diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi/vi.in')
| -rw-r--r-- | share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi/vi.in | 2074 |
1 files changed, 2074 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi/vi.in b/share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi/vi.in new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..c36ebe41743e --- /dev/null +++ b/share/doc/usd/12.vi/vi/vi.in @@ -0,0 +1,2074 @@ +.\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1993 +.\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. +.\" +.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without +.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions +.\" are met: +.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright +.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. +.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright +.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the +.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. +.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software +.\" must display the following acknowledgement: +.\" This product includes software developed by the University of +.\" California, Berkeley and its contributors. +.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors +.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software +.\" without specific prior written permission. +.\" +.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND +.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE +.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE +.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE +.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL +.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS +.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) +.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT +.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY +.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF +.\" SUCH DAMAGE. +.\" +.\" @(#)vi.in 8.5 (Berkeley) 8/18/96 +.\" +.nr LL 6.5i +.nr FL 6.5i +.EH 'USD:11-%''An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi' +.OH 'An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi''USD:11-%' +.bd S 3 +.if t .ds dg \(dg +.if n .ds dg + +.if t .ds dd \(dd +.if n .ds dd ++ +.\".RP +.TL +An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi +.AU +William Joy +.AU +Mark Horton +.AI +Computer Science Division +Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science +University of California, Berkeley +Berkeley, Ca. 94720 +.AB +.PP +.I Vi +(visual) is a display oriented interactive text editor. +When using +.I vi +the screen of your terminal acts as a window into the file which you +are editing. Changes which you make to the file are reflected +in what you see. +.PP +Using +.I vi +you can insert new text any place in the file quite easily. +Most of the commands to +.I vi +move the cursor around in the file. +There are commands to move the cursor +forward and backward in units of characters, words, +sentences and paragraphs. +A small set of operators, like +.B d +for delete and +.B c +for change, are combined with the motion commands to form operations +such as delete word or change paragraph, in a simple and natural way. +This regularity and the mnemonic assignment of commands to keys makes the +editor command set easy to remember and to use. +.PP +.I Vi +will work on a large number of display terminals, +and new terminals are easily driven after editing a terminal description file. +While it is advantageous to have an intelligent terminal which can locally +insert and delete lines and characters from the display, the editor will +function quite well on dumb terminals over slow phone lines. +The editor makes allowance for the low bandwidth in these situations +and uses smaller window sizes and +different display updating algorithms to make best use of the +limited speed available. +.PP +It is also possible to use the command set of +.I vi +on hardcopy terminals, storage tubes and ``glass tty's'' using a one line +editing window; thus +.I vi's +command set is available on all terminals. +The full command set of the more traditional, line +oriented editor +.I ex +is available within +.I vi; +it is quite simple to switch between the two modes of editing. +.AE +.NH 1 +Getting started +.PP +.FS +The financial support of an \s-2IBM\s0 Graduate Fellowship and the +National Science Foundation under grants MCS74-07644-A03 and MCS78-07291 +is gratefully acknowledged. +.FE +This document provides a quick introduction to +.I vi. +(Pronounced \fIvee-eye\fP.) +You should be running +.I vi +on a file you are familiar with while you are reading this. +The first part of this document (sections 1 through 5) +describes the basics of using +.I vi. +Some topics of special interest are presented in section 6, and +some nitty-gritty details of how the editor functions are saved for section +7 to avoid cluttering the presentation here. +.PP +There is also a short appendix here, which gives for each character the +special meanings which this character has in \fIvi\fR. Attached to +this document should be a quick reference card. +This card summarizes the commands of +.I vi +in a very compact format. You should have the card handy while you are +learning +.I vi. +.NH 2 +Specifying terminal type +.PP +Before you can start +.I vi +you must tell the system what kind of terminal you are using. +Here is a (necessarily incomplete) list of terminal type codes. +If your terminal does not appear here, you should consult with one of +the staff members on your system to find out the code for your terminal. +If your terminal does not have a code, one can be assigned and a description +for the terminal can be created. +.LP +.TS +center; +ab ab ab +a a a. +Code Full name Type +_ +2621 Hewlett-Packard 2621A/P Intelligent +2645 Hewlett-Packard 264x Intelligent +act4 Microterm ACT-IV Dumb +act5 Microterm ACT-V Dumb +adm3a Lear Siegler ADM-3a Dumb +adm31 Lear Siegler ADM-31 Intelligent +c100 Human Design Concept 100 Intelligent +dm1520 Datamedia 1520 Dumb +dm2500 Datamedia 2500 Intelligent +dm3025 Datamedia 3025 Intelligent +fox Perkin-Elmer Fox Dumb +h1500 Hazeltine 1500 Intelligent +h19 Heathkit h19 Intelligent +i100 Infoton 100 Intelligent +mime Imitating a smart act4 Intelligent +t1061 Teleray 1061 Intelligent +vt52 Dec VT-52 Dumb +.TE +.PP +Suppose for example that you have a Hewlett-Packard HP2621A +terminal. The code used by the system for this terminal is `2621'. +In this case you can use one of the following commands to tell the system +the type of your terminal: +.DS +% \fBsetenv TERM\fP 2621 +.DE +This command works with the +.I csh +shell. +If you are using the standard Bourne shell +.I sh +then you should give the commands +.DS +$ \fBTERM=\fP2621 +$ \fBexport TERM\fP +.DE +.PP +If you want to arrange to have your terminal type set up automatically +when you log in, you can use the +.I tset +program. +If you dial in on a +.I mime , +but often use hardwired ports, a typical line for your +.I .login +file (if you use csh) would be +.DS +\fBsetenv TERM \(gatset\fP \- \-d mime\(ga +.DE +or for your +.I .profile +file (if you use sh) +.DS +\fBTERM=\(gatse\fPt \- \-d mime\(ga +.DE +.I Tset +knows which terminals are hardwired to each port +and needs only to be told that when you dial in you +are probably on a +.I mime . +.I Tset +is usually used to change the erase and kill characters, too. +.NH 2 +Editing a file +.PP +After telling the system which kind of terminal you have, you should +make a copy of a file you are familiar with, and run +.I vi +on this file, giving the command +.DS +% \fBvi\fR \fIname\fR +.DE +replacing \fIname\fR with the name of the copy file you just created. +The screen should clear and the text of your file should appear on the +screen. If something else happens refer to the footnote.\*(dd +.FS +\*(dd If you gave the system an incorrect terminal type code then the +editor may have just made a mess out of your screen. This happens when +it sends control codes for one kind of terminal to some other +kind of terminal. In this case hit +the keys \fB:q\fR (colon and the q key) and then hit the \s-2RETURN\s0 key. +This should get you back to the command level interpreter. +Figure out what you did wrong (ask someone else if necessary) and try again. + Another thing which can go wrong is that you typed the wrong file name and +the editor just printed an error diagnostic. In this case you should +follow the above procedure for getting out of the editor, and try again +this time spelling the file name correctly. + If the editor doesn't seem to respond to the commands which you type +here, try sending an interrupt to it by hitting the \s-2DEL\s0 or \s-2RUB\s0 +key on your terminal, and then hitting the \fB:q\fR command again followed +by a carriage return. +.sp +.FE +.NH 2 +The editor's copy: the buffer +.PP +The editor does not directly modify the file which you are editing. +Rather, the editor makes a copy of this file, in a place called the +.I buffer, +and remembers the file's +name. You do not affect the contents of the file unless and until you +write the changes you make back into the original file. +.NH 2 +Notational conventions +.PP +In our examples, input which must be typed as is will be presented in +\fBbold face\fR. Text which should be replaced with appropriate input +will be given in \fIitalics\fR. We will represent special characters +in \s-2SMALL CAPITALS\s0. +.NH 2 +Arrow keys +.PP +The editor command set is independent of the terminal +you are using. On most terminals with cursor positioning keys, these keys +will also work within the editor. +If you don't have cursor positioning keys, or even if you do, you can use +the \fBh j k\fR and \fBl\fR keys as cursor positioning +keys (these are labelled with arrows on an +.I adm3a).