xref: /vim-8.2.3635/runtime/doc/change.txt (revision 2bf24176)
1*change.txt*    For Vim version 7.4.  Last change: 2015 Oct 17
2
3
4		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7This file describes commands that delete or change text.  In this context,
8changing text means deleting the text and replacing it with other text using
9one command.  You can undo all of these commands.  You can repeat the non-Ex
10commands with the "." command.
11
121. Deleting text		|deleting|
132. Delete and insert		|delete-insert|
143. Simple changes		|simple-change|		*changing*
154. Complex changes		|complex-change|
16   4.1 Filter commands		   |filter|
17   4.2 Substitute		   |:substitute|
18   4.3 Search and replace	   |search-replace|
19   4.4 Changing tabs		   |change-tabs|
205. Copying and moving text	|copy-move|
216. Formatting text		|formatting|
227. Sorting text			|sorting|
23
24For inserting text see |insert.txt|.
25
26==============================================================================
271. Deleting text					*deleting* *E470*
28
29["x]<Del>	or					*<Del>* *x* *dl*
30["x]x			Delete [count] characters under and after the cursor
31			[into register x] (not |linewise|).  Does the same as
32			"dl".
33			The <Del> key does not take a [count].  Instead, it
34			deletes the last character of the count.
35			See |:fixdel| if the <Del> key does not do what you
36			want.  See |'whichwrap'| for deleting a line break
37			(join lines).  {Vi does not support <Del>}
38
39							*X* *dh*
40["x]X			Delete [count] characters before the cursor [into
41			register x] (not |linewise|).  Does the same as "dh".
42			Also see |'whichwrap'|.
43
44							*d*
45["x]d{motion}		Delete text that {motion} moves over [into register
46			x].  See below for exceptions.
47
48							*dd*
49["x]dd			Delete [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
50
51							*D*
52["x]D			Delete the characters under the cursor until the end
53			of the line and [count]-1 more lines [into register
54			x]; synonym for "d$".
55			(not |linewise|)
56			When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
57			ignored.
58
59{Visual}["x]x	or					*v_x* *v_d* *v_<Del>*
60{Visual}["x]d   or
61{Visual}["x]<Del>	Delete the highlighted text [into register x] (for
62			{Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
63
64{Visual}["x]CTRL-H   or					*v_CTRL-H* *v_<BS>*
65{Visual}["x]<BS>	When in Select mode: Delete the highlighted text [into
66			register x].
67
68{Visual}["x]X	or					*v_X* *v_D* *v_b_D*
69{Visual}["x]D		Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
70			{Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  In Visual block mode,
71			"D" deletes the highlighted text plus all text until
72			the end of the line.  {not in Vi}
73
74					*:d* *:de* *:del* *:delete* *:dl* *:dp*
75:[range]d[elete] [x]	Delete [range] lines (default: current line) [into
76			register x].
77			Note these weird abbreviations:
78			   :dl		delete and list
79			   :dell	idem
80			   :delel	idem
81			   :deletl	idem
82			   :deletel	idem
83			   :dp		delete and print
84			   :dep		idem
85			   :delp	idem
86			   :delep	idem
87			   :deletp	idem
88			   :deletep	idem
89
90:[range]d[elete] [x] {count}
91			Delete {count} lines, starting with [range]
92			(default: current line |cmdline-ranges|) [into
93			register x].
94
95These commands delete text.  You can repeat them with the `.` command
96(except `:d`) and undo them.  Use Visual mode to delete blocks of text.  See
97|registers| for an explanation of registers.
98
99An exception for the d{motion} command: If the motion is not linewise, the
100start and end of the motion are not in the same line, and there are only
101blanks before the start and after the end of the motion, the delete becomes
102linewise.  This means that the delete also removes the line of blanks that you
103might expect to remain. Use the |o_v| operator to force the motion to be
104characterwise.
105
106Trying to delete an empty region of text (e.g., "d0" in the first column)
107is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag.
108
109							*J*
110J			Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
111			Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces (see
112			below).
113
114							*v_J*
115{Visual}J		Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
116			lines.  Remove the indent and insert up to two spaces
117			(see below).  {not in Vi}
118
119							*gJ*
120gJ			Join [count] lines, with a minimum of two lines.
121			Don't insert or remove any spaces.  {not in Vi}
122
123							*v_gJ*
124{Visual}gJ		Join the highlighted lines, with a minimum of two
125			lines.  Don't insert or remove any spaces.  {not in
126			Vi}
127
128							*:j* *:join*
129:[range]j[oin][!] [flags]
130			Join [range] lines.  Same as "J", except with [!]
131			the join does not insert or delete any spaces.
132			If a [range] has equal start and end values, this
133			command does nothing.  The default behavior is to
134			join the current line with the line below it.
135			{not in Vi: !}
136			See |ex-flags| for [flags].
137
138:[range]j[oin][!] {count} [flags]
139			Join {count} lines, starting with [range] (default:
140			current line |cmdline-ranges|).  Same as "J", except
141			with [!] the join does not insert or delete any
142			spaces.
143			{not in Vi: !}
144			See |ex-flags| for [flags].
145
146These commands delete the <EOL> between lines.  This has the effect of joining
147multiple lines into one line.  You can repeat these commands (except `:j`) and
148undo them.
149
150These commands, except "gJ", insert one space in place of the <EOL> unless
151there is trailing white space or the next line starts with a ')'.  These
152commands, except "gJ", delete any leading white space on the next line.  If
153the 'joinspaces' option is on, these commands insert two spaces after a '.',
154'!' or '?' (but if 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, they insert two spaces
155only after a '.').
156The 'B' and 'M' flags in 'formatoptions' change the behavior for inserting
157spaces before and after a multi-byte character |fo-table|.
158
159The '[ mark is set at the end of the first line that was joined, '] at the end
160of the resulting line.
161
162
163==============================================================================
1642. Delete and insert				*delete-insert* *replacing*
165
166							*R*
167R			Enter Replace mode: Each character you type replaces
168			an existing character, starting with the character
169			under the cursor.  Repeat the entered text [count]-1
170			times.  See |Replace-mode| for more details.
171
172							*gR*
173gR			Enter Virtual Replace mode: Each character you type
174			replaces existing characters in screen space.  So a
175			<Tab> may replace several characters at once.
176			Repeat the entered text [count]-1 times.  See
177			|Virtual-Replace-mode| for more details.
178			{not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
179			feature}
180
181							*c*
182["x]c{motion}		Delete {motion} text [into register x] and start
183			insert.  When  'cpoptions' includes the 'E' flag and
184			there is no text to delete (e.g., with "cTx" when the
185			cursor is just after an 'x'), an error occurs and
186			insert mode does not start (this is Vi compatible).
187			When  'cpoptions' does not include the 'E' flag, the
188			"c" command always starts insert mode, even if there
189			is no text to delete.
190
191							*cc*
192["x]cc			Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
193			insert |linewise|.  If 'autoindent' is on, preserve
194			the indent of the first line.
195
196							*C*
197["x]C			Delete from the cursor position to the end of the
198			line and [count]-1 more lines [into register x], and
199			start insert.  Synonym for c$ (not |linewise|).
200
201							*s*
202["x]s			Delete [count] characters [into register x] and start
203			insert (s stands for Substitute).  Synonym for "cl"
204			(not |linewise|).
205
206							*S*
207["x]S			Delete [count] lines [into register x] and start
208			insert.  Synonym for "cc" |linewise|.
209
210{Visual}["x]c	or					*v_c* *v_s*
211{Visual}["x]s		Delete the highlighted text [into register x] and
212			start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not
213			in Vi}
214
215							*v_r*
216{Visual}["x]r{char}	Replace all selected characters by {char}.
217
218							*v_C*
219{Visual}["x]C		Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
220			start insert.  In Visual block mode it works
221			differently |v_b_C|.  {not in Vi}
222							*v_S*
223{Visual}["x]S		Delete the highlighted lines [into register x] and
224			start insert (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not
225			in Vi}
226							*v_R*
227{Visual}["x]R		Currently just like {Visual}["x]S.  In a next version
228			it might work differently. {not in Vi}
229
230Notes:
231- You can end Insert and Replace mode with <Esc>.
232- See the section "Insert and Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl| for the other
233  special characters in these modes.
234- The effect of [count] takes place after Vim exits Insert or Replace mode.
235- When the 'cpoptions' option contains '$' and the change is within one line,
236  Vim continues to show the text to be deleted and puts a '$' at the last
237  deleted character.
238
239See |registers| for an explanation of registers.
240
241Replace mode is just like Insert mode, except that every character you enter
242deletes one character.  If you reach the end of a line, Vim appends any
243further characters (just like Insert mode).  In Replace mode, the backspace
244key restores the original text (if there was any).  (See section "Insert and
245Replace mode" |mode-ins-repl|).
246
247						*cw* *cW*
248Special case: When the cursor is in a word, "cw" and "cW" do not include the
249white space after a word, they only change up to the end of the word.  This is
250because Vim interprets "cw" as change-word, and a word does not include the
251following white space.
252{Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first
253blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks; use the
254'w' flag in 'cpoptions' to make it work like Vi anyway}
255
256If you prefer "cw" to include the space after a word, use this mapping: >
257	:map cw dwi
258Or use "caw" (see |aw|).
