| *change.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2016 Apr 12 |
| |
| |
| VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar |
| |
| |
| This file describes commands that delete or change text. In this context, |
| changing text means deleting the text and replacing it with other text using |
| one command. You can undo all of these commands. You can repeat the non-Ex |
| commands with the "." command. |
| |
| 1. Deleting text |deleting| |
| 2. Delete and insert |delete-insert| |
| 3. Simple changes |simple-change| *changing* |
| 4. Complex changes |complex-change| |
| 4.1 Filter commands |filter| |
| 4.2 Substitute |:substitute| |
| 4.3 Search and replace |search-replace| |
| 4.4 Changing tabs |change-tabs| |
| 5. Copying and moving text |copy-move| |
| 6. Formatting text |formatting| |
| 7. Sorting text |sorting| |
| |
| For inserting text see |insert.txt|. |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 1. Deleting text *deleting* *E470* |
| |
| ["x]<Del> or *<Del>* *x* *dl* |
| ["x]x Delete [count] characters under and after the cursor |
| [into register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as |
| "dl". |
| The <Del> key does not take a [count]. Instead, it |
| deletes the last character of the count. |
| See |:fixdel| if the <Del> key does not do what you |
| want. See |'whichwrap'| for deleting a line break |
| (join lines). {Vi does not support <Del>} |
| |
| *X* *dh* |
| ["x]X Delete [count] characters before the cursor [into |
| register x] (not |linewise|). Does the same as "dh". |
| Also see |'whichwrap'|. |
| |
| *d* |
| ["x]d{motion} Delete text that {motion} moves over [into register |
| x]. See below for exceptions. |
| |
| *dd* |
| ["x]dd Delete [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|. |
| |
| *D* |
| ["x]D Delete the characters under the cursor until the end |
| of the line and [count]-1 more lines [into register |
| x]; synonym for "d$". |
| (not |linewise|) |
| When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is |
| ignored. |
| |
| {Visual}["x]x or *v_x* *v_d* *v_<Del>* |
| {Visual}["x]d or |
| {Visual}["x]<Del> Delete the highlighted text [into register x] (for |
| {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| {Visual}["x]CTRL-H or *v_CTRL-H* *v_<BS>* |
| {Visual}["x]<BS> When in Select mode: Delete the highlighted text [into |
| register x]. |
| |
| {Visual}["x]X or *v_X* *v_D* *v_b_D* |
| {Visual}["x]D Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] (for |
| {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). In Visual block mode, |
| "D" deletes the highlighted text plus all text until |
| the end of the line. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:d* *:de* *:del* *:delete* *:dl* *:dp* |
| :[range]d[elete] [x] Delete [range] lines (default: current line) [into |
| register x]. |
| Note these weird abbreviations: |
| :dl delete and list |
| :dell idem |
| :delel idem |
| :deletl idem |
| :deletel idem |
| :dp delete and print |
| :dep idem |
| :delp idem |
| :delep idem |
| :deletp idem |
| :deletep idem |
| |
| :[range]d[elete] [x] {count} |
| Delete {count} lines, starting with [range] |
| (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|) [into |
| register x]. |
| |
| These commands delete text. You can repeat them with the `.` command |
| (except `:d`) and undo them. Use Visual mode to delete blocks of text. See |
| |registers| for an explanation of registers. |
| |
| An exception for the d{motion} command: If the motion is not linewise, the |
| start and end of the motion are not in the same line, and there are only |
| blanks before the start and there are no non-blanks after the end of the |
| motion, the delete becomes linewise. This means that the delete also removes |
| the line of blanks that you might expect to remain. Use the |o_v| operator to |
| force the motion to be characterwise. |
| |
| Trying to delete an empty region of text (e.g., "d0" in the first column) |
| is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag. |
| |
| *J* |
| J Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines. |
| Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces (see |
| below). Fails when on the last line of the buffer. |
| If [count] is too big it is reduce to the number of |
| lines available. |
| |
| *v_J* |
| {Visual}J Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two |
| lines. Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces |
| (see below). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gJ* |
| gJ Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines. |
| Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_gJ* |
| {Visual}gJ Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two |
| lines. Don't insert or remove any spaces. {not in |
| Vi} |
| |
| *:j* *:join* |
| :[range]j[oin][!] [flags] |
| Join [range] lines. Same as "J", except with [!] |
| the join does not insert or delete any spaces. |
| If a [range] has equal start and end values, this |
| command does nothing. The default behavior is to |
| join the current line with the line below it. |
| {not in Vi: !} |
| See |ex-flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| :[range]j[oin][!] {count} [flags] |
| Join {count} lines, starting with [range] (default: |
| current line |cmdline-ranges|). Same as "J", except |
| with [!] the join does not insert or delete any |
| spaces. |
| {not in Vi: !} |
| See |ex-flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| These commands delete the <EOL> between lines. This has the effect of joining |
| multiple lines into one line. You can repeat these commands (except `:j`) and |
| undo them. |
| |
| These commands, except "gJ", insert one space in place of the <EOL> unless |
| there is trailing white space or the next line starts with a ')'. These |
| commands, except "gJ", delete any leading white space on the next line. If |
| the 'joinspaces' option is on, these commands insert two spaces after a '.', |
| '!' or '?' (but if 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, they insert two spaces |
| only after a '.'). |
| The 'B' and 'M' flags in 'formatoptions' change the behavior for inserting |
| spaces before and after a multi-byte character |fo-table|. |
| |
| The '[ mark is set at the end of the first line that was joined, '] at the end |
| of the resulting line. |
| |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 2. Delete and insert *delete-insert* *replacing* |
| |
| *R* |
| R Enter Replace mode: Each character you type replaces |
| an existing character, starting with the character |
| under the cursor. Repeat the entered text [count]-1 |
| times. See |Replace-mode| for more details. |
| |
| *gR* |
| gR Enter Virtual Replace mode: Each character you type |
| replaces existing characters in screen space. So a |
| <Tab> may replace several characters at once. |
| Repeat the entered text [count]-1 times. See |
| |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more details. |
| {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace| |
| feature} |
| |
| *c* |
| ["x]c{motion} Delete {motion} text [into register x] and start |
| insert. When 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag and |
| there is no text to delete (e.g., with "cTx" when the |
| cursor is just after an 'x'), an error occurs and |
| insert mode does not start (this is Vi compatible). |
| When 'cpoptions' does not include the 'E' flag, the |
| "c" command always starts insert mode, even if there |
| is no text to delete. |
| |
| *cc* |
| ["x]cc Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start |
| insert |linewise|. If 'autoindent' is on, preserve |
| the indent of the first line. |
| |
| *C* |
| ["x]C Delete from the cursor position to the end of the |
| line and [count]-1 more lines [into register x], and |
| start insert. Synonym for c$ (not |linewise|). |
| |
| *s* |
| ["x]s Delete [count] characters [into register x] and start |
| insert (s stands for Substitute). Synonym for "cl" |
| (not |linewise|). |
| |
| *S* |
| ["x]S Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start |
| insert. Synonym for "cc" |linewise|. |
| |
| {Visual}["x]c or *v_c* *v_s* |
| {Visual}["x]s Delete the highlighted text [into register x] and |
| start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not |
| in Vi} |
| |
| *v_r* |
| {Visual}["x]r{char} Replace all selected characters by {char}. |
| |
| *v_C* |
| {Visual}["x]C Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and |
| start insert. In Visual block mode it works |
| differently |v_b_C|. {not in Vi} |
| *v_S* |
| {Visual}["x]S Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and |
| start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not |
| in Vi} |
| *v_R* |
| {Visual}["x]R Currently just like {Visual}["x]S. In a next version |
| it might work differently. {not in Vi} |
| |
| Notes: |
| - You can end Insert and Replace mode with <Esc>. |
| - See the section "Insert and Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl| for the other |
| special characters in these modes. |
| - The effect of [count] takes place after Vim exits Insert or Replace mode. |
| - When the 'cpoptions' option contains '$' and the change is within one line, |
| Vim continues to show the text to be deleted and puts a '$' at the last |
| deleted character. |
| |
| See |registers| for an explanation of registers. |
| |
| Replace mode is just like Insert mode, except that every character you enter |
| deletes one character. If you reach the end of a line, Vim appends any |
| further characters (just like Insert mode). In Replace mode, the backspace |
| key restores the original text (if there was any). (See section "Insert and |
| Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl|). |
| |
| *cw* *cW* |
| Special case: When the cursor is in a word, "cw" and "cW" do not include the |
