Vim documentation: options
main help file
*options.txt* For Vim version 6.1b. Last change: 2002 Mar 06
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
Options *options*
1. Setting options |set-option|
2. Automatically setting options |auto-setting|
3. Options summary |option-summary|
For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.
Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
boolean can only be on or off *boolean* *toggle*
number has a numeric value
string has a string value
==============================================================================
1. Setting options *set-option*
*:se* *:set*
:se[t] Show all options that differ from their default value.
:se[t] all Show all but terminal options.
:se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
key codes are not shown, because they are generated
internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
codes in the GUI is not useful either...
:se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
:se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
Number option: show value.
String option: show value.
:se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
:se[t] {option}! or
:se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
*:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
:se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
:se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}={value} or
:se[t] {option}:{value}
Set string or number option to {value}.
*:set-args*
For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
(hex and octal are only available for machines which
have the strtol() function).
The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
set). See |cmdline-completion|.
White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
is not allowed.
See |option-backslash| for using white space and
backslashes in {value}.
:se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
{value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
are removed. Otherwise there is no check for doubled
values. You can avoid this by removing a value first.
Example:
:set guioptions-=T guioptions+=T
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
:se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
becomes empty.
When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
one by one to avoid problems.
Also see |:set-args| above.
{not in Vi}
The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example:
:set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
and the following arguments will be ignored.
*:set-verbose*
When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
was last set. Example:
:verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
shiftwidth=4
Last set from modeline
cindent
Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim
This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":set
all" or ":set" without an argument.
When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message. There is only
one value for all local options with the same name. Thus the message applies
to the option name, not necessarily its value.
When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
{not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
*:set-termcap*
For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a termcap option. This will
override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form:
:set <t_#4>=^[Ot
This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this:
:set <M-b>=^[b
(the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
"set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
|more-prompt|.
*option-backslash*
To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
down).
A few examples:
:set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags"
:set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags\,file"
:set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags\ file"
The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
'titlestring' option to "hi|there":
:set titlestring=hi\|there
This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there":
:set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More
precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment
variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not
removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma,
etc.) is used like explained above.
There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\":
:set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
:set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
:set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
*add-option-flags* *remove-option-flags*
Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this:
:set guioptions+=a
Remove a flag from an option like this:
:set guioptions-=a
This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
doesn't appear.
*:set_env* *expand-env* *expand-environment-var*
Environment variables in most string options will be expanded. If the
environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples:
:set term=$TERM.new
:set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
Handling of local options *local-options*
Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This
allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
expects is a bit complicated...
When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window
options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the
values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where
the buffer was edited last are used.
It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do:
:e one
:set list
:e two
Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
command you have also set the global value.
:set nolist
:e one
:setlocal list
:e two
Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
global value. Note that if you do this next:
:e one
You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited
"one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
*:setl* *:setlocal*
:setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
current buffer or window. Not all options have a
local value. If the option does not have a local
value the global value is set.
With the "all" argument: display all local option's
local values.
Without argument: Display all local option's local
values which are different from the default.
When displaying a specific local option, show the
local value. For a global option the global value is
shown (but that might change in the future).
{not in Vi}
:setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value.
{not in Vi}
*:setg* *:setglobal*
:setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
option without changing the local value.
When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
With the "all" argument: display all local option's
global values.
Without argument: display all local option's global
values which are different from the default.
{not in Vi}
For buffer-local and window-local options:
Command global value local value
:set option=value set set
:setlocal option=value - set
:setglobal option=value set -
:set option - display
:setlocal option - display
:setglobal option display -
Global options with a local value *global-local*
Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers. For some
global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value. You can
set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer will then use the local
value, while other buffers continue using the global value.
For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows:
:set makeprg=gmake
then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
another 'makeprog' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
files. You use this command:
:setlocal makeprg=perlmake
You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty:
:setlocal makeprg=
This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the
"<" flag, like this:
:setlocal autoread<
Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the
local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters
when changing the global value later).
Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
Setting the filetype
:setf[iletype] {filetype} *:setf* *:setfiletype*
Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
This is short for:
:if !did_filetype()
: setlocal filetype={filetype}
:endif
This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
settings and syntax files to be loaded.
{not in Vi}
:bro[wse] se[t] *:set-browse* *:browse-set* *:opt* *:options*
:opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
Options are grouped by function.
Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
short help to open a help window with more help for
the option.
Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
"set" line to set the new value. For window and
buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
window, in which case the window below help window is
used (skipping the option-window).
{not available when compiled without the |+eval| or
|+autocmd| features}
*$HOME*
Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
option and after a space or comma.
On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
of user "user". Example:
:set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
"gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
*:fix* *:fixdel*
:fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes
CTRL-? CTRL-H
not CTRL-? CTRL-?
(CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi}
If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
your .vimrc:
:fixdel
This works no matter what the actual code for
backspace is.
If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
use this:
:if &term == "termname"
: set t_kb=^V<BS>
: fixdel
:endif
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
(don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
with your terminal name.
If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use:
:if &term == "termname"
: set t_kD=^V<Delete>
:endif
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
(don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
with your terminal name.
*Linux-backspace*
Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
putting this line in your rc.local:
echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
*NetBSD-backspace*
Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
the right code, try this:
xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file:
keysym 22 = BackSpace
You need to restart for this to take effect.
==============================================================================
2. Automatically setting options *auto-setting*
Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
to set options automatically for one or more files:
1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
|initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and
|:mksession|.
2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
many other things. See |autocommand|.
3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
modelines. This is explained here.
*modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:*
There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
[text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
[text] any text or empty
{white} at least one white space (<Space> or <Tab>)
{vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
{options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
command
Example:
vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6
The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
[text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]set {options}:[text]
[text] any text or empty
{white} at least one white space (<Space> or <Tab>)
{vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
set the string "set " (note the space)
{options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
argument for a ":set" command
: a colon
[text] any text or empty
Example:
/* vim: set ai tw=75: */
The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
"vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
short for "example:").
*modeline-local*
The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
buffer that contains the window. Although it's possible to set global options
from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and the files
in it set the same global option to a different value, the result depends on
which one was opened last.
*modeline-version*
If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
vim={vers}: version {vers}
vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
{vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
/* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */
To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
/* vim<570: set sw=4: */
There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
like:
/* vi:ts=4: */
will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
/* vi:set ts=4: */
If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
/* vi:set dir=c\:\tmp: */
This sets the 'dir' option to "c:\tmp". Only a single backslash before the
':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines).
Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
example:
au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
"VAR".
==============================================================================
3. Options summary *option-summary*
In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
'compatible' is set.
Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
program.
global one option for all buffers and windows
local to window each window has its own copy of this option
local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
'cpoptions' option. If 's' in included (which is the default) the values for
buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
buffer is created.
*E355*
A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
*'aleph'* *'al'* *aleph* *Aleph*
'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
feature}
The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
(when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
See |rileft.txt|.
*'allowrevins'* *'ari'* *'noallowrevins'* *'noari'*
'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
feature}
Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
'revins'.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'altkeymap'* *'akm'* *'noaltkeymap'* *'noakm'*
'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+farsi|
feature}
When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles
the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This
is useful to start the vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right
mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left
mode). See |farsi.txt|.
*'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
<Esc> or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. When autoindent is on,
formatting (with the "gq" command or when you reach 'textwidth' in
Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first line.
When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
a different way.
The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
{small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
<Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
*'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
using the global value:
:set autoread<
*'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
global
Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
:next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
:make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
'{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
'autowriteall' for that.
*'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":quit",
":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
been set.
*'background'* *'bg'*
'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
global
{not in Vi}
When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
This will not always be correct.
Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
what the background color looks like. For changing the background
color, see |:hi-normal|.
When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
change.
When a color scheme is loaded (the "colors_name" variable is set)
setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
be undone. First delete the "colors_name" variable when needed.
When setting 'background' to the default value with:
:set background&
Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
"light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
"dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
(because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
For the Win32 GUI, setting 'background' before starting the GUI, will
change the background and foreground colors to lightgrey on black or
black on white. On other systems setting 'background' does not
change the foreground or background colors.
Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
depending on the terminal name. Example:
:if &term == "pcterm"
: set background=dark
:endif
When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
the setting of the 'background' option.
This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
done with ":syntax on".
*'backspace'* *'bs'*
'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
a way to backspace over something:
value effect
indent allow backspacing over autoindent
eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
stop once at the start of insert.
When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
value effect
0 same as "" (Vi compatible)
1 same as "indent,eol"
2 same as "indent,eol,start"
See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
*'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
|backup-table| for more explanations.
When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
oldest version of a file.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
global
{not in Vi}
When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
done:
"yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
"no" rename the file and write a new one
"auto" one of the previous, what works best
Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
- Takes extra time to copy the file.
+ When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
- When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
not of the real file.
Renaming the file and writing a new one:
+ It's fast.
- Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
file.
- When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
and the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected,
a copy will be made.
One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
example.
When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
others.
When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
again not rename the file.
*'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
global
{not in Vi}
List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
- The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
where this is possible.
- Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
impossible!).
- A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
as the edited file.
- A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et.al.) means to
put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
- Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
name, precede it with a backslash.
- To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
- A directory name may end in an '/'.
- Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
- Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example:
:set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
- For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
of the option is removed.