259
260							*:c* *:ch* *:change*
261:{range}c[hange][!]	Replace lines of text with some different text.
262			Type a line containing only "." to stop replacing.
263			Without {range}, this command changes only the current
264			line.
265			Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
266			command is executed.
267
268==============================================================================
2693. Simple changes					*simple-change*
270
271							*r*
272r{char}			Replace the character under the cursor with {char}.
273			If {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, a line break replaces the
274			character.  To replace with a real <CR>, use CTRL-V
275			<CR>.  CTRL-V <NL> replaces with a <Nul>.
276			{Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces with a line break,
277			cannot replace something with a <CR>}
278
279			If {char} is CTRL-E or CTRL-Y the character from the
280			line below or above is used, just like with |i_CTRL-E|
281			and |i_CTRL-Y|.  This also works with a count, thus
282			`10r<C-E>` copies 10 characters from the line below.
283
284			If you give a [count], Vim replaces [count] characters
285			with [count] {char}s.  When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>,
286			however, Vim inserts only one <CR>: "5r<CR>" replaces
287			five characters with a single line break.
288			When {char} is a <CR> or <NL>, Vim performs
289			autoindenting.  This works just like deleting the
290			characters that are replaced and then doing
291			"i<CR><Esc>".
292			{char} can be entered as a digraph |digraph-arg|.
293			|:lmap| mappings apply to {char}.  The CTRL-^ command
294			in Insert mode can be used to switch this on/off
295			|i_CTRL-^|.  See |utf-8-char-arg| about using
296			composing characters when 'encoding' is Unicode.
297
298							*gr*
299gr{char}		Replace the virtual characters under the cursor with
300			{char}.  This replaces in screen space, not file
301			space.  See |gR| and |Virtual-Replace-mode| for more
302			details.  As with |r| a count may be given.
303			{char} can be entered like with |r|.
304			{not available when compiled without the |+vreplace|
305			feature}
306
307						*digraph-arg*
308The argument for Normal mode commands like |r| and |t| is a single character.
309When 'cpo' doesn't contain the 'D' flag, this character can also be entered
310like |digraphs|.  First type CTRL-K and then the two digraph characters.
311{not available when compiled without the |+digraphs| feature}
312
313						*case*
314The following commands change the case of letters.  The currently active
315|locale| is used.  See |:language|.  The LC_CTYPE value matters here.
316
317							*~*
318~			'notildeop' option: Switch case of the character
319			under the cursor and move the cursor to the right.
320			If a [count] is given, do that many characters. {Vi:
321			no count}
322
323~{motion}		'tildeop' option: switch case of {motion} text. {Vi:
324			tilde cannot be used as an operator}
325
326							*g~*
327g~{motion}		Switch case of {motion} text. {not in Vi}
328
329g~g~							*g~g~* *g~~*
330g~~			Switch case of current line. {not in Vi}.
331
332							*v_~*
333{Visual}~		Switch case of highlighted text (for {Visual} see
334			|Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
335
336							*v_U*
337{Visual}U		Make highlighted text uppercase (for {Visual} see
338			|Visual-mode|). {not in Vi}
339
340							*gU* *uppercase*
341gU{motion}		Make {motion} text uppercase. {not in Vi}
342			Example: >
343				:map! <C-F> <Esc>gUiw`]a
344<			This works in Insert mode: press CTRL-F to make the
345			word before the cursor uppercase.  Handy to type
346			words in lowercase and then make them uppercase.
347
348
349gUgU							*gUgU* *gUU*
350gUU			Make current line uppercase. {not in Vi}.
351
352							*v_u*
353{Visual}u		Make highlighted text lowercase (for {Visual} see
354			|Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
355
356							*gu* *lowercase*
357gu{motion}		Make {motion} text lowercase. {not in Vi}
358
359gugu							*gugu* *guu*
360guu			Make current line lowercase. {not in Vi}.
361
362							*g?* *rot13*
363g?{motion}		Rot13 encode {motion} text. {not in Vi}
364
365							*v_g?*
366{Visual}g?		Rot13 encode the highlighted text (for {Visual} see
367			|Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
368
369g?g?							*g?g?* *g??*
370g??			Rot13 encode current line. {not in Vi}.
371
372To turn one line into title caps, make every first letter of a word
373uppercase: >
374	:s/\v<(.)(\w*)/\u\1\L\2/g
375
376
377Adding and subtracting ~
378							*CTRL-A*
379CTRL-A			Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character at
380			or after the cursor.  {not in Vi}
381
382							*v_CTRL-A*
383{Visual}CTRL-A		Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
384			the highlighted text.  {not in Vi}
385
386							*v_g_CTRL-A*
387{Visual}g CTRL-A	Add [count] to the number or alphabetic character in
388			the highlighted text. If several lines are
389		        highlighted, each one will be incremented by an
390			additional [count] (so effectively creating a
391			[count] incrementing sequence).  {not in Vi}
392			For Example, if you have this list of numbers:
393				1. ~
394				1. ~
395				1. ~
396				1. ~
397			Move to the second "1." and Visually select three
398			lines, pressing g CTRL-A results in:
399				1. ~
400				2. ~
401				3. ~
402				4. ~
403
404							*CTRL-X*
405CTRL-X			Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
406			character at or after the cursor.  {not in Vi}
407
408							*v_CTRL-X*
409{Visual}CTRL-X		Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
410			character in the highlighted text.  {not in Vi}
411
412							*v_g_CTRL-X*
413{Visual}g CTRL-X	Subtract [count] from the number or alphabetic
414			character in the highlighted text. If several lines
415			are highlighted, each value will be decremented by an
416			additional [count] (so effectively creating a [count]
417			decrementing sequence).  {not in Vi}
418
419The CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands work for (signed) decimal numbers, unsigned
420octal and hexadecimal numbers and alphabetic characters.  This depends on the
421'nrformats' option.
422- When 'nrformats' includes "octal", Vim considers numbers starting with a '0'
423  to be octal, unless the number includes a '8' or '9'.  Other numbers are
424  decimal and may have a preceding minus sign.
425  If the cursor is on a number, the commands apply to that number; otherwise
426  Vim uses the number to the right of the cursor.
427- When 'nrformats' includes "hex", Vim assumes numbers starting with '0x' or
428  '0X' are hexadecimal.  The case of the rightmost letter in the number
429  determines the case of the resulting hexadecimal number.  If there is no
430  letter in the current number, Vim uses the previously detected case.
431- When 'nrformats' includes "alpha", Vim will change the alphabetic character
432  under or after the cursor.  This is useful to make lists with an alphabetic
433  index.
434
435For decimals a leading negative sign is considered for incrementing/
436decrementing, for octal and hex values, it won't be considered.
437To ignore the sign Visually select the number before using CTRL-A or CTRL-X.
438
439For numbers with leading zeros (including all octal and hexadecimal numbers),
440Vim preserves the number of characters in the number when possible.  CTRL-A on
441"0077" results in "0100", CTRL-X on "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
442There is one exception: When a number that starts with a zero is found not to
443be octal (it contains a '8' or '9'), but 'nrformats' does include "octal",
444leading zeros are removed to avoid that the result may be recognized as an
445octal number.
446
447Note that when 'nrformats' includes "octal", decimal numbers with leading
448zeros cause mistakes, because they can be confused with octal numbers.
449
450The CTRL-A command is very useful in a macro.  Example: Use the following
451steps to make a numbered list.
452
4531. Create the first list entry, make sure it starts with a number.
4542. qa	     - start recording into register 'a'
4553. Y	     - yank the entry
4564. p	     - put a copy of the entry below the first one
4575. CTRL-A    - increment the number
4586. q	     - stop recording
4597. <count>@a - repeat the yank, put and increment <count> times
460
461
462SHIFTING LINES LEFT OR RIGHT				*shift-left-right*
463
464							*<*
465<{motion}		Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
466
467							*<<*
468<<			Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards.
469
470							*v_<*
471{Visual}[count]<	Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
472			leftwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in
473			Vi}
474
475							*>*
476 >{motion}		Shift {motion} lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
477
478							*>>*
479 >>			Shift [count] lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards.
480
481							*v_>*
482{Visual}[count]>	Shift the highlighted lines [count] 'shiftwidth'
483			rightwards (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in
484			Vi}
485
486							*:<*
487:[range]<		Shift [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' left.  Repeat '<'
488			for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
489
490:[range]< {count}	Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' left, starting
491			with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
492			Repeat '<' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
493
494:[range]le[ft] [indent]	left align lines in [range].  Sets the indent in the
495			lines to [indent] (default 0).  {not in Vi}
496
497							*:>*
498:[range]> [flags]	Shift {count} [range] lines one 'shiftwidth' right.
499			Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
500			See |ex-flags| for [flags].
501
502:[range]> {count} [flags]
503			Shift {count} lines one 'shiftwidth' right, starting
504			with [range] (default current line |cmdline-ranges|).
505			Repeat '>' for shifting multiple 'shiftwidth's.
506			See |ex-flags| for [flags].
507
508The ">" and "<" commands are handy for changing the indentation within
509programs.  Use the 'shiftwidth' option to set the size of the white space
510which these commands insert or delete.  Normally the 'shiftwidth' option is 8,
511but you can set it to, say, 3 to make smaller indents.  The shift leftwards
512stops when there is no indent.  The shift right does not affect empty lines.