| white space after a word, they only change up to the end of the word. This is |
| because Vim interprets "cw" as change-word, and a word does not include the |
| following white space. |
| {Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first |
| blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks; use the |
| 'w' flag in 'cpoptions' to make it work like Vi anyway} |
| |
| If you prefer "cw" to include the space after a word, use this mapping: > |
| :map cw dwi |
| Or use "caw" (see |aw|). |
| |
| *:c* *:ch* *:change* |
| :{range}c[hange][!] Replace lines of text with some different text. |
| Type a line containing only "." to stop replacing. |
| Without {range}, this command changes only the current |
| line. |
| Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this |
| command is executed. |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 3. Simple changes *simple-change* |
| |
| *r* |
| r{char} Replace the character under the cursor with {char}. |
| If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the |
| character. To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V |
| <CR>. CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>. |
| {Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces with a line break, |
| cannot replace something with a <CR>} |
| |
| If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the |
| line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E| |
| and |i_CTRL-Y|. This also works with a count, thus |
| `10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below. |
| |
| If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters |
| with [count] {char}s. When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, |
| however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces |
| five characters with a single line break. |
| When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs |
| autoindenting. This works just like deleting the |
| characters that are replaced and then doing |
| "i<CR><Esc>". |
| {char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|. |
| |:lmap| mappings apply to {char}. The CTRL-^ command |
| in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off |
| |i_CTRL-^|. See |utf-8-char-arg| about using |
| composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode. |
| |
| *gr* |
| gr{char} Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with |
| {char}. This replaces in screen space, not file |
| space. See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more |
| details. As with |r| a count may be given. |
| {char} can be entered like with |r|. |
| {not available when compiled without the |+vreplace| |
| feature} |
| |
| *digraph-arg* |
| The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character. |
| When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered |
| like |digraphs|. First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters. |
| {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature} |
| |
| *case* |
| The following commands change the case of letters. The currently active |
| |locale| is used. See |:language|. The LC_CTYPE value matters here. |
| |
| *~* |
| ~ 'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character |
| under the cursor and move the cursor to the right. |
| If a [count] is given, do that many characters. {Vi: |
| no count} |
| |
| ~{motion} 'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text. {Vi: |
| tilde cannot be used as an operator} |
| |
| *g~* |
| g~{motion} Switch case of {motion} text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| g~g~ *g~g~* *g~~* |
| g~~ Switch case of current line. {not in Vi}. |
| |
| *v_~* |
| {Visual}~ Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see |
| |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_U* |
| {Visual}U Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see |
| |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gU* *uppercase* |
| gU{motion} Make {motion} text uppercase. {not in Vi} |
| Example: > |
| :map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a |
| < This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the |
| word before the cursor uppercase. Handy to type |
| words in lowercase and then make them uppercase. |
| |
| |
| gUgU *gUgU* *gUU* |
| gUU Make current line uppercase. {not in Vi}. |
| |
| *v_u* |
| {Visual}u Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see |
| |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gu* *lowercase* |
| gu{motion} Make {motion} text lowercase. {not in Vi} |
| |
| gugu *gugu* *guu* |
| guu Make current line lowercase. {not in Vi}. |
| |
| *g?* *rot13* |
| g?{motion} Rot13 encode {motion} text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_g?* |
| {Visual}g? Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see |
| |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| g?g? *g?g?* *g??* |
| g?? Rot13 encode current line. {not in Vi}. |
| |
| To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word |
| uppercase: > |
| :s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g |
| |
| |
| Adding and subtracting ~ |
| *CTRL-A* |
| CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at |
| or after the cursor. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_CTRL-A* |
| {Visual}CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in |
| the highlighted text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_g_CTRL-A* |
| {Visual}g CTRL-A Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in |
| the highlighted text. If several lines are |
| highlighted, each one will be incremented by an |
| additional [count] (so effectively creating a |
| [count] incrementing sequence). {not in Vi} |
| For Example, if you have this list of numbers: |
| 1. ~ |
| 1. ~ |
| 1. ~ |
| 1. ~ |
| Move to the second "1." and Visually select three |
| lines, pressing g CTRL-A results in: |
| 1. ~ |
| 2. ~ |
| 3. ~ |
| 4. ~ |
| |
| *CTRL-X* |
| CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic |
| character at or after the cursor. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_CTRL-X* |
| {Visual}CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic |
| character in the highlighted text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| On MS-Windows, this is mapped to cut Visual text |
| |dos-standard-mappings|. If you want to disable the |
| mapping, use this: > |
| silent! vunmap <C-X> |
| < |
| *v_g_CTRL-X* |
| {Visual}g CTRL-X Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic |
| character in the highlighted text. If several lines |
| are highlighted, each value will be decremented by an |
| additional [count] (so effectively creating a [count] |
| decrementing sequence). {not in Vi} |
| |
| The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands can work for: |
| - signed and unsigned decimal numbers |
| - unsigned binary, octal and hexadecimal numbers |
| - alphabetic characters |
| |
| This depends on the 'nrformats' option: |
| - When 'nrformats' includes "bin", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0b' or |
| '0B' are binary. |
| - When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0' |
| to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'. Other numbers are |
| decimal and may have a preceding minus sign. |
| If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise |
| Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor. |
| - When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or |
| '0X' are hexadecimal. The case of the rightmost letter in the number |
| determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number. If there is no |
| letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case. |
| - When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character |
| under or after the cursor. This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic |
| index. |
| |
| For decimals a leading negative sign is considered for incrementing/ |
| decrementing, for binary, octal and hex values, it won't be considered. To |
| ignore the sign Visually select the number before using CTRL-A or CTRL-X. |
| |
| For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers), |
| Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible. CTRL-A on |
| "0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff". |
| There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to |
| be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal", |
| leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an |
| octal number. |
| |
| Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading |
| zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers. |
| |
| Note similarly, when 'nrformats' includes "bin", binary numbers with a leading |
| '0x' or '0X' can be interpreted as hexadecimal rather than binary since '0b' |
| are valid hexadecimal digits. |
| |
| The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro. Example: Use the following |
| steps to make a numbered list. |
| |
| 1. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number. |
| 2. qa - start recording into register 'a' |
| 3. Y - yank the entry |
| 4. p - put a copy of the entry below the first one |
| 5. CTRL-A - increment the number |
| 6. q - stop recording |
| 7. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times |
| |
| |
| SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT *shift-left-right* |
| |
| *<* |
| <{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards. |
| |
| *<<* |
| << Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards. |
| |
| *v_<* |
| {Visual}[count]< Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth' |
| leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in |
| Vi} |
| |
| *>* |
| >{motion} Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards. |