See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value:
:set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
home directory for this to work properly.
The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'backupext'* *'bex'*
'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
global
{not in Vi}
String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
".bak" that you want to keep.
*'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
feature}
A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
*'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
feature}
Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
*'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
and |+sun_workshop| features}
Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
*'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
options will be changed (also when it already was on):
'textwidth' will be set to 0
'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
'modeline' will be off
'expandtab' will be off
Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
separates lines).
The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
file is read without conversion.
NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
saved option values.
When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
the 'endofline' option.
*'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
When on the bios is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
terminal over a serial port reset this option.
Also see |'conskey'|.
*'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
'bomb' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature}
When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
- this option is on
- the 'binary' option is off
- 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
endian variants.
Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
appear halfway the file.
When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
will be restored when writing the file.
*'breakat'* *'brk'*
'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
feature}
This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
break if 'linebreak' is on.
*'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default for "last")
global
{not in Vi} {only for Motif and Win32 GUI}
Which directory to use for the file browser:
last Use same directory as with last file browser.
buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
current Use the current directory.
{path} Use the specified directory
*'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
feature}
This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
displayed in a window:
<empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
is not set
unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
|:hide|
delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
|:bdelete|
This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
*'buflisted'* *'bl'* *E85*
'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
*'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
feature}
The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
<empty> normal buffer
nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
written
nowrite buffer which will not be written
quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
manually)
This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list. This value is
set by the |:cwindow| command and you are not supposed to change it.
"nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
work (":w filename" does work though).
both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
example when you quit Vim.
both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
(when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
file).
nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
command.
*'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the
|+file_in_path| feature}
This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
|:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
for has a relative path (not starting with "/", "./" or "../").
The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
|'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
in the current directory first.
If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
override it:
:let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons
(parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
*'cedit'*
'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
feature}
The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
Only non-printable keys are allowed.
The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples:
:set cedit=<C-Y>
:set cedit=<Esc>
|Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
See |cmdwin|.
*'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214*
'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature and the |+eval| feature}
{not in Vi}
An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
different encoding from what is desired.
'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
preferred, because it is much faster.
'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
non-zero for failure.
The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
used.
Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
Example:
set charconvert=CharConvert()
fun CharConvert()
system("recode "
\ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
\ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
return v:shell_error
endfun
The related Vim variables are:
v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
v:fname_in name of the input file
v:fname_out name of the output file
Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
of this.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
feature}
Enables automatic C program indenting See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
preferred indent style.
If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
external program.
See |C-indenting|.
When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
option or 'indentexpr'.
This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
feature}
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
empty.
For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
See |C-indenting|.
*'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
feature}
The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
|C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
*'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without both the
|+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
an appropriate place (inside {}).
Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
"if,If,IF".
*'clipboard'* *'cb'*
'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
for X-windows, "" otherwise)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
feature is included}
This option is a list of comma separated names.
These names are recognized:
unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
register is explicitly specified, it will always be
used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
or not. The clipboard register can always be
explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
|gui-clipboard|.
autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
windowing system's global selection or put the
selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
"autoselect" flag is used.
Also applies to the modeless selection.
autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
exclude:{pattern}
Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
connection will be made to the X server. This is
useful in this situation:
- Running Vim in a console.
- $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
display.
- The X server might be terminated while Vim in the
console is still running, killing Vim.
To never connect to the X server use:
exclude:.*
This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
Note that the window title won't be restored as a side
effect.
The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
The rest of the option value will be used for
{pattern}, this must be the last entry.
*'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
global
{not in Vi}
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
|hit-enter| prompts.
*'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
feature}
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
*'columns'* *'co'*
'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
global
{not in Vi}
Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
initialization and does not have to be set by hand.
When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
option may cause the window size to be changed.
When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up.
*'comments'* *'com'*
'comments' 'com' string (default
"s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+comments|
feature}
A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
|format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
insert a space.
*'commentstring'* *'cms'*
'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
|fold-marker|.
*'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a .vimrc file is found)
global
{not in Vi}
This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
make Vim behave in a more useful way.
This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
very start.
By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
option.
When a ".vimrc" file is found while Vim is starting up, this option is
switched off, and all options that have not been modified will be set
to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means that when a ".vimrc"
file exists, Vim will use the Vim defaults, otherwise it will use the
Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't happen for the system-wide vimrc
file). Also see |compatible-default|.
You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
"-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
editing.
