1*cmdline.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2019 Dec 17 2 3 4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar 5 6 7 *Cmdline-mode* *Command-line-mode* 8Command-line mode *Cmdline* *Command-line* *mode-cmdline* *:* 9 10Command-line mode is used to enter Ex commands (":"), search patterns 11("/" and "?"), and filter commands ("!"). 12 13Basic command line editing is explained in chapter 20 of the user manual 14|usr_20.txt|. 15 161. Command-line editing |cmdline-editing| 172. Command-line completion |cmdline-completion| 183. Ex command-lines |cmdline-lines| 194. Ex command-line ranges |cmdline-ranges| 205. Ex command-line flags |ex-flags| 216. Ex special characters |cmdline-special| 227. Command-line window |cmdline-window| 23 24============================================================================== 251. Command-line editing *cmdline-editing* 26 27Normally characters are inserted in front of the cursor position. You can 28move around in the command-line with the left and right cursor keys. With the 29<Insert> key, you can toggle between inserting and overstriking characters. 30 31Note that if your keyboard does not have working cursor keys or any of the 32other special keys, you can use ":cnoremap" to define another key for them. 33For example, to define tcsh style editing keys: *tcsh-style* > 34 :cnoremap <C-A> <Home> 35 :cnoremap <C-F> <Right> 36 :cnoremap <C-B> <Left> 37 :cnoremap <Esc>b <S-Left> 38 :cnoremap <Esc>f <S-Right> 39(<> notation |<>|; type all this literally) 40 41 *cmdline-too-long* 42When the command line is getting longer than what fits on the screen, only the 43part that fits will be shown. The cursor can only move in this visible part, 44thus you cannot edit beyond that. 45 46 *cmdline-history* *history* 47The command-lines that you enter are remembered in a history table. You can 48recall them with the up and down cursor keys. There are actually five 49history tables: 50- one for ':' commands 51- one for search strings 52- one for expressions 53- one for input lines, typed for the |input()| function. 54- one for debug mode commands 55These are completely separate. Each history can only be accessed when 56entering the same type of line. 57Use the 'history' option to set the number of lines that are remembered 58(default: 50). 59Notes: 60- When you enter a command-line that is exactly the same as an older one, the 61 old one is removed (to avoid repeated commands moving older commands out of 62 the history). 63- Only commands that are typed are remembered. Ones that completely come from 64 mappings are not put in the history. 65- All searches are put in the search history, including the ones that come 66 from commands like "*" and "#". But for a mapping, only the last search is 67 remembered (to avoid that long mappings trash the history). 68{not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| feature} 69 70There is an automatic completion of names on the command-line; see 71|cmdline-completion|. 72 73 *c_CTRL-V* 74CTRL-V Insert next non-digit literally. Up to three digits form the 75 decimal value of a single byte. The non-digit and the three 76 digits are not considered for mapping. This works the same 77 way as in Insert mode (see above, |i_CTRL-V|). 78 Note: Under MS-Windows CTRL-V is often mapped to paste text. 79 Use CTRL-Q instead then. 80 When |modifyOtherKeys| is enabled then special Escape sequence 81 is converted back to what it was without |modifyOtherKeys|, 82 unless the Shift key is also pressed. 83 *c_CTRL-Q* 84CTRL-Q Same as CTRL-V. But with some terminals it is used for 85 control flow, it doesn't work then. 86 87CTRL-SHIFT-V *c_CTRL-SHIFT-V* *c_CTRL-SHIFT-Q* 88CTRL-SHIFT-Q Works just like CTRL-V, unless |modifyOtherKeys| is active, 89 then it inserts the Escape sequence for a key with modifiers. 90 91 *c_<Left>* *c_Left* 92<Left> cursor left 93 *c_<Right>* *c_Right* 94<Right> cursor right 95 *c_<S-Left>* 96<S-Left> or <C-Left> *c_<C-Left>* 97 cursor one WORD left 98 *c_<S-Right>* 99<S-Right> or <C-Right> *c_<C-Right>* 100 cursor one WORD right 101CTRL-B or <Home> *c_CTRL-B* *c_<Home>* *c_Home* 102 cursor to beginning of command-line 103CTRL-E or <End> *c_CTRL-E* *c_<End>* *c_End* 104 cursor to end of command-line 105 106 *c_<LeftMouse>* 107<LeftMouse> Move the cursor to the position of the mouse click. 