?You can reset the 'loadplugins' option to turn off loading the plugins: >    :set noloadplugins<You can also specify the "--noplugin" command line argument to stop loadingthe plugins: >    $ vim --noplugin<For more information, read:    |'loadplugins'|    |--noplugin|    |load-plugins| *faq-26.5*26.5. How do I turn on/off loading the filetype plugins?By default, Vim will not load the filetype plugins. You can configure Vimto load filetype plugins using the command: >    filetype plugin on<You can turn off loading the filetype plugins using: >    filetype plugin off<For more information, read:    |:filetype-plugin-on|    |:filetype-plugin-off|    |:filetype| *faq-26.6*26.6. How do I override settings made in a file type plugin in the global      ftplugin directory for all the file types?You can use an autocommand triggered on the FileType event: >    au Filetype * set formatoptions=xyz<This should at least be after "filetype on" in your vimrc. Best is to putit in your "myfiletypefile" file, so that it's always last.If you want to override a setting for a particular filetype, then create afile with the same name as the original filetype plugin in the~/.vim/after/ftplugin directory For example, to override a setting in thec.vim filetype plugin, create a c.vim file in the ~/.vim/after/ftplugindirectory and add your preferences in this file.For more information, read:    |ftplugin-overrule|    |ftplugins|    |myfiletypefile| *faq-26.7*26.7. How do I disable the Vim directory browser plugin?To disable the directory browsing Vim plugin, add the following line toyour .vimrc file: >    let g:loaded_netrw = 1<For more information, read:    |netrw| *faq-26.8*26.8. How do I set the filetype option for files with names matching a      particular pattern or depending on the file extension?You can set the 'filetype' option for files with names matching aparticular pattern using an autocmd. For example, to set the 'filetype'option to "c" for all files with extension ".x", you can use the followingautocmd: >    autocmd! BufRead,BufNewFile *.x     setfiletype c<A better alternative to the above approach is to create a filetype.vim filein the ~/.vim directory (or in one of the directories specified in the'runtimepath' option) and add the following lines: >    " my filetype file    if exists("did_load_filetypes")        finish    endif    augroup filetypedetect        au! BufRead,BufNewFile *.x       setfiletype c    augroup END<For more information, read:    |new-filetype|    |43.2|    |:setfiletype|============================================================================= *faq-27*SECTION 27 - EDITING PROGRAM FILES ~ *faq-27.1*27.1. How do I enable automatic indentation for C/C++ files?You can enable file-type based indentation using: >    :filetype indent on<If you want to only enable automatic C indentation, then use: >    :set cindent<For more information, read:    |'cindent'|    |C-indenting|    |filetype| *faq-27.2*27.2. How do I configure the indentation used for C/C++ files?You can configure the Vim C indentation by modifying the value of the'cinoptions', 'cinkeys' and 'cinwords' options.For more information, read:    |'cindent'|    |'cinoptions'|    |'cinkeys'|    |'cinwords'|    |C-indenting|    |cinoptions-values|    |'smartindent'| *faq-27.3*27.3. How do I turn off the automatic indentation feature?By default, the automatic indentation is not turned on. You must haveconfigured Vim to do automatic indentation in either .vimrc or .gvimrcfiles. You can disable automatic indentation using either, >    :filetype indent off<or >    :set nocindent<Also, check the setting for the following options: >    :set autoindent?    :set smartindent?    :set indentexpr?<For more information, read:    |'cindent'|    |:filetype-indent-off|    |'autoindent'|    |'smartindent'|    |'indentexpr'| *faq-27.4*27.4. How do I change the number of space characters used for the automatic      indentation?You can modify the 'shiftwidth' option to change the number of spacecharacters used for the automatic indentation: >    :set shiftwidth=4<For more information, read:    |'shiftwidth'| *faq-27.5*27.5. I am editing a C program using Vim. How do I display the definition      of a macro or a variable?You can use the "[d" command to display the definition of a macro, "[i"command to display the definition of a variable, "gd" to goto the localdeclaration of a variable and "gD" to go to the global Declaration.For more information, read:    |[d|    |[i|    |gd|    |gD|    |include-search|    |29.4|    |29.5| *faq-27.6*27.6. I am editing a C program using Vim. How do I jump to the beginning or      end of a code block from within the block?You can use "[{" command to jump to the beginning of the code block and "]}"to jump to the end of the code block from inside the block.For more information, read:    |[{|    |]}|    |various-motions| *faq-27.7*27.7. When editing C++ files and when inserting new lines above or below a      comment (//) line, Vim automatically inserts the C++ comment      character (//) at the beginning of the line. How do I disable this?This automatic insertion of the comment leader (//) when new linesare added is controlled by three flags in the 'formatoptions'option:  "c", "r" and "o".  "c" enables auto-wrapping of commentlines when typing extends beyond the right margin.  "r" enables theautomatic insertion of the comment leader when <Enter> is pressedwhile editing a comment line.  "o" enables the automatic insertionof the comment leader when a new line is opened above or below anexisting comment line by typing O or o in Normal mode.You can stop Vim from automatically inserting the comment leaderwhen typing <Enter> within a comment or when opening a new line byremoving the "r" and "o" flags from 'formatoptions'.   :set formatoptions-=r   :set formatoptions-=oThe default filetype plugin for C and C++ files($VIMRUNTIME/ftplugin/c.vim) adds the "r" and "o" flags to the'formatoptions' option.  If you want to override this for C++ files,then you can add the above lines to the~/.vim/after/ftplugin/cpp.vim file.For more information, read:    |'formatoptions'|    |30.6|    |format-comments|    |filetype-plugins|    |ftplugin-overrule| *faq-27.8*27.8. How do I add the comment character "#" to a set of lines at the      beginning of each line?First, select the first character in all the lines using visual block mode(CTRL-V). Press "I" to start inserting characters at the beginning of theline. Enter the comment character and then stop the insert mode by pressing<Esc>. Vim will automatically insert the entered characters at thebeginning of all the selected lines.For more information, read:    |visual-block|    |blockwise-operators|    |v_b_I| *faq-27.9*27.9. How do I edit a header file with the same name as the corresponding C      source file?You can use the following command to edit a header file with the same nameas the corresponding C source file: >    :e %:t:r.h<You can use the following command to edit the file in a new split window: >    :sp %:t:r.h<In the above commands, the percent sign expands to the name of the currentfile.  The `:t` modifier extracts the tail (last component) of thefilename. The `:r` modifier extracts the root of the filename.  