513
514If the 'shiftround' option is on, the indent is rounded to a multiple of
515'shiftwidth'.
516
517If the 'smartindent' option is on, or 'cindent' is on and 'cinkeys' contains
518'#' with a zero value, shift right does not affect lines starting with '#'
519(these are supposed to be C preprocessor lines that must stay in column 1).
520
521When the 'expandtab' option is off (this is the default) Vim uses <Tab>s as
522much as possible to make the indent.  You can use ">><<" to replace an indent
523made out of spaces with the same indent made out of <Tab>s (and a few spaces
524if necessary).  If the 'expandtab' option is on, Vim uses only spaces.  Then
525you can use ">><<" to replace <Tab>s in the indent by spaces (or use
526`:retab!`).
527
528To move a line several 'shiftwidth's, use Visual mode or the `:` commands.
529For example: >
530	Vjj4>		move three lines 4 indents to the right
531	:<<<		move current line 3 indents to the left
532	:>> 5		move 5 lines 2 indents to the right
533	:5>>		move line 5 2 indents to the right
534
535==============================================================================
5364. Complex changes					*complex-change*
537
5384.1 Filter commands					*filter*
539
540A filter is a program that accepts text at standard input, changes it in some
541way, and sends it to standard output.  You can use the commands below to send
542some text through a filter, so that it is replaced by the filter output.
543Examples of filters are "sort", which sorts lines alphabetically, and
544"indent", which formats C program files (you need a version of indent that
545works like a filter; not all versions do).  The 'shell' option specifies the
546shell Vim uses to execute the filter command (See also the 'shelltype'
547option).  You can repeat filter commands with ".".  Vim does not recognize a
548comment (starting with '"') after the `:!` command.
549
550							*!*
551!{motion}{filter}	Filter {motion} text lines through the external
552			program {filter}.
553
554							*!!*
555!!{filter}		Filter [count] lines through the external program
556			{filter}.
557
558							*v_!*
559{Visual}!{filter}	Filter the highlighted lines through the external
560			program {filter} (for {Visual} see |Visual-mode|).
561			{not in Vi}
562
563:{range}![!]{filter} [!][arg]				*:range!*
564			Filter {range} lines through the external program
565			{filter}.  Vim replaces the optional bangs with the
566			latest given command and appends the optional [arg].
567			Vim saves the output of the filter command in a
568			temporary file and then reads the file into the buffer
569			|tempfile|.  Vim uses the 'shellredir' option to
570			redirect the filter output to the temporary file.
571			However, if the 'shelltemp' option is off then pipes
572			are used when possible (on Unix).
573			When the 'R' flag is included in 'cpoptions' marks in
574			the filtered lines are deleted, unless the
575			|:keepmarks| command is used.  Example: >
576				:keepmarks '<,'>!sort
577<			When the number of lines after filtering is less than
578			before, marks in the missing lines are deleted anyway.
579
580							*=*
581={motion}		Filter {motion} lines through the external program
582			given with the 'equalprg' option.  When the 'equalprg'
583			option is empty (this is the default), use the
584			internal formatting function |C-indenting| and
585			|'lisp'|.  But when 'indentexpr' is not empty, it will
586			be used instead |indent-expression|.  When Vim was
587			compiled without internal formatting then the "indent"
588			program is used as a last resort.
589
590							*==*
591==			Filter [count] lines like with ={motion}.
592
593							*v_=*
594{Visual}=		Filter the highlighted lines like with ={motion}.
595			{not in Vi}
596
597
598						*tempfile* *setuid*
599Vim uses temporary files for filtering, generating diffs and also for
600tempname().  For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
601accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems (e.g., a symlink
602attack or other people reading your file).  When Vim exits the directory and
603all files in it are deleted.  When Vim has the setuid bit set this may cause
604problems, the temp file is owned by the setuid user but the filter command
605probably runs as the original user.
606On MS-DOS and OS/2 the first of these directories that works is used: $TMP,
607$TEMP, c:\TMP, c:\TEMP.
608For Unix the list of directories is: $TMPDIR, /tmp, current-dir, $HOME.
609For MS-Windows the GetTempFileName() system function is used.
610For other systems the tmpnam() library function is used.
611
612
613
6144.2 Substitute						*:substitute*
615							*:s* *:su*
616:[range]s[ubstitute]/{pattern}/{string}/[flags] [count]
617			For each line in [range] replace a match of {pattern}
618			with {string}.
619			For the {pattern} see |pattern|.
620			{string} can be a literal string, or something
621			special; see |sub-replace-special|.
622			When [range] and [count] are omitted, replace in the
623			current line only.
624			When [count] is given, replace in [count] lines,
625			starting with the last line in [range].  When [range]
626			is omitted start in the current line.
627			Also see |cmdline-ranges|.
628			See |:s_flags| for [flags].
629
630:[range]s[ubstitute] [flags] [count]
631:[range]&[&][flags] [count]					*:&*
632			Repeat last :substitute with same search pattern and
633			substitute string, but without the same flags.  You
634			may add [flags], see |:s_flags|.
635			Note that after `:substitute` the '&' flag can't be
636			used, it's recognized as a pattern separator.
637			The space between `:substitute` and the 'c', 'g',
638			'i', 'I' and 'r' flags isn't required, but in scripts
639			it's a good idea to keep it to avoid confusion.
640
641:[range]~[&][flags] [count]					*:~*
642			Repeat last substitute with same substitute string
643			but with last used search pattern.  This is like
644			`:&r`.  See |:s_flags| for [flags].
645
646								*&*
647&			Synonym for `:s` (repeat last substitute).  Note
648			that the flags are not remembered, thus it might
649			actually work differently.  You can use `:&&` to keep
650			the flags.
651
652								*g&*
653g&			Synonym for `:%s//~/&` (repeat last substitute with
654			last search pattern on all lines with the same flags).
655			For example, when you first do a substitution with
656			`:s/pattern/repl/flags` and then `/search` for
657			something else, `g&` will do `:%s/search/repl/flags`.
658			Mnemonic: global substitute. {not in Vi}
659
660						*:snomagic* *:sno*
661:[range]sno[magic] ...	Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'nomagic'.
662			{not in Vi}
663
664						*:smagic* *:sm*
665:[range]sm[agic] ...	Same as `:substitute`, but always use 'magic'.
666			{not in Vi}
667
668							*:s_flags*
669The flags that you can use for the substitute commands:
670
671[&]	Must be the first one: Keep the flags from the previous substitute
672	command.  Examples: >
673		:&&
674		:s/this/that/&
675<	Note that `:s` and `:&` don't keep the flags.
676	{not in Vi}
677
678[c]	Confirm each substitution.  Vim highlights the matching string (with
679	|hl-IncSearch|).  You can type:				*:s_c*
680	    'y'	    to substitute this match
681	    'l'	    to substitute this match and then quit ("last")
682	    'n'	    to skip this match
683	    <Esc>   to quit substituting
684	    'a'	    to substitute this and all remaining matches {not in Vi}
685	    'q'	    to quit substituting {not in Vi}
686	    CTRL-E  to scroll the screen up {not in Vi, not available when
687			compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
688	    CTRL-Y  to scroll the screen down {not in Vi, not available when
689			compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature}
690	If the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers the [c] flag and
691	toggles it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new
692	search pattern.
693	{not in Vi: highlighting of the match, other responses than 'y' or 'n'}
694
695[e]     When the search pattern fails, do not issue an error message and, in
696	particular, continue in maps as if no error occurred.  This is most
697	useful to prevent the "No match" error from breaking a mapping.  Vim
698	does not suppress the following error messages, however:
699		Regular expressions can't be delimited by letters
700		\ should be followed by /, ? or &
701		No previous substitute regular expression
702		Trailing characters
703		Interrupted
704	{not in Vi}
705
706[g]	Replace all occurrences in the line.  Without this argument,
707	replacement occurs only for the first occurrence in each line.  If
708	the 'edcompatible' option is on, Vim remembers this flag and toggles
709	it each time you use it, but resets it when you give a new search
710	pattern.  If the 'gdefault' option is on, this flag is on by default
711	and the [g] argument switches it off.
712
713[i]	Ignore case for the pattern.  The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options
714	are not used.
715	{not in Vi}
716
717[I]	Don't ignore case for the pattern.  The 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase'
718	options are not used.
719	{not in Vi}
720
721[n]	Report the number of matches, do not actually substitute.  The [c]
722	flag is ignored.  The matches are reported as if 'report' is zero.
723	Useful to |count-items|.
724	If \= |sub-replace-expression| is used, the expression will be
725	evaluated in the |sandbox| at every match.
726
727[p]	Print the line containing the last substitute.
728
729[#]	Like [p] and prepend the line number.
730
731[l]	Like [p] but print the text like |:list|.
732
733[r]	Only useful in combination with `:&` or `:s` without arguments.  `:&r`
734	works the same way as `:~`:  When the search pattern is empty, use the
735	previously used search pattern instead of the search pattern from the
736	last substitute or `:global`.  If the last command that did a search
737	was a substitute or `:global`, there is no effect.  If the last
738	command was a search command such as "/", use the pattern from that
739	command.