108 109 *c_<MiddleMouse>* 110<MiddleMouse> Paste the contents of the clipboard (for X11 the primary 111 selection). This is similar to using CTRL-R *, but no CR 112 characters are inserted between lines. 113 114CTRL-H *c_<BS>* *c_CTRL-H* *c_BS* 115<BS> Delete the character in front of the cursor (see |:fixdel| if 116 your <BS> key does not do what you want). 117 *c_<Del>* *c_Del* 118<Del> Delete the character under the cursor (at end of line: 119 character before the cursor) (see |:fixdel| if your <Del> 120 key does not do what you want). 121 *c_CTRL-W* 122CTRL-W Delete the |word| before the cursor. This depends on the 123 'iskeyword' option. 124 *c_CTRL-U* 125CTRL-U Remove all characters between the cursor position and 126 the beginning of the line. Previous versions of vim 127 deleted all characters on the line. If that is the 128 preferred behavior, add the following to your .vimrc: > 129 :cnoremap <C-U> <C-E><C-U> 130< 131 *c_<Insert>* *c_Insert* 132<Insert> Toggle between insert and overstrike. 133 134{char1} <BS> {char2} or *c_digraph* 135CTRL-K {char1} {char2} *c_CTRL-K* 136 enter digraph (see |digraphs|). When {char1} is a special 137 key, the code for that key is inserted in <> form. 138 139CTRL-R {register} *c_CTRL-R* *c_<C-R>* 140 Insert the contents of a numbered or named register. Between 141 typing CTRL-R and the second character '"' will be displayed 142 to indicate that you are expected to enter the name of a 143 register. 144 The text is inserted as if you typed it, but mappings and 145 abbreviations are not used. Command-line completion through 146 'wildchar' is not triggered though. And characters that end 147 the command line are inserted literally (<Esc>, <CR>, <NL>, 148 <C-C>). A <BS> or CTRL-W could still end the command line 149 though, and remaining characters will then be interpreted in 150 another mode, which might not be what you intended. 151 Special registers: 152 '"' the unnamed register, containing the text of 153 the last delete or yank 154 '%' the current file name 155 '#' the alternate file name 156 '*' the clipboard contents (X11: primary selection) 157 '+' the clipboard contents 158 '/' the last search pattern 159 ':' the last command-line 160 '-' the last small (less than a line) delete 161 '.' the last inserted text 162 *c_CTRL-R_=* 163 '=' the expression register: you are prompted to 164 enter an expression (see |expression|) 165 (doesn't work at the expression prompt; some 166 things such as changing the buffer or current 167 window are not allowed to avoid side effects) 168 When the result is a |List| the items are used 169 as lines. They can have line breaks inside 170 too. 171 When the result is a Float it's automatically 172 converted to a String. 173 See |registers| about registers. 174 Implementation detail: When using the |expression| register 175 and invoking setcmdpos(), this sets the position before 176 inserting the resulting string. Use CTRL-R CTRL-R to set the 177 position afterwards. 178 179CTRL-R CTRL-F *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-F* *c_<C-R>_<C-F>* 180CTRL-R CTRL-P *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-P* *c_<C-R>_<C-P>* 181CTRL-R CTRL-W *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-W* *c_<C-R>_<C-W>* 182CTRL-R CTRL-A *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-A* *c_<C-R>_<C-A>* 183CTRL-R CTRL-L *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-L* *c_<C-R>_<C-L>* 184 Insert the object under the cursor: 185 CTRL-F the Filename under the cursor 186 CTRL-P the Filename under the cursor, expanded with 187 'path' as in |gf| 188 CTRL-W the Word under the cursor 189 CTRL-A the WORD under the cursor; see |WORD| 190 CTRL-L the line under the cursor 191 192 When 'incsearch' is set the cursor position at the end of the 193 currently displayed match is used. With CTRL-W the part of 194 the word that was already typed is not inserted again. 195 196 CTRL-F and CTRL-P: {only when |+file_in_path| feature is 197 included} 198 199 *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R* *c_<C-R>_<C-R>* 200 *c_CTRL-R_CTRL-O* *c_<C-R>_<C-O>* 201CTRL-R CTRL-R {register CTRL-F CTRL-P CTRL-W CTRL-A CTRL-L} 202CTRL-R CTRL-O {register CTRL-F CTRL-P CTRL-W CTRL-A CTRL-L} 203 Insert register or object under the cursor. Works like 204 |c_CTRL-R| but inserts the text literally. For example, if 205 register a contains "xy^Hz" (where ^H is a backspace), 206 "CTRL-R a" will insert "xz" while "CTRL-R CTRL-R a" will 207 insert "xy^Hz". 