The .h isappended to the resulting name to get the header filename.Another approach is to use the following command: >    :sfind %:t:r.h<This command will search for the header file in the directories specifiedin the 'path' option.For more information, read:    |cmdline-special|    |filename-modifiers|    |:sfind|    |'path'| *faq-27.10*27.10. How do I automatically insert comment leaders while typing comments?To automatically insert comment leaders while typing comments, add the "r"and "o" flags to the 'formatoptions' option. >    :set formatoptions+=ro<You may also want to add the "c" flag to auto-wrap comments using the'textwidth' option setting and the "q" flag to format comments with the"gq" command: >    :set formatoptions=croq<For more information, read:    |30.6|    |format-comments|    |'comments'|    |fo-table|============================================================================= *faq-28*SECTION 28 - QUICKFIX ~ *faq-28.1*28.1. How do I build programs from Vim?You can use the `:make` command to build programs from Vim. The `:make`command runs the program specified by the 'makeprg' option.For more information, read:    |30.1|    |:make_makeprg|    |'makeprg'|    |'makeef'|    |:make|    |quickfix| *faq-28.2*28.2. When I run the make command in Vim I get the errors listed as the      compiler compiles the program. When it finishes this list disappears      and I have to use the `:clist` command to see the error message again.      Is there any other way to see these error messages?You can use the `:copen` or `:cwindow` command to open the quickfix windowthat contains the compiler output. You can select different error linesfrom this window and jump to the corresponding line in the source code.For more information, read:    |:copen|    |:cwindow|    |quickfix| *faq-28.3*28.3. How can I perform a command for each item in the quickfix/location      list?Starting from Vim 7.4.858 Vim provides the new commands `:cfdo`, `:cdo`,`:lfdo` and `:ldo.` They work by iterating over all items in the quickfixlist and performing a command on each. The difference is, that the `:lfdo`and `:ldo` commands iterate over the location list entries, while the`:cfdo` and `:cdo` commands operate on the items in the quickfix list. Also,the `:cfdo` and `:lfdo` operate on all different files, while the `:cdo` and`:ldo` commands operate on each item in the quickfix/location list.For example you could vimgrep all C files in the current directory for asearch string "Foobar": >    :vimgrep /Foobar/ *.c<and as this populates your quickfix list, you could simply replace alloccurences by using: >    :cdo :%s/Foobar/Foobaz | upd<For more information, read:    |:cfdo|    |:cdo|============================================================================= *faq-29*SECTION 29 - FOLDING ~ *faq-29.1*29.1. How do I extend the Vim folding support?You can use the 'foldexpr' option to fold using a user specified function.For example, to fold subroutines of the following form into a single line: >    sub foo {      my $barf;      $barf = 3;      return $barf;    }<You can use the following commands: >    set foldmethod=expr    set foldexpr=MyFoldExpr(v:lnum)    fun! MyFoldExpr(line)        let str = getline(a:line)        if str =~ '^sub\>'            return '1'        elseif str =~ '^}'            return '<1'        else            return foldlevel(a:line - 1)        endif    endfun<For more information, read:    |'foldexpr'|    |fold-expr| *faq-29.2*29.2. When I enable folding by setting the 'foldmethod' option, all the      folds are closed. How do I prevent this?You can set the 'foldlevelstart' option to a particular value to close onlyfolds above the specified value. >    :set foldlevelstart=99<For more information, read:    |'foldlevelstart'|    |'foldlevel'|    |fold-foldlevel| *faq-29.3*29.3. How do I control how many folds will be opened when I start editing a      file?You can modify the 'foldlevelstart' option to control the number of foldsthat will be opened when you start editing a file. To start editing withall the folds closed: >    :set foldlevelstart=0<To start editing with all the folds opened, you can use >    :set foldlevelstart=999<For more information, read:    |'foldlevelstart'| *faq-29.4*29.4. How do I open and close folds using the mouse?You can click on the + and - characters displayed at the leftmost column toopen and close fold. For this to work, you have to set the 'foldcolumn'to a value greater than zero: >    :set foldcolumn=2<For more information, read:    |'foldcolumn'| *faq-29.5*29.5. How do I change the text displayed for a closed fold?You can use the 'foldtext' option to change the text displayed for a closedfold.For more information, read:    |'foldtext'|    |fold-foldtext|    |'fillchars'| *faq-29.6*29.6. How do I store and restore manually created folds across different      Vim invocations?You can use the `:mkview` command to store manually created folds. Later,you can use the `:loadview` command to restore the folds. For this to work,the 'viewoptions' must contain "folds".For more information, read:    |28.4|    |:mkview|    |:loadview|    |'viewoptions'|    |'viewdir'|    |:mksession|    |'sessionoptions'| *faq-29.7*29.7. I have enabled syntax based folding. Why is Vim so slow?Syntax based folding is currently rather slow in Vim and will possiblyslow down Vim considerably. There is an issue in the todo list to fixthis, but the todo list is rather long and it may take a while untilthis will be fixed.You can find the issue in the todo list, if you read    |todo.txt|followed by a search for "folding with 'foldmethod'"A workaround is to temporarily set the foldmethod to manual while ininsert mode. This is described in the wiki at:http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Keep_folds_closed_while_inserting_text============================================================================= *faq-30*SECTION 30 - VIM WITH EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS ~ *faq-30.1*30.1. Can I run a shell inside a Vim window?Since Version 8.1 Vim comes with a terminal window included. It allowsto run a shell inside an ordinary Vim window (e.g. split) asynchronouslyand interact with the shell using the normal Vim commands.When the focus is in the terminal window, typed keys will be sent tothe job and is called terminal mode. You can click outside of theterminal window to move keyboard focus elsewhere, alternatively one canuse CTRL-W to novigate between different Vim windows. To feed CTRL-W into theterminal, one needs to use CTRL-W .To map keys specifically for terminal mode, use the new `:tmap`command. After typing CTRL-W the terminal window will switch toTerminal-Normal mode (this can be used to move the cursor around, scrollthe window, etc. Just like normal mode).To interact between the terminal and Vim, Vim implements severalinterfaces using term_sendkeys(), terminal-api and the client-servermechanism.For more information, read:    |terminal|    |mapmode-t|    |Terminal-Normal|    |terminal-communication| *faq-30.2*30.2. How do I pass the word under the cursor to an external command?You can use the special keyword <cword> to pass the word under the cursorto an external command. For example: >    :!dict <cword><For more information, read:    |:<cword>| *faq-30.3*30.3. How do I get the output of a shell command into a Vim buffer?You can use the `:r !