See also 'cpoptions'.
option + set value effect
'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
'backspace' "" normal backspace
'backup' off no backup file
'cindent' off no C code indentation
'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
'digraph' off no digraphs
'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
"dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
'history' + 0 no commandline history
'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
'incsearch' off no incremental searching
'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
characters and '_'
'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
'modeline' + off no modelines
'more' + off no pauses in listings
'revins' off no reverse insert
'ruler' off no ruler
'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
'showmode' + off current mode not shown
'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
'smartindent' off no smart indentation
'smarttab' off no smart tab size
'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
*'complete'* *'cpt'*
'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
. scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
w scan buffers from other windows
b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
patterns are valid too. For example:
:set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
are valid too.
i scan current and included files
d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
] tag completion
t same as "]"
Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
(gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
whole-line completion.
The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1. the current buffer
2. buffers in other windows
3. other loaded buffers
4. unloaded buffers
5. tags
6. included files
As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
based expansion (eg dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions)
*'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
command.
Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
*'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
three methods of console input are available:
'conskey' 'bioskey' action
on on or off direct console input
off on BIOS
off off STDIN
*'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
Vi default: all flags)
global
{not in Vi}
A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
Commas can be added for readability.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
contains behavior
a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the
current window.
A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the
current window.
b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
See also |map_bar|.
B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
results in X being mapped to:
'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
('<' excluded in both cases)
c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
cursor position. When not present searching continues
one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
"abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
"/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
backslash. See |line-continuation|.
d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
the tags file relative to the current file, but the
tags file in the current directory.
D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
|t|.
e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
<CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
<CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
"gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current
buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
yet.
g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
leave it modified.
j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
white space.
k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
being mapped to:
'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
Also see the '<' flag below.
K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
'textwidth' and Virtual replace mode (see |gR|) count
a <Tab> as two characters, instead of the normal
behavior of a <Tab>.
m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
be used for text of wrapped lines.
o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
next search.
O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
protection against a file unexpectedly created by
someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
slightly better algorithm is used.
r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
command, instead of the actually used search string.
s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
And it is the default. If not present the options are
set when the buffer is created.
S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
(except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
The options are set to the values in the current
buffer. When you change an option and go to another
buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
buffer options global to all buffers.
's' 'S' copy buffer options
no no when buffer created
yes no when buffer first entered (default)
X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
"n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
last used search pattern.
u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
character and not all blanks until the start of the
next word.
W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
y A yank command can be redone with ".".
! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
used -filter- command is used.
$ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
command that moves the cursor from the insertion
point.
% Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
Parens inside single and double quotes are also
counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
"if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
match the last one. When this flag is not included,
parens inside single and double quotes are treated
specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
there is one). This works very well for C programs.
* Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
< Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
menu commands. For example, the command
":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
'<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
'<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
Also see the 'k' flag above.
*'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
global
{not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
See |cscopepathcomp|.
*'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
global
{not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
global
{not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
|cscopetagorder|.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
*'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
*'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'debug'*
'debug' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
When set to "msg", error messages that would otherwise be omitted will
be given anyway. This is useful when debugging 'foldexpr' or
'indentexpr'.
*'define'* *'def'*
'define' 'def' string (default "^#\s*define")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
used to recognize the defined name after the match:
{match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
or backslash.
The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
useful, to include const type declarations:
^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
*'delcombine'* *'deco'*
'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature}
If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
"x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
default) the character along with its combining characters are
deleted.
This is useful for Hebrew or other languages where one may have
combining characters overtop of base characters, and want to remove
only the combining ones.
*'dictionary'* *'dict'*
'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
Where to find a list of words?
- On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
- In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
- In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
*'diff'* *'nodiff'*
'diff' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+diff|
feature}
Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
between files. See |vimdiff|.
*'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+diff|
feature}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
*'dip'* *'diffopt'*
'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+diff|
feature}
Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
synchronized with a window that has inserted
lines at the same position. Mostly useful
when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
is set.
context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
When omitted a context of six lines is used.
See |fold-diff|.
icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
of the "diff" command for what this does
exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
white space, but not leading white space.
Examples:
:set diffopt=filler,context:4
:set diffopt=
:set diffopt=filler
*'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
feature}
Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
{char2}. See |digraphs|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'directory'* *'dir'*
'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
global
List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
- The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
possible.
- Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
impossible!).
- A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
it doesn't show in a directory listing.
- A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et.al.) means to
put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
"." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
- For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators, the
swap file name will be built from the complete path to the file
with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs. This will
ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
- Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
name, precede it with a backslash.
- To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
- A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
- Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
- Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example:
:set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
- For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
of the option is removed.
Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
"/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
home directory is tried first.
The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
{Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
*'display'* *'dy'*
'display' 'dy' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
flags:
lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
instead of using ^C and ~C.
*'eadirection'* *'ead'*
'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
feature}
Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
both width and height of windows is affected
*'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
global
Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
also 'gdefault' option.
Switching this option on is discouraged!
*'encoding'* *'enc'*
'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
global
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
existing text in Vim. It may cause multi-byte text to become invalid.