208 209CTRL-\ e {expr} *c_CTRL-\_e* 210 Evaluate {expr} and replace the whole command line with the 211 result. You will be prompted for the expression, type <Enter> 212 to finish it. It's most useful in mappings though. See 213 |expression|. 214 See |c_CTRL-R_=| for inserting the result of an expression. 215 Useful functions are |getcmdtype()|, |getcmdline()| and 216 |getcmdpos()|. 217 The cursor position is unchanged, except when the cursor was 218 at the end of the line, then it stays at the end. 219 |setcmdpos()| can be used to set the cursor position. 220 The |sandbox| is used for evaluating the expression to avoid 221 nasty side effects. 222 Example: > 223 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eAppendSome()<CR> 224 :func AppendSome() 225 :let cmd = getcmdline() . " Some()" 226 :" place the cursor on the ) 227 :call setcmdpos(strlen(cmd)) 228 :return cmd 229 :endfunc 230< This doesn't work recursively, thus not when already editing 231 an expression. But it is possible to use in a mapping. 232 233 *c_CTRL-Y* 234CTRL-Y When there is a modeless selection, copy the selection into 235 the clipboard. |modeless-selection| 236 If there is no selection CTRL-Y is inserted as a character. 237 238CTRL-M or CTRL-J *c_CTRL-M* *c_CTRL-J* *c_<NL>* *c_<CR>* *c_CR* 239<CR> or <NL> start entered command 240 241CTRL-[ *c_CTRL-[* *c_<Esc>* *c_Esc* 242<Esc> When typed and 'x' not present in 'cpoptions', quit 243 Command-line mode without executing. In macros or when 'x' 244 present in 'cpoptions', start entered command. 245 Note: If your <Esc> key is hard to hit on your keyboard, train 246 yourself to use CTRL-[. 247 *c_CTRL-C* 248CTRL-C quit command-line without executing 249 250 *c_<Up>* *c_Up* 251<Up> recall older command-line from history, whose beginning 252 matches the current command-line (see below). 253 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| 254 feature} 255 *c_<Down>* *c_Down* 256<Down> recall more recent command-line from history, whose beginning 257 matches the current command-line (see below). 258 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| 259 feature} 260 261 *c_<S-Up>* *c_<PageUp>* 262<S-Up> or <PageUp> 263 recall older command-line from history 264 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| 265 feature} 266 *c_<S-Down>* *c_<PageDown>* 267<S-Down> or <PageDown> 268 recall more recent command-line from history 269 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| 270 feature} 271 272CTRL-D command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 273'wildchar' option 274 command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 275CTRL-N command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 276CTRL-P command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 277CTRL-A command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 278CTRL-L command-line completion (see |cmdline-completion|) 279 280 *c_CTRL-_* 281CTRL-_ a - switch between Hebrew and English keyboard mode, which is 282 private to the command-line and not related to hkmap. 283 This is useful when Hebrew text entry is required in the 284 command-line, searches, abbreviations, etc. Applies only if 285 Vim is compiled with the |+rightleft| feature and the 286 'allowrevins' option is set. 287 See |rileft.txt|. 288 289 b - switch between Farsi and English keyboard mode, which is 290 private to the command-line and not related to fkmap. In 291 Farsi keyboard mode the characters are inserted in reverse 292 insert manner. This is useful when Farsi text entry is 293 required in the command-line, searches, abbreviations, etc. 294 Applies only if Vim is compiled with the |+farsi| feature. 295 See |farsi.txt|. 296 297 *c_CTRL-^* 298CTRL-^ Toggle the use of language |:lmap| mappings and/or Input 299 Method. 300 When typing a pattern for a search command and 'imsearch' is 301 not -1, VAL is the value of 'imsearch', otherwise VAL is the 302 value of 'iminsert'. 303 When language mappings are defined: 304 - If VAL is 1 (langmap mappings used) it becomes 0 (no langmap 305 mappings used). 