1BVI(1) User Commands BVI(1)
2
6 bvi, bview - visual editor for binary files
7
9 bvi-1.4.0
10
12 bbvvii [--RR] [--cc cmd] [--ff script] [--ss skip] [--ee end] [--nn length] file...
13 bbvviieeww [--RR] [--cc cmd] [--ff script] [--ss skip] [--ee end] [--nn length] file...
14
16 file...
17 A list of filenames. The first one will be the current file and
18 will be read into the buffer. The cursor will be positioned
19 on the first line of the buffer. You can get to the other files
20 with the ":next" command.
21 --RR "Readonly": The readonly flag is set for all the files, preventing
23 accidental overwriting with a write command.
24 --ss skip
27 causes bvi to load a file not from the start but from offset skip.
28 Skip offset bytes from the beginning of the input. By default,
29 offset is interpreted as a decimal number. With a leading 0x or
30 0X, offset is interpreted as a hexadecimal number, otherwise, with
31 a leading 0, offset is interpreted as an octal number. Appending
32 the character b, k, or m to offset causes it to be interpreted as a
33 multiple of 512, 1024, or 1048576, respectively.
34 --ee end
37 causes bvi to load a file not till end but till address end.
38 --nn length
41 causes bvi not to load the complete file but only length bytes.
42 --cc cmd
45 cmd will be executed after the first file has been read. If
46 the cmd contains spaces it must be enclosed in double quotes
47 (this depends on the shell that is used).
48 --ff script
50 This command provides a means for collecting a series of "ex"
51 (colon) commands into a script file, then using this file to edit
52 other files. Since there is no binary stream editor "bsed", you can
53 use this option to make several global changes in a binary file.
54
56 Bvi stands for "Binary VIsual editor". Bvi is a screen oriented editor
57 for binary files; its command set is based on that of the vi(1) text
58 editor. As a binary editor does not have the concept of "lines" there
59 are differences from Vi commands wherever the latter are line
60 orientate.
61
63 The main differences between Vi and Bvi are:
64 The screen is divided in three sections or panes: The byte offset
66 (extreme left), the hex pane (middle), and an ascii pane (right) which
67 shows as printable characters those bytes in the hex pane. On an 80
68 column terminal there will be sixteen hex values and their ASCII values
69 on each screen line. Note that (as one would expect) the first byte
70 has the offset '0' (zero).
71 You can toggle between the hex and ascii windows with the tab key
73 (TAB). Toggling between these two windows does not change the current
74 position (offset) within the file.
75 No "lines" concept: Files are treated as one long stream of bytes. The
77 characters "newline" and "carriage return" are not special, id est they
78 never mark the end of lines. Therefore the lines on the screen do not
79 represent lines in the usual way. Data is broken across screen lines
80 arbitarily. As a consequence there are no commands in bvi from ex or
81 vi that are based on line numbers, eg "dd", "yy", 'C', 'S', 'o', 'O'.
82 This also changes the meaning of "range" before the ":write" command to
83 a byte offset, ie the command ":100,200w foo" writes all *bytes* (not
84 lines) from offset 100 to offset 200 to the file "foo".
85 No "text objects": There are also no text-specific arrangements like
87 words, paragraphs, sentences, sections and so on.
88 Extended "ruler": The bottom line of the screen shows the current
90 address (byte offset) and the current character in these notations:
91 octal, hexadecimal, decimal and ascii.
93 Search patterns: All search commands understand these special
95 characters:
96 . any character
98 [] set of characters
99 * zero or more occurrences of previous char or set
100 But as there is no concept of lines you cannot use the standard symbols
102 ("anchors") for "begin-of-line" ('^') and "end-of-line" ('$').
103 Searching for the start/end of lines must be done explicitly by adding
104 these special characters to your search pattern using these meta
105 sequences:
106 \n newline
108 \r return
109 \t tab
110 \0 binary zero
111 Additional search commands: Similar to the text search commands there
113 are additional hex-search functions '\' and '#' which allow to search
114 for any byte value. Example: "\62 76 69" will search for the string
115 "bvi". Spaces between hex value are optional, so searching for
116 "6775636B6573" will find "guckes".
117 Changing the length of data (insertion, deletion) moves the data to
119 other addresses; this is bad for many cases (eg. databases, program
120 files) and is thus disabled by default. You can enable this commands by
121 typing
122 :set memmove
124 BBVVII MMooddeess::
126 Command Mode (Normal Mode):
128 Input is treated as command. Note that command mode is the default
130 mode after startup and after escaping from input mode. Use ESC
131 (escape) to cancel a partial (uncompleted) command.
132 Input Mode:
134 Input is treated as replacement of current characters or (after the end
136 of the file) is appended to the current file. This mode is entered
137 from command mode by typing one of 'i', 'I', 'A', 'r', or 'R'. You can
138 enter the characters from the keyboard (in the ASCII window) or
139 hexadecimal values (in the HEX window). Type TAB to switch between
140 these two windows. Type ESC to finish the current input and return to
141 command mode. Type CTRL-C to cancel current command abnormally.