` command to get the output of a shell command into aVim buffer. For example, to insert the output of the "ls" shell command,you can use the following command: >    :r !ls<To insert the output of the shell command above the first line use thefollowing command: >    :0r !ls<For more information, read:    |:r!| *faq-30.4*30.4. How do I pipe the contents of the current buffer to an external      command and replace the contents of the buffer with the output from      the command?You can use the :! command to pipe the contents of the current buffer to anexternal command and replace the contents of the buffer with the outputfrom the command. For example, to sort the contents of the current buffer,using the Unix sort command, you can use the following command: >    :%!sort<To sort only lines 10-20, you can use the following command >    :10,20!sort<Also, if you want to pipe a buffer to an external command but not put theresults back in the buffer, you can use >    :w !sort<The above command will pipe the entire buffer to the sort command.  Note,that the space between the "w" and the "!" is critical.  To pipe only arange of lines, you can use >    :10,20w !sort<The above command will pipe the lines 10-20 to the sort command.For more information, read:    |:range!|    |10.9|    |:w_c| *faq-30.5*30.5. How do I sort a section of my file?You use the `:sort` command like this:   :5,100sortUsing the `:sort` command provides many options, you can sort numerical onthe first found decimal number using:   :%sort nOr you can specify to sort on the text, starting at virtual column 8:   :%sort /.*\%8v/Alternatively can pipe a section of the file to the Unix "sort" utility tosort the file. For example: >    :5,100!sort<You can also use a visual block, and use the "!sort" command on theselected block.See also:    |:sort|    |filter| *faq-30.6*30.6. How do I use Vim as a pager?You can use Vim as a pager using the $VIMRUNTIME/macros/less.sh shellscript, supplied as part of the standard Vim distribution. This shellscript uses the $VIMRUNTIME/macros/less.vim Vim script to provide less likekey bindings.For more information, read:    |less| *faq-30.7*30.7. How do I view Unix man pages from inside Vim?You can view Unix man pages, inside Vim, using the man.vim plugin suppliedas part of the standard Vim distribution. To use this plugin, add thefollowing line to your startup vimrc file: >    runtime ftplugin/man.vim<You can also press the K key to run the program specified by the'keywordprg' option with the keyword under the cursor. By default,'keywordprg' is set to run man on the keyword under the cursor.For more information, read:    |ft-man-plugin|    |K|    |'keywordprg'| *faq-30.8*30.8. How do I change the diff command used by the Vim diff support?By default, the Vim diff support uses the 'diff' command. You can changethis by changing the 'diffexpr' option.For more information, read:    |diff-diffexpr|    |'diffexpr'| *faq-30.9*30.9. How do I use the Vim diff mode without folding?You can use the following command-line to start Vim with two filenamesand use the diff mode without folding: >    $ vim -o file1 file2 "+windo set diff scrollbind scrollopt+=hor nowrap"<If you like vertically split windows, then replace "-o" with "-O".For more information, read:    |vimdiff|============================================================================= *faq-31*SECTION 31 - GUI VIM ~ *faq-31.1*31.1. How do I create buffer specific menus?Adding support for buffer specific menus is in the Vim TODO list. In themean time, you can try Michael Geddes's plugin, buffermenu.vim:https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=246 *faq-31.2*31.2. How do I change the font used by GUI Vim?You can change the 'guifont' option to change the font used by GUI Vim.  Todisplay the current value of this option, you can use >    :set guifont?<You can add the displayed font name to the .vimrc file to use the fontacross Vim sessions. For example, add the following line to the .vimrc fileto use Andale Mono font. >    set guifont=Andale_Mono:h10:cANSI<For Win32, GTK and Photon version of Vim, you can use the following commandto bringup a dialog which will help you in changing the guifont: >    :set guifont=*<You can also use the -font Vim command line option to specify the font usedfor normal text.For more information, read:    |'guifont'|    |'guifontset'|    |'guifontwide'|    |font-sizes|    |-font|    |-boldfont|    |-italicfont|    |-menufont|    |-menufontset| *faq-31.3*31.3. When starting GUI Vim, how do I specify the location of the GVIM      window?You can use the "-geometry" command line argument to specify the locationof the GUI Vim window. For example: >    $ gvim -geometry 80x25+100+300<For more information, read:    |31.4|    |-geom| *faq-31.4*31.4. How do I add a horizontal scrollbar in GVim?You can enable the horizontal scrollbar by modifying the 'guioptions'option: >    :set guioptions+=b<For more information, read:    |'guioptions'|    |gui-horiz-scroll| *faq-31.5*31.5. How do I make the scrollbar appear in the left side by default?You can add the "l" flag to the 'guioptions' option to make the scrollbarappear in the left side. >    :set guioptions+=l    :set guioptions-=r<For more information, read:    |'guioptions'|    |gui-scrollbars| *faq-31.6*31.6. How do I remove the Vim menubar?You can remove the Vim menubar by removing the "m" flag from the'guioptions' option: >    :set guioptions-=m<For more information, read:    |'guioptions'| *faq-31.7*31.7. I am using GUI Vim. When I press the <Alt> key and a letter, the menu      starting with that letter is selected. I don't want this behavior as      I want to map the <Alt>-<key> combination. How do I do this?You can use the 'winaltkeys' option to disable the use of the <Alt> key toselect a menu item: >    :set winaltkeys=no<For more information, read:    |'winaltkeys'|    |:simalt| *faq-31.8*31.8. Is it possible to scroll the text by dragging the scrollbar so that      the cursor stays in the original location?The way Vim is designed, the cursor position has to be in a visible spot innormal, visual, select and insert mode. This cannot be changed withoutmodifying Vim. When the scrollbar is used, the cursor will be moved so thatit is always visible. Another approach to solving this problem is to usethe Vim marks. You can mark the current cursor position using ma. Thenscroll to a different part of the text and jump back to the old positionusing `a. You can also try the following suggestion from the Vim Onlinewebsite:http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/VimTip320For more information, read:    |mark-motions| *faq-31.9*31.9. How do I get gvim to start browsing files in a particular directory      when using the `:browse` command?You can set the 'browsedir' option to the default directory to use for the`:browse` command. >    :set browsedir='<your_dir>'<For more information, read:    |'browsedir'| *faq-31.10*31.10. For some questions, like when a file is changed outside of Vim, Vim       displays a GUI dialog box. How do I replace this GUI dialog box with       a console dialog box?You can set the "c" flag in the 'guioptions' option to configure Vim to useconsole dialogs instead of GUI dialogs: >    :set guioptions+=c<For more information, read:    |'guioptions'| *faq-31.11*31.11. I am trying to use GUI Vim as the editor for my xxx application.       