740	For `:s` with an argument this already happens: >
741		:s/blue/red/
742		/green
743		:s//red/   or  :~   or  :&r
744<	The last commands will replace "green" with "red". >
745		:s/blue/red/
746		/green
747		:&
748<	The last command will replace "blue" with "red".
749	{not in Vi}
750
751Note that there is no flag to change the "magicness" of the pattern.  A
752different command is used instead, or you can use |/\v| and friends.  The
753reason is that the flags can only be found by skipping the pattern, and in
754order to skip the pattern the "magicness" must be known.  Catch 22!
755
756If the {pattern} for the substitute command is empty, the command uses the
757pattern from the last substitute or `:global` command.  If there is none, but
758there is a previous search pattern, that one is used.  With the [r] flag, the
759command uses the pattern from the last substitute, `:global`, or search
760command.
761
762If the {string} is omitted the substitute is done as if it's empty.  Thus the
763matched pattern is deleted.  The separator after {pattern} can also be left
764out then.  Example: >
765	:%s/TESTING
766This deletes "TESTING" from all lines, but only one per line.
767
768For compatibility with Vi these two exceptions are allowed:
769"\/{string}/" and "\?{string}?" do the same as "//{string}/r".
770"\&{string}&" does the same as "//{string}/".
771							*E146*
772Instead of the '/' which surrounds the pattern and replacement string, you
773can use any other single-byte character, but not an alphanumeric character,
774'\', '"' or '|'.  This is useful if you want to include a '/' in the search
775pattern or replacement string.  Example: >
776	:s+/+//+
777
778For the definition of a pattern, see |pattern|.  In Visual block mode, use
779|/\%V| in the pattern to have the substitute work in the block only.
780Otherwise it works on whole lines anyway.
781
782					*sub-replace-special* *:s\=*
783When the {string} starts with "\=" it is evaluated as an expression, see
784|sub-replace-expression|.  You can use that for complex replacement or special
785characters.
786
787Otherwise these characters in {string} have a special meaning:
788								*:s%*
789When {string} is equal to "%" and '/' is included with the 'cpoptions' option,
790then the {string} of the previous substitute command is used, see |cpo-/|
791
792magic	nomagic	  action    ~
793  &	  \&	  replaced with the whole matched pattern	     *s/\&*
794 \&	   &	  replaced with &
795      \0	  replaced with the whole matched pattern	   *\0* *s/\0*
796      \1	  replaced with the matched pattern in the first
797		  pair of ()					     *s/\1*
798      \2	  replaced with the matched pattern in the second
799		  pair of ()					     *s/\2*
800      ..	  ..						     *s/\3*
801      \9	  replaced with the matched pattern in the ninth
802		  pair of ()					     *s/\9*
803  ~	  \~	  replaced with the {string} of the previous
804		  substitute					     *s~*
805 \~	   ~	  replaced with ~				     *s/\~*
806      \u	  next character made uppercase			     *s/\u*
807      \U	  following characters made uppercase, until \E      *s/\U*
808      \l	  next character made lowercase			     *s/\l*
809      \L	  following characters made lowercase, until \E      *s/\L*
810      \e	  end of \u, \U, \l and \L (NOTE: not <Esc>!)	     *s/\e*
811      \E	  end of \u, \U, \l and \L			     *s/\E*
812      <CR>	  split line in two at this point
813		  (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>)		     *s<CR>*
814      \r	  idem						     *s/\r*
815      \<CR>	  insert a carriage-return (CTRL-M)
816		  (Type the <CR> as CTRL-V <Enter>)		     *s/\<CR>*
817      \n	  insert a <NL> (<NUL> in the file)
818		  (does NOT break the line)			     *s/\n*
819      \b	  insert a <BS>					     *s/\b*
820      \t	  insert a <Tab>				     *s/\t*
821      \\	  insert a single backslash			     *s/\\*
822      \x	  where x is any character not mentioned above:
823		  Reserved for future expansion
824
825The special meaning is also used inside the third argument {sub} of
826the |substitute()| function with the following exceptions:
827  - A % inserts a percent literally without regard to 'cpoptions'.
828  - magic is always set without regard to 'magic'.
829  - A ~ inserts a tilde literally.
830  - <CR> and \r inserts a carriage-return (CTRL-M).
831  - \<CR> does not have a special meaning. it's just one of \x.
832
833Examples: >
834  :s/a\|b/xxx\0xxx/g		 modifies "a b"	     to "xxxaxxx xxxbxxx"
835  :s/\([abc]\)\([efg]\)/\2\1/g	 modifies "af fa bg" to "fa fa gb"
836  :s/abcde/abc^Mde/		 modifies "abcde"    to "abc", "de" (two lines)
837  :s/$/\^M/			 modifies "abcde"    to "abcde^M"
838  :s/\w\+/\u\0/g		 modifies "bla bla"  to "Bla Bla"
839  :s/\w\+/\L\u/g		 modifies "BLA bla"  to "Bla Bla"
840
841Note: "\L\u" can be used to capitalize the first letter of a word.  This is
842not compatible with Vi and older versions of Vim, where the "\u" would cancel
843out the "\L". Same for "\U\l".
844
845Note: In previous versions CTRL-V was handled in a special way.  Since this is
846not Vi compatible, this was removed.  Use a backslash instead.
847
848command		text	result ~
849:s/aa/a^Ma/	aa	a<line-break>a
850:s/aa/a\^Ma/	aa	a^Ma
851:s/aa/a\\^Ma/	aa	a\<line-break>a
852
853(you need to type CTRL-V <CR> to get a ^M here)
854
855The numbering of "\1", "\2" etc. is done based on which "\(" comes first in
856the pattern (going left to right).  When a parentheses group matches several
857times, the last one will be used for "\1", "\2", etc.  Example: >
858  :s/\(\(a[a-d] \)*\)/\2/      modifies "aa ab x" to "ab x"
859
860When using parentheses in combination with '|', like in \([ab]\)\|\([cd]\),
861either the first or second pattern in parentheses did not match, so either
862\1 or \2 is empty.  Example: >
863  :s/\([ab]\)\|\([cd]\)/\1x/g   modifies "a b c d"  to "ax bx x x"
864<
865
866		*:sc* *:sce* *:scg* *:sci* *:scI* *:scl* *:scp* *:sg* *:sgc*
867		*:sge* *:sgi* *:sgI* *:sgl* *:sgn* *:sgp* *:sgr* *:sI* *:si*
868		*:sic* *:sIc* *:sie* *:sIe* *:sIg* *:sIl* *:sin* *:sIn* *:sIp*
869		*:sip* *:sIr* *:sir* *:sr* *:src* *:srg* *:sri* *:srI* *:srl*
870		*:srn* *:srp*
8712-letter and 3-letter :substitute commands ~
872
873     List of :substitute commands
874     |      c    e    g    i    I    n    p    l    r
875     | c  :sc  :sce :scg :sci :scI :scn :scp :scl  ---
876     | e
877     | g  :sgc :sge :sg  :sgi :sgI :sgn :sgp :sgl :sgr
878     | i  :sic :sie  --- :si  :siI :sin :sip  --- :sir
879     | I  :sIc :sIe :sIg :sIi :sI  :sIn :sIp :sIl :sIr
880     | n
881     | p
882     | l
883     | r  :src  --- :srg :sri :srI :srn :srp :srl :sr
884
885Exceptions:
886     :scr  is  `:scriptnames`
887     :se   is  `:set`
888     :sig  is  `:sign`
889     :sil  is  `:silent`
890     :sn   is  `:snext`
891     :sp   is  `:split`
892     :sl   is  `:sleep`
893     :sre  is  `:srewind`
894
895
896Substitute with an expression			*sub-replace-expression*
897						*sub-replace-\=* *s/\=*
898When the substitute string starts with "\=" the remainder is interpreted as an
899expression.  This does not work recursively: a |substitute()| function inside
900the expression cannot use "\=" for the substitute string.
901
902The special meaning for characters as mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does
903not apply except for "<CR>".  A <NL> character is used as a line break, you
904can get one with a double-quote string: "\n".  Prepend a backslash to get a
905real <NL> character (which will be a NUL in the file).
906
907The "\=" notation can also be used inside the third argument {sub} of
908|substitute()| function.  In this case, the special meaning for characters as
909mentioned at |sub-replace-special| does not apply at all. Especially, <CR> and
910<NL> are interpreted not as a line break but as a carriage-return and a
911new-line respectively.
912
913When the result is a |List| then the items are joined with separating line
914breaks.  Thus each item becomes a line, except that they can contain line
915breaks themselves.
916
917The whole matched text can be accessed with "submatch(0)".  The text matched
918with the first pair of () with "submatch(1)".  Likewise for further
919sub-matches in ().
920
921Be careful: The separation character must not appear in the expression!
922Consider using a character like "@" or ":".  There is no problem if the result
923of the expression contains the separation character.
924
925Examples: >
926	:s@\n@\="\r" . expand("$HOME") . "\r"@
927This replaces an end-of-line with a new line containing the value of $HOME. >
928
929	s/E/\="\<Char-0x20ac>"/g
930This replaces each 'E' character with a euro sign.  Read more in |<Char->|.