It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
starts up. See |multibyte|.
The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
to '-' signs.
When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
"iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
actual characterset is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
utf-8.
When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
|viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
*'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
<EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
it if you want to.
*'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi}
When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
splitting or closing a window. When off, splitting a window will
reduce the size of the current window and leave the other windows the
same. When closing a window the extra lines are given to the window
next to it (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
*'equalprg'* *'ep'*
'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
the internal formatting functions are used ('lisp', 'cindent' or
'indentexpr').
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
global
Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
screen flash or do nothing.
*'errorfile'* *'ef'*
'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
others: "errors.err")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
feature}
Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
following argument. See |-q|.
NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'errorformat'* *'efm'*
'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
feature}
Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
(see |errorformat|).
*'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
{not in Vi}
Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
won't work by default.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'eventignore'* *'ei'*
'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
feature}
A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
When set to "all", all autocommand events are ignored, autocommands
will not be executed.
Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example:
:set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
*'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
<Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
.exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
local to buffer
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature}
{not in Vi}
Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
done when reading and writing the file.
When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
'encoding' is "utf-8" conversion is most likely done in a way
that the reverse conversion results in the same text. When
'encoding' is not "utf-8" some characters may be lost!
See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
specified that can be handled by the converter (either iconv() or
specified with 'charconvert').
When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument.
Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
"ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
option is set, because the file would be different when written.
This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
*'fe'*
NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
*'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom", "ucs-bom,utf-8,latin1"
when 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
global
{only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
feature}
{not in Vi}
This is a list of character encodings considered when editing a file.
When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first mentioned character
encoding. If an error is detected, the next one in the list is tried.
When an encoding is found that works, 'fileencoding' is set to it.
If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to an empty string, which means
the value of 'encoding' is used.
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
"utf-8" special characters may be lost!
The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
(Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
specified that can be handled by the converter (either iconv() or
specified with 'charconvert').
Old versions of GNU iconv() may cause the conversion to fail (they
request a very large buffer, more than Vim is willing to provide).
Try getting another iconv() implementation.
Unlike 'filecharcode' there is no conversion when the option is set.
*'fileformat'* *'ff'*
'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
Unix default: "unix",
Macintosh default: "mac")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
dos <CR> <NL>
unix <NL>
mac <CR>
When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
works like it was set to "unix'.
This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
option is set, because the file would be different when written.
This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
*'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
Vi others: "")
global
{not in Vi}
This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried. It is
used when starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into
an existing buffer:
- When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
always. It is not set automatically.
- When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
- When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
<EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
'fileformats' is used.
When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
file only, the option is not changed.
When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
done:
- When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
format will be used.
- When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
<CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
used.
Also see |file-formats|.
For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
otherwise 'textauto' is set.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'filetype'* *'ft'*
'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
feature}
When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
name.
Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
Example, for in an IDL file:
/* vim: set filetype=idl : */
|FileType| |filetypes|
Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
type that is actually stored with the file.
This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
*'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:YXXY,fold:-")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+windows|
and |+folding| features}
Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
It is a comma separated list of items:
item default Used for
stl:c '' '' or '^' statusline of the current window
stlnc:c '' '' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
"stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
otherwise.
Example:
:set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
be used when there is highlighting.
The highlighting used for these items:
item highlight group
stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
*'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
feature}
When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
*'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you wants folds to
automatically close when moving out of them.
*'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
value is 12.
See |folding|.
*'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
'foldenable' is off.
This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
See |folding|.
*'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
or |+eval| feature}
The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|. Also see
|eval-sandbox|.
*'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
*'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
close fewer folds.
This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
See |fold-foldlevel|.
*'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
ignores this option and closes all folds.
It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
When the value is negative, it is not used.
*'foldmarker'* *'fmr'*
'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
See |fold-marker|.
*'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
|fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
|fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
|fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
|fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
|fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
|fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
*'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
closed. Also for manually closed folds.
Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
"zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
*'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
*'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
search,tag,undo")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
list of items.
item commands
all any
block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
insert any command in Insert mode
jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
percent "%"
quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
whole closed fold.
Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
when text is inserted.
To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
*'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+folding|
feature}
An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
*'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
be inserted for readability.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'formatprg'* *'fp'*
'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
selected with the "gq" command. The program must take the input on
stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
such a program. If this option is an empty string, the internal
format function will be used |C-indenting|. Environment variables are
expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off
:s/// subst. all subst. one
:s///g subst. one subst. all
:s///gg subst. all subst. one
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
global
{not in Vi}
Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
*'grepprg'* *'gp'*
'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
Program to use for the ":grep" command. This option may contain '%'
and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
|option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
also work well with a single file:
:set grepprg=grep\ -nH
See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
apply equally to 'grepprg'.