* +.PP +(Particular note for the HP2621: on this terminal the function keys +must be \fIshifted\fR (ick) to send to the machine, otherwise they +only act locally. Unshifted use will leave the cursor positioned +incorrectly.) +.FS +* As we will see later, +.I h +moves back to the left (like control-h which is a backspace), +.I j +moves down (in the same column), +.I k +moves up (in the same column), +and +.I l +moves to the right. +.FE +.NH 2 +Special characters: \s-2ESC\s0, \s-2CR\s0 and \s-2DEL\s0 +.PP +Several of these special characters are very important, so be sure to +find them right now. Look on your keyboard for a key labelled \s-2ESC\s0 +or \s-2ALT\s0. It should be near the upper left corner of your terminal. +Try hitting this key a few times. The editor will ring the bell +to indicate that it is in a quiescent state.\*(dd +.FS +\*(dd On smart terminals where it is possible, the editor will quietly +flash the screen rather than ringing the bell. +.FE +Partially formed commands are cancelled by \s-2ESC\s0, and when you insert +text in the file you end the text insertion +with \s-2ESC\s0. This key is a fairly +harmless one to hit, so you can just hit it if you don't know +what is going on until the editor rings the bell. +.PP +The \s-2CR\s0 or \s-2RETURN\s0 key is important because it is used +to terminate certain commands. +It is usually at the right side of the keyboard, +and is the same command used at the end of each shell command. +.PP +Another very useful key is the \s-2DEL\s0 or \s-2RUB\s0 key, which generates +an interrupt, telling the editor to stop what it is doing. +It is a forceful way of making the editor listen +to you, or to return it to the quiescent state if you don't know or don't +like what is going on. Try hitting the `/' key on your terminal. This +key is used when you want to specify a string to be searched for. The +cursor should now be positioned at the bottom line of the terminal after +a `/' printed as a prompt. You can get the cursor back to the current +position by hitting the \s-2DEL\s0 or \s-2RUB\s0 key; try this now.* +.FS +* Backspacing over the `/' will also cancel the search. +.FE +From now on we will simply refer to hitting the \s-2DEL\s0 or \s-2RUB\s0 +key as ``sending an interrupt.''** +.FS +** On some systems, this interruptibility comes at a price: you cannot type +ahead when the editor is computing with the cursor on the bottom line. +.FE +.PP +The editor often echoes your commands on the last line of the terminal. +If the cursor is on the first position of this last line, then the editor +is performing a computation, such as computing a new position in the +file after a search or running a command to reformat part of the buffer. +When this is happening you can stop the editor by +sending an interrupt. +.NH 2 +Getting out of the editor +.PP +After you have worked with this introduction for a while, and you wish +to do something else, you can give the command \fBZZ\fP +to the editor. +This will write the contents of the editor's buffer back into +the file you are editing, if you made any changes, and then quit from +the editor. You can also end an editor +session by giving the command \fB:q!\fR\s-2CR\s0;\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg All commands which read from the last display line can also be +terminated with a \s-2ESC\s0 as well as an \s-2CR\s0. +.FE +this is a dangerous but occasionally essential +command which ends the editor session and discards all your changes. +You need to know about this command in case you change the editor's +copy of a file you wish only to look at. Be very careful +not to give this command when you really want to save +the changes you have made. +.NH 1 +Moving around in the file +.NH 2 +Scrolling and paging +.PP +The editor has a number of commands for moving around in the file. +The most useful of these is generated by hitting the control and D keys +at the same time, a control-D or `^D'. We will use this two character +notation for referring to these control keys from now on. You may have +a key labelled `^' on your terminal. This key will be represented as `\(ua' +in this document; `^' is exclusively used as part of the `^x' notation +for control characters.\*(dd +.FS +\*(dd If you don't have a `^' key on your terminal +then there is probably a key labelled `\(ua'; in any case these characters +are one and the same. +.FE +.PP +As you know now if you tried hitting \fB^D\fR, this command scrolls down in +the file. The \fBD\fR thus stands for down. Many editor commands are mnemonic +and this makes them much easier to remember. For instance the command +to scroll up is \fB^U\fR. Many dumb terminals can't scroll up at all, in which +case hitting \fB^U\fR clears the screen and refreshes it +with a line which is farther back in the file at the top. +.PP +If you want to see more of the file below where you are, you can +hit \fB^E\fR to expose one more line at the bottom of the screen, +leaving the cursor where it is. +The command \fB^Y\fR (which is hopelessly non-mnemonic, but next to \fB^U\fR +on the keyboard) exposes one more line at the top of the screen. +.PP +There are other ways to move around in the file; the keys \fB^F\fR and \fB^B\fR +move forward and backward a page, +keeping a couple of lines of continuity between screens +so that it is possible to read through a file using these rather than +\fB^D\fR and \fB^U\fR if you wish. +.PP +Notice the difference between scrolling and paging. If you are trying +to read the text in a file, hitting \fB^F\fR to move forward a page +will leave you only a little context to look back at. Scrolling on the +other hand leaves more context, and happens more smoothly. You can continue +to read the text as scrolling is taking place. +.NH 2 +Searching, goto, and previous context +.PP +Another way to position yourself in the file is by giving the editor a string +to search for. Type the character \fB/\fR followed by a string of characters +terminated by \s-2CR\s0. The editor will position the cursor +at the next occurrence of this string. +Try hitting \fBn\fR to then go to the next occurrence of this string. +The character \fB?\fR will search backwards from where you are, and is +otherwise like \fB/\fR.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg These searches will normally wrap around the end of the file, and thus +find the string even if it is not on a line in the direction you search +provided it is anywhere else in the file. You can disable this wraparound +in scans by giving the command \fB:se nowrapscan\fR\s-2CR\s0, +or more briefly \fB:se nows\fR\s-2CR\s0. +.FE +.PP +If the search string you give the editor is not present in the +file the editor will print +a diagnostic on the last line of the screen, and the cursor will be returned +to its initial position. +.PP +If you wish the search to match only at the beginning of a line, begin +the search string with an \fB\(ua\fR. To match only at the end of +a line, end the search string with a \fB$\fR. +Thus \fB/\(uasearch\fR\s-2CR\s0 will search for the word `search' at +the beginning of a line, and \fB/last$\fR\s-2CR\s0 searches for the +word `last' at the end of a line.* +.FS +*Actually, the string you give to search for here can be a +.I "regular expression" +in the sense of the editors +.I ex (1) +and +.I ed (1). +If you don't wish to learn about this yet, you can disable this more +general facility by doing +\fB:se\ nomagic\fR\s-2CR\s0; +by putting this command in +EXINIT +in your environment, you can have this always be in effect (more +about +.I EXINIT +later.) +.FE +.PP +The command \fBG\fR, when preceded by a number will position the cursor +at that line in the file. +Thus \fB1G\fR will move the cursor to +the first line of the file. If you give \fBG\fR no count, then it moves +to the end of the file. +.PP +If you are near the end of the file, and the last line is not at the bottom +of the screen, the editor will place only the character `~' on each remaining +line. This indicates that the last line in the file is on the screen; +that is, the `~' lines are past the end of the file. +.PP +You can find out the state of the file you are editing by typing a \fB^G\fR. +The editor will show you the name of the file you are editing, the number +of the current line, the number of lines in the buffer, and the percentage +of the way through the buffer which you are. +Try doing this now, and remember the number of the line you are on. +Give a \fBG\fR command to get to the end and then another \fBG\fR command +to get back where you were. +.PP +You can also get back to a previous position by using the command +\fB\(ga\(ga\fR (two back quotes). +This is often more convenient than \fBG\fR because it requires no advance +preparation. +Try giving a \fBG\fR or a search with \fB/\fR or \fB?\fR and then a +\fB\(ga\(ga\fR to get back to where you were. If you accidentally hit +\fBn\fR or any command which moves you far away from a context of interest, you +can quickly get back by hitting \fB\(ga\(ga\fR. +.NH 2 +Moving around on the screen +.PP +Now try just moving the cursor around on the screen. +If your terminal has arrow keys (4 or 5 keys with arrows +going in each direction) try them and convince yourself +that they work. +If you don't have working arrow keys, you can always use +.B h , +.B j , +.B k , +and +.B l . +Experienced users of +.I vi +prefer these keys to arrow keys, +because they are usually right underneath their fingers. +.PP +Hit the \fB+\fR key. Each time you do, notice that the cursor +advances to the next line in the file, at the first non-white position +on the line. The \fB\-\fR key is like \fB+\fR but goes the other way. +.PP +These are very common keys for moving up and down lines in the file. +Notice that if you go off the bottom or top with these keys then the +screen will scroll down (and up if possible) to bring a line at a time +into view. The \s-2RETURN\s0 key has the same effect as the \fB+\fR +key. +.PP +.I Vi +also has commands to take you to the top, middle and bottom of the screen. +\fBH\fR will take you to the top (home) line on the screen. +Try preceding it with a +number as in \fB3H\fR. +This will take you to the third line on the screen. +Many +.I vi +commands take preceding numbers and do interesting things with them. +Try \fBM\fR, +which takes you to the middle line on the screen, +and \fBL\fR, +which takes you to the last line on the screen. +\fBL\fR also takes counts, thus +\fB5L\fR will take you to the fifth line from the bottom. +.NH 