When the xxx application launches GUI Vim to edit a file, the       control immediately returns to the xxx application. How do I start       GUI Vim, so that the control returns to the xxx application only       after I quit Vim?You have to start GUI Vim with the "-f" (foreground) command line option: >    $ gvim -f<By default, GUI Vim will disconnect from the program that started Vim. Withthe '-f' option, GUI Vim will not disconnect from the program that startedit.For more information, read:    |gui-fork|    |-f| *faq-31.12*31.12. Why does the "Select Font" dialog doesn't show all the fonts       installed in my system?Vim supports only fixed width (mono-spaced) fonts. Proportional fonts arenot supported.  In the "Select Font" dialog, only fixed width fonts will bedisplayed.For more information, read:    |font-sizes|    |'guifont'| *faq-31.13*31.13. How do I use the mouse in Vim command-line mode?You can set the "c" flag in the 'mouse' option to use mouse in the Vimcommand-line mode: >    :set mouse+=c<For more information, read:    |mouse-using|    |gui-mouse|    |09.2| *faq-31.14*31.14. When I use the middle mouse button to scroll text, it pastes the       last copied text. How do I disable this behavior?You can map the middle mouse button to <Nop> to disable the middle mousebutton: >    :map  <MiddleMouse> <Nop>    :map! <MiddleMouse> <Nop><For more information, read:    |gui-mouse-mapping|    |<Nop>| *faq-31.15*31.15. How do I change the location and size of a GUI Vim window?You can use the `:winpos` command to change the Vim window position. Tochange the size of the window, you can modify the 'lines' and 'columns'options.For example, the following commands will position the GUI Vim window at theX,Y co-ordinates 50,50 and set the number of lines to 50 and the number ofcolumns to 80. >    :winpos 50 50    :set lines=50    :set columns=80<The arguments to the `:winpos` command specify the pixel co-ordinates of theVim window. The 'lines' and 'columns' options specify the number of linesand characters to use for the height and the width of the windowrespectively.For more information, read:    |31.4|    |:winpos|    |'lines'|    |'columns'|    |GUIEnter| *faq-31.16*31.16. When splitting the Vim window vertically, Vim changes the position.This is a known problem. When you are splitting the Vim window, Vim willtry to draw a scrollbar. Since this changes the gui window, Vim tries toresize its main window to keep the same position and this will cause Vimto move its position. This happens on Windows with a multi-window setup ora window that was "snapped" to a certain position.A workaournd to this problem is, to remove gui scrollbars, e.g. >    :set guioptions-=L<============================================================================= *faq-32*SECTION 32 - VIM ON UNIX ~ *faq-32.1*32.1. I am running Vim in a xterm. When I press the CTRL-S key, Vim      freezes. What should I do now?Many terminal emulators and real terminal drivers use the CTRL-S key tostop the data from arriving so that you can stop a fast scrolling displayto look at it (also allowed older terminals to slow down the computer sothat it did not get buffer overflows).  You can start the output again bypressing the CTRL-Q key.When you press the CTRL-S key, the terminal driver will stop sending theoutput data. As a result of this, it will look like Vim is hung. If youpress the CTRL-Q key, then everything will be back to normal.You can turn off the terminal driver flow control using the "stty" command: >    $ stty -ixon -ixoff<or, you can change the keys used for the terminal flow control, using thefollowing commands: >    $ stty stop <char>    $ stty start <char>< *faq-32.2*32.2. I am seeing weird screen update problems in Vim. What can I do to      solve this screen/display update problems?You have to use a proper terminal emulator like xterm with correct TERMsettings (TERM=xterm) and a correct terminfo/termcap file.For more information, read:    |'term'| *faq-32.3*32.3. I am using the terminal/console version of Vim. In insertmode, When I      press the backspace key, the character before the cursor is not      erased. How do I configure Vim to do this?You have to make sure that Vim gets the correct keycode for the backpspacekey. You can try using the command: >    :fixdel<Make sure the TERM environment variable is set to the correct terminalname. You can try using the "stty" command: >    $ stty erase ^H<where, you have to enter the ^H character by pressing the CTRL-V key andthen the CTRL-H key. Also check the value of your 'backspace' setting.For more information, read:    |:fixdel|    |Linux-backspace|    |NetBSD-backspace|    |'backspace'| *faq-32.4*32.4. I am using Vim in a xterm. When I quit Vim, the screen contents are      restored back to the original contents. How do I disable this?The xterm has a capability called "alternate screen".  If this capabilityis present, vim switches to that alternate screen upon startup and back onexit, thus restoring the original screen contents.  To disable thisfeature, add the following line to your .vimrc file: >    :set t_ti= t_te=<For more information, read:    |'restorescreen'|    |xterm-screens| *faq-32.5*32.5. When I start Vim, it takes quite a few seconds to start. How do I      minimize the startup time?This may be related to Vim opening the X display for setting the xtermtitle and using the X clipboard. Make sure the DISPLAY variable is set topoint to the correct host. Try using the command line: >    $ vim -X<This will prevent Vim from opening the X display. With this command-lineoption, the X clipboard cannot be used and also Vim will not be able tochange the xterm title.You can also set the 'clipboard' option to >    :set clipboard=exclude:.*<This has the same effect as using the -X command-line argument.For more information, read:    |-X|    |'clipboard'|If the clipboard is not the cause of the slow startup, it might be aplugin that slows down Vim. In that case, you can use the --startuptimeargument to debug this further. You can do: >    $ vim --startuptime vim_startup.log<and the timing will be written to the file vim_startup.log. For evenmore advanced profiling, you can use the profiling feature, that isavailable in huge builds of Vim. To do so, call Vim like this: >    $ vim --cmd 'profile start profile.log' \      --cmd 'profile func *' \      --cmd 'profile file *' \      -c 'profdel func *' \      -c 'profdel file *' \      -c 'qa!'<After running this, you will have a file profile.log in your currentdirectory. To further analyse this, open the file profile.log and run: >    " Open profile.log file in vim first    :let timings=[]    :g/^SCRIPT/call add(timings, [getline('.')[len('SCRIPT  '):], matchstr(getline(line('.')+1), '^Sourced \zs\d\+')]+map(getline(line('.')+2, line('.')+3), 'matchstr(v:val, ''\d\+\.