306 - If VAL was not 1 it becomes 1, thus langmap mappings are 307 enabled. 308 When no language mappings are defined: 309 - If VAL is 2 (Input Method is used) it becomes 0 (no input 310 method used) 311 - If VAL has another value it becomes 2, thus the Input Method 312 is enabled. 313 These language mappings are normally used to type characters 314 that are different from what the keyboard produces. The 315 'keymap' option can be used to install a whole number of them. 316 When entering a command line, langmap mappings are switched 317 off, since you are expected to type a command. After 318 switching it on with CTRL-^, the new state is not used again 319 for the next command or Search pattern. 320 321 *c_CTRL-]* 322CTRL-] Trigger abbreviation, without inserting a character. 323 324For Emacs-style editing on the command-line see |emacs-keys|. 325 326The <Up> and <Down> keys take the current command-line as a search string. 327The beginning of the next/previous command-lines are compared with this 328string. The first line that matches is the new command-line. When typing 329these two keys repeatedly, the same string is used again. For example, this 330can be used to find the previous substitute command: Type ":s" and then <Up>. 331The same could be done by typing <S-Up> a number of times until the desired 332command-line is shown. (Note: the shifted arrow keys do not work on all 333terminals) 334 335 *:his* *:history* 336:his[tory] Print the history of last entered commands. 337 {not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| 338 feature} 339 340:his[tory] [{name}] [{first}][, [{last}]] 341 List the contents of history {name} which can be: 342 c[md] or : command-line history 343 s[earch] or / or ? search string history 344 e[xpr] or = expression register history 345 i[nput] or @ input line history 346 d[ebug] or > debug command history 347 a[ll] all of the above 348 349 If the numbers {first} and/or {last} are given, the respective 350 range of entries from a history is listed. These numbers can 351 be specified in the following form: 352 *:history-indexing* 353 A positive number represents the absolute index of an entry 354 as it is given in the first column of a :history listing. 355 This number remains fixed even if other entries are deleted. 356 357 A negative number means the relative position of an entry, 358 counted from the newest entry (which has index -1) backwards. 359 360 Examples: 361 List entries 6 to 12 from the search history: > 362 :history / 6,12 363< 364 List the penultimate entry from all histories: > 365 :history all -2 366< 367 List the most recent two entries from all histories: > 368 :history all -2, 369 370:keepp[atterns] {command} *:keepp* *:keeppatterns* 371 Execute {command}, without adding anything to the search 372 history 373 374============================================================================== 3752. Command-line completion *cmdline-completion* 376 377When editing the command-line, a few commands can be used to complete the 378word before the cursor. This is available for: 379 380- Command names: At the start of the command-line. 381- Tags: Only after the ":tag" command. 382- File names: Only after a command that accepts a file name or a setting for 383 an option that can be set to a file name. This is called file name 384 completion. 385- Shell command names: After ":!cmd", ":r !cmd" and ":w !cmd". $PATH is used. 386- Options: Only after the ":set" command. 387- Mappings: Only after a ":map" or similar command. 388- Variable and function names: Only after a ":if", ":call" or similar command. 389 390The number of help item matches is limited (currently to 300) to avoid a long 391delay when there are very many matches. 392 393These are the commands that can be used: 394 395 *c_CTRL-D* 396CTRL-D List names that match the pattern in front of the cursor. 