| |
| *>>* |
| >> Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards. |
| |
| *v_>* |
| {Visual}[count]> Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth' |
| rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in |
| Vi} |
| |
| *:<* |
| :[range]< Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left. Repeat '<' |
| for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's. |
| |
| :[range]< {count} Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting |
| with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|). |
| Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's. |
| |
| :[range]le[ft] [indent] left align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the |
| lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:>* |
| :[range]> [flags] Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right. |
| Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's. |
| See |ex-flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| :[range]> {count} [flags] |
| Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting |
| with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|). |
| Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's. |
| See |ex-flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within |
| programs. Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space |
| which these commands insert or delete. Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8, |
| but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents. The shift leftwards |
| stops when there is no indent. The shift right does not affect empty lines. |
| |
| If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of |
| 'shiftwidth'. |
| |
| If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains |
| '#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#' |
| (these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1). |
| |
| When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as |
| much as possible to make the indent. You can use ">><<" to replace an indent |
| made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces |
| if necessary). If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces. Then |
| you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use |
| `:retab!`). |
| |
| To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands. |
| For example: > |
| Vjj4> move three lines 4 indents to the right |
| :<<< move current line 3 indents to the left |
| :>> 5 move 5 lines 2 indents to the right |
| :5>> move line 5 2 indents to the right |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 4. Complex changes *complex-change* |
| |
| 4.1 Filter commands *filter* |
| |
| A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some |
| way, and sends it to standard output. You can use the commands below to send |
| some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output. |
| Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and |
| "indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that |
| works like a filter; not all versions do). The 'shell' option specifies the |
| shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype' |
| option). You can repeat filter commands with ".". Vim does not recognize a |
| comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command. |
| |
| *!* |
| !{motion}{filter} Filter {motion} text lines through the external |
| program {filter}. |
| |
| *!!* |
| !!{filter} Filter [count] lines through the external program |
| {filter}. |
| |
| *v_!* |
| {Visual}!{filter} Filter the highlighted lines through the external |
| program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| :{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg] *:range!* |
| Filter {range} lines through the external program |
| {filter}. Vim replaces the optional bangs with the |
| latest given command and appends the optional [arg]. |
| Vim saves the output of the filter command in a |
| temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer |
| |tempfile|. Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to |
| redirect the filter output to the temporary file. |
| However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes |
| are used when possible (on Unix). |
| When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in |
| the filtered lines are deleted, unless the |
| |:keepmarks| command is used. Example: > |
| :keepmarks '<,'>!sort |
| < When the number of lines after filtering is less than |
| before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway. |
| |
| *=* |
| ={motion} Filter {motion} lines through the external program |
| given with the 'equalprg' option. When the 'equalprg' |
| option is empty (this is the default), use the |
| internal formatting function |C-indenting| and |
| |'lisp'|. But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will |
| be used instead |indent-expression|. When Vim was |
| compiled without internal formatting then the "indent" |
| program is used as a last resort. |
| |
| *==* |
| == Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}. |
| |
| *v_=* |
| {Visual}= Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| |
| *tempfile* *setuid* |
| Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for |
| tempname(). For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only |
| accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink |
| attack or other people reading your file). When Vim exits the directory and |
| all files in it are deleted. When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause |
| problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command |
| probably runs as the original user. |
| On MS-DOS and OS/2 the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP, |
| $TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP. |
| For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME. |
| For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used. |
| For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used. |
| |
| |
| |
| 4.2 Substitute *:substitute* |
| *:s* *:su* |
| :[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count] |
| For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern} |
| with {string}. |
| For the {pattern} see |pattern|. |
| {string} can be a literal string, or something |
| special; see |sub-replace-special|. |
| When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the |
| current line only. |
| When [count] is given, replace in [count] lines, |
| starting with the last line in [range]. When [range] |
| is omitted start in the current line. |
| Also see |cmdline-ranges|. |
| See |:s_flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| :[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count] |
| :[range]&[&][flags] [count] *:&* |
| Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and |
| substitute string, but without the same flags. You |
| may add [flags], see |:s_flags|. |
| Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be |
| used, it's recognized as a pattern separator. |
| The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g', |
| 'i', 'I' and 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts |
| it's a good idea to keep it to avoid confusion. |
| |
| :[range]~[&][flags] [count] *:~* |
| Repeat last substitute with same substitute string |
| but with last used search pattern. This is like |
| `:&r`. See |:s_flags| for [flags]. |
| |
| *&* |
| & Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute). Note |
| that the flags are not remembered, thus it might |
| actually work differently. You can use `:&&` to keep |
| the flags. |
| |
| *g&* |
| g& Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with |
| last search pattern on all lines with the same flags). |
| For example, when you first do a substitution with |
| `:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for |
| something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`. |
| Mnemonic: global substitute. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:snomagic* *:sno* |
| :[range]sno[magic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:smagic* *:sm* |
| :[range]sm[agic] ... Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:s_flags* |
| The flags that you can use for the substitute commands: |
| |
| [&] Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute |
| command. Examples: > |
| :&& |
| :s/this/that/& |
| < Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| [c] Confirm each substitution. Vim highlights the matching string (with |
| |hl-IncSearch|). You can type: *:s_c* |
| 'y' to substitute this match |
| 'l' to substitute this match and then quit ("last") |
| 'n' to skip this match |
| <Esc> to quit substituting |
| 'a' to substitute this and all remaining matches {not in Vi} |
| 'q' to quit substituting {not in Vi} |
| CTRL-E to scroll the screen up {not in Vi, not available when |
| compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature} |
| CTRL-Y to scroll the screen down {not in Vi, not available when |
| compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature} |
| If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and |
| toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new |
| search pattern. |
| {not in Vi: highlighting of the match, other responses than 'y' or 'n'} |
| |
| [e] When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in |
| particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred. This is most |
| useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping. Vim |
| does not suppress the following error messages, however: |
| Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters |
| \ should be followed by /, ? or & |
| No previous substitute regular expression |
| Trailing characters |
| Interrupted |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| [g] Replace all occurrences in the line. Without this argument, |
| replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line. If |
| the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles |
| it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search |
| pattern. If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default |
| and the [g] argument switches it off. |
| |
| [i] Ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options |
| are not used. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| [I] Don't ignore case for the pattern. The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' |
| options are not used. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| [n] Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute. The [c] |
| flag is ignored. The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero. |
| Useful to |count-items|. |
| If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be |
| evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match. |
| |
| [p] Print the line containing the last substitute. |
| |
| [#] Like [p] and prepend the line number. |
| |
| [l] Like [p] but print the text like |:list|. |
| |
| [r] Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments. `:&r` |
| works the same way as `:~`: When the search pattern is empty, use the |
| previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the |
| last substitute or `:global`. If the last command that did a search |
| was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect. If the last |
| command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that |
| command. |
| For `:s` with an argument this already happens: > |
| :s/blue/red/ |
| /green |
| :s//red/ or :~ or :&r |
| < The last commands will replace "green" with "red". > |
| :s/blue/red/ |
| /green |
| :& |
| < The last command will replace "blue" with "red". |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern. A |
| different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends. The |
| reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in |
| order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known. Catch 22! |
| |
| If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the |
| pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command. If there is none, but |
| there is a previous search pattern, that one is used. With the [r] flag, the |
| command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search |
| command. |
| |
| If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty. Thus the |
| matched pattern is deleted. The separator after {pattern} can also be left |
| out then. Example: > |
| :%s/TESTING |
| This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line. |
| |
| For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed: |
| "\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r". |
| "\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/". |
| *E146* |
| Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you |
| can use any other single-byte character, but not an alphanumeric character, |
| '\', '"' or '|'. This is useful if you want to include a '/' in the search |
| pattern or replacement string. Example: > |
| :s+/+//+ |
| |
| For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|. In Visual block mode, use |
| |/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only. |
| Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway. |
| |
| *sub-replace-special* *:s\=* |
| When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see |
| |sub-replace-expression|. You can use that for complex replacement or special |
| characters. |
| |
| Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning: |
| *:s%* |
| When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option, |
| then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/| |
| |
| magic nomagic action ~ |
| & \& replaced with the whole matched pattern *s/\&* |
| \& & replaced with & |
| \0 replaced with the whole matched pattern *\0* *s/\0* |
| \1 replaced with the matched pattern in the first |
| pair of () *s/\1* |
| \2 replaced with the matched pattern in the second |
| pair of () *s/\2* |
| .. .. *s/\3* |
| \9 replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth |
| pair of () *s/\9* |
| ~ \~ replaced with the {string} of the previous |
| substitute *s~* |
| \~ ~ replaced with ~ *s/\~* |
| \u next character made uppercase *s/\u* |
| \U following characters made uppercase, until \E *s/\U* |
| \l next character made lowercase *s/\l* |
| \L following characters made lowercase, until \E *s/\L* |
| \e end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!) *s/\e* |
| \E end of \u, \U, \l and \L *s/\E* |
| <CR> split line in two at this point |
| (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s<CR>* |
| \r idem *s/\r* |
| \<CR> insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M) |
| (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>) *s/\<CR>* |
| \n insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file) |
| (does NOT break the line) *s/\n* |
| \b insert a <BS> *s/\b* |
| \t insert a <Tab> *s/\t* |
| \\ insert a single backslash *s/\\* |
| \x where x is any character not mentioned above: |
| Reserved for future expansion |
| |
| The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of |
| the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions: |
| - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'. |
| - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'. |
| - A ~ inserts a tilde literally. |
| - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M). |
| - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. it's just one of \x. |
| |
| Examples: > |
| :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g modifies "a b" to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx" |
| :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb" |
| :s/abcde/abc^Mde/ modifies "abcde" to "abc", "de" (two lines) |
| :s/$/\^M/ modifies "abcde" to "abcde^M" |
| :s/\w\+/\u\0/g modifies "bla bla" to "Bla Bla" |
| :s/\w\+/\L\u\0/g modifies "BLA bla" to "Bla Bla" |
| |
| Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word. This is |
| not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel |
| out the "\L". Same for "\U\l". |
| |
| Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way. Since this is |
| not Vi compatible, this was removed. Use a backslash instead. |
| |
| command text result ~ |
| :s/aa/a^Ma/ aa a<line-break>a |
| :s/aa/a\^Ma/ aa a^Ma |
| :s/aa/a\\^Ma/ aa a\<line-break>a |
| |
| (you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here) |
| |
| The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in |
| the pattern (going left to right). When a parentheses group matches several |
| times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc. Example: > |
| :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/ modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x" |
| |
| When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\), |
| either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either |
| \1 or \2 is empty. Example: > |
| :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g modifies "a b c d" to "ax bx x x" |
| < |
| |
| *:sc* *:sce* *:scg* *:sci* *:scI* *:scl* *:scp* *:sg* *:sgc* |
| *:sge* *:sgi* *:sgI* *:sgl* *:sgn* *:sgp* *:sgr* *:sI* *:si* |
| *:sic* *:sIc* *:sie* *:sIe* *:sIg* *:sIl* *:sin* *:sIn* *:sIp* |
| *:sip* *:sIr* *:sir* *:sr* *:src* *:srg* *:sri* *:srI* *:srl* |
| *:srn* *:srp* |
| 2-letter and 3-letter :substitute commands ~ |
| |
| List of :substitute commands |
| | c e g i I n p l r |
| | c :sc :sce :scg :sci :scI :scn :scp :scl --- |
| | e |
| | g :sgc :sge :sg :sgi :sgI :sgn :sgp :sgl :sgr |
| | i :sic :sie --- :si :siI :sin :sip --- :sir |
| | I :sIc :sIe :sIg :sIi :sI :sIn :sIp :sIl :sIr |
| | n |
| | p |
| | l |
| | r :src --- :srg :sri :srI :srn :srp :srl :sr |
| |
| Exceptions: |
| :scr is `:scriptnames` |
| :se is `:set` |
| :sig is `:sign` |
| :sil is `:silent` |
| :sn is `:snext` |
| :sp is `:split` |
| :sl is `:sleep` |
| :sre is `:srewind` |
| |
| |
| Substitute with an expression *sub-replace-expression* |
| *sub-replace-\=* *s/\=* |
| When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an |
| expression. This does not work recursively: a |substitute()| function inside |
| the expression cannot use "\=" for the substitute string. |
| |
| The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does |
| not apply except for "<CR>". A <NL> character is used as a line break, you |
| can get one with a double-quote string: "\n". Prepend a backslash to get a |
| real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file). |
| |
| The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of |
| |substitute()| function. In this case, the special meaning for characters as |
| mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and |
| <NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a |
| new-line respectively. |
| |
| When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line |
| breaks. Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line |
| breaks themselves. |
| |
| The whole matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)". The text matched |
| with the first pair of () with "submatch(1)". Likewise for further |
| sub-matches in (). |
| |
| Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression! |
| Consider using a character like "@" or ":". There is no problem if the result |
| of the expression contains the separation character. |
| |
| Examples: > |
| :s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@ |
| This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. > |
| |
| s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g |
| This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign. Read more in |<Char->|. |