\d\+$'')'))    :enew    :call setline('.', ['count total (s)   self (s)  script']+map(copy(timings), 'printf("%5u %9s   %8s  %s", v:val[1], v:val[2], v:val[3], v:val[0])'))<For more information, read:    |--startuptime|    |profiling| *faq-32.6*32.6. How can I make the cursor in gvim in unix stop blinking?You can modify the 'guicursor' option, to stop the cursor from blinking.For example: >    :set guicursor=a:blinkon0<For more information, read:    |'guicursor'| *faq-32.7*32.7. How do I change the menu font on GTK Vim?You can modify the ~/.gtkrc file to change the menu font on GTK Vim. Forexample: >    style "default"    { font ="smooth09" }    class "*" style "default"<The last line changes the font of all widgets.For more information, read:    |gui-gtk| *faq-32.8*32.8. How do I prevent CTRL-Z from suspending Vim?You can map CTRL-Z to prevent the suspending. Here are some suggestions:- Make CTRL-Z do nothing: >    :map <C-Z> <Nop><- Make CTRL-Z start a shell: >    :map <C-Z> :shell<CR><- Make CTRL-Z give an error message: >    :map <C-Z> :"suspending disabled<CR><For the last example, the double quote is necessary in order to keep themessage on the status line. *faq-32.9*32.9. When I kill the xterm running Vim, the Vim process continues to run      and takes up a lot of CPU (99%) time. Why is this happening?When Vim is built with support for Python interface, you will have thisproblem. This is a known problem with the python thread library and Vim.  Tosolve this problem, use a Vim binary built without the Python interface.For more information, read:    |+python|    |python| *faq-32.10*32.10. How do I get the Vim syntax highlighting to work in a Unix terminal?The easiest and simplest way to get Vim syntax highlighting is to use theGUI version of Vim (GVIM). To get syntax highlighting to work in theconsole/terminal version of Vim, you have to run a terminal emulator (likeXfree86 xterm or rxvt or dtterm) that supports color. Note that if aterminal emulator supports changing the background and foreground colors,that does not mean that it also supports ANSI escape sequences for changingthe color. You can download the latest version of Xfree86 xterm fromhttps://invisible-island.net/xterm/xterm.htmlYou can download the latest version of rxvt fromhttps://rxvt.orgYou have to install the terminfo/termcap file that supports colors for theterminal emulator. Also, set the TERM environment variable to the correctname of the term that supports colors.You can use the colortest.vim script supplied with the Vim runtimepackage to test the color setup. To use this script, follow these steps: >    :e $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/colortest.vim    :source %<For more information, read:    |06.2|    |terminal-colors|    |termcap-colors|    |startup-terminal|    |xterm-color|    |colortest.vim|============================================================================= *faq-33*SECTION 33 - VIM ON MS-WINDOWS ~ *faq-33.1*33.1. In MS-Windows, CTRL-V doesn't start the blockwise visual mode. What      happened?The mswin.vim script provides key mappings and options to make Vim behavelike a MS-Windows application. One of the keys mapped is CTRL-V which isused for pasting text in MS-Windows applications. This will disable the useof CTRL-V to start the blockwise visual mode. The mswin.vim script mapsCTRL-Q for staring the blockwise visual mode. So you can use CTRL-Q insteadof CTRL-V.For more information, read:    |CTRL-V|    |CTRL-V-alternative|    |CTRL-Q|    |10.5| *faq-33.2*33.2. When I press the CTRL-Y key, it acts like the CTRL-R key. How do I      configure Vim to treat CTRL-Y as CTRL-Y?The mapping of the CTRL-Y key to the CTRL-R key is done by the mswin.vimscript. The mswin.vim script maps CTRL-Y to make Vim behave like a standardMS-Windows application. This is explained in `:help CTRL-Y`. You can eithercomment out the line in mswin.vim that maps the CTRL-Y key or you canremove the line in your .vimrc file that sources the mswin.vim script. *faq-33.3*33.3. How do I start GUI Vim in a maximized window always?You can use the `:simalt` command to maximize the Vim window. You can usethe GUIEnter autocmd to maximize the Vim window on startup: >    autocmd GUIEnter * simalt ~x<For more information, read:    |:simalt|    |GUIEnter|    |gui-win32-maximized| *faq-33.4*33.4. After doing some editing operations, Vim freezes. The cursor becomes      an empty rectangle. I am not able enter any characters. What is      happening?Most probably, you used the mouse wheel to scroll the text in Vim. There isa known problem in using intellimouse mouse wheel with Vim. To avoid thisproblem, disable Universal scrolling support for Vim.For more information, read:    |intellimouse-wheel-problems| *faq-33.5*33.5. I am using Windows XP, the display speed of maximized GVim is very      slow. What can I do to speed the display updates?This may be due to the fact that you have enabled 'Smooth edges of screenfonts' in the display properties. Try turning off font smoothing or trychanging the smoothing method to "Standard". *faq-33.6*33.6. What are the recommended settings for using Vim with cygwin?You may want to set the following shell related Vim settings: >    :set shellcmdflag=-c    :set shellquote=    :set shellslash          " Use the forward slash for expansion.    :set shellxquote=\"    :set shell=d:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe " Use the bash shell    :set shellpipe=2>&1| tee    :set shellredir=>%s 2>&1< *faq-33.7*33.7. I am trying to use GNU diff with Vim diff mode. When I run the diff      from command line, it works. When I try to use the diff with Vim it      doesn't work. What should I do now?There is a problem with using GNU diff with Vim. You can try using theGNU diff.exe built by Ron Aaron from the following link:http://www.mossbayeng.com/~ron/vim/builds.html(This page no longer exists.) *faq-33.8*33.8. Is it possible to use Vim as an external editor for MS-Windows      Outlook email client?You can use the "cubiclevim" COM Add-In to use Vim as an external editorfor MS-Windows Outlook email client. Visit the following URL for moreinformation:https://sourceforge.net/projects/cubiclevim/Note, that currently this works only with MS-Office 2000 and XP.Also the plugin OutlookVim might be worth a look:https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=3087 *faq-33.9*33.9. I am using Vim to edit HTML files. How do I start internet explorer      with the current file to preview the HTML file?You can use the following command: >    :!start c:\progra~1\intern~1\iexplore.exe file://%:p<CR>< *faq-33.10*33.10. I would like to use Vim with Microsoft Visual Studio. How do I do       this?You have to download and use the OLE version of Vim (for example:gvim61ole.zip). This file also contains instructions on how to use Vim withVisual Studio.For more information, read:    |MSVisualStudio| *faq-33.11*33.11. Where do I place the _vimrc and _gvimrc files?You can place the _vimrc and _gvimrc files under the directory pointed toby the VIM environment variable. If you are sharing this system with otherusers, then you can place the files in a directory and set the HOMEenvironment variable to this directory.For more information, read:    |$HOME-use|    |_vimrc| *faq-33.12*33.12. Every time I save a file, Vim warns about the file being changed       outside of Vim. Why?If you get the following warning message, every time you save a file: >    WARNING: The file has been changed since reading it!!!    