397 When showing file names, directories are highlighted (see 398 'highlight' option). Names where 'suffixes' matches are moved 399 to the end. 400 The 'wildoptions' option can be set to "tagfile" to list the 401 file of matching tags. 402 *c_CTRL-I* *c_wildchar* *c_<Tab>* 403'wildchar' option 404 A match is done on the pattern in front of the cursor. The 405 match (if there are several, the first match) is inserted 406 in place of the pattern. (Note: does not work inside a 407 macro, because <Tab> or <Esc> are mostly used as 'wildchar', 408 and these have a special meaning in some macros.) When typed 409 again and there were multiple matches, the next 410 match is inserted. After the last match, the first is used 411 again (wrap around). 412 The behavior can be changed with the 'wildmode' option. 413 *c_<S-Tab>* 414<S-Tab> Like 'wildchar' or <Tab>, but begin with the last match and 415 then go to the previous match. 416 <S-Tab> does not work everywhere. 417 *c_CTRL-N* 418CTRL-N After using 'wildchar' which got multiple matches, go to next 419 match. Otherwise recall more recent command-line from history. 420 *c_CTRL-P* 421CTRL-P After using 'wildchar' which got multiple matches, go to 422 previous match. Otherwise recall older command-line from 423 history. 424 *c_CTRL-A* 425CTRL-A All names that match the pattern in front of the cursor are 426 inserted. 427 *c_CTRL-L* 428CTRL-L A match is done on the pattern in front of the cursor. If 429 there is one match, it is inserted in place of the pattern. 430 If there are multiple matches the longest common part is 431 inserted in place of the pattern. If the result is shorter 432 than the pattern, no completion is done. 433 */_CTRL-L* 434 When 'incsearch' is set, entering a search pattern for "/" or 435 "?" and the current match is displayed then CTRL-L will add 436 one character from the end of the current match. If 437 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' are set and the command line has 438 no uppercase characters, the added character is converted to 439 lowercase. 440 *c_CTRL-G* */_CTRL-G* 441CTRL-G When 'incsearch' is set, entering a search pattern for "/" or 442 "?" and the current match is displayed then CTRL-G will move 443 to the next match (does not take |search-offset| into account) 444 Use CTRL-T to move to the previous match. Hint: on a regular 445 keyboard T is above G. 446 *c_CTRL-T* */_CTRL-T* 447CTRL-T When 'incsearch' is set, entering a search pattern for "/" or 448 "?" and the current match is displayed then CTRL-T will move 449 to the previous match (does not take |search-offset| into 450 account). 451 Use CTRL-G to move to the next match. Hint: on a regular 452 keyboard T is above G. 453 454The 'wildchar' option defaults to <Tab> (CTRL-E when in Vi compatible mode; in 455a previous version <Esc> was used). In the pattern standard wildcards '*' and 456'?' are accepted when matching file names. '*' matches any string, '?' 457matches exactly one character. 458 459When repeating 'wildchar' or CTRL-N you cycle through the matches, eventually 460ending up back to what was typed. If the first match is not what you wanted, 461you can use <S-Tab> or CTRL-P to go straight back to what you typed. 462 463The 'wildignorecase' option can be set to ignore case in filenames. 464 465The 'wildmenu' option can be set to show the matches just above the command 466line. 467 468If you like tcsh's autolist completion, you can use this mapping: 469 :cnoremap X <C-L><C-D> 470(Where X is the command key to use, <C-L> is CTRL-L and <C-D> is CTRL-D) 471This will find the longest match and then list all matching files. 472 473If you like tcsh's autolist completion, you can use the 'wildmode' option to 474emulate it. For example, this mimics autolist=ambiguous: 475 :set wildmode=longest,list 476This will find the longest match with the first 'wildchar', then list all 477matching files with the next. 478 479 *suffixes* 480For file name completion you can use the 'suffixes' option to set a priority 481between files with almost the same name. If there are multiple matches, 482those files with an extension that is in the 'suffixes' option are ignored. 483The default is ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj", which means that files ending 484in ".bak", "~", ".o", ".h", ".info", ".swp" and ".obj" are sometimes ignored. 485 486An empty entry, two consecutive commas, match a file name that does not 487contain a ".", thus has no suffix. This is useful to ignore "prog" and prefer 488"prog.c". 