2 +Moving within a line +.PP +Now try picking a word on some line on the screen, not the +first word on the line. +move the cursor using \s-2RETURN\s0 and \fB\-\fR to be on the line where +the word is. +Try hitting the \fBw\fR key. This will advance the cursor to the +next word on the line. +Try hitting the \fBb\fR key to back up words +in the line. +Also try the \fBe\fR key which advances you to the end of the current +word rather than to the beginning of the next word. +Also try \s-2SPACE\s0 (the space bar) which moves right one character +and the \s-2BS\s0 (backspace or \fB^H\fR) key which moves left one character. +The key \fBh\fR works as \fB^H\fR does and is useful if you don't have +a \s-2BS\s0 key. +(Also, as noted just above, \fBl\fR will move to the right.) +.PP +If the line had punctuation in it you may have noticed that +that the \fBw\fR and \fBb\fR +keys stopped at each group of punctuation. You can also go back and +forwards words without stopping at punctuation by using \fBW\fR and \fBB\fR +rather than the lower case equivalents. Think of these as bigger words. +Try these on a few lines with punctuation to see how they differ from +the lower case \fBw\fR and \fBb\fR. +.PP +The word keys wrap around the end of line, +rather than stopping at the end. Try moving to a word on a line below +where you are by repeatedly hitting \fBw\fR. +.NH 2 +Summary +.IP +.TS +lw(.50i)b a. +\fR\s-2SPACE\s0\fP advance the cursor one position +^B backwards to previous page +^D scrolls down in the file +^E exposes another line at the bottom +^F forward to next page +^G tell what is going on +^H backspace the cursor +^N next line, same column +^P previous line, same column +^U scrolls up in the file +^Y exposes another line at the top ++ next line, at the beginning +\- previous line, at the beginning +/ scan for a following string forwards +? scan backwards +B back a word, ignoring punctuation +G go to specified line, last default +H home screen line +M middle screen line +L last screen line +W forward a word, ignoring punctuation +b back a word +e end of current word +n scan for next instance of \fB/\fR or \fB?\fR pattern +w word after this word +.TE +.NH 2 +View +.PP +If you want to use the editor to look at a file, +rather than to make changes, +invoke it as +.I view +instead of +.I vi . +This will set the +.I readonly +option which will prevent you from +accidently overwriting the file. +.sp +.NH 1 +Making simple changes +.NH 2 +Inserting +.PP +One of the most useful commands is the +\fBi\fR (insert) command. +After you type \fBi\fR, everything you type until you hit \s-2ESC\s0 +is inserted into the file. +Try this now; position yourself to some word in the file and try inserting +text before this word. +If you are on an dumb terminal it will seem, for a minute, +that some of the characters in your line have been overwritten, but they will +reappear when you hit \s-2ESC\s0. +.PP +Now try finding a word which can, but does not, end in an `s'. +Position yourself at this word and type \fBe\fR (move to end of word), then +\fBa\fR for append and then `s\s-2ESC\s0' to terminate the textual insert. +This sequence of commands can be used to easily pluralize a word. +.PP +Try inserting and appending a few times to make sure you understand how +this works; \fBi\fR placing text to the left of the cursor, \fBa\fR to +the right. +.PP +It is often the case that you want to add new lines to the file you are +editing, before or after some specific line in the file. Find a line +where this makes sense and then give the command \fBo\fR to create a +new line after the line you are on, or the command \fBO\fR to create +a new line before the line you are on. After you create a new line in +this way, text you type up to an \s-2ESC\s0 is inserted on the new line. +.PP +Many related editor commands +are invoked by the same letter key and differ only in that one is given +by a lower +case key and the other is given by +an upper case key. In these cases, the +upper case key often differs from the lower case key in its sense of +direction, with +the upper case key working backward and/or up, while the lower case +key moves forward and/or down. +.PP +Whenever you are typing in text, you can give many lines of input or +just a few characters. +To type in more than one line of text, +hit a \s-2RETURN\s0 at the middle of your input. A new line will be created +for text, and you can continue to type. If you are on a slow +and dumb terminal the editor may choose to wait to redraw the +tail of the screen, and will let you type over the existing screen lines. +This avoids the lengthy delay which would occur if the editor attempted +to keep the tail of the screen always up to date. The tail of the screen will +be fixed up, and the missing lines will reappear, when you hit \s-2ESC\s0. +.PP +While you are inserting new text, you can use the characters you normally use +at the system command level (usually \fB^H\fR or \fB#\fR) to backspace +over the last +character which you typed, and the character which you use to kill input lines +(usually \fB@\fR, \fB^X\fR, or \fB^U\fR) +to erase the input you have typed on the current line.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg In fact, the character \fB^H\fR (backspace) always works to erase the +last input character here, regardless of what your erase character is. +.FE +The character \fB^W\fR +will erase a whole word and leave you after the space after the previous +word; it is useful for quickly backing up in an insert. +.PP +Notice that when you backspace during an insertion the characters you +backspace over are not erased; the cursor moves backwards, and the characters +remain on the display. This is often useful if you are planning to type +in something similar. In any case the characters disappear when when +you hit \s-2ESC\s0; if you want to get rid of them immediately, hit an +\s-2ESC\s0 and then \fBa\fR again. +.PP +Notice also that you can't erase characters which you didn't insert, and that +you can't backspace around the end of a line. If you need to back up +to the previous line to make a correction, just hit \s-2ESC\s0 and move +the cursor back to the previous line. After making the correction you +can return to where you were and use the insert or append command again. +.sp .5 +.NH 2 +Making small corrections +.PP +You can make small corrections in existing text quite easily. +Find a single character which is wrong or just pick any character. +Use the arrow keys to find the character, or +get near the character with the word motion keys and then either +backspace (hit the \s-2BS\s0 key or \fB^H\fR or even just \fBh\fR) or +\s-2SPACE\s0 (using the space bar) +until the cursor is on the character which is wrong. +If the character is not needed then hit the \fBx\fP key; this deletes +the character from the file. It is analogous to the way you \fBx\fP +out characters when you make mistakes on a typewriter (except it's not +as messy). +.PP +If the character +is incorrect, you can replace it with the correct character by giving +the command \fBr\fR\fIc\fR, +where \fIc\fR is replaced by the correct character. +Finally if the character which is incorrect should be replaced +by more than one character, give the command \fBs\fR which substitutes +a string of characters, ending with \s-2ESC\s0, for it. +If there are a small number of characters +which are wrong you can precede \fBs\fR with a count of the number of +characters to be replaced. Counts are also useful with \fBx\fR to specify +the number of characters to be deleted. +.NH 2 +More corrections: operators +.PP +You already know almost enough to make changes at a higher level. +All you need to know now is that the +.B d +key acts as a delete operator. Try the command +.B dw +to delete a word. +Try hitting \fB.\fR a few times. Notice that this repeats the effect +of the \fBdw\fR. The command \fB.\fR repeats the last command which +made a change. You can remember it by analogy with an ellipsis `\fB...\fR'. +.PP +Now try +\fBdb\fR. +This deletes a word backwards, namely the preceding word. +Try +\fBd\fR\s-2SPACE\s0. This deletes a single character, and is equivalent +to the \fBx\fR command. +.PP +Another very useful operator is +.B c +or change. The command +.B cw +thus changes the text of a single word. +You follow it by the replacement text ending with an \s-2ESC\s0. +Find a word which you can change to another, and try this +now. +Notice that the end of the text to be changed was marked with the character +`$' so that you can see this as you are typing in the new material. +.sp .5 +.NH 2 +Operating on lines +.PP +It is often the case that you want to operate on lines. +Find a line which you want to delete, and type +\fBdd\fR, +the +.B d +operator twice. This will delete the line. +If you are on a dumb terminal, the editor may just erase the line on +the screen, replacing it with a line with only an @ on it. This line +does not correspond to any line in your file, but only acts as a place +holder. It helps to avoid a lengthy redraw of the rest of the screen +which would be necessary to close up the hole created by the deletion +on a terminal without a delete line capability. +.PP +Try repeating the +.B c +operator twice; this will change a whole line, erasing its previous contents and +replacing them with text you type up to an \s-2ESC\s0.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg The command \fBS\fR is a convenient synonym for for \fBcc\fR, by +analogy with \fBs\fR. Think of \fBS\fR as a substitute on lines, while +\fBs\fR is a substitute on characters. +.FE +.PP +You can delete or change more than one line by preceding the +.B dd +or +.B cc +with a count, i.e. \fB5dd\fR deletes 5 lines. +You can also give a command like \fBdL\fR to delete all the lines up to +and including +the last line on the screen, or \fBd3L\fR to delete through the third from +the bottom line. Try some commands like this now.