931
932
9334.3 Search and replace					*search-replace*
934
935							*:pro* *:promptfind*
936:promptf[ind] [string]
937			Put up a Search dialog.  When [string] is given, it is
938			used as the initial search string.
939			{only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
940
941						*:promptr* *:promptrepl*
942:promptr[epl] [string]
943			Put up a Search/Replace dialog.  When [string] is
944			given, it is used as the initial search string.
945			{only for Win32, Motif and GTK GUI}
946
947
9484.4 Changing tabs					*change-tabs*
949							*:ret* *:retab* *:retab!*
950:[range]ret[ab][!] [new_tabstop]
951			Replace all sequences of white-space containing a
952			<Tab> with new strings of white-space using the new
953			tabstop value given.  If you do not specify a new
954			tabstop size or it is zero, Vim uses the current value
955			of 'tabstop'.
956			The current value of 'tabstop' is always used to
957			compute the width of existing tabs.
958			With !, Vim also replaces strings of only normal
959			spaces with tabs where appropriate.
960			With 'expandtab' on, Vim replaces all tabs with the
961			appropriate number of spaces.
962			This command sets 'tabstop' to the new value given,
963			and if performed on the whole file, which is default,
964			should not make any visible change.
965			Careful: This command modifies any <Tab> characters
966			inside of strings in a C program.  Use "\t" to avoid
967			this (that's a good habit anyway).
968			`:retab!` may also change a sequence of spaces by
969			<Tab> characters, which can mess up a printf().
970			{not in Vi}
971			Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
972			compile time.
973
974							*retab-example*
975Example for using autocommands and ":retab" to edit a file which is stored
976with tabstops at 8 but edited with tabstops set at 4.  Warning: white space
977inside of strings can change!  Also see 'softtabstop' option. >
978
979  :auto BufReadPost	*.xx	retab! 4
980  :auto BufWritePre	*.xx	retab! 8
981  :auto BufWritePost	*.xx	retab! 4
982  :auto BufNewFile	*.xx	set ts=4
983
984==============================================================================
9855. Copying and moving text				*copy-move*
986
987							*quote*
988"{a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"}	Use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank
989			or put (use uppercase character to append with
990			delete and yank) ({.%#:} only work with put).
991
992							*:reg* *:registers*
993:reg[isters]		Display the contents of all numbered and named
994			registers.  If a register is written to for |:redir|
995			it will not be listed.
996			{not in Vi}
997
998
999:reg[isters] {arg}	Display the contents of the numbered and named
1000			registers that are mentioned in {arg}.  For example: >
1001				:dis 1a
1002<			to display registers '1' and 'a'.  Spaces are allowed
1003			in {arg}.  {not in Vi}
1004
1005							*:di* *:display*
1006:di[splay] [arg]	Same as :registers.  {not in Vi}
1007
1008							*y* *yank*
1009["x]y{motion}		Yank {motion} text [into register x].  When no
1010			characters are to be yanked (e.g., "y0" in column 1),
1011			this is an error when 'cpoptions' includes the 'E'
1012			flag.
1013
1014							*yy*
1015["x]yy			Yank [count] lines [into register x] |linewise|.
1016
1017							*Y*
1018["x]Y			yank [count] lines [into register x] (synonym for
1019			yy, |linewise|).  If you like "Y" to work from the
1020			cursor to the end of line (which is more logical,
1021			but not Vi-compatible) use ":map Y y$".
1022
1023							*v_y*
1024{Visual}["x]y		Yank the highlighted text [into register x] (for
1025			{Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
1026
1027							*v_Y*
1028{Visual}["x]Y		Yank the highlighted lines [into register x] (for
1029			{Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
1030
1031							*:y* *:yank* *E850*
1032:[range]y[ank] [x]	Yank [range] lines [into register x]. Yanking to the
1033			"* or "+ registers is possible only when the
1034			|+clipboard| feature is included.
1035
1036:[range]y[ank] [x] {count}
1037			Yank {count} lines, starting with last line number
1038			in [range] (default: current line |cmdline-ranges|),
1039			[into register x].
1040
1041							*p* *put* *E353*
1042["x]p			Put the text [from register x] after the cursor
1043			[count] times.  {Vi: no count}
1044
1045							*P*
1046["x]P			Put the text [from register x] before the cursor
1047			[count] times.  {Vi: no count}
1048
1049							*<MiddleMouse>*
1050["x]<MiddleMouse>	Put the text from a register before the cursor [count]
1051			times.  Uses the "* register, unless another is
1052			specified.
1053			Leaves the cursor at the end of the new text.
1054			Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1055			or 'a'.
1056			{not in Vi}
1057			If you have a scrollwheel and often accidentally paste
1058			text, you can use these mappings to disable the
1059			pasting with the middle mouse button: >
1060				:map <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1061				:imap <MiddleMouse> <Nop>
1062<			You might want to disable the multi-click versions
1063			too, see |double-click|.
1064
1065							*gp*
1066["x]gp			Just like "p", but leave the cursor just after the new
1067			text.  {not in Vi}
1068
1069							*gP*
1070["x]gP			Just like "P", but leave the cursor just after the new
1071			text.  {not in Vi}
1072
1073							*:pu* *:put*
1074:[line]pu[t] [x]	Put the text [from register x] after [line] (default
1075			current line).  This always works |linewise|, thus
1076			this command can be used to put a yanked block as new
1077			lines.
1078			If no register is specified, it depends on the 'cb'
1079			option: If 'cb' contains "unnamedplus", paste from the
1080			+ register |quoteplus|.  Otherwise, if 'cb' contains
1081			"unnamed", paste from the * register |quotestar|.
1082			Otherwise, paste from the unnamed register
1083			|quote_quote|.
1084			The register can also be '=' followed by an optional
1085			expression.  The expression continues until the end of
1086			the command.  You need to escape the '|' and '"'
1087			characters to prevent them from terminating the
1088			command.  Example: >
1089				:put ='path' . \",/test\"
1090<			If there is no expression after '=', Vim uses the
1091			previous expression.  You can see it with ":dis =".
1092
1093:[line]pu[t]! [x]	Put the text [from register x] before [line] (default
1094			current line).
1095
1096["x]]p		    or					*]p* *]<MiddleMouse>*
1097["x]]<MiddleMouse>	Like "p", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1098			Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1099			or 'a'.  {not in Vi}
1100
1101["x][P		    or					*[P*
1102["x]]P		    or					*]P*
1103["x][p		    or					*[p* *[<MiddleMouse>*
1104["x][<MiddleMouse>	Like "P", but adjust the indent to the current line.
1105			Using the mouse only works when 'mouse' contains 'n'
1106			or 'a'.  {not in Vi}
1107
1108You can use these commands to copy text from one place to another.  Do this
1109by first getting the text into a register with a yank, delete or change
1110command, then inserting the register contents with a put command.  You can
1111also use these commands to move text from one file to another, because Vim
1112preserves all registers when changing buffers (the CTRL-^ command is a quick
1113way to toggle between two files).
1114
1115				*linewise-register* *characterwise-register*
1116You can repeat the put commands with "." (except for :put) and undo them.  If
1117the command that was used to get the text into the register was |linewise|,
1118Vim inserts the text below ("p") or above ("P") the line where the cursor is.
1119Otherwise Vim inserts the text after ("p") or before ("P") the cursor.  With
1120the ":put" command, Vim always inserts the text in the next line.  You can
1121exchange two characters with the command sequence "xp".  You can exchange two
1122lines with the command sequence "ddp".  You can exchange two words with the
1123command sequence "deep" (start with the cursor in the blank space before the
1124first word).  You can use the "']" or "`]" command after the put command to
1125move the cursor to the end of the inserted text, or use "'[" or "`[" to move
1126the cursor to the start.
1127
1128						*put-Visual-mode* *v_p* *v_P*
1129When using a put command like |p| or |P| in Visual mode, Vim will try to
1130replace the selected text with the contents of the register.  Whether this
1131works well depends on the type of selection and the type of the text in the
1132register.  With blockwise selection it also depends on the size of the block
1133and whether the corners are on an existing character.  (Implementation detail:
1134it actually works by first putting the register after the selection and then
1135deleting the selection.)
1136The previously selected text is put in the unnamed register.  If you want to
1137put the same text into a Visual selection several times you need to use
1138another register.  E.g., yank the text to copy, Visually select the text to
1139replace and use "0p .  You can repeat this as many times as you like, the
1140unnamed register will be changed each time.
1141
1142When you use a blockwise Visual mode command and yank only a single line into
1143a register, a paste on a visual selected area will paste that single line on
1144each of the selected lines (thus replacing the blockwise selected region by a
1145block of the pasted line).
1146
1147							*blockwise-register*
1148If you use a blockwise Visual mode command to get the text into the register,
1149the block of text will be inserted before ("P") or after ("p") the cursor
1150column in the current and next lines.  Vim makes the whole block of text start
1151in the same column.  Thus the inserted text looks the same as when it was
1152yanked or deleted.  Vim may replace some <Tab> characters with spaces to make
1153this happen.  However, if the width of the block is not a multiple of a <Tab>
1154width and the text after the inserted block contains <Tab>s, that text may be
1155misaligned.
1156
1157Note that after a characterwise yank command, Vim leaves the cursor on the
1158first yanked character that is closest to the start of the buffer.  This means
1159that "yl" doesn't move the cursor, but "yh" moves the cursor one character
1160left.