Do you really want to write to it (y/n)?<then this problem could be related to a bug in MS-Windows on the daydaylight saving time starts.  Vim remembers the timestamp of the file afterit was written.  Just before the next write the timestamp is obtained againto check if the file was changed outside of Vim.  This works correctly,except on the day daylight saving time starts.This problem will go away the next day after the day the daylight savingtime starts.For more information, read:    |W11|============================================================================= *faq-34*SECTION 34 - PRINTING ~ *faq-34.1*34.1. How do I print a file along with line numbers for all the lines?You can set the 'printoptions' option and use the `:hardcopy` command toprint your file: >    :set printoptions=number:y    :hardcopy<For more information, read:    |'printoptions'|    |:hardcopy| *faq-34.2*34.2. How do I print a file with the Vim syntax highlighting colors?You can use the `:hardcopy` command to print a file with the Vim syntaxhighlighting colors. You can also convert your file to a HTML file usingthe 2html.vim script and print the HTML file.For more information, read:    |syntax-printing|    |2html.vim|    |:hardcopy|    |printing|============================================================================= *faq-35*SECTION 35 - BUILDING VIM FROM SOURCE ~ *faq-35.1*35.1. How do I build Vim from the sources on a Unix system?For a Unix system, follow these steps to build Vim from the sources:- Download the source from the git repository:https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/- Alternatively, download the source from the mercurial repository:https://bitbucket.org/vim-mirror/vim/downloads/- Run the "make" command to configure and build Vim with the default  configuration.- Run "make install" command to install Vim in the default directory.To enable/disable various Vim features, before running the "make" commandyou can run the "configure" command with different flags to include/excludethe various Vim features. To list all the available options for the"configure" command, use: >    $ configure --help<For more information, read:    |install| *faq-35.2*35.2. How do I install Vim in my home directory or a directory other      than the default installation directory in Unix?To install Vim in a directory other than the default installationdirectory, you have to specify the directory using the --prefix optionwhile running the configure script. >    $ ./configure --prefix=/users/xyz<You can enable/disable various Vim feature by supplying different argumentsto the configure script. For more information about all these options, run: >    $ ./configure --help<For more information, read:    |install-home|    |install| *faq-35.3*35.3. How do I build Vim from the sources on a MS-Windows system?For a MS-Windows system, Vim can be built using either the Visual C++compiler or the Borland C++ compiler or the Ming GCC compiler or the cygwingcc compiler. Follow these steps to build Vim from the sources forMS-Windows:    - download the source from the git repository:https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/    - Depending on the installed compiler, you can use the corresponding      makefile to build the Vim sources. For Visual C++ use the      Make_mvc.mak makefile, for borland C++ use the Make_bc5.mak makefile,      for ming GCC use the Make_ming.mak makefile, for cygwin gcc use the      Make_cyg.mak makefile.Depending on whether you want to build the GUI version of Vim or theconsole version of Vim, you have to pass different arguments to themakefiles. After successfully building the sources, you can copy thevim.exe or gvim.exe file to the desired directory along with the files fromthe runtime archive.For more information, read:    |install| *faq-35.4*35.4. The Vim help, syntax, indent files are missing from my Vim      installation. How do I install these files?The Vim help, syntax, indent and other runtime files are part of the Vimruntime package. You need to download and install the Vim runtime package.For example, for MS-Windows, the name of the Vim 6.1 runtime package isvim61rt.zip.For more information, read:    |install| *faq-35.5*35.5. I have built Vim from the source and installed the Vim package using      "make install". Do I need to keep the Vim source directory?No. Once you have built and installed Vim in some directory other than theoriginal source directory (for example, /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin), thenyou can remove the source directory. *faq-35.6*35.6. How do I determine the Vim features which are enabled at compile      time?You can use the `:version` command to determine the Vim features that areenabled at compile time. The features that are enabled will be prefixedwith a "+". The features that are not enabled will be prefixed with a "-".If you want to test for a feature in a script, you can use the has()function: >    if has("menu")        " Set up some menus    endif<For more information, read:    |:version|    |+feature-list|    |has()| *faq-35.7*35.7. Can I build Vim without the GUI support?Yes. You can build Vim by optionally enabling/disabling many of thefeatures including GUI.For more information, read:    |install| *faq-35.8*35.8. When building Vim on a Unix system, I am getting "undefined reference      to term_set_winsize" error. How do I resolve this error?You will get this error when the build process is not able to locate thetermlib, termcap or ncurses library. You have to install the ncurses-devpackage to resolve this error. *faq-35.9*35.9. Vim configure keeps complaining about the lack of gtk-config while      trying to use GTK 2.03. This is correct, since in GTK 2 they moved to      using the generic pkg-config. I can get pkg-config to list the      various includes and libs for gtk, but for some reason the configure      script still isn't picking this up.Use the following shell script named gtk-config: >    #!/bin/sh    pkg-config gtk+-2.0 $1 $2< *faq-35.10*35.10. I did successfully download the sources and compiled Vim on        Unix. But feature ... still does not work. What is wrong and        how can I fix it?You should first check, that you are actually running your self compiledVim and not the system's provided version. So first check your $PATHsetting.Depending on your compile options, some features might not be included inyour build of Vim. You can use the `:version` command to determine the Vimfeatures that are enabled at compile time. The features that are enabledwill be prefixed with a "+". The features that are not enabled will beprefixed with a "-".The easiest way to include all features is to build the huge version. To dothis, you have to specify the --with-features option while running theconfigure script: >    $ ./configure --with-features=huge<Nevertheless, a feature could still be disabled at compile time, if theconfigure script can't find the required libraries for those features (e.g.for clipboard integration, your Vim needs to be linked against the X11development libraries).There are several ways to install the required libraries:1) On a Debian based distribution, you can use the package manager "apt"   to install all required dependencies. As superuser, run the command:   $ apt-get build-dep vim-gtk   This makes sure all required libraries needed to compile the vim-gtk   package will be installed. (This requires, that your sources list   contains deb-src entries. See your distribution manual on how to   enable this, if the above command did not work.)2) In openSUSE you can use the package manager "zypper" to install all   required libraries. This requires, that there is a source version of   the package installable from a configured repository (which by   default is not the case). Use:   $ zypper search -t srcpackage vim   to find out, whether or not there exists a source version in the   repository. If there is none, you'll need to add a source repository.   