* +.FS +* One subtle point here involves using the \fB/\fR search after a \fBd\fR. +This will normally delete characters from the current position to the +point of the match. If what is desired is to delete whole lines +including the two points, give the pattern as \fB/pat/+0\fR, a line address. +.FE +Notice that the editor lets you know when you change a large number of +lines so that you can see the extent of the change. +The editor will also always tell you when a change you make affects text which +you cannot see. +.NH 2 +Undoing +.PP +Now suppose that the last change which you made was incorrect; +you could use the insert, delete and append commands to put the correct +material back. However, since it is often the case that we regret a +change or make a change incorrectly, the editor provides a +.B u +(undo) command to reverse the last change which you made. +Try this a few times, and give it twice in a row to notice that an +.B u +also undoes a +.B u. +.PP +The undo command lets you reverse only a single change. After you make +a number of changes to a line, you may decide that you would rather have +the original state of the line back. The +.B U +command restores the current line to the state before you started changing +it. +.PP +You can recover text which you delete, even if +undo will not bring it back; see the section on recovering lost text +below. +.NH 2 +Summary +.IP +.TS +lw(.50i)b a. +\fR\s-2SPACE\s0\fP advance the cursor one position +^H backspace the cursor +^W erase a word during an insert +\fRerase\fP your erase (usually ^H or #), erases a character during an insert +\fRkill\fP your kill (usually @, ^X, or ^U), kills the insert on this line +\&\fB.\fP repeats the changing command +O opens and inputs new lines, above the current +U undoes the changes you made to the current line +a appends text after the cursor +c changes the object you specify to the following text +d deletes the object you specify +i inserts text before the cursor +o opens and inputs new lines, below the current +u undoes the last change +.TE +.NH 1 +Moving about; rearranging and duplicating text +.NH 2 +Low level character motions +.PP +Now move the cursor to a line where there is a punctuation or a bracketing +character such as a parenthesis or a comma or period. Try the command +\fBf\fR\fIx\fR where \fIx\fR is this character. This command finds +the next \fIx\fR character to the right of the cursor in the current +line. Try then hitting a \fB;\fR, which finds the next instance of the +same character. By using the \fBf\fR command and then a sequence of +\fB;\fR's you can often +get to a particular place in a line much faster than with a sequence +of word motions or \s-2SPACE\s0s. +There is also a \fBF\fR command, which is like \fBf\fR, but searches +backward. The \fB;\fR command repeats \fBF\fR also. +.PP +When you are operating on the text in a line it is often desirable to +deal with the characters up to, but not including, the first instance of +a character. Try \fBdf\fR\fIx\fR for some \fIx\fR now and +notice that the \fIx\fR character is deleted. Undo this with \fBu\fR +and then try \fBdt\fR\fIx\fR; the \fBt\fR here stands for to, i.e. +delete up to the next \fIx\fR, but not the \fIx\fR. The command \fBT\fR +is the reverse of \fBt\fR. +.PP +When working with the text of a single line, an \fB\(ua\fR moves the +cursor to the first non-white position on the line, and a +\fB$\fR moves it to the end of the line. Thus \fB$a\fR will append new +text at the end of the current line. +.PP +Your file may have tab (\fB^I\fR) characters in it. These +characters are represented as a number of spaces expanding to a tab stop, +where tab stops are every 8 positions.* +.FS +* This is settable by a command of the form \fB:se ts=\fR\fIx\fR\s-2CR\s0, +where \fIx\fR is 4 to set tabstops every four columns. This has +effect on the screen representation within the editor. +.FE +When the cursor is at a tab, it sits on the last of the several spaces +which represent that tab. Try moving the cursor back and forth over +tabs so you understand how this works. +.PP +On rare occasions, your file may have nonprinting characters in it. +These characters are displayed in the same way they are represented in +this document, that is with a two character code, the first character +of which is `^'. On the screen non-printing characters resemble a `^' +character adjacent to another, but spacing or backspacing over the character +will reveal that the two characters are, like the spaces representing +a tab character, a single character. +.PP +The editor sometimes discards control characters, +depending on the character and the setting of the +.I beautify +option, +if you attempt to insert them in your file. +You can get a control character in the file by beginning +an insert and then typing a \fB^V\fR before the control +character. The +\fB^V\fR quotes the following character, causing it to be +inserted directly into the file. +.PP +.NH 2 +Higher level text objects +.PP +In working with a document it is often advantageous to work in terms +of sentences, paragraphs, and sections. The operations \fB(\fR and \fB)\fR +move to the beginning of the previous and next sentences respectively. +Thus the command \fBd)\fR will delete the rest of the current sentence; +likewise \fBd(\fR will delete the previous sentence if you are at the +beginning of the current sentence, or the current sentence up to where +you are if you are not at the beginning of the current sentence. +.PP +A sentence is defined to end at a `.', `!' or `?' which is followed by +either the end of a line, or by two spaces. Any number of closing `)', +`]', `"' and `\(aa' characters may appear after the `.', `!' or `?' before +the spaces or end of line. +.PP +The operations \fB{\fR and \fB}\fR move over paragraphs and the operations +\fB[[\fR and \fB]]\fR move over sections.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg The \fB[[\fR and \fB]]\fR operations +require the operation character to be doubled because they can move the +cursor far from where it currently is. While it is easy to get back +with the command \fB\(ga\(ga\fP, +these commands would still be frustrating +if they were easy to hit accidentally. +.FE +.PP +A paragraph begins after each empty line, and also +at each of a set of paragraph macros, specified by the pairs of characters +in the definition of the string valued option \fIparagraphs\fR. +The default setting for this option defines the paragraph macros of the +\fI\-ms\fR and \fI\-mm\fR macro packages, i.e. the `.IP', `.LP', `.PP' +and `.QP', `.P' and `.LI' macros.\*(dd +.FS +\*(dd You can easily change or extend this set of macros by assigning a +different string to the \fIparagraphs\fR option in your EXINIT. +See section 6.2 for details. +The `.bp' directive is also considered to start a paragraph. +.FE +Each paragraph boundary is also a sentence boundary. The sentence +and paragraph commands can +be given counts to operate over groups of sentences and paragraphs. +.PP +Sections in the editor begin after each macro in the \fIsections\fR option, +normally `.NH', `.SH', `.H' and `.HU', and each line with a formfeed \fB^L\fR +in the first column. +Section boundaries are always line and paragraph boundaries also. +.PP +Try experimenting with the sentence and paragraph commands until you are +sure how they work. If you have a large document, try looking through +it using the section commands. +The section commands interpret a preceding count as a different window size in +which to redraw the screen at the new location, and this window size +is the base size for newly drawn windows until another size is specified. +This is very useful +if you are on a slow terminal and are looking for a particular section. +You can give the first section command a small count to then see each successive +section heading in a small window. +.NH 2 +Rearranging and duplicating text +.PP +The editor has a single unnamed buffer where the last deleted or +changed away text is saved, and a set of named buffers \fBa\fR\-\fBz\fR +which you can use to save copies of text and to move text around in +your file and between files. +.PP +The operator +.B y +yanks a copy of the object which follows into the unnamed buffer. +If preceded by a buffer name, \fB"\fR\fIx\fR\|\fBy\fR, where +\fIx\fR here is replaced by a letter \fBa\-z\fR, it places the text in the named +buffer. The text can then be put back in the file with the commands +.B p +and +.B P; +\fBp\fR puts the text after or below the cursor, while \fBP\fR puts the text +before or above the cursor. +.PP +If the text which you +yank forms a part of a line, or is an object such as a sentence which +partially spans more than one line, then when you put the text back, +it will be placed after the cursor (or before if you +use \fBP\fR). If the yanked text forms whole lines, they will be put +back as whole lines, without changing the current line. In this case, +the put acts much like a \fBo\fR or \fBO\fR command. +.PP +Try the command \fBYP\fR. This makes a copy of the current line and +leaves you on this copy, which is placed before the current line. +The command \fBY\fR is a convenient abbreviation for \fByy\fR. +The command \fBYp\fR will also make a copy of the current line, and place +it after the current line. You can give \fBY\fR a count of lines to +yank, and thus duplicate several lines; try \fB3YP\fR. +.PP +To move text within the buffer, you need to delete it in one place, and +put it back in another. You can precede a delete operation by the +name of a buffer in which the text is to be stored as in \fB"a5dd\fR +deleting 5 lines into the named buffer \fIa\fR. You can then move the +cursor to the eventual resting place of the these lines and do a \fB"ap\fR +or \fB"aP\fR to put them back. +In fact, you can switch and edit another file before you put the lines +back, by giving a command of the form \fB:e \fR\fIname\fR\s-2CR\s0 where +\fIname\fR is the name of the other file you want to edit. You will +have to write back the contents of the current editor buffer (or discard +them) if you have made changes before the editor will let you switch +to the other file. +An ordinary delete command saves the text in the unnamed buffer, +so that an ordinary put can move it elsewhere. +However, the unnamed buffer is lost when you change files, +so to move text from one file to another you should use an unnamed buffer. +.NH 2 +Summary. +.IP +.TS +lw(.50i)b a. +\(ua first non-white on line +$ end of line +) forward sentence +} forward paragraph +]] forward section +( backward sentence +{ backward paragraph +[[ backward section +f\fIx\fR find \fIx\fR forward in line +p put text back, after cursor or below current line +y yank operator, for copies and moves +t\fIx\fR up to \fIx\fR forward, for operators +F\fIx\fR f backward in line +P put text back, before cursor or above current line +T\fIx\fR t backward in line +.TE +.ne 1i +.NH 1 +High level commands +.NH 2 +Writing, quitting, editing new files +.PP +So far we have seen how to enter +.I vi +and to write out our file using either +\fBZZ\fR or \fB:w\fR\s-2CR\s0. The first exits from +the editor, +(writing if changes were made), +the second writes and stays in the editor. +.PP +If you have changed the editor's copy of the file but do not wish to +save your changes, either because you messed up the file or decided that the +changes are not an improvement to the file, then you can give the command +\fB:q!