142 Command line mode (Last Line Mode or : mode):
144 Similar to vi, this mode is entered by typing one of the characters : /
146 ? \ # ! The command is terminated and executed by typing a carriage
147 return; to cancel a partially typed command, type ESC to cancel the
148 current command and return to command mode.
149
151 The editor recognizes the environment variable BVIINIT as a command
152 (or list of commands) to run when it starts up. If this variable is
153 undefined, the editor checks for startup commands in the file
154 ~/.bvirc file, which you must own. However, if there is a .bvirc
155 owned by you in the current directory, the editor takes its
156 startup commands from this file - overriding both the file in your home
157 directory and the environment variable.
158
160 Characters names are abbreviated as follows:
161 Abbr. ASCII name aka
162 CR 010 carriage return
163 ^A 001 control-a
164 ^H 008 control-h
165 ^I 009 control-i aka TAB
166 ^U 021 control-u
167 ^Z 026 control-z
168 ESC 027 escape aka ESC
169 DEL 127 delete
170 LEFT --- left arrow
171 RIGHT --- right arrow
172 DOWN --- down arrow
173 UP --- up arrow
174
176 See the TERMINOLOGY for a summary on key name abbreviations used within
177 the following description of commands.
178 AAbbssttrraacctt::
180 Arrow keys move the cursor on the screen within the current window.
181 SSaammppllee ccoommmmaannddss::
183 :version show version info
184 <- v ^ -> arrow keys move the cursor
185 h j k l same as arrow keys
186 u undo previous change
187 ZZ exit bvi, saving changes
188 :q! quit, discarding changes
189 /text search for text
190 ^U ^D scroll up or down
191 CCoouunnttss bbeeffoorree bbvvii ccoommmmaannddss::
193 Numbers may be typed as a prefix to some commands.
194 They are interpreted in one of these ways.
195 screen column ⎪
197 byte of file G
198 scroll amount ^D ^U
199 repeat effect most of the rest
200 IInntteerrrruuppttiinngg,, ccaanncceelliinngg
202 ESC end insert or incomplete command
203 DEL (delete or rubout) interrupts
204 FFiillee mmaanniippuullaattiioonn::
206 ZZ if file modified, write and exit;
207 otherwise, exit
208 :w write changed buffer to file
209 :w! write changed buffer to file, overriding
210 read-only ("forced" write)
211 :q quit when no changes have been made
212 :q! quit and discard all changes
213 :e file edit file
214 :e! re-read current file, discard all changes
215 :e # edit the alternate file
216 :e! # edit the alternate file, discard changes
217 :w file write current buffer to file
218 :w! file write current buffer to file overriding
219 read-only (this "overwrites" the file)
220 :sh run the command as set with option "shell",
221 then return
222 :!cmd run the command cmd from "shell", then
223 return
224 :n edit next file in the argument list
225 :f show current filename, modified flag,
226 current byte offset, and percentage of
227 current position within buffer
228 ^G same as :f
229 AAddddiittiioonnaall eeddiitt ccoommmmaannddss
231 You can insert/append/change bytes in ASCII/binary/decimal/
232 hexadecimal or octal representation. You can enter several (screen)
233 lines of input. A line with only a period (.) in it will terminate the
234 command. You must not type in values greater than a byte value. This
235 causes an abandonment of the command. Pressing the CR key does not
236 insert a newline - character into the file. If you use ASCII mode you
237 can use the special characters \n, \r, \t and \0.
