vi(1) User Commands vi(1)NAME
vi, view, vedit - screen-oriented (visual) display editor based on ex
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
[-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
[-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]] [-S]
[-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg4/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg4/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg4/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg6/bin/vi [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg6/bin/view [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
/usr/xpg6/bin/vedit [-| -s] [-l] [-L] [-R] [-r [filename]]
[-S] [-t tag] [-v] [-V] [-x] [-wn] [-C]
[+command | -c command] filename...
DESCRIPTION
The vi (visual) utility is a display-oriented text editor based on an
underlying line editor ex. It is possible to use the command mode of ex
from within vi and to use the command mode of vi from within ex. The
visual commands are described on this manual page; how to set options
(like automatically numbering lines and automatically starting a new
output line when you type carriage return) and all ex line editor com‐
mands are described on the ex(1) manual page.
When using vi, changes you make to the file are reflected in what you
see on your terminal screen. The position of the cursor on the screen
indicates the position within the file.
The view invocation is the same as vi except that the readonly flag is
set.
The vedit invocation is intended for beginners. It is the same as vi
except that the report flag is set to 1, the showmode and novice flags
are set, and magic is turned off. These defaults make it easier to
learn how to use vi.
OPTIONS
The following options are supporrted:
Invocation Options
The following invocation options are interpreted by vi (previously doc‐
umented options are discussed under NOTES):
− | -s Suppresses all interactive user feedback. This
is useful when processing editor scripts.
-C Encryption option. Same as the -x option,
except that vi simulates the C command of ex.
The C command is like the X command of ex,
except that all text read in is assumed to
have been encrypted.
-l Sets up for editing LISP programs.
-L Lists the name of all files saved as the
result of an editor or system crash.
-r filename Edits filename after an editor or system
crash. (Recovers the version of filename that
was in the buffer when the crash occurred.)
-R Readonly mode. The readonly flag is set, pre‐
venting accidental overwriting of the file.
-S This option is used in conjunction with the -t
tag option to tell vi that the tags file can
not be sorted and that, if the binary search
(which relies on a sorted tags file) for tag
fails to find it, the much slower linear
search should also be done. Since the linear
search is slow, users of large tags files
should ensure that the tags files are sorted
rather than use this flag. Creation of tags
files normally produces sorted tags files. See
ctags(1) for more information on tags files.
-t tag Edits the file containing tag and position the
editor at its definition. It is an error to
specify more than one -t option.
-v Starts up in display editing state, using vi.
You can achieve the same effect by typing the
vi command itself.
-V Verbose. When ex commands are read by means of
standard input, the input is echoed to stan‐
dard error. This can be useful when processing
ex commands within shell scripts.
-wn Sets the default window size to n. This is
useful when using the editor over a slow speed
line.
-x Encryption option. When used, vi simulates the
X command of ex and prompts the user for a
key. This key is used to encrypt and decrypt
text using the algorithm of the crypt command.
The X command makes an educated guess to
determine whether text read in is encrypted or
not. The temporary buffer file is encrypted
also, using a transformed version of the key
typed in for the -x option. If an empty
encryption key is entered (that is, if the
return key is pressed right after the prompt),
the file is not encrypted. This is a good way
to decrypt a file erroneously encrypted with a
mistyped encryption key, such as a backspace
or undo key.
-command | -c command Begins editing by executing the specified edi‐
tor command (usually a search or positioning
command).
/usr/xpg4/bin/vi and /usr/xpg6/bin/vi
If both the -t tag and the -c command options are given, the -t tag
optionis processed first. That is, the file containing tag is selected
by -t and then the command is executed.
OPERANDS
The following operands are supported:
filename A file to be edited.
COMMAND SUMMARY
The vi command modes are summarized in this section.
vi Modes
Command Normal and initial mode. Other modes return to command
mode upon completion. ESC (escape) is used to cancel a
partial command.
Input Entered by setting any of the following options:
a A i I o O c C s S R
Arbitrary text can then be entered. Input mode is normally
terminated with the ESC character, or, abnormally, with an
interrupt.
Last line Reading input for : / ? or !. Terminate by typing a car‐
riage return. An interrupt cancels termination.
Sample Commands
In the descriptions, CR stands for carriage return and ESC stands for
the escape key.