\fR\s-2CR\s0 to quit from the editor without writing the changes. +You can also reedit the same file (starting over) by giving the command +\fB:e!\fR\s-2CR\s0. These commands should be used only rarely, and with +caution, as it is not possible to recover the changes you have made after +you discard them in this manner. +.PP +You can edit a different file without leaving the editor by giving the +command \fB:e\fR\ \fIname\fR\s-2CR\s0. If you have not written out +your file before you try to do this, then the editor will tell you this, +and delay editing the other file. You can then give the command +\fB:w\fR\s-2CR\s0 to save your work and then the \fB:e\fR\ \fIname\fR\s-2CR\s0 +command again, or carefully give the command \fB:e!\fR\ \fIname\fR\s-2CR\s0, +which edits the other file discarding the changes you have made to the +current file. +To have the editor automatically save changes, +include +.I "set autowrite" +in your EXINIT, +and use \fB:n\fP instead of \fB:e\fP. +.NH 2 +Escaping to a shell +.PP +You can get to a shell to execute a single command by giving a +.I vi +command of the form \fB:!\fIcmd\fR\s-2CR\s0. +The system will run the single command +.I cmd +and when the command finishes, the editor will ask you to hit a \s-2RETURN\s0 +to continue. When you have finished looking at the output on the screen, +you should hit \s-2RETURN\s0 and the editor will clear the screen and +redraw it. You can then continue editing. +You can also give another \fB:\fR command when it asks you for a \s-2RETURN\s0; +in this case the screen will not be redrawn. +.PP +If you wish to execute more than one command in the shell, then you can +give the command \fB:sh\fR\s-2CR\s0. +This will give you a new shell, and when you finish with the shell, ending +it by typing a \fB^D\fR, the editor will clear the screen and continue. +.PP +On systems which support it, \fB^Z\fP will suspend the editor +and return to the (top level) shell. +When the editor is resumed, the screen will be redrawn. +.NH 2 +Marking and returning +.PP +The command \fB\(ga\(ga\fR returned to the previous place +after a motion of the cursor by a command such as \fB/\fR, \fB?\fR or +\fBG\fR. You can also mark lines in the file with single letter tags +and return to these marks later by naming the tags. Try marking the +current line with the command \fBm\fR\fIx\fR, where you should pick some +letter for \fIx\fR, say `a'. Then move the cursor to a different line +(any way you like) and hit \fB\(gaa\fR. The cursor will return to the +place which you marked. +Marks last only until you edit another file. +.PP +When using operators such as +.B d +and referring to marked lines, it is often desirable to delete whole lines +rather than deleting to the exact position in the line marked by \fBm\fR. +In this case you can use the form \fB\(aa\fR\fIx\fR rather than +\fB\(ga\fR\fIx\fR. Used without an operator, \fB\(aa\fR\fIx\fR will move to +the first non-white character of the marked line; similarly \fB\(aa\(aa\fR +moves to the first non-white character of the line containing the previous +context mark \fB\(ga\(ga\fR. +.NH 2 +Adjusting the screen +.PP +If the screen image is messed up because of a transmission error to your +terminal, or because some program other than the editor wrote output +to your terminal, you can hit a \fB^L\fR, the \s-2ASCII\s0 form-feed +character, to cause the screen to be refreshed. +.PP +On a dumb terminal, if there are @ lines in the middle of the screen +as a result of line deletion, you may get rid of these lines by typing +\fB^R\fR to cause the editor to retype the screen, closing up these holes. +.PP +Finally, if you wish to place a certain line on the screen at the top +middle or bottom of the screen, you can position the cursor to that line, +and then give a \fBz\fR command. +You should follow the \fBz\fR command with a \s-2RETURN\s0 if you want +the line to appear at the top of the window, a \fB.\fR if you want it +at the center, or a \fB\-\fR if you want it at the bottom. +.NH 1 +Special topics +.NH 2 +Editing on slow terminals +.PP +When you are on a slow terminal, it is important to limit the amount +of output which is generated to your screen so that you will not suffer +long delays, waiting for the screen to be refreshed. We have already +pointed out how the editor optimizes the updating of the screen during +insertions on dumb terminals to limit the delays, and how the editor erases +lines to @ when they are deleted on dumb terminals. +.PP +The use of the slow terminal insertion mode is controlled by the +.I slowopen +option. You can force the editor to use this mode even on faster terminals +by giving the command \fB:se slow\fR\s-2CR\s0. If your system is sluggish +this helps lessen the amount of output coming to your terminal. +You can disable this option by \fB:se noslow\fR\s-2CR\s0. +.PP +The editor can simulate an intelligent terminal on a dumb one. Try +giving the command \fB:se redraw\fR\s-2CR\s0. This simulation generates +a great deal of output and is generally tolerable only on lightly loaded +systems and fast terminals. You can disable this by giving the command + \fB:se noredraw\fR\s-2CR\s0. +.PP +The editor also makes editing more pleasant at low speed by starting +editing in a small window, and letting the window expand as you edit. +This works particularly well on intelligent terminals. The editor can +expand the window easily when you insert in the middle of the screen +on these terminals. If possible, try the editor on an intelligent terminal +to see how this works. +.PP +You can control the size of the window which is redrawn each time the +screen is cleared by giving window sizes as argument to the commands +which cause large screen motions: +.DS +.B ": / ? [[ ]] \(ga \(aa" +.DE +Thus if you are searching for a particular instance of a common string +in a file you can precede the first search command by a small number, +say 3, and the editor will draw three line windows around each instance +of the string which it locates. +.PP +You can easily expand or contract the window, placing the current line +as you choose, by giving a number on a \fBz\fR command, after the \fBz\fR +and before the following \s-2RETURN\s0, \fB.\fR or \fB\-\fR. Thus the +command \fBz5.\fR redraws the screen with the current line in the center +of a five line window.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg Note that the command \fB5z.\fR has an entirely different effect, +placing line 5 in the center of a new window. +.FE +.PP +If the editor is redrawing or otherwise updating large portions of the +display, you can interrupt this updating by hitting a \s-2DEL\s0 or \s-2RUB\s0 +as usual. If you do this you may partially confuse the editor about +what is displayed on the screen. You can still edit the text on +the screen if you wish; clear up the confusion +by hitting a \fB^L\fR; or move or search again, ignoring the +current state of the display. +.PP +See section 7.8 on \fIopen\fR mode for another way to use the +.I vi +command set on slow terminals. +.NH 2 +Options, set, and editor startup files +.PP +The editor has a set of options, some of which have been mentioned above. +The most useful options are given in the following table. +.PP +The options are of three kinds: numeric options, string options, and +toggle options. You can set numeric and string options by a statement +of the form +.DS +\fBset\fR \fIopt\fR\fB=\fR\fIval\fR +.DE +and toggle options can be set or unset by statements of one of the forms +.DS +\fBset\fR \fIopt\fR +\fBset\fR \fBno\fR\fIopt\fR +.DE +.KF +.TS +lb lb lb lb +l l l a. +Name Default Description +_ +autoindent noai Supply indentation automatically +autowrite noaw Automatic write before \fB:n\fR, \fB:ta\fR, \fB^\(ua\fR, \fB!\fR +ignorecase noic Ignore case in searching +lisp nolisp \fB( { ) }\fR commands deal with S-expressions +list nolist Tabs print as ^I; end of lines marked with $ +magic nomagic The characters . [ and * are special in scans +number nonu Lines are displayed prefixed with line numbers +paragraphs para=IPLPPPQPbpP LI Macro names which start paragraphs +redraw nore Simulate a smart terminal on a dumb one +sections sect=NHSHH HU Macro names which start new sections +shiftwidth sw=8 Shift distance for <, > and input \fB^D\fP and \fB^T\fR +showmatch nosm Show matching \fB(\fP or \fB{\fP as \fB)\fP or \fB}\fR is typed +slowopen slow Postpone display updates during inserts +term dumb The kind of terminal you are using. +.TE +.KE +These statements can be placed in your EXINIT in your environment, +or given while you are running +.I vi +by preceding them with a \fB:\fR and following them with a \s-2CR\s0. +.PP +You can get a list of all options which you have changed by the +command \fB:set\fR\s-2CR\s0, or the value of a single option by the +command \fB:set\fR \fIopt\fR\fB?