238 :i aCR insert bytes (ASCII) at cursor position
240 :a bCR append bytes (Binary) at end of file
241 :c hCR change bytes (hexadecimal) at cursor position
242 BBiitt--lleevveell ooppeerraattiioonnss
244 :and n bitwise 'and' operation with value n
245 :or n bitwise 'or' operation with value n
246 :xor n bitwise 'xor' operation with value n
247 :neg two's complement
248 :not logical negation
249 :sl i shift each byte i bits to the left
250 :sr i shift each byte i bits to the right
251 :rl i rotate each byte i bits to the left
252 :rr i rotate each byte i bits to the right
253 CCoommmmaanndd mmooddee aaddddrreesssseess
255 :w foo write current buffer to a file
256 named "foo"
257 :5,10w foo copy byte 5 through 100 into as
258 file named foo
259 :.,.+20w foo copy the current byte and the next
260 20 bytes to foo
261 :^,'aw foo write all bytes from the beginning
262 through marker 'a'
263 :/pat/,$ foo search pattern pat and and copy
264 through end of file
265 PPoossiittiioonniinngg wwiitthhiinn ffiillee::
267 ^B backward screen
268 ^F forward screen
269 ^D scroll down half screen
270 ^U scroll up half screen
271 nG go to the specified character
272 (end default), where n is a decimal address
273 /pat next line matching pat
274 ?pat previous line matching pat
275 \hex jump to next occurrence of hex string hex
276 #hex jump to previous occurrence of hex string hex
277 n repeat last search command
278 N repeat last search command, but in opposite
279 direction
280 AAddjjuussttiinngg tthhee ssccrreeeenn::
282 ^L clear and redraw screen
283 zCR redraw screen with current line at top of screen
284 z- redraw screen with current line at bottom of
285 screen
286 z. redraw screen with current line at center of
287 screen
288 /pat/z- search for pattern pat and then move currents
289 line to bottom
290 ^E scroll screen down 1 line
291 ^Y scroll screen up 1 line
292 MMaarrkkiinngg aanndd rreettuurrnniinngg::
294 mx mark current position with lower-case letter x
295 Note: this command works for all lower-case letters
296 'x move cursor to mark x in ASCII section
297 `x move cursor to mark x in HEX section
298 '' move cursor to previous context in ASCII section
299 `` move cursor to previous context in HEX section
300 LLiinnee ppoossiittiioonniinngg::
302 H jump to first line on screen ("top")
303 L jump to last line on screen ("low")
304 M jump to middle line on screen ("middle")
305 - jump onto previous line on screen
306 + jump onto next line on screen
307 CR same as +
308 DOWN or j next line, same column
309 UP or k previous line, same column
310 CChhaarraacctteerr ppoossiittiioonniinngg::
312 ^ first byte in HEX window
313 $ end of screen line
314 l or RIGHT jump onto next byte (within current
315 screen line)
316 h or LEFT jump onto previous byte (within current
317 screen line)
318 ^H same as LEFT
319 space same as RIGHT
320 fx find next occurrence of character x
321 Fx find previous occurrence of character x
322 n⎪ jump onto nth byte/character within current
323 line
324 SSttrriinnggss::
326 (works similar to the strings(1) command)
327 Note: "Words" are defined as strings of "nonprinting
328 characters".
329 e jump to next end of word
330 w jump to next begin of word
331 b jump to previous begin of word
332 W forward to next string delimited with a
333 \0 or \n
334 B back to previous string delimited with a
335 nonprinting char
336 CCoorrrreeccttiioonnss dduurriinngg iinnsseerrtt::
338 ^H erase last character (backspace)
339 erase your erase character, same as ^H (backspace)
340 ESC ends insertion, back to command mode
341 AAppppeenndd aanndd rreeppllaaccee::
343 A append at end of file
344 rx replace current bte with char 'x'
345 R enter replace mode; for all subsequent input,
346 the current byte is overwritten with the next
347 input character; leave replace mode with ESC.
348 MMiisscceellllaanneeoouuss OOppeerraattiioonnss::
350 TAB toggle between ASCII and HEX section
351 YYaannkk aanndd PPuutt::
353 3ySPACE yank 3 characters
354 p insert contents of yank buffer
355 o replace text with content of yank buffer
356 P put back at end of file
357 UUnnddoo,, RReeddoo::
359 u undo last change
360 Note: Only the last change can be undone.
361 Therefore this commands toggles between the
362 last and second-t-last state of the buffer.
363 SSeettttiinngg OOppttiioonnss::
365 With the :set command you can set options in bvi
366 Option Default Description
368 autowrite noaw Save current file, if modified, if you
370 give a :n, :r or ! command
371 columns cm=16 on an 80 character wide terminal
372 ignorecase noic Ignores letter case in searching
373 magic nomagic Makes . [ * special in patterns
374 memmove nomm enables insert and delete commands
375 offset of=0 adds an offset to the diplayed addresses
376 readonly noro If set, write fails unless you use ! after command
377 scroll sc=1/2 window
378 Number of lines scrolled by ^U and ^D
379 showmode mo Displays statusline on bottom of the screen
380 terse noterse Let you obtain shorter error messages
381 window window=screensize
382 Lines in window, can be reduced at slow terminals
383 wordlength wl=4 Length of an ASCII-string found by w, W, b or B
384 wrapscan ws Searches wrap around past the end of the file
385 unixstyle nous The representation of ascii characters below
386 32 is displayed in the statusline as shown
387 in ascii(7) if unset rather in DOS-style (^A)
388
391 bvi was developed by Gerhard Buergmann, Vienna, Austria
392 Gerhard.Buergmann@puon.at
393
395 Bvi Homepage: http://bvi.sourceforge.net/
396 Vi Pages: http://www.guckes.net/vi/clones.php3
397 (all about Vi and its clones)
398
400 $HOME/.bvirc editor startup file
401 ./.bvirc editor startup file
402
404 Bvi does not update the screen when the terminal changes its size.
405
407 vi(1), strings(1), ascii(5)
4083rd Berkeley Distribution BVI Version 1.4.0 BVI(1)