| |
| |
| 4.3 Search and replace *search-replace* |
| |
| *:pro* *:promptfind* |
| :promptf[ind] [string] |
| Put up a Search dialog. When [string] is given, it is |
| used as the initial search string. |
| {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI} |
| |
| *:promptr* *:promptrepl* |
| :promptr[epl] [string] |
| Put up a Search/Replace dialog. When [string] is |
| given, it is used as the initial search string. |
| {only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI} |
| |
| |
| 4.4 Changing tabs *change-tabs* |
| *:ret* *:retab* *:retab!* |
| :[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop] |
| Replace all sequences of white-space containing a |
| <Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new |
| tabstop value given. If you do not specify a new |
| tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value |
| of 'tabstop'. |
| The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to |
| compute the width of existing tabs. |
| With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal |
| spaces with tabs where appropriate. |
| With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the |
| appropriate number of spaces. |
| This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given, |
| and if performed on the whole file, which is default, |
| should not make any visible change. |
| Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters |
| inside of strings in a C program. Use "\t" to avoid |
| this (that's a good habit anyway). |
| `:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by |
| <Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf(). |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| *retab-example* |
| Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored |
| with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4. Warning: white space |
| inside of strings can change! Also see 'softtabstop' option. > |
| |
| :auto BufReadPost *.xx retab! 4 |
| :auto BufWritePre *.xx retab! 8 |
| :auto BufWritePost *.xx retab! 4 |
| :auto BufNewFile *.xx set ts=4 |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 5. Copying and moving text *copy-move* |
| |
| *quote* |
| "{a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} Use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank |
| or put (use uppercase character to append with |
| delete and yank) ({.%#:} only work with put). |
| |
| *:reg* *:registers* |
| :reg[isters] Display the contents of all numbered and named |
| registers. If a register is written to for |:redir| |
| it will not be listed. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| |
| :reg[isters] {arg} Display the contents of the numbered and named |
| registers that are mentioned in {arg}. For example: > |
| :reg 1a |
| < to display registers '1' and 'a'. Spaces are allowed |
| in {arg}. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:di* *:display* |
| :di[splay] [arg] Same as :registers. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *y* *yank* |
| ["x]y{motion} Yank {motion} text [into register x]. When no |
| characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1), |
| this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' |
| flag. |
| |
| *yy* |
| ["x]yy Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|. |
| |
| *Y* |
| ["x]Y yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for |
| yy, |linewise|). If you like "Y" to work from the |
| cursor to the end of line (which is more logical, |
| but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$". |
| |
| *v_y* |
| {Visual}["x]y Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for |
| {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_Y* |
| {Visual}["x]Y Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for |
| {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:y* *:yank* *E850* |
| :[range]y[ank] [x] Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the |
| "* or "+ registers is possible only when the |
| |+clipboard| feature is included. |
| |
| :[range]y[ank] [x] {count} |
| Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number |
| in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|), |
| [into register x]. |
| |
| *p* *put* *E353* |
| ["x]p Put the text [from register x] after the cursor |
| [count] times. {Vi: no count} |
| |
| *P* |
| ["x]P Put the text [from register x] before the cursor |
| [count] times. {Vi: no count} |
| |
| *<MiddleMouse>* |
| ["x]<MiddleMouse> Put the text from a register before the cursor [count] |
| times. Uses the "* register, unless another is |
| specified. |
| Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text. |
| Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n' |
| or 'a'. |
| {not in Vi} |
| If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste |
| text, you can use these mappings to disable the |
| pasting with the middle mouse button: > |
| :map <MiddleMouse> <Nop> |
| :imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop> |
| < You might want to disable the multi-click versions |
| too, see |double-click|. |
| |
| *gp* |
| ["x]gp Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new |
| text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gP* |
| ["x]gP Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new |
| text. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:pu* *:put* |
| :[line]pu[t] [x] Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default |
| current line). This always works |linewise|, thus |
| this command can be used to put a yanked block as new |
| lines. |
| If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb' |
| option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the |
| + register |quoteplus|. Otherwise, if 'cb' contains |
| "unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|. |
| Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register |
| |quote_quote|. |
| The register can also be '=' followed by an optional |
| expression. The expression continues until the end of |
| the command. You need to escape the '|' and '"' |
| characters to prevent them from terminating the |
| command. Example: > |
| :put ='path' . \",/test\" |
| < If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the |
| previous expression. You can see it with ":dis =". |
| |
| :[line]pu[t]! [x] Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default |
| current line). |
| |
| ["x]]p or *]p* *]<MiddleMouse>* |
| ["x]]<MiddleMouse> Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line. |
| Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n' |
| or 'a'. {not in Vi} |
| |
| ["x][P or *[P* |
| ["x]]P or *]P* |
| ["x][p or *[p* *[<MiddleMouse>* |
| ["x][<MiddleMouse> Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line. |
| Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n' |
| or 'a'. {not in Vi} |
| |
| You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another. Do this |
| by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change |
| command, then inserting the register contents with a put command. You can |
| also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim |
| preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick |
| way to toggle between two files). |
| |
| *linewise-register* *characterwise-register* |
| You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them. If |
| the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|, |
| Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is. |
| Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor. With |
| the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line. You can |
| exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp". You can exchange two |
| lines with the command sequence "ddp". You can exchange two words with the |
| command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the |
| first word). You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to |
| move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move |
| the cursor to the start. |
| |
| *put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P* |
| When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to |
| replace the selected text with the contents of the register. Whether this |
| works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the |
| register. With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block |
| and whether the corners are on an existing character. (Implementation detail: |
| it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then |
| deleting the selection.) |
| The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register. If you want to |
| put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use |
| another register. E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to |
| replace and use "0p . You can repeat this as many times as you like, the |
| unnamed register will be changed each time. |
| |
| When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into |
| a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on |
| each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a |
| block of the pasted line). |
| |
| *blockwise-register* |
| If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register, |
| the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor |
| column in the current and next lines. Vim makes the whole block of text start |
| in the same column. Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was |
| yanked or deleted. Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make |
| this happen. However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab> |
| width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be |
| misaligned. |
| |
| Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the |
| first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer. This means |