←, → arrow keys move the cursor
down-arrow
up-arrow
h j k l same as arrow keys
itextESC insert text
cwnewESC change word to new
easESC pluralize word (end of word; append s; escape from input
state)
x delete a character
dw delete a word
dd delete a line
3dd delete 3 lines
u undo previous change
ZZ exit vi, saving changes
:q!CR quit, discarding changes
/textCR search for text
^U ^D scroll up or down
:cmdCR any ex or ed command
Counts Before vi Commands
Numbers can be typed as a prefix to some commands. They are interpreted
in one of these ways:
line/column number z G |
scroll amount ^D ^U
repeat effect most of the rest
Interrupting, Canceling
ESC end insert or incomplete command
DEL (delete or rubout) interrupts
File Manipulation
ZZ if file modified, write and exit; otherwise, exit
:wCR write back changes
:w!CR forced write, if permission originally not valid
:qCR quit
:q!CR quit, discard changes
:e nameCR edit file name
:e!CR reedit, discard changes
:e + nameCR edit, starting at end
:e +nCR edit, starting at line n
:e #CR edit alternate file
:e! #CR edit alternate file, discard changes
:w nameCR write file name
:w! nameCR overwrite file name
:shCR run shell, then return
:!cmdCR run cmd, then return
:nCR edit next file in arglist
:n argsCR specify new arglist
^G show current file and line
:ta tagCR position cursor to tag
In general, any ex or ed command (such as substitute or global) can be
typed, preceded by a colon and followed by a carriage return.
Positioning Within a File
F forward screen
^B backward screen
^D scroll down half screen
^U scroll up half screen
nG go to the beginning of the specified line (end default),
where n is a line number
/pat next line matching pat
?pat previous line matching pat
n repeat last / or ? command
N reverse last / or ? command
/pat/+n nth line after pat
?pat?−n nth line before pat
]] next section/function
[[ previous section/function
( beginning of sentence
) end of sentence
{ beginning of paragraph
} end of paragraph
% find matching ( ) or { }
Adjusting the Screen
^L clear and redraw window
^R clear and redraw window if ^L is → key
zCR redraw screen with current line at top of window
z−CR redraw screen with current line at bottom of window
z.CR redraw screen with current line at center of window
/pat/z−CR move pat line to bottom of window
zn.CR use n−line window
^E scroll window down one line
^Y scroll window up one line
Marking and Returning
`` move cursor to previous context
a´a´ move cursor to first non-white space in line
mx mark current position with the ASCII lower-case letter x
`x move cursor to mark x
a´x move cursor to first non-white space in line marked by x
Line Positioning
H top line on screen
L last line on screen
M middle line on screen
+ next line, at first non-white space character
− previous line, at first non-white space character
CR return, same as +
down-arrow next line, same column
or j
up-arrow previous line, same column
or k
Character Positioning
^ first non-white space character
0 beginning of line
$ end of line
l or → forward
h or ← backward
^H same as ← (backspace)
space same as → (space bar)
fx find next x
Fx find previous x
tx move to character following the next x
Tx move to character following the previous x
; repeat last f, F, t, or T
, repeat inverse of last f, F, t, or T
n| move to column n
% find matching ( ) or { }
Words, Sentences, Paragraphs
w forward a word
b back a word
e end of word
) to next sentence
} to next paragraph
( back a sentence
{ back a paragraph
W forward a blank-delimited word
B back a blank-delimited word
E end of a blank-delimited word
Corrections During Insert
^H erase last character (backspace)
^W erase last word
erase your erase character, same as ^H (backspace)
kill your kill character, erase this line of input
\ quotes your erase and kill characters
ESC ends insertion, back to command mode
Control−C interrupt, suspends insert mode
^D backtab one character; reset left margin of autoindent
^^D caret (^) followed by control-d (^D); backtab to begin‐
ning of line; do not reset left margin of autoindent
0^D backtab to beginning of line; reset left margin of
autoindent
^V quote non-printable character
Insert and Replace
a append after cursor
A append at end of line
i insert before cursor
I insert before first non-blank
o open line below
O open line above
rx replace single character with x
RtextESC replace characters
Operators
Operators are followed by a cursor motion and affect all text that
would have been moved over. For example, since w moves over a word, dw
deletes the word that would be moved over. Double the operator, for
example dd, to affect whole lines.
d delete
c change
y yank lines to buffer
< left shift
> right shift
! filter through command
Miscellaneous Operations
C change rest of line (c$)
D delete rest of line (d$)
s substitute characters (cl)
S substitute lines (cc)
J join lines
x delete characters (dl)
X delete characters before cursor dh)
Y yank lines (yy)
Yank and Put
Put inserts the text most recently deleted or yanked; however, if a
buffer is named (using the ASCII lower-case letters a - z), the text in
that buffer is put instead.
3yy yank 3 lines
3yl yank 3 characters
p put back text after cursor
P put back text before cursor
"xp put from buffer x
"xy yank to buffer x
"xd delete into buffer x
Undo, Redo, Retrieve
u undo last change
U restore current line
. repeat last change
"dp retrieve d'th last delete
USAGE
See largefile(5) for the description of the behavior of vi and view
when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte ( 2^31 bytes).
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables
that affect the execution of vi: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_COLLATE, LC_CTYPE,
LC_TIME, LC_MESSAGES, NLSPATH, PATH, SHELL, and TERM.
COLUMNS Override the system-selected horizontal screen size.
EXINIT Determine a list of ex commands that are executed on editor
start-up, before reading the first file. The list can con‐
tain multiple commands by separating them using a vertical-
line (|) character.
LINES Override the system-selected vertical screen size, used as
the number of lines in a screenful and the vertical screen
size in visual mode.
FILES
/var/tmp
default directory where temporary work files are placed; it can be
changed using the directory option (see the ex(1) command)
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/*
compiled terminal description database
/usr/lib/.COREterm/?/*
subset of compiled terminal description database
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
/usr/bin/vi, /usr/bin/view, /usr/bin/vedit
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWcsu │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│CSI │Not enabled │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
/usr/xpg4/bin/vi, /usr/xpg4/bin/view, /usr/xpg4/bin/vedit
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWxcu4 │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│CSI │Enabled │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Standard │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
/usr/xpg6/bin/vi, /usr/xpg6/bin/view, /usr/xpg6/bin/vedit
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │SUNWxcu6 │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│CSI │Enabled │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Standard │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOintro(1), ctags(1), ed(1), edit(1), ex(1), attributes(5), environ(5),
largefile(5), standards(5)AUTHORvi and ex were developed by The University of California, Berkeley Cal‐
ifornia, Computer Science Division, Department of Electrical Engineer‐
ing and Computer Science.
NOTES
Two options, although they continue to be supported, have been replaced
in the documentation by options that follow the Command Syntax Standard
(see intro(1)). An -r option that is not followed with an option-argu‐
ment has been replaced by -L and +command has been replaced by -c com‐
mand.
The message file too large to recover with -r option, which is seen
when a file is loaded, indicates that the file can be edited and saved
successfully, but if the editing session is lost, recovery of the file
with the -r option is not possible.
The editing environment defaults to certain configuration options. When
an editing session is initiated, vi attempts to read the EXINIT envi‐
ronment variable. If it exists, the editor uses the values defined in
EXINIT; otherwise the values set in $HOME/.exrc are used. If
$HOME/.exrc does not exist, the default values are used.
To use a copy of .exrc located in the current directory other than
$HOME, set the exrc option in EXINIT or $HOME/.exrc. Options set in
EXINIT can be turned off in a local .exrc only if exrc is set in EXINIT
or $HOME/.exrc. In order to be used, .exrc in $HOME or the current
directory must fulfill these conditions:
o It must exist.
o It must be owned by the same userid as the real userid of
the process, or the process has appropriate privileges.
o It is not writable by anyone other than the owner.
Tampering with entries in /usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* or
/usr/share/lib/terminfo/?/* (for example, changing or removing an
entry) can affect programs such as vi that expect the entry to be
present and correct. In particular, removing the "dumb" terminal can
cause unexpected problems.
Software tabs using ^T work only immediately after the autoindent.
Left and right shifts on intelligent terminals do not make use of
insert and delete character operations in the terminal.
Loading an alternate malloc() library using the environment variable
LD_PRELOAD can cause problems for /usr/bin/vi.
The vi utility currently has the following limitations:
1. Lines, including the trailing NEWLINE character, can contain
no more than 4096 bytes.
If a longer line is found, Line too long is displayed in the
status line.
2. The editor's temporary work file can be no larger than
128Mb.
If a larger temporary file is needed, Tmp file too large is
displayed in the status line.
SunOS 5.10 16 May 2007 vi(1)