\fR\s-2CR\s0. +A list of all possible options and their values is generated by +\fB:set all\fP\s-2CR\s0. +Set can be abbreviated \fBse\fP. +Multiple options can be placed on one line, e.g. +\fB:se ai aw nu\fP\s-2CR\s0. +.PP +Options set by the \fBset\fP command only last +while you stay in the editor. +It is common to want to have certain options set whenever you +use the editor. +This can be accomplished by creating a list of \fIex\fP commands\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg +All commands which start with +.B : +are \fIex\fP commands. +.FE +which are to be run every time you start up \fIex\fP, \fIedit\fP, +or \fIvi\fP. +A typical list includes a \fBset\fP command, and possibly a few +\fBmap\fP commands. +Since it is advisable to get these commands on one line, they can +be separated with the | character, for example: +.DS +\fBset\fP ai aw terse|\fBmap\fP @ dd|\fBmap\fP # x +.DE +which sets the options \fIautoindent\fP, \fIautowrite\fP, \fIterse\fP, +(the +.B set +command), +makes @ delete a line, +(the first +.B map ), +and makes # delete a character, +(the second +.B map ). +(See section 6.9 for a description of the \fBmap\fP command) +This string should be placed in the variable EXINIT in your environment. +If you use the shell \fIcsh\fP, +put this line in the file +.I .login +in your home directory: +.DS +setenv EXINIT \(aa\fBset\fP ai aw terse|\fBmap\fP @ dd|\fBmap\fP # x\(aa +.DE +If you use the standard shell \fIsh\fP, +put these lines in the file +.I .profile +in your home directory: +.DS +EXINIT=\(aa\fBset\fP ai aw terse|\fBmap\fP @ dd|\fBmap\fP # x\(aa +export EXINIT +.DE +Of course, the particulars of the line would depend on which options +you wanted to set. +.NH 2 +Recovering lost lines +.PP +You might have a serious problem if you delete a number of lines and then +regret that they were deleted. Despair not, the editor saves the last +9 deleted blocks of text in a set of numbered registers 1\-9. +You can get the \fIn\fR'th previous deleted text back in your file by +the command +"\fR\fIn\fR\|\fBp\fR. +The "\fR here says that a buffer name is to follow, +\fIn\fR is the number of the buffer you wish to try +(use the number 1 for now), +and +.B p +is the put command, which puts text in the buffer after the cursor. +If this doesn't bring back the text you wanted, hit +.B u +to undo this and then +\fB\&.\fR +(period) +to repeat the put command. +In general the +\fB\&.\fR +command will repeat the last change you made. +As a special case, when the last command refers to a numbered text buffer, +the \fB.\fR command increments the number of the buffer before repeating +the command. Thus a sequence of the form +.DS +\fB"1pu.u.u.\fR +.DE +will, if repeated long enough, show you all the deleted text which has +been saved for you. +You can omit the +.B u +commands here to gather up all this text in the buffer, or stop after any +\fB\&.\fR command to keep just the then recovered text. +The command +.B P +can also be used rather than +.B p +to put the recovered text before rather than after the cursor. +.NH 2 +Recovering lost files +.PP +If the system crashes, you can recover the work you were doing +to within a few changes. You will normally receive mail when you next +login giving you the name of the file which has been saved for you. +You should then change to the directory where you were when the system +crashed and give a command of the form: +.DS +% \fBvi \-r\fR \fIname\fR +.DE +replacing \fIname\fR with the name of the file which you were editing. +This will recover your work to a point near where you left off.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg In rare cases, some of the lines of the file may be lost. The +editor will give you the numbers of these lines and the text of the lines +will be replaced by the string `LOST'. These lines will almost always +be among the last few which you changed. You can either choose to discard +the changes which you made (if they are easy to remake) or to replace +the few lost lines by hand. +.FE +.PP +You can get a listing of the files which are saved for you by giving +the command: +.DS +% \fBvi \-r\fR +.DE +If there is more than one instance of a particular file saved, the editor +gives you the newest instance each time you recover it. You can thus +get an older saved copy back by first recovering the newer copies. +.PP +For this feature to work, +.I vi +must be correctly installed by a super user on your system, +and the +.I mail +program must exist to receive mail. +The invocation ``\fIvi -r\fP'' will not always list all saved files, +but they can be recovered even if they are not listed. +.NH 2 +Continuous text input +.PP +When you are typing in large amounts of text it is convenient to have +lines broken near the right margin automatically. You can cause this +to happen by giving the command +\fB:se wm=10\fR\s-2CR\s0. +This causes all lines to be broken at a space at least 10 columns +from the right hand edge of the screen. +.PP +If the editor breaks an input line and you wish to put it back together +you can tell it to join the lines with \fBJ\fR. You can give \fBJ\fR +a count of the number of lines to be joined as in \fB3J\fR to join 3 +lines. The editor supplies white space, if appropriate, +at the juncture of the joined +lines, and leaves the cursor at this white space. +You can kill the white space with \fBx\fR if you don't want it. +.NH 2 +Features for editing programs +.PP +The editor has a number of commands for editing programs. +The thing that most distinguishes editing of programs from editing of text +is the desirability of maintaining an indented structure to the body of +the program. The editor has a +.I autoindent +facility for helping you generate correctly indented programs. +.PP +To enable this facility you can give the command \fB:se ai\fR\s-2CR\s0. +Now try opening a new line with \fBo\fR and type some characters on the +line after a few tabs. If you now start another line, notice that the +editor supplies white space at the beginning of the line to line it up +with the previous line. You cannot backspace over this indentation, +but you can use \fB^D\fR key to backtab over the supplied indentation. +.PP +Each time you type \fB^D\fR you back up one position, normally to an +8 column boundary. This amount is settable; the editor has an option +called +.I shiftwidth +which you can set to change this value. +Try giving the command \fB:se sw=4\fR\s-2CR\s0 +and then experimenting with autoindent again. +.PP +For shifting lines in the program left and right, there are operators +.B < +and +.B >. +These shift the lines you specify right or left by one +.I shiftwidth. +Try +.B << +and +.B >> +which shift one line left or right, and +.B <L +and +.B >L +shifting the rest of the display left and right. +.PP +If you have a complicated expression and wish to see how the parentheses +match, put the cursor at a left or right parenthesis and hit \fB%\fR. +This will show you the matching parenthesis. +This works also for braces { and }, and brackets [ and ]. +.PP +If you are editing C programs, you can use the \fB[[\fR and \fB]]\fR keys +to advance or retreat to a line starting with a \fB{\fR, i.e. a function +declaration at a time. When \fB]]\fR is used with an operator it stops +after a line which starts with \fB}\fR; this is sometimes useful with +\fBy]]\fR. +.NH 2 +Filtering portions of the buffer +.PP +You can run system commands over portions of the buffer using the operator +\fB!\fR. +You can use this to sort lines in the buffer, or to reformat portions +of the buffer with a pretty-printer. +Try typing in a list of random words, one per line and ending them +with a blank line. Back up to the beginning of the list, and then give +the command \fB!}sort\fR\s-2CR\s0. This says to sort the next paragraph +of material, and the blank line ends a paragraph. +.NH 2 +Commands for editing \s-2LISP\s0 +.PP +If you are editing a \s-2LISP\s0 program you should set the option +.I lisp +by doing +\fB:se\ lisp\fR\s-2CR\s0. +This changes the \fB(\fR and \fB)\fR commands to move backward and forward +over s-expressions. +The \fB{\fR and \fB}\fR commands are like \fB(\fR and \fB)\fR but don't +stop at atoms. These can be used to skip to the next list, or through +a comment quickly. +.PP +The +.I autoindent +option works differently for \s-2LISP\s0, supplying indent to align at +the first argument to the last open list. If there is no such argument +then the indent is two spaces more than the last level. +.PP +There is another option which is useful for typing in \s-2LISP\s0, the +.I showmatch +option. +Try setting it with +\fB:se sm\fR\s-2CR\s0 +and then try typing a `(' some words and then a `)'. Notice that the +cursor shows the position of the `(' which matches the `)' briefly. +This happens only if the matching `(' is on the screen, and the cursor +stays there for at most one second. +.PP +The editor also has an operator to realign existing lines as though they +had been typed in with +.I lisp +and +.I autoindent +set. This is the \fB=\fR operator. +Try the command \fB=%\fR at the beginning of a function. This will realign +all the lines of the function declaration. +.PP +When you are editing \s-2LISP\s0,, the \fB[[\fR and \fR]]\fR advance +and retreat to lines beginning with a \fB(\fR, and are useful for dealing +with entire function definitions. +.NH 2 +Macros +.PP +.I Vi +has a parameterless macro facility, which lets you set it up so that +when you hit a single keystroke, the editor will act as though +you had hit some longer sequence of keys. You can set this up if +you find yourself typing the same sequence of commands repeatedly. +.PP +Briefly, there are two flavors of macros: +.IP a) +Ones where you put the macro body in a buffer register, say \fIx\fR. +You can then type \fB@x\fR to invoke the macro. The \fB@\fR may be followed +by another \fB@\fR to repeat the last macro. +.IP b) +You can use the +.I map +command from +.I vi +(typically in your +.I EXINIT ) +with a command of the form: +.DS +:map \fIlhs\fR \fIrhs\fR\s-2CR +.DE +mapping +.I lhs +into +.I rhs. +There are restrictions: +.I lhs +should be one keystroke (either 1 character or one function key) +since it must be entered within one second +(unless +.I notimeout +is set, in which case you can type it as slowly as you wish, +and +.I vi +will wait for you to finish it before it echoes anything). +The +.I lhs +can be no longer than 10 characters, the +.I rhs +no longer than 100. +To get a space, tab or newline