For openSUSE 11.2 you could use, e.g.   $ zypper arhttp://download.opensuse.org/source/distribution/11.2/repo/oss/src-11.2   (one line)   Once you have a source version available in your repositories, use   this command to install all needed requirements:   $ zypper source-install --build-deps-only vim3) On a Fedora/RedHat based system, you can use   $ yum-builddep vim-enhanced4) Run configure with your options and watch for missing libraries:   $ ./configure --with-features=huge 2>&1 |tee logfile   This will run configure and record the output into the file "logfile".   You need to check the logfile for missing dependencies. Consider this   output: >    checking --disable-gtktest argument... gtk test enabled    checking for pkg-config... /usr/bin/pkg-config    checking for GTK - version >= 2.2.0... no<    Here you can see, that the gtk libraries are missing and therefore    no GTK gui version can't be build. So you need to install the GTK    library in your system, with your package manager or by compiling it    yourself. Then run the configure script again and check, that it    finds the library.In theory, those provided dependencies by your distribution might stilllack some libraries, that are needed for features, that simply are notenabled in your distribution and therefore those commands in 1-3 won'tinstall it. At the very least, this provides a jumping point and you needto track down the required missing packages using method 4 from above. Butusually, this works good enough for most people and you won't have tobother with the fourth method.For more information, read:    |:version|    |+feature-list|============================================================================= *faq-36*SECTION 36 - VARIOUS ~ *faq-36.1*36.1. How do I edit binary files with Vim?You can set the following options to edit binary files in Vim: >    :set binary    :set display=uhex<You can also use the "-b" command-line option to edit a binary file: >    $ vim -b <binary_file_name><You can also use the xxd utility (part of the Vim distribution) to editbinary files.For more information, read:    |23.4|    |edit-binary|    |hex-editing|    |-b|    |'binary'|    |'endofline'|    |'display'| *faq-36.2*36.2. How do I disable the visual error flash and the error beep?You can disable both the visual error flash and the error beep using thefollowing command: >    :set visualbell t_vb=<For more information, read:    |'visualbell'|    |'errorbells'|    |t_vb| *faq-36.3*36.3. How do I display the ascii value of a character displayed in a      buffer?You can use the "ga" command to display the ascii value of a displayedcharacter.For more information, read:    |ga|    |:ascii| *faq-36.4*36.4. Can I use zero as a count for a Vim command?You cannot use zero as a count for a Vim command, as "0" is a command onits own, moving to the first column of the line.For more information, read:    |0|    |count| *faq-36.5*36.5. How do I disable the Vim welcome screen?You can disable the Vim welcome screen, by adding the "I" flag to the'shortmess' option: >    :set shortmess+=I<For more information, read:    |:intro|    |'shortmess'| *faq-36.6*36.6. How do I avoid the "hit enter to continue" prompt?Vim will prompt you with the "hit enter to continue" prompt, if there aresome messages on the screen for you to read and the screen is about to beredrawn.  You can add the "T" flag to the 'shortmess' option to truncateall messages. This will help in avoiding the hit-enter prompt: >    :set shortmess+=T<You can also increase the command height by setting the 'cmdheight' option: >    :set cmdheight=2<For more information, read:    |hit-enter|    |avoid-hit-enter|    |'shortmess'|    |'cmdheight'| *faq-36.7*36.7. How do I invoke Vim from command line to run a group of commands on a      group of files?There are several ways to invoke Vim from command line to run a group ofcommands on a group of files. You can use a set of  "-c" command lineoptions to specify a group of commands: >    $ vim -c "<ex_command_1>" -c "<ex_command_2>" *.txt<Each of the ex-command specified with the "-c" command line option isexecuted one by one sequentially. You can also use a single "-c" commandline option and the "|" character to separate the ex commands: >    $ vim -c "<ex_command_1> | <ex_command_2>" *.txt<In the above command, if an ex command fails, then all the remaining excommands will not be executed.For example, to replace "ABC" with "DEF" in a file from the command-line,you can use the following command: >    $ vim -c "%s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" myfile.txt<To replace "ABC" with "DEF" in multiple files from the command-line,you can use the following command: >    $ vim -c "argdo %s/ABC/DEF/ge | update" *.txt<You can store the group of commands into a file and use the "-s" commandline option to run the commands on a set of files. For example, if thegroup of commands are stored in the file mycmds.txt, then you can use thefollowing command: >    $ vim -s mycmds.txt *.pl<For more information, read:    |-c|    |-s| *faq-36.8*36.8. How do I use a normal mode command from insert mode without leaving      the insert mode?You can use a normal command from insert mode, without leaving the insertmode, by first pressing the CTRL-O key and then follow that with a singlenormal mode command.To execute more than one normal mode command, press the CTRL-L key,followed by any number of normal mode commands and then press <Esc> to getback to the insert mode. (This only works, when the 'insertmode' optionis set).For more information, read:    |i_CTRL-O|    |i_CTRL-L| *faq-36.9*36.9. How do I start Vim in insert mode?You can start Vim in insert mode using the `:startinsert` ex command. >    $ vim +startinsert myfile.txt<The above command will open the file "myfile.txt" and start insert modewith the cursor in front of the first character on the first line.  