For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
otherwise it's "grep -n".
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'guicursor'* *'gcr'*
'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
ve:ver35-Cursor,
o:hor50-Cursor,
i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
sm:block-Cursor
-blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
for MSDOS and Win32 console}
This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part
consist of a mode-list and an argument-list:
mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
if not specified)
o Operator-pending mode
i Insert mode
r Replace mode
c Command-line Normal (append) mode
ci Command-line Insert mode
cr Command-line Replace mode
sm showmatch in Insert mode
a all modes
The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
block block cursor, fills the whole character
[only one of the above three should be present]
blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
blinkon{N}
blinkoff{N}
blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
executing a command.
To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
|xterm-blink|.
{group-name}
a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
for the cursor
{group-name}/{group-name}
Two highlight group names, the first is used when
no language mappings are used, the other when they
are. |language-mapping|
Examples of parts:
n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
highlight group
i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
"iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
faster.
The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
blinking: "a:blinkon0"
Examples of cursor highlighting:
:highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
:highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only the height of the cursor can be
changed. This can be done by specifying a block cursor, or a
percentage for a vertical or horizontal cursor.
*'guifont'* *'gfn'* *E235*
'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
The first valid font is used.
When 'guifontset' is not empty, 'guifont' is not used.
Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
|option-backslash|. For example:
:set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
will make vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
*E236*
Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
width).
To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
For Win32, GTK and Photon only:
:set guifont=*
will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
If none of the fonts can be loaded, vim will keep the current setting.
If an empty font list is given, vim will try using other resource
settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
- takes these options in the font name:
hXX - height is XX (points)
wXX - width is XX (points)
b - bold
i - italic
u - underline
s - strikeout
cXX - character set XX. valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
Use a ':' to separate the options.
- A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
backslashes to escape the spaces.
- Example:
:set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
Have a look at http://nova.bsuvc.bsu.edu/prn/monofont/ for
mono-spaced fonts and comments on them.
See also |font-sizes|.
*'guifontset'* *'gfs'* *E250* *E252* *E234*
'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
with the |+xfontset| feature}
When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
|xfontset|.
Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
|:highlight| command.
The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
'guifontset' will fail.
Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
fontset names.
This example works on many X11 systems:
:set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
*'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231*
'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
used.
Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
Only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and 'guifontset' is empty
or invalid.
When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
*'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
global
{not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
screen.
*'guioptions'* *'go'*
'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
"agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of vim. It is a
sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
GUI should be used.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
Valid letters are as follows:
*guioptions_a*
'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
The same applies to the modeless selection.
'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
applies to the modeless selection.
'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless
"" - -
"a" yes yes
"A" - yes
"aA" yes yes
'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
choices.
'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
foreground. |gui-fork|
Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
happened already when the gvimrc file is read.
'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
'm' Menu bar is present.
'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the .gvimrc
file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
GTK+, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, and
Athena GUIs.
'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present.
And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
vertical layout is used anyway.
'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
before starting the GUI. Set it in your gvimrc. Adding or
removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
*'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
'guipty' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
*'helpfile'* *'hf'*
'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
(others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
global
{not in Vi}
Name of the help file. All help files should be placed together in
one directory. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For
example: "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM
is also tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash|
about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'helpheight'* *'hh'*
'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the +windows
feature}
Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
*'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
*'highlight'* *'hl'*
'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
"8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit
t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
f:Folded,F:FoldColumn")
global
{not in Vi}
This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
use for that occasion. The occasions are:
|hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
|hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
characters from 'showbreak'
|hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
things in listings
|hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
h (obsolete, ignored)
|hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
|hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
|hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
|hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
|hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
|hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
|hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
|hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
|hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
|hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
|hl-Visual| v Visual mode
|hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
|xterm-clipboard|.
|hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
|hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
|hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
|hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
The display modes are:
r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
n no highlighting
- no highlighting
: use a highlight group
The default is used for occasions that are not included.
If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
for an example.
When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
*'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the
|+extra_search| feature}
When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
are not applied.
See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
highlighting comes back.
When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
drawn may not continue in an newly drawn line.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'history'* *'hi'*
'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
global
{not in Vi}
A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
feature}
When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
feature}
When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
See |rileft.txt|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'icon'* *'noicon'*
'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+title|
feature}
When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
builtin termcap).
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
X11.
*'iconstring'*
'iconstring' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+title|
feature}
When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
(currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
Does not work for MS Windows.
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
restored if possible |X11|.
When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
'titlestring' for example settings.
{not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
*'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
global
Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
file.
Also see 'smartcase'.
Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
|/ignorecase|.