into +.I lhs +or +.I rhs +you should escape them with a \fB^V\fR. +(It may be necessary to double the \fB^V\fR if the map +command is given inside +.I vi, +rather than in +.I ex.) +Spaces and tabs inside the +.I rhs +need not be escaped. +.PP +Thus to make the \fBq\fR key write and exit the editor, you can give +the command +.DS +:map q :wq\fB^V^V\fP\s-2CR CR\s0 +.DE +which means that whenever you type \fBq\fR, it will be as though you +had typed the four characters \fB:wq\fR\s-2CR\s0. +A \fB^V\fR's is needed because without it the \s-2CR\s0 would end the +\fB:\fR command, rather than becoming part of the +.I map +definition. +There are two +.B ^V 's +because from within +.I vi , +two +.B ^V 's +must be typed to get one. +The first \s-2CR\s0 is part of the +.I rhs , +the second terminates the : command. +.PP +Macros can be deleted with +.DS +unmap lhs +.DE +.PP +If the +.I lhs +of a macro is ``#0'' through ``#9'', this maps the particular function key +instead of the 2 character ``#'' sequence. So that terminals without +function keys can access such definitions, the form ``#x'' will mean function +key +.I x +on all terminals (and need not be typed within one second.) +The character ``#'' can be changed by using a macro in the usual way: +.DS +:map \fB^V^V^I\fP # +.DE +to use tab, for example. (This won't affect the +.I map +command, which still uses +.B #, +but just the invocation from visual mode. +.PP +The undo command reverses an entire macro call as a unit, +if it made any changes. +.PP +Placing a `!' after the word +.B map +causes the mapping to apply +to input mode, rather than command mode. +Thus, to arrange for \fB^T\fP to be the same as 4 spaces in input mode, +you can type: +.DS +:map \fB^T\fP \fB^V\fP\o'b/'\o'b/'\o'b/'\o'b/' +.DE +where +.B \o'b/' +is a blank. +The \fB^V\fP is necessary to prevent the blanks from being taken as +white space between the +.I lhs +and +.I rhs . +.NH +Word Abbreviations +.PP +A feature similar to macros in input mode is word abbreviation. +This allows you to type a short word and have it expanded into +a longer word or words. +The commands are +.B :abbreviate +and +.B :unabbreviate +(\fB:ab\fP +and +.B :una ) +and have the same syntax as +.B :map . +For example: +.DS +:ab eecs Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences +.DE +causes the word `eecs' to always be changed into the +phrase `Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences'. +Word abbreviation is different from macros in that +only whole words are affected. +If `eecs' were typed as part of a larger word, it would +be left alone. +Also, the partial word is echoed as it is typed. +There is no need for an abbreviation to be a single keystroke, +as it should be with a macro. +.NH 2 +Abbreviations +.PP +The editor has a number of short +commands which abbreviate longer commands which we +have introduced here. You can find these commands easily +on the quick reference card. +They often save a bit of typing and you can learn them as convenient. +.NH 1 +Nitty-gritty details +.NH 2 +Line representation in the display +.PP +The editor folds long logical lines onto many physical lines in the display. +Commands which advance lines advance logical lines and will skip +over all the segments of a line in one motion. The command \fB|\fR moves +the cursor to a specific column, and may be useful for getting near the +middle of a long line to split it in half. Try \fB80|\fR on a line which +is more than 80 columns long.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg You can make long lines very easily by using \fBJ\fR to join together +short lines. +.FE +.PP +The editor only puts full lines on the display; if there is not enough +room on the display to fit a logical line, the editor leaves the physical +line empty, placing only an @ on the line as a place holder. When you +delete lines on a dumb terminal, the editor will often just clear the +lines to @ to save time (rather than rewriting the rest of the screen.) +You can always maximize the information on the screen by giving the \fB^R\fR +command. +.PP +If you wish, you can have the editor place line numbers before each line +on the display. Give the command \fB:se nu\fR\s-2CR\s0 to enable +this, and the command \fB:se nonu\fR\s-2CR\s0 to turn it off. +You can have tabs represented as \fB^I\fR and the ends of lines indicated +with `$' by giving the command \fB:se list\fR\s-2CR\s0; +\fB:se nolist\fR\s-2CR\s0 turns this off. +.PP +Finally, lines consisting of only the character `~' are displayed when +the last line in the file is in the middle of the screen. These represent +physical lines which are past the logical end of file. +.NH 2 +Counts +.PP +Most +.I vi +commands will use a preceding count to affect their behavior in some way. +The following table gives the common ways in which the counts are used: +.DS +.TS +l lb. +new window size : / ? [[ ]] \` \' +scroll amount ^D ^U +line/column number z G | +repeat effect \fRmost of the rest\fP +.TE +.DE +.PP +The editor maintains a notion of the current default window size. +On terminals which run at speeds greater than 1200 baud +the editor uses the full terminal screen. +On terminals which are slower than 1200 baud +(most dialup lines are in this group) +the editor uses 8 lines as the default window size. +At 1200 baud the default is 16 lines. +.PP +This size is the size used when the editor clears and refills the screen +after a search or other motion moves far from the edge of the current window. +The commands which take a new window size as count all often cause the +screen to be redrawn. If you anticipate this, but do not need as large +a window as you are currently using, you may wish to change the screen +size by specifying the new size before these commands. +In any case, the number of lines used on the screen will expand if you +move off the top with a \fB\-\fR or similar command or off the bottom +with a command such as \s-2RETURN\s0 or \fB^D\fR. +The window will revert to the last specified size the next time it is +cleared and refilled.\*(dg +.FS +\*(dg But not by a \fB^L\fR which just redraws the screen as it is. +.FE +.PP +The scroll commands \fB^D\fR and \fB^U\fR likewise remember the amount +of scroll last specified, using half the basic window size initially. +The simple insert commands use a count to specify a repetition of the +inserted text. Thus \fB10a+\-\-\-\-\fR\s-2ESC\s0 will insert a grid-like +string of text. +A few commands also use a preceding count as a line or column number. +.PP +Except for a few commands which ignore any counts (such as \fB^R\fR), +the rest of the editor commands use a count to indicate a simple repetition +of their effect. Thus \fB5w\fR advances five words on the current line, +while \fB5\fR\s-2RETURN\s0 advances five lines. A very useful instance +of a count as a repetition is a count given to the \fB.\fR command, which +repeats the last changing command. If you do \fBdw\fR and then \fB3.\fR, +you will delete first one and then three words. You can then delete +two more words with \fB2.\fR. +.NH 2 +More file manipulation commands +.PP +The following table lists the file manipulation commands which you can +use when you are in +.I vi. +.KF +.DS +.TS +lb l. +:w write back changes +:wq write and quit +:x write (if necessary) and quit (same as ZZ). +:e \fIname\fP edit file \fIname\fR +:e! reedit, discarding changes +:e + \fIname\fP edit, starting at end +:e +\fIn\fP edit, starting at line \fIn\fP +:e # edit alternate file +:w \fIname\fP write file \fIname\fP +:w! \fIname\fP overwrite file \fIname\fP +:\fIx,y\fPw \fIname\fP write lines \fIx\fP through \fIy\fP to \fIname\fP +:r \fIname\fP read file \fIname\fP into buffer +:r !\fIcmd\fP read output of \fIcmd\fP into buffer +:n edit next file in argument list +:n! edit next file, discarding changes to current +:n \fIargs\fP specify new argument list +:ta \fItag\fP edit file containing tag \fItag\fP, at \fItag\fP +.TE +.DE +.KE +All of these commands are followed by a \s-2CR\s0 or \s-2ESC\s0. +The most basic commands are \fB:w\fR and \fB:e\fR. +A normal editing session on a single file will end with a \fBZZ\fR command. +If you are editing for a long period of time you can give \fB:w\fR commands +occasionally after major amounts of editing, and then finish +with a \fBZZ\fR. When you edit more than one file, you can finish +with one with a \fB:w\fR and start editing a new file by giving a \fB:e\fR +command, +or set +.I autowrite +and use \fB:n\fP <file>. +.PP +If you make changes to the editor's copy of a file, but do not wish to +write them back, then you must give an \fB!\fR after the command you +would otherwise use; this forces the editor to discard any changes +you have made. Use this carefully. +.ne 1i +.PP +The \fB:e\fR command can be given a \fB+\fR argument to start at the +end of the file, or a \fB+\fR\fIn\fR argument to start at line \fIn\fR\^. +In actuality, \fIn\fR may be any editor command not containing a space, +usefully a scan like \fB+/\fIpat\fR or \fB+?\fIpat\fR. +In forming new names to the \fBe\fR command, you can use the character +\fB%\fR which is replaced by the current file name, or the character +\fB#\fR which is replaced by the alternate file name. +The alternate file name is generally the last name you typed other than +the current file. Thus if you try to do a \fB:e\fR and get a diagnostic +that you haven't written the file, you can give a \fB:w\fR command and +then a \fB:e #\fR command to redo the previous \fB:e\fR. +.PP +You can write part of the buffer to a file by finding out the lines +that bound the range to be written using \fB^G\fR, and giving these +numbers after the \fB:\fR +and before the \fBw\fP, separated by \fB,\fR's. +You can also mark these lines with \fBm\fR and +then use an address of the form \fB\(aa\fR\fIx\fR\fB,\fB\(aa\fR\fIy\fR +on the \fBw\fR command here. +.PP +You can read another file into the buffer after the current line by using +the \fB:r\fR command. +You can similarly read in the output from a command, just use \fB!