| that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character |
| left. |
| Rationale: In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would |
| sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character, |
| because redisplaying was skipped. In Vim it always moves to |
| the first character, as specified by Posix. |
| With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the |
| column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character. |
| |
| There are ten types of registers: *registers* *E354* |
| 1. The unnamed register "" |
| 2. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9 |
| 3. The small delete register "- |
| 4. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z |
| 5. three read-only registers ":, "., "% |
| 6. alternate buffer register "# |
| 7. the expression register "= |
| 8. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~ |
| 9. The black hole register "_ |
| 10. Last search pattern register "/ |
| |
| 1. Unnamed register "" *quote_quote* *quotequote* |
| Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands |
| or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific |
| register was used (e.g. "xdd). This is like the unnamed register is pointing |
| to the last used register. Thus when appending using an uppercase register |
| name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register. |
| An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any |
| register. |
| Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P) |
| which does not specify a register. Additionally you can access it with the |
| name '"'. This means you have to type two double quotes. Writing to the "" |
| register writes to register "0. |
| {Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'} |
| |
| 2. Numbered registers "0 to "9 *quote_number* *quote0* *quote1* |
| *quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9* |
| Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands. |
| Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command, |
| unless the command specified another register with ["x]. |
| Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or |
| change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is |
| less than one line (the small delete register is used then). An exception is |
| made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|, |
| |/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|. Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi |
| compatible). The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line. |
| Note that these characters may be mapped. E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit |
| plugin. |
| With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents |
| of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous |
| contents of register 9. |
| {Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does |
| not exist} |
| |
| 3. Small delete register "- *quote_-* *quote-* |
| This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line, |
| except when the command specifies a register with ["x]. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| 4. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z *quote_alpha* *quotea* |
| Vim fills these registers only when you say so. Specify them as lowercase |
| letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append |
| to their previous contents. When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then |
| a line break is inserted before the appended text. |
| |
| 5. Read-only registers ":, ". and "% |
| These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'. You can use them only with the "p", "P", |
| and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R. {not in Vi} |
| *quote_.* *quote.* *E29* |
| ". Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted |
| with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@). Note: this |
| doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line. It works a bit |
| differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it |
| ('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted). |
| *quote_%* *quote%* |
| "% Contains the name of the current file. |
| *quote_:* *quote:* *E30* |
| ": Contains the most recent executed command-line. Example: Use |
| "@:" to repeat the previous command-line command. |
| The command-line is only stored in this register when at least |
| one character of it was typed. Thus it remains unchanged if |
| the command was completely from a mapping. |
| {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| |
| feature} |
| *quote_#* *quote#* |
| 6. Alternate file register "# |
| Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window. It will |
| change how the |CTRL-^| command works. |
| This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has |
| changed it. It accepts buffer number: > |
| let altbuf = bufnr(@#) |
| ... |
| let @# = altbuf |
| It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not |
| exist. |
| It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: > |
| let @# = 'buffer_name' |
| Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94| |
| if none of buffers matches the given name. |
| |
| 7. Expression register "= *quote_=* *quote=* *@=* |
| This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an |
| expression in commands which use a register. The expression register is |
| read-write. |
| |
| When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line, |
| where you can enter any expression (see |expression|). All normal |
| command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for |
| expressions. When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the |
| result of the expression. If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the |
| expression. If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous |
| expression (like with the "/" command). |
| |
| The expression must evaluate to a String. A Number is always automatically |
| converted to a String. For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a |
| Float it's converted into a String. If the result is a List each element is |
| turned into a String and used as a line. A Dictionary or FuncRef results in |
| an error message (use string() to convert). |
| |
| If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL> |
| characters. If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise |
| register. {not in Vi} |
| |
| 8. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~ |
| Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI. |
| See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|. When the clipboard is not available or not |
| working, the unnamed register is used instead. For Unix systems the clipboard |
| is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present. {not in Vi} |
| |
| Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems. For |
| an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|. Under MS-Windows, use |
| of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|. |
| |
| *quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>* |
| The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop |
| operation. When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is |
| filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification. You can remap |
| this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the |
| contents of the "~ register at the cursor position. {not in Vi} |
| {only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the |
| GTK GUI} |
| |
| Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim. |
| Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally. |
| |
| 9. Black hole register "_ *quote_* |
| When writing to this register, nothing happens. This can be used to delete |
| text without affecting the normal registers. When reading from this register, |
| nothing is returned. {not in Vi} |
| |
| 10. Last search pattern register "/ *quote_/* *quote/* |
| Contains the most recent search-pattern. This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'. |
| It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight |
| other matches without actually searching. You can't yank or delete into this |
| register. The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|. |
| Note that the value is restored when returning from a function |
| |function-search-undo|. |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| *@/* |
| You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|. Example: > |
| :let @/ = "the" |
| |
| If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register |
| that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register). If |
| you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this |
| command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is |
| labelled '"'). |
| |
| The next three commands always work on whole lines. |
| |
| :[range]co[py] {address} *:co* *:copy* |
| Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line |
| given by {address}. |
| |
| *:t* |
| :t Synonym for copy. |
| |
| :[range]m[ove] {address} *:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134* |
| Move the lines given by [range] to below the line |
| given by {address}. |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 6. Formatting text *formatting* |
| |
| :[range]ce[nter] [width] *:ce* *:center* |
| Center lines in [range] between [width] columns |
| (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0). |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| :[range]ri[ght] [width] *:ri* *:right* |
| Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns |
| (default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0). |
| {not in Vi} |
| |
| *:le* *:left* |
| :[range]le[ft] [indent] |
| Left-align lines in [range]. Sets the indent in the |