*'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with |+xim| and
YXXY+GUI_GTK|}
Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
tells Vim what the key is.
Format:
[MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
S Shift key
L Lock key
C Control key
1 Mod1 key
2 Mod2 key
3 Mod3 key
4 Mod4 key
5 Mod5 key
Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
both shift+ctrl+space.
See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
Example:
:set imactivatekey=S-space
"S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
*'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+xim|
|+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
characters with dead keys.
*'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'nodisable'* *'noimd'*
'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+xim|
|+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
the IM when it doesn't work properly.
Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX machines. This
may change in later releases.
*'iminsert'* *'imi'*
'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
Insert mode. Valid values:
0 :lmap is off and IM is off
1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
or |global-ime|.
To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
this can be used:
:inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
mode.
Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
|i_CTRL-^|.
The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
*'imsearch'* *'ims'*
'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
entering a search pattern. Valid values:
-1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
0 :lmap is off and IM is off
1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
|c_CTRL-^|.
The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
option to a valid keymap name.
The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
*'include'* *'inc'*
'include' 'inc' string (default "^#\s*include")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the
|+find_in_path| feature}
Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
"]I", "[d", etc.. The 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file
name that comes after the matched pattern. See |option-backslash|
about including spaces and backslashes.
*'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the
|+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java:
:set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
Evaluated in the |sandbox|.
Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
Also used for |<cfile>|.
*'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the
|+extra_search| feature}
While typing a search pattern, show immediately where the so far
typed pattern matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the
pattern is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will
be updated often, this is only useful on fast terminals. Note that
the match will be shown, but the cursor is not actually positioned
there. You still need to finish the search command with <CR> to move
the cursor. The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in
'highlight'. See also: 'hlsearch'.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
or |+eval| features}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
'smartindent' indenting.
When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
which the indent is to be computed.
The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
used for the indent).
Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
and |lispindent()|.
The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
Normally this option would be set to call a function:
:set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
"msg".
See |indent-expression|. Also see |eval-sandbox|.
NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
*'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
feature}
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
*'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted. If the
typed text contains a lowercase letter where the match has an upper
case letter, the completed part is made lowercase. If the typed text
has no lowercase letters and the match has a lowercase letter where
the typed text has an uppercase letter, and there is a letter before
it, the completed part is made uppercase.
*'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
These Insert mode commands will be useful:
- Use the cursor keys to move around.
- Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
*i_CTRL-L*
- Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
<Esc> to get back to Insert mode.
These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
- when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
- <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
- <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
- CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
- CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'isfname'* *'isf'*
'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
"@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
global
{not in Vi}
The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
'&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
cmd.exe.
The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
not work for digits). Example:
"_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
option or the end of a range. Example:
"^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
"@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
case letters.
"a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
expected. Example:
"48-57,,,_" Digits, command and underscore.
A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
" -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
comma, plus <Tab>.
See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
*'isident'* *'isi'*
'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
global
{not in Vi}
The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
|pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
option.
Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
*'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
"w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
'*', '"'' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
command).
When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'isprint'* *'isp'*
'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
"@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
global
{not in Vi}
The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
space (ascii 32) to '~' (ascii 126) are always displayed directly,
even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
32 - 126 always single characters
127 "^?"
128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
255 "~?"
When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
displayed as <xx>.
The NonText highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
|hl-NonText|
Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
replacement character will be shown.
Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
There is no option to specify these characters.
*'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi}
Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
Otherwise only one space is inserted.
NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
*'key'*
'key' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
See |encryption|.
Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty:
:set key=
It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
"echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
be careful not to make a typing error!
*'keymap'* *'kmp'*
'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
feature}
Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
*'keymodel'* *'km'*
'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
can do. These values can be used:
startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
present in 'selectmode').
stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
<PageUp> and <PageDown>.
The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
*'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: "",
OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
global
{not in Vi}
Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
expanded |:set_env|. When empty ":help" is used.
When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
"K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
"-s" is removed when there is no count.
See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
Example:
:set keywordprg=man\ -s
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
feature}
This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
be able to execute Normal mode commands.
This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
mapped in Insert mode.
This only works for 8-bit characters. The value of 'langmap' may be
specified with multi-byte characters (e.g., UTF-8), but only the lower
8 bits of each character will be used.
Example (for Greek): *greek*
:set langmap=ÁA,ÂB,ØC,ÄD,ÅE,ÖF,ÃG,ÇH,ÉI,ÎJ,ÊK,ËL,ÌM,ÍN,ÏO,ÐP,QQ,ÑR,ÓS,ÔT,ÈU,ÙV,WW,×X,ÕY,ÆZ,áa,âb,øc,äd,åe,öf,ãg,çh,éi,îj,êk,ël,ìm,ín,ïo,ðp,qq,ñr,ós,ôt,èu,ùv,òw,÷x,õy,æz
Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands):
:set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
part can be in one of two forms:
1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
";", ',' and backslash itself.