\fR\fIcmd\fR +instead of a file name. +.PP +If you wish to edit a set of files in succession, you can give all the +names on the command line, and then edit each one in turn using the command +\fB:n\fR. It is also possible to respecify the list of files to be edited +by giving the \fB:n\fR command a list of file names, or a pattern to +be expanded as you would have given it on the initial +.I vi +command. +.PP +If you are editing large programs, you will find the \fB:ta\fR command +very useful. It utilizes a data base of function names and their locations, +which can be created by programs such as +.I ctags, +to quickly find a function whose name you give. +If the \fB:ta\fR command will require the editor to switch files, then +you must \fB:w\fR or abandon any changes before switching. You can repeat +the \fB:ta\fR command without any arguments to look for the same tag +again. +.NH 2 +More about searching for strings +.PP +When you are searching for strings in the file with \fB/\fR and \fB?\fR, +the editor normally places you at the next or previous occurrence +of the string. If you are using an operator such as \fBd\fR, +\fBc\fR or \fBy\fR, then you may well wish to affect lines up to the +line before the line containing the pattern. You can give a search of +the form \fB/\fR\fIpat\fR\fB/\-\fR\fIn\fR to refer to the \fIn\fR'th line +before the next line containing \fIpat\fR, or you can use \fB+\fR instead +of \fB\-\fR to refer to the lines after the one containing \fIpat\fR. +If you don't give a line offset, then the editor will affect characters +up to the match place, rather than whole lines; thus use ``+0'' to affect +to the line which matches. +.PP +You can have the editor ignore the case of words in the searches it does +by giving the command \fB:se ic\fR\s-2CR\s0. +The command \fB:se noic\fR\s-2CR\s0 turns this off. +.ne 1i +.PP +Strings given to searches may actually be regular expressions. +If you do not want or need this facility, you should +.DS +set nomagic +.DE +in your EXINIT. +In this case, +only the characters \fB\(ua\fR and \fB$\fR are special in patterns. +The character \fB\e\fR is also then special (as it is most everywhere in +the system), and may be used to get at the +an extended pattern matching facility. +It is also necessary to use a \e before a +\fB/\fR in a forward scan or a \fB?\fR in a backward scan, in any case. +The following table gives the extended forms when \fBmagic\fR is set. +.DS +.TS +lb l. +\(ua at beginning of pattern, matches beginning of line +$ at end of pattern, matches end of line +\fB\&.\fR matches any character +\e< matches the beginning of a word +\e> matches the end of a word +[\fIstr\fP] matches any single character in \fIstr\fP +[\(ua\fIstr\fP] matches any single character not in \fIstr\fP +[\fIx\fP\-\fIy\fP] matches any character between \fIx\fP and \fIy\fP +* matches any number of the preceding pattern +.TE +.DE +If you use \fBnomagic\fR mode, then +the \fB. [\fR and \fB*\fR primitives are given with a preceding +\e. +.NH 2 +More about input mode +.PP +There are a number of characters which you can use to make corrections +during input mode. These are summarized in the following table. +.sp .5 +.DS +.TS +lb l. +^H deletes the last input character +^W deletes the last input word, defined as by \fBb\fR +erase your erase character, same as \fB^H\fP +kill your kill character, deletes the input on this line +\e escapes a following \fB^H\fP and your erase and kill +\s-2ESC\s0 ends an insertion +\s-2DEL\s0 interrupts an insertion, terminating it abnormally +\s-2CR\s0 starts a new line +^D backtabs over \fIautoindent\fP +0^D kills all the \fIautoindent\fP +\(ua^D same as \fB0^D\fP, but restores indent next line +^V quotes the next non-printing character into the file +.TE +.DE +.sp .5 +.PP +The most usual way of making corrections to input is by typing \fB^H\fR +to correct a single character, or by typing one or more \fB^W\fR's to +back over incorrect words. If you use \fB#\fR as your erase character +in the normal system, it will work like \fB^H\fR. +.PP +Your system kill character, normally \fB@\fR, \fB^X\fP or \fB^U\fR, +will erase all +the input you have given on the current line. +In general, you can neither +erase input back around a line boundary nor can you erase characters +which you did not insert with this insertion command. To make corrections +on the previous line after a new line has been started you can hit \s-2ESC\s0 +to end the insertion, move over and make the correction, and then return +to where you were to continue. The command \fBA\fR which appends at the +end of the current line is often useful for continuing. +.PP +If you wish to type in your erase or kill character (say # or @) then +you must precede it with a \fB\e\fR, just as you would do at the normal +system command level. A more general way of typing non-printing characters +into the file is to precede them with a \fB^V\fR. The \fB^V\fR echoes +as a \fB\(ua\fR character on which the cursor rests. This indicates that +the editor expects you to type a control character. In fact you may +type any character and it will be inserted into the file at that point.* +.FS +* This is not quite true. The implementation of the editor does +not allow the \s-2NULL\s0 (\fB^@\fR) character to appear in files. Also +the \s-2LF\s0 (linefeed or \fB^J\fR) character is used by the editor +to separate lines in the file, so it cannot appear in the middle of a +line. You can insert any other character, however, if you wait for the +editor to echo the \fB\(ua\fR before you type the character. In fact, +the editor will treat a following letter as a request for the corresponding +control character. This is the only way to type \fB^S\fR or \fB^Q\fP, +since the system normally uses them to suspend and resume output +and never gives them to the editor to process. +.FE +.PP +If you are using \fIautoindent\fR you can backtab over the indent which +it supplies by typing a \fB^D\fR. This backs up to a \fIshiftwidth\fR +boundary. +This only works immediately after the supplied \fIautoindent\fR. +.PP +When you are using \fIautoindent\fR you may wish to place a label at +the left margin of a line. The way to do this easily is to type \fB\(ua\fR +and then \fB^D\fR. The editor will move the cursor to the left margin +for one line, and restore the previous indent on the next. You can also +type a \fB0\fR followed immediately by a \fB^D\fR if you wish to kill +all the indent and not have it come back on the next line. +.NH 2 +Upper case only terminals +.PP +If your terminal has only upper case, you can still use +.I vi +by using the normal +system convention for typing on such a terminal. +Characters which you normally type are converted to lower case, and you +can type upper case letters by preceding them with a \e. +The characters { ~ } | \(ga are not available on such terminals, but you +can escape them as \e( \e\(ua \e) \e! \e\(aa. +These characters are represented on the display in the same way they +are typed.\*(dd +.FS +\*(dd The \e character you give will not echo until you type another +key. +.FE +.NH 2 +Vi and ex +.PP +.I Vi +is actually one mode of editing within the editor +.I ex. +When you are running +.I vi +you can escape to the line oriented editor of +.I ex +by giving the command +\fBQ\fR. +All of the +.B : +commands which were introduced above are available in +.I ex. +Likewise, most +.I ex +commands can be invoked from +.I vi +using :. +Just give them without the \fB:\fR and follow them with a \s-2CR\s0. +.PP +In rare instances, an internal error may occur in +.I vi. +In this case you will get a diagnostic and be left in the command mode of +.I ex. +You can then save your work and quit if you wish by giving a command +\fBx\fR after the \fB:\fR which \fIex\fR prompts you with, or you can +reenter \fIvi\fR by giving +.I ex +a +.I vi +command. +.PP +There are a number of things which you can do more easily in +.I ex +than in +.I vi. +Systematic changes in line oriented material are particularly easy. +You can read the advanced editing documents for the editor +.I ed +to find out a lot more about this style of editing. +Experienced +users often mix their use of +.I ex +command mode and +.I vi +command mode to speed the work they are doing. +.NH 2 +Open mode: vi on hardcopy terminals and ``glass tty's'' +\(dd +.PP +If you are on a hardcopy terminal or a terminal which does not have a cursor +which can move off the bottom line, you can still use the command set of +.I vi, +but in a different mode. +When you give a +.I vi +command, the editor will tell you that it is using +.I open +mode. +This name comes from the +.I open +command in +.I ex, +which is used to get into the same mode. +.PP +The only difference between +.I visual +mode +and +.I open +mode is the way in which the text is displayed. +.PP +In +.I open +mode the editor uses a single line window into the file, and moving backward +and forward in the file causes new lines to be displayed, always below the +current line. +Two commands of +.I vi +work differently in +.I open: +.B z +and +\fB^R\fR. +The +.B z +command does not take parameters, but rather draws a window of context around +the current line and then returns you to the current line. +.PP +If you are on a hardcopy terminal, +the +.B ^R +command will retype the current line. +On such terminals, the editor normally uses two lines to represent the +current line. +The first line is a copy of the line as you started to edit it, and you work +on the line below this line. +When you delete characters, the editor types a number of \e's to show +you the characters which are deleted. The editor also reprints the current +line soon after such changes so that you can see what the line looks +like again. +.PP +It is sometimes useful to use this mode on very slow terminals which +can support +.I vi +in the full screen mode. +You can do this by entering +.I ex +and using an +.I open +command. +.LP +.SH +Acknowledgements +.PP +Bruce Englar encouraged the early development of this display editor. +Peter Kessler helped bring sanity to version 2's command layout. +Bill Joy wrote versions 1 and 2.0 through 2.7, +and created the framework that users see in the present editor. +Mark Horton added macros and other features and made the +editor work on a large number of terminals and Unix systems. |