| lines to [indent] (default 0). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gq* |
| gq{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. |
| Formatting is done with one of three methods: |
| 1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is |
| evaluated. This can differ for each buffer. |
| 2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program |
| is used. |
| 3. Otherwise formatting is done internally. |
| |
| In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the |
| length of each formatted line (see below). |
| If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line |
| length is the screen width (with a maximum width of |
| 79). |
| The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of |
| formatting |fo-table|. |
| The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last |
| formatted line. |
| NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this |
| function. If you still want to use "Q" for |
| formatting, use this mapping: > |
| :nnoremap Q gq |
| |
| gqgq *gqgq* *gqq* |
| gqq Format the current line. With a count format that |
| many lines. {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_gq* |
| {Visual}gq Format the highlighted text. (for {Visual} see |
| |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| *gw* |
| gw{motion} Format the lines that {motion} moves over. Similar to |
| |gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in |
| the text. However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are |
| not used. {not in Vi} |
| |
| gwgw *gwgw* *gww* |
| gww Format the current line as with "gw". {not in Vi} |
| |
| *v_gw* |
| {Visual}gw Format the highlighted text as with "gw". (for |
| {Visual} see |Visual-mode|). {not in Vi} |
| |
| Example: To format the current paragraph use: *gqap* > |
| gqap |
| |
| The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes |
| the cursor. This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".". This |
| works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until |
| end of paragraph). Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on |
| the first formatted line (as with using a filter command). |
| |
| If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: > |
| gwap |
| If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a' |
| flag to 'formatoptions'. See |auto-format|. |
| |
| If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for |
| the following lines. |
| |
| Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only |
| white space!). |
| |
| The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together. |
| |
| You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option |
| to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting. The |
| 'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external |
| program. |
| |
| *right-justify* |
| There is no command in Vim to right justify text. You can do it with |
| an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the |
| paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par". |
| |
| *format-comments* |
| An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual. |
| |
| Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way. Vim |
| recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring |
| white space). Three types of comments can be used: |
| |
| - A comment string that repeats at the start of each line. An example is the |
| type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#". |
| - A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following |
| lines. An example is this list with dashes. |
| - Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional |
| lines in between. The strings for the start, middle and end are different. |
| An example is the C style comment: |
| /* |
| * this is a C comment |
| */ |
| |
| The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part defines a |
| type of comment string. A part consists of: |
| {flags}:{string} |
| |
| {string} is the literal text that must appear. |
| |
| {flags}: |
| n Nested comment. Nesting with mixed parts is allowed. If 'comments' |
| is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment. |
| |
| b Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}. |
| |
| f Only the first line has the comment string. Do not repeat comment on |
| the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list). |
| |
| s Start of three-piece comment |
| |
| m Middle of a three-piece comment |
| |
| e End of a three-piece comment |
| |
| l Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of |
| start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle. |
| This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details. |
| |
| r Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See |
| below for more details. |
| |
| O Don't consider this comment for the "O" command. |
| |
| x Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last |
| character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new |
| line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically. |
| See below for more details. |
| |
| {digits} |
| When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an |
| automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins |
| from a left alignment. See below for more details. |
| |
| -{digits} |
| Like {digits} but reduce the indent. This only works when there is |
| some indent for the start or end part that can be removed. |
| |
| When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the |
| comment string repeats at the start of each line. The flags field may be |
| empty. |
| |
| Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the |
| {string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a |
| required part of the comment string. |
| |
| When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole. |
| For example, to include both "-" and "->", use > |
| :set comments=f:->,f:- |
| |
| A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other |
| parts in between. An example of a three-piece comment is > |
| sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/ |
| for C-comments. To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string |
| includes the 'b' flag. For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after |
| the start and middle strings for the end string. If Vim finds the end string, |
| the comment does not continue on the next line. Three-piece comments must |
| have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines. |
| |
| Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition. |
| When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader |
| for the new line: " * ". To close this comment you just have to type "/" |
| before typing anything else on the new line. This will replace the |
| middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified |
| alignment, leaving just " */". There is no need to hit Backspace first. |
| |
| When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end |
| part which is longer, the end part is used. This makes a C style comment work |
| without requiring the middle part to end with a space. |
| |
| Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out |
| (kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: > |
| :set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/ |
| < |
| /*** ~ |
| **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~ |
| ** ~ |
| offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~ |
| ******/ ~ |
| In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times, |
| then "/" was pressed to end the comment. |
| |
| Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when |
| alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line |
| after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and |
| automatically ending a three-piece comment. The end alignment flag has a |
| backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with |
| "s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces. |
| Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number |
| will override the "r" and "l" flag. |
| |
| Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases. |
| Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult |
| alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other |
| formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options |
| for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece |
| indent alignments. However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with |
| three piece comments. |
| |
| Other examples: > |
| "b:*" Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is |
| followed by a non-blank. This avoids a pointer dereference |
| like "*str" to be recognized as a comment. |
| "n:>" Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc. |
| "fb:-" Format a list that starts with "- ". |
| |
| By default, "b:#" is included. This means that a line that starts with |
| "#include" is not recognized as a comment line. But a line that starts with |
| "# define" is recognized. This is a compromise. |
| |
| {not available when compiled without the |+comments| feature} |
| |
| *fo-table* |
| You can use the 'formatoptions' option to influence how Vim formats text. |
| 'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below. The |
| default setting is "tcq". You can separate the option letters with commas for |
| readability. |
| |
| letter meaning when present in 'formatoptions' ~ |
| |
| t Auto-wrap text using textwidth |
| c Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment |
| leader automatically. |
| r Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting |
| <Enter> in Insert mode. |
| o Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or |
| 'O' in Normal mode. |
| q Allow formatting of comments with "gq". |
| Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing |
| only the comment leader. A new paragraph starts after such a line, |
| or when the comment leader changes. |
| w Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line. |
| A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph. |
| a Automatic formatting of paragraphs. Every time text is inserted or |
| deleted the paragraph will be reformatted. See |auto-format|. |
| When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized |
| comments. |
| n When formatting text, recognize numbered lists. This actually uses |
| the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used. The |
| indent of the text after the number is used for the next line. The |
| default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')', |
| ']' or '}'. Note that 'autoindent' must be set too. Doesn't work |
| well together with "2". |
| Example: > |
| 1. the first item |
| wraps |
| 2. the second item |
| 2 When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph |
| for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first |
| line. This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a |
| different indent than the rest. Note that 'autoindent' must be set |
| too. Example: > |
| first line of a paragraph |
| second line of the same paragraph |
| third line. |
| < This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader. |
| v Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a |
| blank that you have entered during the current insert command. (Note: |
| this is not 100% Vi compatible. Vi has some "unexpected features" or |
| bugs in this area. It uses the screen column instead of the line |
| column.) |
| b Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before |
| the wrap margin. If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you |
| started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before |
| reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping. |
| l Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than |
| 'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not |
| automatically format it. |
| m Also break at a multi-byte character above 255. This is useful for |
| Asian text where every character is a word on its own. |
| M When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multi-byte |
| character. Overrules the 'B' flag. |
| B When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multi-byte |
| characters. Overruled by the 'M' flag. |
| 1 Don't break a line after a one-letter word. It's broken before it |
| instead (if possible). |
| j Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines. For |
| example, joining: |
| int i; // the index ~ |
| // in the list ~ |
| Becomes: |
| int i; // the index in the list ~ |
| |
| |
| With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping: |
| value action ~ |
| "" no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting) |
| "t" automatic formatting of text, but not comments |
| "c" automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code) |
| "tc" automatic formatting for text and comments |
| |
| Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but |
| does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option). An exception |
| is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format| |
| |
| Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all. |
| |
| Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping; |
| 'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq". |
| |
| If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some |
| built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly. |
| Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in |
| 'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically. The same |
| happens with formatting and auto-wrapping. Opening a line after a line |
| starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to |
| be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing |
| the start of the comment. |
| E.g.: |
| /* ~ |
| * Your typical comment. ~ |
| */ ~ |
| The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above |
| comment. |
| |
| All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new |
| :autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file. |
| |
| Some examples: |
| for C code (only format comments): > |
| :set fo=croq |
| < for Mail/news (format all, don't start comment with "o" command): > |
| :set fo=tcrq |
| < |
| |
| Automatic formatting *auto-format* *autoformat* |
| |
| When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted |
| automatically when inserting text or deleting text. This works nice for |
| editing text paragraphs. A few hints on how to use this: |
| |
| - You need to properly define paragraphs. The simplest is paragraphs that are |
| separated by a blank line. When there is no separating blank line, consider |
| using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the |
| paragraphs except the last one. |
| |
| - You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or |
| specifically for one file with a |modeline|. |
| |
| - Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this: |
| |
| bla bla foobar bla |
| bla foobar bla foobar bla |
| bla bla foobar bla |
| bla foobar bla bla foobar |
| |
| - Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments. Useful in source code. |
| |
| - Set 'textwidth' to the desired width. If it is zero then 79 is used, or the |
| width of the screen if this is smaller. |
| |
| And a few warnings: |
| |
| - When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making |
| changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway. Consider doing > |
| |
| :set fo-=a |
| |
| - When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and |
| deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be |
| joined with the next one. |
| |
| - Changed text is saved for undo. Formatting is also a change. Thus each |
| format action saves text for undo. This may consume quite a lot of memory. |
| |
| - Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow. |
| |
| ============================================================================== |
| 7. Sorting text *sorting* |
| |
| Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command. The sorting function can be |
| found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|. |
| |
| *:sor* *:sort* |
| :[range]sor[t][!] [b][f][i][n][o][r][u][x] [/{pattern}/] |
| Sort lines in [range]. When no range is given all |
| lines are sorted. |
| |
| With [!] the order is reversed. |
| |
| With [i] case is ignored. |
| |
| Options [n][f][x][o][b] are mutually exclusive. |
| |
| With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number |
| in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match). |
| One leading '-' is included in the number. |
| |
| With [f] sorting is done on the Float in the line. |
| The value of Float is determined similar to passing |
| the text (after or inside a {pattern} match) to |
| str2float() function. This option is available only |
| if Vim was compiled with Floating point support. |
| |
| With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal |
| number in the line (after or inside a {pattern} |
| match). A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored. |
| One leading '-' is included in the number. |
| |
| With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in |
| the line (after or inside a {pattern} match). |
| |
| With [b] sorting is done on the first binary number in |
| the line (after or inside a {pattern} match). |
| |
| With [u] (u stands for unique) only keep the first of |
| a sequence of identical lines (ignoring case when [i] |
| is used). Without this flag, a sequence of identical |
| lines will be kept in their original order. |
| Note that leading and trailing white space may cause |
| lines to be different. |
| |
| When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag |
| the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that |
| you sort on what comes after the match. |
| Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used. |
| For example, to sort on the second comma-separated |
| field: > |
| :sort /[^,]*,/ |
| < To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus |
| ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): > |
| :sort /.*\%10v/ |
| < To sort on the first number in the line, no matter |
| what is in front of it: > |
| :sort /.\{-}\ze\d/ |
| < (Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the |
| end of the match and \d matches a digit.) |
| With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern} |
| instead of skipping past it as described above. |
| For example, to sort on only the first three letters |
| of each line: > |
| :sort /\a\a\a/ r |
| |
| < If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a |
| match for {pattern} are kept in their current order, |
| but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}. |
| If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse |
| order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be |
| in their original order, right before the sorted |
| lines. |
| |
| If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the |
| last search pattern is used. This allows trying out |
| a pattern first. |
| |
| Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's |
| quite useless. |
| |
| The details about sorting depend on the library function used. There is no |
| guarantee that sorting obeys the current locale. You will have to try it out. |
| Vim does do a "stable" sort. |
| |
| The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the |
| process you may end up with duplicated lines. This also depends on the system |
| library function used. |
| |
| vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: |