This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
langmap mappings) in the following cases:
o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
*'langmenu'* *'lm'*
'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
|+multi_lang| features}
Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath':
"lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
(without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
matter what $LANG is set to:
:set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
the English menus:
:set langmenu=none
This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
this option has no effect. But you could do this:
:source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
:set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
:source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
*'laststatus'* *'ls'*
'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
global
{not in Vi}
The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
status line:
0: never
1: only if there are at least two windows
2: always
The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
*'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
typed. To force an update use |:redraw|.
*'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
feature}
If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The
value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines. This
option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
with the right amount of white space.
*'lines'*
'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
global
Number of lines in the display. Normally you don't need to set this.
That is done automatically by the terminal initialization code.
When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
option may cause the window size to be changed.
When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
*'linespace'* *'lsp'*
'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in the GUI}
Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
When non-zero there is room for underlining.
*'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
'lisp' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
feature}
Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
"cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
better. Also see 'lispwords'.
The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
"=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
{Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
*'lispwords'* *'lw'*
'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
feature}
Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
*'list'* *'nolist'*
'list' boolean (default off)
local to window
List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I, show end of line with $. Useful to
see the difference between tabs and spaces and for trailing blanks.
Note that this will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth' or
'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
changing the way tabs are displayed.
*'listchars'* *'lcs'*
'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
global
{not in Vi}
Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
settings.
eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
line.
tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a Tab. The first
char is used once. The second char is repeated to
fill the space that the Tab normally occupies.
"tab:>-" will show a Tab that takes four spaces as
">---". When omitted, a Tab is show as ^I.
trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
trailing spaces are blank.
extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
off and the line continues beyond the right of the
screen.
precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
is off and there is text preceeding the character
visible in the first column.
The characters ':' and ',' cannot be used.
Examples:
:set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
:set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<
:set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
"precedes". "SpecialKey" for "tab" and "trail".
*'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi}
When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
of plugins.
Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
*'magic'* *'nomagic'*
'magic' boolean (default on)
global
Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
See |pattern|.
NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
'magic' is on.
*'makeef'* *'mef'*
'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
feature}
Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
and the |:grep| command.
When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
existing file.
NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'makeprg'* *'mp'*
'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
global or local to buffer |global-local|
{not in Vi}
Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|. This
option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded like
when used in a command-line. Environment variables are expanded
|:set_env|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces and
backslashes. Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set"
and once for the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter
called "myfilter" do it like this:
:set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
where the arguments will be included, for example:
:set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
This option cannot be set from a |modeline|, for security reasons.
*'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
other. Currently only single character pairs are allowed, and they
must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon. The
pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and '>'
(HTML):
:set mps+=<:>
A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
assignment, useful for languages like C and Java:
:au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
*'matchtime'* *'mat'*
'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
global
{not in Vi}{in Nvi}
Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
*'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
global
{not in Vi}
Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
See also |:function|.
*'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
global
{not in Vi}
Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
|key-mapping|.
*'maxmem'* *'mm'*
'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory
available)
global
{not in Vi}
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
other memory to be freed. Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work
without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
*'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory
available)
global
{not in Vi}
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for all buffers together.
Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. Also see
'maxmem'.
*'menuitems'* *'mis'*
'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
global
{not in Vi}
{not available when compiled without the |+menu|
feature}
Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
*'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
local to buffer
*'modelines'* *'mls'*
'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
global
{not in Vi}
If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
{not in Vi} *E21*
When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
*'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
when:
1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
|undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
when it was written.
2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
reset.
When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
will be ignored.
*'more'* *'nomore'*
'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
{not in Vi}
When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
listing continues until finished.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
*'mouse'*
'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
global
{not in Vi}
Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
(xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, qnx pterm, and Linux console
with gpm). For using the mouse in the GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
i Insert mode
c Command-line mode
h all previous modes when editing a help file
a all previous modes
r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with:
:set mouse=a
When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
"* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
Also see the 'clipboard' option.
*'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only works in the GUI}
The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
*'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
global
{not in Vi}
{only works in the GUI}
When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
*'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
global
{not in Vi}
Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
the right mouse button is used for:
extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
like in an xterm.
popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
mouse button extends a selection. This works like
with Microsoft Windows
popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
be acted upon, ie. no cursor move. This implies of
course, that right clicking outside a selection will
end Visual mode.
Overview of what button does what for each model:
mouse extend popup(_setpos)
left click place cursor place cursor
left drag start selection start selection
shift-left search word extend selection
right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
right drag extend selection -
middle click paste paste
In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless