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VIM(1)			    General Commands Manual			VIM(1)

NAME
       vim - Vi	IMproved, a programmers	text editor

SYNOPSIS
       vim [options] [file ..]
       vim [options] -t	tag
       vim [options] -e	[errorfile]

DESCRIPTION
       Vim  is	a text editor that is upwards compatible to vi.	It can be used
       to edit any ASCII text. It is especially	useful for editing programs.

       There are a lot of enhancements above vi: multi level undo, multi  win-
       dows  and  buffers,  command line editing, filename completion, on-line
       help, visual selection, etc..  Read difference.doc for a	summary	of the
       differences between vi and Vim.

       Most often Vim is started to edit a single file with the	command

	    vim	file

       More generally VIM is started with:

	    vim	[options] [filelist]

       If the filelist is missing, the editor will start with an empty buffer.
       Otherwise exactly one out of the	following three	may be used to	choose
       one or more files to be edited.

       file ..	   A  list  of file names. The first one (alphabetically) will
		   be the current file and read	into the  buffer.  The	cursor
		   will	be positioned on the first line	of the buffer. You can
		   get to the other files with the ":next" command.

       -t {tag}	   The file to edit and	the initial cursor position depends on
		   a  "tag",  a	 sort of goto label. {tag} is looked up	in the
		   tags	file, the associated file becomes the current file and
		   the associated command is executed. Mostly this is used for
		   C programs. {tag} then should be a function name.  The  ef-
		   fect	 is that the file containing that function becomes the
		   current file	and the	cursor is positioned on	the  start  of
		   the function	(see reference.doc, section "tag searches").

       -e [errorfile]
		   Start  in  quickFix	mode. The file [errorfile] is read and
		   the first error is displayed. If [errorfile]	is omitted the
		   file	name is	obtained from the 'errorfile' option (defaults
		   to "AztecC.Err" for the Amiga, "errors" on other  systems).
		   Further errors can be jumped	to with	the ":cn" command. See
		   reference.doc section 5.5.

OPTIONS
       The  options, if	present, must precede the filelist. The	options	may be
       given in	any order.

       -r	   Recovery mode. The swap file	is used	to recover  a  crashed
		   editing session. The	swap file is a file with the same file
		   name	 as  the  text	file  with ".swp" appended. See	refer-
		   ence.doc, chapter "Recovery after a crash".

       -v	   View	mode. The 'readonly' option will be set. You can still
		   edit	the buffer, but	 will  be  prevented  from  accidently
		   overwriting a file. If you do want to overwrite a file, add
		   an exclamation mark to the Ex command, as in	":w!".	The -v
		   option  also	implies	the -n option (see below).  The	'read-
		   only' option	can be reset  with  ":set  noro"  (see	refer-
		   ence.doc, options chapter).

       -b	   Binary. A few options will be set that makes	it possible to
		   edit	a binary or executable file.

       +[num]	   For	the  first  file the cursor will be positioned on line
		   "num". If "num" is missing, the cursor will	be  positioned
		   on the last line.

       +/pat	   For	the  first  file  the cursor will be positioned	on the
		   first occurrence of "pat" (see reference.doc, section "pat-
		   tern	searches" for the available search patterns).

       +{command}

       -c {command}
		   {command} will be executed after the	first  file  has  been
		   read.  {command}  is	 interpreted  as an Ex command.	If the
		   {command} contains spaces it	must  be  enclosed  in	double
		   quotes  (this depends on the	shell that is used).  Example:
		   Vim "+set si" main.c

       -x	   (Amiga only)	Vim is not restarted to	 open  a  new  window.
		   This	 option	 should	be used	when Vim is executed by	a pro-
		   gram	that will wait for the edit session  to	 finish	 (e.g.
		   mail). The ":sh" and	":!" commands will not work.

       -o[N]	   Open	N windows. When	N is omitted, open one window for each
		   file.

       -n	   No  swap  file will be used.	Recovery after a crash will be
		   impossible. Handy if	you want to edit a file	on a very slow
		   medium (e.g.	floppy). Can also be done  with	 ":set	uc=0".
		   Can be undone with ":set uc=200".

       -s {scriptin}
		   The	script	file {scriptin}	is read. The characters	in the
		   file	are interpreted	as if you had typed them. The same can
		   be done with	the command ":source! {scriptin}". If the  end
		   of  the  file  is  reached before the editor	exits, further
		   characters are read from the	keyboard.

       -w {scriptout}
		   All the characters that you type are	recorded in  the  file
		   {scriptout},	until you exit VIM. This is useful if you want
		   to  create  a  script  file	to  be	used  with "vim	-s" or
		   ":source!".

       -T terminal Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are using. Should be
		   a terminal known to Vim (builtin) or	defined	in the termcap
		   file.

       -d device   Open	"device" for use as a terminal.	Only on	the Amiga. Ex-
		   ample: "-d con:20/30/600/150".

SEE ALSO
       Vim documentation:

       reference.doc:
		   A complete reference	of Vim (long)

       windows.doc:
		   Explanation of the multi windows and	buffers	 commands  and
		   options

       index:	   Overview  of	all command characters (useful when adding new
		   mappings)

       difference.doc:
		   Overview of the differences between vi and Vim

       unix.doc:   Unix-specific comments

       vim.hlp:	   File	used by	the on-line help (short)

AUTHOR
       Most of VIM was made by Bram Moolenaar.
       VIM is based on Stevie, worked on by: Tim Thompson,  Tony  Andrews  and
       G.R. (Fred) Walter

BUGS
       Probably.

				1994 August 12				VIM(1)

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