1161Rationale:	In Vi the "y" command followed by a backwards motion would
1162		sometimes not move the cursor to the first yanked character,
1163		because redisplaying was skipped.  In Vim it always moves to
1164		the first character, as specified by Posix.
1165With a linewise yank command the cursor is put in the first line, but the
1166column is unmodified, thus it may not be on the first yanked character.
1167
1168There are ten types of registers:			*registers* *E354*
11691. The unnamed register ""
11702. 10 numbered registers "0 to "9
11713. The small delete register "-
11724. 26 named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z
11735. three read-only registers ":, "., "%
11746. alternate buffer register "#
11757. the expression register "=
11768. The selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
11779. The black hole register "_
117810. Last search pattern register "/
1179
11801. Unnamed register ""				*quote_quote* *quotequote*
1181Vim fills this register with text deleted with the "d", "c", "s", "x" commands
1182or copied with the yank "y" command, regardless of whether or not a specific
1183register was used (e.g.  "xdd).  This is like the unnamed register is pointing
1184to the last used register.  Thus when appending using an uppercase register
1185name, the unnamed register contains the same text as the named register.
1186An exception is the '_' register: "_dd does not store the deleted text in any
1187register.
1188Vim uses the contents of the unnamed register for any put command (p or P)
1189which does not specify a register.  Additionally you can access it with the
1190name '"'.  This means you have to type two double quotes.  Writing to the ""
1191register writes to register "0.
1192{Vi: register contents are lost when changing files, no '"'}
1193
11942. Numbered registers "0 to "9		*quote_number* *quote0*	*quote1*
1195					*quote2* *quote3* *quote4* *quote9*
1196Vim fills these registers with text from yank and delete commands.
1197   Numbered register 0 contains the text from the most recent yank command,
1198unless the command specified another register with ["x].
1199   Numbered register 1 contains the text deleted by the most recent delete or
1200change command, unless the command specified another register or the text is
1201less than one line (the small delete register is used then).  An exception is
1202made for the delete operator with these movement commands: |%|, |(|, |)|, |`|,
1203|/|, |?|, |n|, |N|, |{| and |}|.  Register "1 is always used then (this is Vi
1204compatible).  The "- register is used as well if the delete is within a line.
1205Note that these characters may be mapped.  E.g. |%| is mapped by the matchit
1206plugin.
1207   With each successive deletion or change, Vim shifts the previous contents
1208of register 1 into register 2, 2 into 3, and so forth, losing the previous
1209contents of register 9.
1210{Vi: numbered register contents are lost when changing files; register 0 does
1211not exist}
1212
12133. Small delete register "-				*quote_-* *quote-*
1214This register contains text from commands that delete less than one line,
1215except when the command specifies a register with ["x].
1216{not in Vi}
1217
12184. Named registers "a to "z or "A to "Z			*quote_alpha* *quotea*
1219Vim fills these registers only when you say so.  Specify them as lowercase
1220letters to replace their previous contents or as uppercase letters to append
1221to their previous contents.  When the '>' flag is present in 'cpoptions' then
1222a line break is inserted before the appended text.
1223
12245. Read-only registers ":, ". and "%
1225These are '%', '#', ':' and '.'.  You can use them only with the "p", "P",
1226and ":put" commands and with CTRL-R.  {not in Vi}
1227						*quote_.* *quote.* *E29*
1228	".	Contains the last inserted text (the same as what is inserted
1229		with the insert mode commands CTRL-A and CTRL-@).  Note: this
1230		doesn't work with CTRL-R on the command-line.  It works a bit
1231		differently, like inserting the text instead of putting it
1232		('textwidth' and other options affect what is inserted).
1233							*quote_%* *quote%*
1234	"%	Contains the name of the current file.
1235						*quote_:* *quote:* *E30*
1236	":	Contains the most recent executed command-line.  Example: Use
1237		"@:" to repeat the previous command-line command.
1238		The command-line is only stored in this register when at least
1239		one character of it was typed.  Thus it remains unchanged if
1240		the command was completely from a mapping.
1241		{not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist|
1242		feature}
1243							*quote_#* *quote#*
12446. Alternate file register "#
1245Contains the name of the alternate file for the current window.  It will
1246change how the |CTRL-^| command works.
1247This register is writable, mainly to allow for restoring it after a plugin has
1248changed it.  It accepts buffer number: >
1249    let altbuf = bufnr(@#)
1250    ...
1251    let @# = altbuf
1252It will give error |E86| if you pass buffer number and this buffer does not
1253exist.
1254It can also accept a match with an existing buffer name: >
1255    let @# = 'buffer_name'
1256Error |E93| if there is more than one buffer matching the given name or |E94|
1257if none of buffers matches the given name.
1258
12597. Expression register "=			*quote_=* *quote=* *@=*
1260This is not really a register that stores text, but is a way to use an
1261expression in commands which use a register.  The expression register is
1262read-write.
1263
1264When typing the '=' after " or CTRL-R the cursor moves to the command-line,
1265where you can enter any expression (see |expression|).  All normal
1266command-line editing commands are available, including a special history for
1267expressions.  When you end the command-line by typing <CR>, Vim computes the
1268result of the expression.  If you end it with <Esc>, Vim abandons the
1269expression.  If you do not enter an expression, Vim uses the previous
1270expression (like with the "/" command).
1271
1272The expression must evaluate to a String.  A Number is always automatically
1273converted to a String.  For the "p" and ":put" command, if the result is a
1274Float it's converted into a String.  If the result is a List each element is
1275turned into a String and used as a line.  A Dictionary or FuncRef results in
1276an error message (use string() to convert).
1277
1278If the "= register is used for the "p" command, the String is split up at <NL>
1279characters.  If the String ends in a <NL>, it is regarded as a linewise
1280register.  {not in Vi}
1281
12828. Selection and drop registers "*, "+ and "~
1283Use these registers for storing and retrieving the selected text for the GUI.
1284See |quotestar| and |quoteplus|.  When the clipboard is not available or not
1285working, the unnamed register is used instead.  For Unix systems the clipboard
1286is only available when the |+xterm_clipboard| feature is present.  {not in Vi}
1287
1288Note that there is only a distinction between "* and "+ for X11 systems.  For
1289an explanation of the difference, see |x11-selection|.  Under MS-Windows, use
1290of "* and "+ is actually synonymous and refers to the |gui-clipboard|.
1291
1292						*quote_~* *quote~* *<Drop>*
1293The read-only "~ register stores the dropped text from the last drag'n'drop
1294operation.  When something has been dropped onto Vim, the "~ register is
1295filled in and the <Drop> pseudo key is sent for notification.  You can remap
1296this key if you want; the default action (for all modes) is to insert the
1297contents of the "~ register at the cursor position.  {not in Vi}
1298{only available when compiled with the |+dnd| feature, currently only with the
1299GTK GUI}
1300
1301Note: The "~ register is only used when dropping plain text onto Vim.
1302Drag'n'drop of URI lists is handled internally.
1303
13049. Black hole register "_				*quote_*
1305When writing to this register, nothing happens.  This can be used to delete
1306text without affecting the normal registers.  When reading from this register,
1307nothing is returned.  {not in Vi}
1308
130910. Last search pattern register	"/			*quote_/* *quote/*
1310Contains the most recent search-pattern.  This is used for "n" and 'hlsearch'.
1311It is writable with `:let`, you can change it to have 'hlsearch' highlight
1312other matches without actually searching.  You can't yank or delete into this
1313register.  The search direction is available in |v:searchforward|.
1314Note that the value is restored when returning from a function
1315|function-search-undo|.
1316{not in Vi}
1317
1318							*@/*
1319You can write to a register with a `:let` command |:let-@|.  Example: >
1320	:let @/ = "the"
1321
1322If you use a put command without specifying a register, Vim uses the register
1323that was last filled (this is also the contents of the unnamed register).  If
1324you are confused, use the `:dis` command to find out what Vim will put (this
1325command displays all named and numbered registers; the unnamed register is
1326labelled '"').
1327
1328The next three commands always work on whole lines.
1329
1330:[range]co[py] {address}				*:co* *:copy*
1331			Copy the lines given by [range] to below the line
1332			given by {address}.
1333
1334							*:t*
1335:t			Synonym for copy.
1336
1337:[range]m[ove] {address}			*:m* *:mo* *:move* *E134*
1338			Move the lines given by [range] to below the line
1339			given by {address}.
1340
1341==============================================================================
13426. Formatting text					*formatting*
1343
1344:[range]ce[nter] [width]				*:ce* *:center*
1345			Center lines in [range] between [width] columns
1346			(default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1347			{not in Vi}
1348			Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1349			compile time.
1350
1351:[range]ri[ght] [width]					*:ri* *:right*
1352			Right-align lines in [range] at [width] columns
1353			(default 'textwidth' or 80 when 'textwidth' is 0).
1354			{not in Vi}
1355			Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1356			compile time.
1357
1358							*:le* *:left*
1359:[range]le[ft] [indent]
1360			Left-align lines in [range].  Sets the indent in the
1361			lines to [indent] (default 0).  {not in Vi}
1362			Not available when |+ex_extra| feature was disabled at
1363			compile time.