To openthe file and start appending after the last character on the last line,you can use the following command: >    $ vim + +startinsert! myfile.txt<For more information, read:    |:startinsert| *faq-36.10*36.10. How do I use Copy and Paste with Vim?You should first check the output of the `:version` command and makesure that +xterm-clipboard is present.When running Vim in an xterm, you can either let Vim control the mouseor let xterm control the mouse. This is configured by the 'mouse' option.If the 'mouse' option is not set (or set to the default value), then Vim willnot control the mouse. You cannot move the Vim text cursor using themouse. When you select some text using the mouse, xterm will copyit to the X11 cut buffer. When you press both the mouse buttons,xterm will paste the text from the cut buffer.If the 'mouse' option is set to "a" or some other value, then Vim controlsthe mouse. The mode (normal or insert or visual, etc) in which Vimcontrols the mouse is configured by the 'mouse' option. You can movethe Vim text cursor using the mouse. When you select some text,the 'clipboard' option setting is used to determine whether to transferthe selected text to the clipboard or not. The default setting is totransfer the selected text to the clipboard. If you want to use thexterm selection mechanism in this mode, then you can press the<Shift> key. If you press <Shift> key when selecting text using themouse, then Vim doesn't control the mouse and xterm controls themouse.In the GUI mode, Copy and Paste should just work, depending on the 'mouse'setting. For more information, read:    |'clipboard'|    |x11-selection|    |clipboard|    |'go-a'|    |'mouse'|    |xterm-copy-paste|    |09.3| *faq-36.11*36.11. Why shouldn't I modify the files in the system runtime directory?Just be careful about modifying files under $VIMRUNTIME, which usuallyis /usr/share/vim/vimXX (Unix) or C:\Program Files\vim\vimXX(Windows) and XX being the version for which it applies, e.g. 73 for Vim7.3.One should generally avoid modifying those files because they may bereplaced during an upgrade of your Vim installation and your changeswill be lost.  Also, if you upgrade to a new major or minor revision ofVim (e.g., from 7.3 to 7.4), the new version of Vim will use a different$VIMRUNTIME directory and while your changes won't be lost, they will beignored.Consequently, take a look at    |filetypes|for an explanation of several ways to modify Vim's response todifferent filetypes and where to put those modifications so thatthey will not be overwritten.============================================================================= *faq-37*SECTION 37 - UNICODE ~Author: Tony Mechelynck <antoine.mechelynck AT belgacom.net> *faq-37.1*37.1. Is it possible to create Unicode files using Vim?Yes. It may be more or less complicated depending on the keyboard and fontsavailable to you, but it is always possible to encode any possible Unicodecodepoint (and some illegal ones) into a file. To create a Unicode fileusing Vim, you should have compiled Vim with the "+multi_byte" compile-timeoption.  You can get more information about Unicode from the followingsites:http://www.unicode.orghttps://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/unicode.htmlFor more information, read:    |multibyte|    |usr_45.txt| *faq-37.2*37.2. Which Vim settings are particularly important for editing Unicode      files?The most important are the various "encoding" options, i.e., 'encoding','fileencoding', 'fileencodings' and 'termencoding'. The boolean option'bomb' is also significant.For more information, read:    |'encoding'|    |'fileencoding'|    |'fileencodings'|    |'termencoding'|    |'bomb'| *faq-37.3*37.3. What is the 'encoding' option?Basically, the 'encoding' option defines how Vim will represent your datainternally.  However, all Unicode encodings are represented internally asutf-8 and converted (if necessary) when reading and writing.For more information, read:    |'encoding'| *faq-37.4*37.4. How does Vim name the various Unicode encodings?Utf-8 is called utf-8 or utf8; utf-16 is called ucs-2 or ucs2; utf-32 iscalled ucs-4 or ucs4. Also, you may specify endianness (except for utf-8which does not vary for endianness) by appending le for little-endian or befor big-endian. If you create a file with an encoding of ucs-2 or ucs-4without specifying endianness, Vim will use what is typical of yourmachine.For more information, read:    |encoding-names|    |encoding-values|    |encoding-table| *faq-37.5*37.5. How does Vim specify the presence or absence of a byte-order mark?When reading a file, if the 'fileencodings' option includes "ucs-bom", Vimwill check for a byte-order mark. When writing a file, if the 'bomb' optionis set, Vim will write a byte-order mark on files whose encoding warrantsit.For more information, read:    |'fileencodings'|    |'bomb'| *faq-37.6*37.6. What is the 'fileencoding' option?The 'fileencoding' option defines the particular encoding which Vim willuse to write a file. If empty, then the value of the 'encoding' option isthe default.For more information, read:    |'fileencoding'| *faq-37.7*37.7. What is the 'fileencodings' option?The 'fileencodings' option defines the heuristics used by Vim when openingan existing file. It is a comma separated list of encodings. A specialname, "ucs-bom" is used to indicate that Vim should check for the presenceof a byte-order mark; however, it will not be recognised if it comes after"utf-8".  Normally, "ucs-bom" (if present) should be first in the list.When Vim opens a file, it checks it against the encodings listed in'fileencodings'. The first one that matches is used. If there is no match,then Vim sets 'fileencoding' to the null string, i.e., the value of'encoding' will be used.For more information, read:    |'fileencodings'|    |'encoding'| *faq-37.8*37.8. What is the 'termencoding' option?The 'termencoding' option defines how your keyboard encodes the data youtype.  If empty, Vim assumes that it has the same value as 'encoding'.Usually it should be set to something that matches your locale.For more information, read:    |'termencoding'|    |locale| *faq-37.9*37.9. What is the 'bomb' option?When reading a file with "ucs-bom" present in the 'fileencodings' option,Vim will set the 'bomb' option on or off depending on the presence orabsence of a byte-order mark at the start of the file. When writing, Vimwill write a byte-order mark if the 'bomb' option is set. You may set orunset it manually do make Vim write, or not write, the b.o.m.For more information, read:    |'bomb'| *faq-37.10*37.10. Where can I find an example of a typical use of all these options?There is a "tip", with explains them in different words with an example, athttp://vim.wikia.com/wiki/VimTip246 *faq-37.11*37.11. How can I insert Unicode characters into a file using Vim?Several methods are available:- Characters present on your keyboard can be typed in the usual way, even  those which require a "dead-key" prefix, like (for instance) the  circumflex on French keyboards.- Characters for which a digraph is defined can be typed as two characters  prefixed by CTRL-K.- If you have set the 'digraph' option, you can enter the characters for  which a digraph is defined as <char1><BS><char2>.- Any character can be entered by using a CTRL-V prefix (or CTRL-Q if  CTRL-V is remapped to paste from the clipboard).For more information, read:    |digraphs|    |'digraph'|    |i_CTRL-V_digit| *faq-37.12*37.12. How can I know which digraphs are defined and for which characters?First set the 'encoding' option properly (for instance, to utf-8), then usethe `:digraphs` command to list the currently defined digraphs.Alternatively, the help file contains the complete set of all digraphs.So you can easily search that list there.For more information, read:    |:digraphs|    |'encoding'|    |digraph-table| vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: