1vi(1) User Commands vi(1)
2
6 vi, view, vedit - screen-oriented (visual) display editor based on ex
7
9 /usr/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
10 [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
11 [+command | -c command] filename...
12 /usr/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
15 [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
16 [+command | -c command] filename...
17 /usr/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
20 [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
21 [+command | -c command] filename...
22 /usr/xpg4/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
25 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
26 [+command | -c command] filename...
27 /usr/xpg4/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
30 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
31 [+command | -c command] filename...
32 /usr/xpg4/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
35 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
36 [+command | -c command] filename...
37 /usr/xpg6/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
40 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
41 [+command | -c command] filename...
42 /usr/xpg6/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
45 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
46 [+command | -c command] filename...
47 /usr/xpg6/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
50 [-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
51 [+command | -c command] filename...
52
55 The vi (visual) utility is a display-oriented text editor based on an
56 underlying line editor ex. It is possible to use the command mode of ex
57 from within vi and to use the command mode of vi from within ex. The
58 visual commands are described on this manual page; how to set options
59 (like automatically numbering lines and automatically starting a new
60 output line when you type carriage return) and all ex line editor com‐
61 mands are described on the ex(1) manual page.
62 When using vi, changes you make to the file are reflected in what you
65 see on your terminal screen. The position of the cursor on the screen
66 indicates the position within the file.
67 The view invocation is the same as vi except that the readonly flag is
70 set.
71 The vedit invocation is intended for beginners. It is the same as vi
74 except that the report flag is set to 1, the showmode and novice flags
75 are set, and magic is turned off. These defaults make it easier to
76 learn how to use vi.
77
79 The following options are supporrted:
80 Invocation Options
82 The following invocation options are interpreted by vi (previously doc‐
83 umented options are discussed under NOTES):
84 − | -s Suppresses all interactive user feedback. This
86 is useful when processing editor scripts.
87 -C Encryption option. Same as the -x option,
90 except that vi simulates the C command of ex.
91 The C command is like the X command of ex,
92 except that all text read in is assumed to
93 have been encrypted.
94 -l Sets up for editing LISP programs.
97 -L Lists the name of all files saved as the
100 result of an editor or system crash.
101 -r filename Edits filename after an editor or system
104 crash. (Recovers the version of filename that
105 was in the buffer when the crash occurred.)
106 -R Readonly mode. The readonly flag is set, pre‐
109 venting accidental overwriting of the file.
110 -S This option is used in conjunction with the -t
113 tag option to tell vi that the tags file can
114 not be sorted and that, if the binary search
115 (which relies on a sorted tags file) for tag
116 fails to find it, the much slower linear
117 search should also be done. Since the linear
118 search is slow, users of large tags files
119 should ensure that the tags files are sorted
120 rather than use this flag. Creation of tags
121 files normally produces sorted tags files. See
122 ctags(1) for more information on tags files.
123 -t tag Edits the file containing tag and position the
126 editor at its definition. It is an error to
127 specify more than one -t option.
128 -v Starts up in display editing state, using vi.
131 You can achieve the same effect by typing the
132 vi command itself.
133 -V Verbose. When ex commands are read by means of
136 standard input, the input is echoed to stan‐
137 dard error. This can be useful when processing
138 ex commands within shell scripts.
139 -wn Sets the default window size to n. This is
142 useful when using the editor over a slow speed
143 line.
144 -x Encryption option. When used, vi simulates the
147 X command of ex and prompts the user for a
148 key. This key is used to encrypt and decrypt
149 text using the algorithm of the crypt command.
150 The X command makes an educated guess to
151 determine whether text read in is encrypted or
152 not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted
153 also, using a transformed version of the key
154 typed in for the -x option. If an empty
155 encryption key is entered (that is, if the
156 return key is pressed right after the prompt),
157 the file is not encrypted. This is a good way
158 to decrypt a file erroneously encrypted with a
159 mistyped encryption key, such as a backspace
160 or undo key.
161 -command | -c command Begins editing by executing the specified edi‐
164 tor command (usually a search or positioning
165 command).
166 /usr/xpg4/bin/vi and /usr/xpg6/bin/vi
169 If both the -t tag and the -c command options are given, the -t tag
170 optionis processed first. That is, the file containing tag is selected
171 by -t and then the command is executed.
172
174 The following operands are supported:
175 filename A file to be edited.
177
180 The vi command modes are summarized in this section.
181 vi Modes
183 Command Normal and initial mode. Other modes return to command
184 mode upon completion. ESC (escape) is used to cancel a
185 partial command.
186 Input Entered by setting any of the following options:
189 a A i I o O c C s S R
191 Arbitrary text can then be entered. Input mode is normally
194 terminated with the ESC character, or, abnormally, with an
195 interrupt.
196 Last line Reading input for : / ? or !. Terminate by typing a car‐
199 riage return. An interrupt cancels termination.
200 Sample Commands
203 In the descriptions, CR stands for carriage return and ESC stands for
204 the escape key.
205 ←, → arrow keys move the cursor
207 down-arrow
208 up-arrow
209 h j k l same as arrow keys
210 itextESC insert text
213 cwnewESC change word to new
216 easESC pluralize word (end of word; append s; escape from input
219 state)
220 x delete a character
223 dw delete a word
226 dd delete a line
229 3dd delete 3 lines
232 u undo previous change
235 ZZ exit vi, saving changes
238 :q!CR quit, discarding changes
241 /textCR search for text
244 ^U ^D scroll up or down
247 :cmdCR any ex or ed command
250 Counts Before vi Commands
253 Numbers can be typed as a prefix to some commands. They are interpreted
254 in one of these ways:
255 line/column number z G |
257 scroll amount ^D ^U
260 repeat effect most of the rest
263 Interrupting, Canceling
266 ESC end insert or incomplete command
267 DEL (delete or rubout) interrupts
270 File Manipulation
273 ZZ if file modified, write and exit; otherwise, exit
274 :wCR write back changes
277 :w!CR forced write, if permission originally not valid
280 :qCR quit
283 :q!CR quit, discard changes
286 :e nameCR edit file name
289 :e!CR reedit, discard changes
292 :e + nameCR edit, starting at end
295 :e +nCR edit, starting at line n
298 :e #CR edit alternate file
301 :e! #CR edit alternate file, discard changes
304 :w nameCR write file name
307 :w! nameCR overwrite file name
310 :shCR run shell, then return
313 :!cmdCR run cmd, then return
316 :nCR edit next file in arglist
319 :n argsCR specify new arglist
322 ^G show current file and line
325 :ta tagCR position cursor to tag
328 In general, any ex or ed command (such as substitute or global) can be
332 typed, preceded by a colon and followed by a carriage return.
333 Positioning Within a File
335 F forward screen
336 ^B backward screen
339 ^D scroll down half screen
342 ^U scroll up half screen
345 nG go to the beginning of the specified line (end default),
348 where n is a line number
349 /pat next line matching pat
352 ?pat previous line matching pat
355 n repeat last / or ? command
358 N reverse last / or ? command
361 /pat/+n nth line after pat
364 ?pat?−n nth line before pat
367 ]] next section/function
370 [[ previous section/function
373 ( beginning of sentence
376 ) end of sentence
379 { beginning of paragraph
382 } end of paragraph
385 % find matching ( ) or { }
388 Adjusting the Screen
391 ^L clear and redraw window
392 ^R clear and redraw window if ^L is → key
395 zCR redraw screen with current line at top of window
398 z−CR redraw screen with current line at bottom of window
401 z.CR redraw screen with current line at center of window
404 /pat/z−CR move pat line to bottom of window
407 zn.CR use n−line window
410 ^E scroll window down one line
413 ^Y scroll window up one line
416 Marking and Returning
419 `` move cursor to previous context
420 a´a´ move cursor to first non-white space in line
423 mx mark current position with the ASCII lower-case letter x
426 `x move cursor to mark x
429 a´x move cursor to first non-white space in line marked by x
432 Line Positioning
435 H top line on screen
436 L last line on screen
439 M middle line on screen
442 + next line, at first non-white space character
445 − previous line, at first non-white space character
448 CR return, same as +
451 down-arrow next line, same column
454 or j
455 up-arrow previous line, same column
457 or k
458 Character Positioning
460 ^ first non-white space character
461 0 beginning of line
464 $ end of line
467 l or → forward
470 h or ← backward
473 ^H same as ← (backspace)
476 space same as → (space bar)
479 fx find next x
482 Fx find previous x
485 tx move to character following the next x
488 Tx move to character following the previous x
491 ; repeat last f, F, t, or T
494 , repeat inverse of last f, F, t, or T
497 n| move to column n
500 % find matching ( ) or { }
503 Words, Sentences, Paragraphs
506 w forward a word
507 b back a word
510 e end of word
513 ) to next sentence
516 } to next paragraph
519 ( back a sentence
522 { back a paragraph
525 W forward a blank-delimited word
528 B back a blank-delimited word
531 E end of a blank-delimited word
534 Corrections During Insert
537 ^H erase last character (backspace)
538 ^W erase last word
541 erase your erase character, same as ^H (backspace)
544 kill your kill character, erase this line of input
547 \ quotes your erase and kill characters
550 ESC ends insertion, back to command mode
553 Control−C interrupt, suspends insert mode
556 ^D backtab one character; reset left margin of autoindent
559 ^^D caret (^) followed by control-d (^D); backtab to begin‐
562 ning of line; do not reset left margin of autoindent
563 0^D backtab to beginning of line; reset left margin of
566 autoindent
567 ^V quote non-printable character
570 Insert and Replace
573 a append after cursor
574 A append at end of line
577 i insert before cursor
580 I insert before first non-blank
583 o open line below
586 O open line above
589 rx replace single character with x
592 RtextESC replace characters
595 Operators
598 Operators are followed by a cursor motion and affect all text that
599 would have been moved over. For example, since w moves over a word, dw
600 deletes the word that would be moved over. Double the operator, for
601 example dd, to affect whole lines.
602 d delete
604 c change
607 y yank lines to buffer
610 < left shift
613 > right shift
616 ! filter through command
619 Miscellaneous Operations
622 C change rest of line (c$)
623 D delete rest of line (d$)
626 s substitute characters (cl)
629 S substitute lines (cc)
632 J join lines
635 x delete characters (dl)
638 X delete characters before cursor dh)
641 Y yank lines (yy)
644 Yank and Put
647 Put inserts the text most recently deleted or yanked; however, if a
648 buffer is named (using the ASCII lower-case letters a - z), the text in
649 that buffer is put instead.
650 3yy yank 3 lines
652 3yl yank 3 characters
655 p put back text after cursor
658 P put back text before cursor
661 "xp put from buffer x
664 "xy yank to buffer x
667 "xd delete into buffer x
670 Undo, Redo, Retrieve
673 u undo last change
674 U restore current line
677 . repeat last change
680 "dp retrieve d'th last delete
683
686 See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior of vi and view
687 when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
688
690 See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables
691 that affect the execution of vi: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_COLLATE, LC_CTYPE,
692 LC_TIME, LC_MESSAGES, NLSPATH, PATH, SHELL, and TERM.
693 COLUMNS Override the system-selected horizontal screen size.
695 EXINIT Determine a list of ex commands that are executed on editor
698 start-up, before reading the first file. The list can con‐
699 tain multiple commands by separating them using a vertical-
700 line (|) character.
701 LINES Override the system-selected vertical screen size, used as
704 the number of lines in a screenful and the vertical screen
705 size in visual mode.
706
709 /var/tmp
710 default directory where temporary work files are placed; it can be
712 changed using the directory option (see the ex(1) command)
713 /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
716 compiled terminal description database
718 /usr/lib/.COREterm/?/*
721 subset of compiled terminal description database
723
726 See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
727 /usr/bin/vi, /usr/bin/view, /usr/bin/vedit
729 ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
730 │ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
731 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
732 │Availability │SUNWcsu │
733 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
734 │CSI │Not enabled │
735 └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
736 /usr/xpg4/bin/vi, /usr/xpg4/bin/view, /usr/xpg4/bin/vedit
738 ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
739 │ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
740 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
741 │Availability │SUNWxcu4 │
742 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
743 │CSI │Enabled │
744 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
745 │Interface Stability │Standard │
746 └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
747 /usr/xpg6/bin/vi, /usr/xpg6/bin/view, /usr/xpg6/bin/vedit
749 ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
750 │ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
751 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
752 │Availability │SUNWxcu6 │
753 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
754 │CSI │Enabled │
755 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
756 │Interface Stability │Standard │
757 └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
758
760 Intro(1), ctags(1), ed(1), edit(1), ex(1), attributes(5), environ(5),
761 largefile(5), standards(5)
762 Solaris Advanced User's Guide
765
767 vi and ex were developed by The University of California, Berkeley Cal‐
768 ifornia, Computer Science Division, Department of Electrical Engineer‐
769 ing and Computer Science.
770
772 Two options, although they continue to be supported, have been replaced
773 in the documentation by options that follow the Command Syntax Standard
774 (see Intro(1)). An -r option that is not followed with an option-argu‐
775 ment has been replaced by -L and +command has been replaced by -c com‐
776 mand.
777 The message file too large to recover with -r option, which is seen
780 when a file is loaded, indicates that the file can be edited and saved
781 successfully, but if the editing session is lost, recovery of the file
782 with the -r option is not possible.
783 The editing environment defaults to certain configuration options. When
786 an editing session is initiated, vi attempts to read the EXINIT envi‐
787 ronment variable. If it exists, the editor uses the values defined in
788 EXINIT; otherwise the values set in $HOME/.exrc are used. If
789 $HOME/.exrc does not exist, the default values are used.
790 To use a copy of .exrc located in the current directory other than
793 $HOME, set the exrc option in EXINIT or $HOME/.exrc. Options set in
794 EXINIT can be turned off in a local .exrc only if exrc is set in EXINIT
795 or $HOME/.exrc. In order to be used, .exrc in $HOME or the current
796 directory must fulfill these conditions:
797 o It must exist.
799 o It must be owned by the same userid as the real userid of
801 the process, or the process has appropriate privileges.
802 o It is not writable by anyone other than the owner.
804 Tampering with entries in /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* or
807 /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* (for example, changing or removing an
808 entry) can affect programs such as vi that expect the entry to be
809 present and correct. In particular, removing the "dumb" terminal can
810 cause unexpected problems.
811 Software tabs using ^T work only immediately after the autoindent.
814 Left and right shifts on intelligent terminals do not make use of
817 insert and delete character operations in the terminal.
818 Loading an alternate malloc() library using the environment variable
821 LD_PRELOAD can cause problems for /usr/bin/vi.
822 The vi utility currently has the following limitations:
825 1. Lines, including the trailing NEWLINE character, can contain
827 no more than 4096 bytes.
828 If a longer line is found, Line too long is displayed in the
830 status line.
831 2. The editor's temporary work file can be no larger than
833 128Mb.
834 If a larger temporary file is needed, Tmp file too large is
836 displayed in the status line.
837SunOS 5.11 16 May 2007 vi(1)