1364
1365							*gq*
1366gq{motion}		Format the lines that {motion} moves over.
1367			Formatting is done with one of three methods:
1368			1. If 'formatexpr' is not empty the expression is
1369			   evaluated.  This can differ for each buffer.
1370			2. If 'formatprg' is not empty an external program
1371			   is used.
1372			3. Otherwise formatting is done internally.
1373
1374			In the third case the 'textwidth' option controls the
1375			length of each formatted line (see below).
1376			If the 'textwidth' option is 0, the formatted line
1377			length is the screen width (with a maximum width of
1378			79).
1379			The 'formatoptions' option controls the type of
1380			formatting |fo-table|.
1381			The cursor is left on the first non-blank of the last
1382			formatted line.
1383			NOTE: The "Q" command formerly performed this
1384			function.  If you still want to use "Q" for
1385			formatting, use this mapping: >
1386				:nnoremap Q gq
1387
1388gqgq							*gqgq* *gqq*
1389gqq			Format the current line.  With a count format that
1390			many lines.  {not in Vi}
1391
1392							*v_gq*
1393{Visual}gq		Format the highlighted text.  (for {Visual} see
1394			|Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
1395
1396							*gw*
1397gw{motion}		Format the lines that {motion} moves over.  Similar to
1398			|gq| but puts the cursor back at the same position in
1399			the text.  However, 'formatprg' and 'formatexpr' are
1400			not used.  {not in Vi}
1401
1402gwgw							*gwgw* *gww*
1403gww			Format the current line as with "gw".  {not in Vi}
1404
1405							*v_gw*
1406{Visual}gw		Format the highlighted text as with "gw".  (for
1407			{Visual} see |Visual-mode|).  {not in Vi}
1408
1409Example: To format the current paragraph use:			*gqap*  >
1410	gqap
1411
1412The "gq" command leaves the cursor in the line where the motion command takes
1413the cursor.  This allows you to repeat formatting repeated with ".".  This
1414works well with "gqj" (format current and next line) and "gq}" (format until
1415end of paragraph).  Note: When 'formatprg' is set, "gq" leaves the cursor on
1416the first formatted line (as with using a filter command).
1417
1418If you want to format the current paragraph and continue where you were, use: >
1419	gwap
1420If you always want to keep paragraphs formatted you may want to add the 'a'
1421flag to 'formatoptions'.  See |auto-format|.
1422
1423If the 'autoindent' option is on, Vim uses the indent of the first line for
1424the following lines.
1425
1426Formatting does not change empty lines (but it does change lines with only
1427white space!).
1428
1429The 'joinspaces' option is used when lines are joined together.
1430
1431You can set the 'formatexpr' option to an expression or the 'formatprg' option
1432to the name of an external program for Vim to use for text formatting.  The
1433'textwidth' and other options have no effect on formatting by an external
1434program.
1435
1436							*right-justify*
1437There is no command in Vim to right justify text.  You can do it with
1438an external command, like "par" (e.g.: "!}par" to format until the end of the
1439paragraph) or set 'formatprg' to "par".
1440
1441							*format-comments*
1442An overview of comment formatting is in section |30.6| of the user manual.
1443
1444Vim can automatically insert and format comments in a special way.  Vim
1445recognizes a comment by a specific string at the start of the line (ignoring
1446white space).  Three types of comments can be used:
1447
1448- A comment string that repeats at the start of each line.  An example is the
1449  type of comment used in shell scripts, starting with "#".
1450- A comment string that occurs only in the first line, not in the following
1451  lines.  An example is this list with dashes.
1452- Three-piece comments that have a start string, an end string, and optional
1453  lines in between.  The strings for the start, middle and end are different.
1454  An example is the C style comment:
1455	/*
1456	 * this is a C comment
1457	 */
1458
1459The 'comments' option is a comma-separated list of parts.  Each part defines a
1460type of comment string.  A part consists of:
1461	{flags}:{string}
1462
1463{string} is the literal text that must appear.
1464
1465{flags}:
1466  n	Nested comment.  Nesting with mixed parts is allowed.  If 'comments'
1467	is "n:),n:>" a line starting with "> ) >" is a comment.
1468
1469  b	Blank (<Space>, <Tab> or <EOL>) required after {string}.
1470
1471  f	Only the first line has the comment string.  Do not repeat comment on
1472	the next line, but preserve indentation (e.g., a bullet-list).
1473
1474  s	Start of three-piece comment
1475
1476  m	Middle of a three-piece comment
1477
1478  e	End of a three-piece comment
1479
1480  l	Left align. Used together with 's' or 'e', the leftmost character of
1481	start or end will line up with the leftmost character from the middle.
1482	This is the default and can be omitted. See below for more details.
1483
1484  r	Right align. Same as above but rightmost instead of leftmost. See
1485	below for more details.
1486
1487  O	Don't consider this comment for the "O" command.
1488
1489  x	Allows three-piece comments to be ended by just typing the last
1490	character of the end-comment string as the first action on a new
1491	line when the middle-comment string has been inserted automatically.
1492	See below for more details.
1493
1494  {digits}
1495	When together with 's' or 'e': add {digit} amount of offset to an
1496	automatically inserted middle or end comment leader. The offset begins
1497	from a left alignment. See below for more details.
1498
1499  -{digits}
1500	Like {digits} but reduce the indent.  This only works when there is
1501	some indent for the start or end part that can be removed.
1502
1503When a string has none of the 'f', 's', 'm' or 'e' flags, Vim assumes the
1504comment string repeats at the start of each line.  The flags field may be
1505empty.
1506
1507Any blank space in the text before and after the {string} is part of the
1508{string}, so do not include leading or trailing blanks unless the blanks are a
1509required part of the comment string.
1510
1511When one comment leader is part of another, specify the part after the whole.
1512For example, to include both "-" and "->", use >
1513	:set comments=f:->,f:-
1514
1515A three-piece comment must always be given as start,middle,end, with no other
1516parts in between.  An example of a three-piece comment is >
1517	sr:/*,mb:*,ex:*/
1518for C-comments.  To avoid recognizing "*ptr" as a comment, the middle string
1519includes the 'b' flag.  For three-piece comments, Vim checks the text after
1520the start and middle strings for the end string.  If Vim finds the end string,
1521the comment does not continue on the next line.  Three-piece comments must
1522have a middle string because otherwise Vim can't recognize the middle lines.
1523
1524Notice the use of the "x" flag in the above three-piece comment definition.
1525When you hit Return in a C-comment, Vim will insert the middle comment leader
1526for the new line: " * ".  To close this comment you just have to type "/"
1527before typing anything else on the new line.  This will replace the
1528middle-comment leader with the end-comment leader and apply any specified
1529alignment, leaving just " */".  There is no need to hit Backspace first.
1530
1531When there is a match with a middle part, but there also is a matching end
1532part which is longer, the end part is used.  This makes a C style comment work
1533without requiring the middle part to end with a space.
1534
1535Here is an example of alignment flags at work to make a comment stand out
1536(kind of looks like a 1 too). Consider comment string: >
1537	:set comments=sr:/***,m:**,ex-2:******/
1538<
1539                                   /*** ~
1540                                     **<--right aligned from "r" flag ~
1541                                     ** ~
1542offset 2 spaces for the "-2" flag--->** ~
1543                                   ******/ ~
1544In this case, the first comment was typed, then return was pressed 4 times,
1545then "/" was pressed to end the comment.
1546
1547Here are some finer points of three part comments. There are three times when
1548alignment and offset flags are taken into consideration: opening a new line
1549after a start-comment, opening a new line before an end-comment, and
1550automatically ending a three-piece comment.  The end alignment flag has a
1551backwards perspective; the result is that the same alignment flag used with
1552"s" and "e" will result in the same indent for the starting and ending pieces.
1553Only one alignment per comment part is meant to be used, but an offset number
1554will override the "r" and "l" flag.
1555
1556Enabling 'cindent' will override the alignment flags in many cases.
1557Reindenting using a different method like |gq| or |=| will not consult
1558alignment flags either. The same behaviour can be defined in those other
1559formatting options. One consideration is that 'cindent' has additional options
1560for context based indenting of comments but cannot replicate many three piece
1561indent alignments.  However, 'indentexpr' has the ability to work better with
1562three piece comments.
1563
1564Other examples: >
1565   "b:*"	Includes lines starting with "*", but not if the "*" is
1566		followed by a non-blank.  This avoids a pointer dereference
1567		like "*str" to be recognized as a comment.
1568   "n:>"	Includes a line starting with ">", ">>", ">>>", etc.
1569   "fb:-"	Format a list that starts with "- ".
1570
1571By default, "b:#" is included.  This means that a line that starts with
1572"#include" is not recognized as a comment line.  But a line that starts with
1573"# define" is recognized.  This is a compromise.
1574
1575{not available when compiled without the |+comments| feature}
1576
1577							*fo-table*
1578You can use the 'formatoptions' option  to influence how Vim formats text.
1579'formatoptions' is a string that can contain any of the letters below.  The
1580default setting is "tcq".  You can separate the option letters with commas for
1581readability.
1582
1583letter	 meaning when present in 'formatoptions'    ~
1584
1585t	Auto-wrap text using textwidth
1586c	Auto-wrap comments using textwidth, inserting the current comment
1587	leader automatically.
1588r	Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting
1589	<Enter> in Insert mode.
1590o	Automatically insert the current comment leader after hitting 'o' or
1591	'O' in Normal mode.
1592q	Allow formatting of comments with "gq".
1593	Note that formatting will not change blank lines or lines containing
1594	only the comment leader.  A new paragraph starts after such a line,
1595	or when the comment leader changes.
1596w	Trailing white space indicates a paragraph continues in the next line.
1597	A line that ends in a non-white character ends a paragraph.
1598a	Automatic formatting of paragraphs.  Every time text is inserted or
1599	deleted the paragraph will be reformatted.  See |auto-format|.
1600	When the 'c' flag is present this only happens for recognized
1601	comments.
1602n	When formatting text, recognize numbered lists.  This actually uses
1603	the 'formatlistpat' option, thus any kind of list can be used.  The
1604	indent of the text after the number is used for the next line.  The
1605	default is to find a number, optionally followed by '.', ':', ')',
1606	']' or '}'.  Note that 'autoindent' must be set too.  Doesn't work
1607	well together with "2".
1608	Example: >
1609		1. the first item
1610		   wraps
1611		2. the second item
16122	When formatting text, use the indent of the second line of a paragraph
1613	for the rest of the paragraph, instead of the indent of the first
1614	line.  This supports paragraphs in which the first line has a
1615	different indent than the rest.  Note that 'autoindent' must be set
1616	too.  Example: >
1617			first line of a paragraph
1618		second line of the same paragraph
1619		third line.
1620<	This also works inside comments, ignoring the comment leader.
1621v	Vi-compatible auto-wrapping in insert mode: Only break a line at a
1622	blank that you have entered during the current insert command.  (Note:
1623	this is not 100% Vi compatible.  Vi has some "unexpected features" or
1624	bugs in this area.  It uses the screen column instead of the line
1625	column.)
1626b	Like 'v', but only auto-wrap if you enter a blank at or before
1627	the wrap margin.  If the line was longer than 'textwidth' when you
1628	started the insert, or you do not enter a blank in the insert before
1629	reaching 'textwidth', Vim does not perform auto-wrapping.
1630l	Long lines are not broken in insert mode: When a line was longer than
1631	'textwidth' when the insert command started, Vim does not
1632	automatically format it.
1633m	Also break at a multi-byte character above 255.  This is useful for
1634	Asian text where every character is a word on its own.
1635M	When joining lines, don't insert a space before or after a multi-byte
1636	character.  Overrules the 'B' flag.
1637B	When joining lines, don't insert a space between two multi-byte
1638	characters.  Overruled by the 'M' flag.
16391	Don't break a line after a one-letter word.  It's broken before it
1640	instead (if possible).
1641j	Where it makes sense, remove a comment leader when joining lines.  For
1642	example, joining:
1643		int i;   // the index ~
1644		         // in the list ~
1645	Becomes:
1646		int i;   // the index in the list ~
1647
1648
1649With 't' and 'c' you can specify when Vim performs auto-wrapping:
1650value	action	~
1651""	no automatic formatting (you can use "gq" for manual formatting)
1652"t"	automatic formatting of text, but not comments
1653"c"	automatic formatting for comments, but not text (good for C code)
1654"tc"	automatic formatting for text and comments
1655
1656Note that when 'textwidth' is 0, Vim does no automatic formatting anyway (but
1657does insert comment leaders according to the 'comments' option).  An exception
1658is when the 'a' flag is present. |auto-format|
1659
1660Note that when 'paste' is on, Vim does no formatting at all.
1661
1662Note that 'textwidth' can be non-zero even if Vim never performs auto-wrapping;
1663'textwidth' is still useful for formatting with "gq".
1664
1665If the 'comments' option includes "/*", "*" and/or "*/", then Vim has some
1666built in stuff to treat these types of comments a bit more cleverly.
1667Opening a new line before or after "/*" or "*/" (with 'r' or 'o' present in
1668'formatoptions') gives the correct start of the line automatically.  The same
1669happens with formatting and auto-wrapping.  Opening a line after a line
1670starting with "/*" or "*" and containing "*/", will cause no comment leader to
1671be inserted, and the indent of the new line is taken from the line containing
1672the start of the comment.
1673E.g.:
1674    /* ~
1675     * Your typical comment. ~
1676     */ ~
1677    The indent on this line is the same as the start of the above
1678    comment.
1679
1680All of this should be really cool, especially in conjunction with the new
1681:autocmd command to prepare different settings for different types of file.
1682
1683Some examples:
1684  for C code (only format comments): >
1685	:set fo=croq
1686< for Mail/news	(format all, don't start comment with "o" command): >
1687	:set fo=tcrq
1688<
1689
1690Automatic formatting				*auto-format* *autoformat*
1691
1692When the 'a' flag is present in 'formatoptions' text is formatted
1693automatically when inserting text or deleting text.  This works nice for
1694editing text paragraphs.  A few hints on how to use this:
1695
1696- You need to properly define paragraphs.  The simplest is paragraphs that are
1697  separated by a blank line.  When there is no separating blank line, consider
1698  using the 'w' flag and adding a space at the end of each line in the
1699  paragraphs except the last one.
1700
1701- You can set the 'formatoptions' based on the type of file |filetype| or
1702  specifically for one file with a |modeline|.
1703
1704- Set 'formatoptions' to "aw2tq" to make text with indents like this:
1705
1706	    bla bla foobar bla
1707	bla foobar bla foobar bla
1708	    bla bla foobar bla
1709	bla foobar bla bla foobar
1710
1711- Add the 'c' flag to only auto-format comments.  Useful in source code.
1712
1713- Set 'textwidth' to the desired width.  If it is zero then 79 is used, or the
1714  width of the screen if this is smaller.
1715
1716And a few warnings:
1717
1718- When part of the text is not properly separated in paragraphs, making
1719  changes in this text will cause it to be formatted anyway.  Consider doing >
1720
1721	:set fo-=a
1722
1723- When using the 'w' flag (trailing space means paragraph continues) and
1724  deleting the last line of a paragraph with |dd|, the paragraph will be
1725  joined with the next one.
1726
1727- Changed text is saved for undo.  Formatting is also a change.  Thus each
1728  format action saves text for undo.  This may consume quite a lot of memory.
1729
1730- Formatting a long paragraph and/or with complicated indenting may be slow.
1731
1732==============================================================================
17337. Sorting text						*sorting*
1734
1735Vim has a sorting function and a sorting command.  The sorting function can be
1736found here: |sort()|, |uniq()|.
1737
1738							*:sor* *:sort*
1739:[range]sor[t][!] [i][u][r][n][x][o] [/{pattern}/]
1740			Sort lines in [range].  When no range is given all
1741			lines are sorted.
1742
1743			With [!] the order is reversed.
1744
1745			With [i] case is ignored.
1746
1747			With [n] sorting is done on the first decimal number
1748			in the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
1749			One leading '-' is included in the number.
1750
1751			With [x] sorting is done on the first hexadecimal
1752			number in the line (after or inside a {pattern}
1753			match).  A leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored.
1754			One leading '-' is included in the number.
1755
1756			With [o] sorting is done on the first octal number in
1757			the line (after or inside a {pattern} match).
1758
1759			With [u] only keep the first of a sequence of
1760			identical lines (ignoring case when [i] is used).
1761			Without this flag, a sequence of identical lines
1762			will be kept in their original order.
1763			Note that leading and trailing white space may cause
1764			lines to be different.
1765
1766			When /{pattern}/ is specified and there is no [r] flag
1767			the text matched with {pattern} is skipped, so that
1768			you sort on what comes after the match.
1769			Instead of the slash any non-letter can be used.
1770			For example, to sort on the second comma-separated
1771			field: >
1772				:sort /[^,]*,/
1773<			To sort on the text at virtual column 10 (thus
1774			ignoring the difference between tabs and spaces): >
1775				:sort /.*\%10v/
1776<			To sort on the first number in the line, no matter
1777			what is in front of it: >
1778				:sort /.\{-}\ze\d/
1779<			(Explanation: ".\{-}" matches any text, "\ze" sets the
1780			end of the match and \d matches a digit.)
1781			With [r] sorting is done on the matching {pattern}
1782			instead of skipping past it as described above.
1783			For example, to sort on only the first three letters
1784			of each line: >
1785				:sort /\a\a\a/ r
1786
1787<			If a {pattern} is used, any lines which don't have a
1788			match for {pattern} are kept in their current order,
1789			but separate from the lines which do match {pattern}.
1790			If you sorted in reverse, they will be in reverse
1791			order after the sorted lines, otherwise they will be
1792			in their original order, right before the sorted
1793			lines.
1794
1795			If {pattern} is empty (e.g. // is specified), the
1796			last search pattern is used.  This allows trying out
1797			a pattern first.
1798
1799Note that using `:sort` with `:global` doesn't sort the matching lines, it's
1800quite useless.
1801
1802The details about sorting depend on the library function used.  There is no
1803guarantee that sorting obeys the current locale.  You will have to try it out.
1804Vim does do a "stable" sort.
1805
1806The sorting can be interrupted, but if you interrupt it too late in the
1807process you may end up with duplicated lines.  This also depends on the system
1808library function used.
1809
1810 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
1811