489 490Examples: 491 492 pattern: files: match: ~ 493 test* test.c test.h test.o test.c 494 test* test.h test.o test.h and test.o 495 test* test.i test.h test.c test.i and test.c 496 497It is impossible to ignore suffixes with two dots. 498 499If there is more than one matching file (after ignoring the ones matching 500the 'suffixes' option) the first file name is inserted. You can see that 501there is only one match when you type 'wildchar' twice and the completed 502match stays the same. You can get to the other matches by entering 503'wildchar', CTRL-N or CTRL-P. All files are included, also the ones with 504extensions matching the 'suffixes' option. 505 506To completely ignore files with some extension use 'wildignore'. 507 508To match only files that end at the end of the typed text append a "$". For 509example, to match only files that end in ".c": > 510 :e *.c$ 511This will not match a file ending in ".cpp". Without the "$" it does match. 512 513The old value of an option can be obtained by hitting 'wildchar' just after 514the '='. For example, typing 'wildchar' after ":set dir=" will insert the 515current value of 'dir'. This overrules file name completion for the options 516that take a file name. 517 518If you would like using <S-Tab> for CTRL-P in an xterm, put this command in 519your .cshrc: > 520 xmodmap -e "keysym Tab = Tab Find" 521And this in your .vimrc: > 522 :cmap <Esc>[1~ <C-P> 523 524============================================================================== 5253. Ex command-lines *cmdline-lines* 526 527The Ex commands have a few specialties: 528 529 *:quote* *:comment* 530'"' at the start of a line causes the whole line to be ignored. '"' 531after a command causes the rest of the line to be ignored. This can be used 532to add comments. Example: > 533 :set ai "set 'autoindent' option 534It is not possible to add a comment to a shell command ":!cmd" or to the 535":map" command and a few others (mainly commands that expect expressions) 536that see the '"' as part of their argument: 537 538 :argdo 539 :autocmd 540 :bufdo 541 :cexpr (and the like) 542 :cdo (and the like) 543 :command 544 :cscope (and the like) 545 :debug 546 :display 547 :echo (and the like) 548 :elseif 549 :execute 550 :folddoopen 551 :folddoclosed 552 :for 553 :grep (and the like) 554 :help (and the like) 555 :if 556 :let 557 :make 558 :map (and the like including :abbrev commands) 559 :menu (and the like) 560 :mkspell 561 :normal 562 :ownsyntax 563 :popup 564 :promptfind (and the like) 565 :registers 566 :return 567 :sort 568 :syntax 569 :tabdo 570 :tearoff 571 :vimgrep (and the like) 572 :while 573 :windo 574 575 *:bar* *:\bar* 576'|' can be used to separate commands, so you can give multiple commands in one 577line. If you want to use '|' in an argument, precede it with '\'. 578 579These commands see the '|' as their argument, and can therefore not be 580followed by another Vim command: 581 :argdo 582 :autocmd 583 :bufdo 584 :cdo 585 :cfdo 586 :command 587 :cscope 588 :debug 589 :folddoopen 590 :folddoclosed 591 :function 592 :global 593 :help 594 :helpfind 595 :lcscope 596 :ldo 597 :lfdo 598 :make 599 :normal 600 :perl 601 :perldo 602 :promptfind 603 :promptrepl 604 :pyfile 605 :python 606 :registers 607 :read ! 608 :scscope 609 :sign 610 :tcl 611 :tcldo 612 :tclfile 613 :vglobal 614 :windo 615 :write ! 616 :[range]! 617 a user defined command without the "-bar" argument |:command| 618 619Note that this is confusing (inherited from Vi): With ":g" the '|' is included 620in the command, with ":s" it is not. 621 622To be able to use another command anyway, use the ":execute" command. 623Example (append the output of "ls" and jump to the first line): > 624 :execute 'r !ls' | '[ 625 626There is one exception: When the 'b' flag is present in 'cpoptions', with the 627":map" and ":abbr" commands and friends CTRL-V needs to be used instead of 628'\'. You can also use "<Bar>" instead. See also |map_bar|. 629 630Examples: > 631 :!ls | wc view the output of two commands 632 :r !ls | wc insert the same output in the text 633 :%g/foo/p|> moves all matching lines one shiftwidth 634 :%s/foo/bar/|> moves one line one shiftwidth 635 :map q 10^V| map "q" to "10|" 636 :map q 10\| map \ l map "q" to "10\" and map "\" to "l" 637 (when 'b' is present in 'cpoptions') 638 639You can also use <NL> to separate commands in the same way as with '|'. To 640insert a <NL> use CTRL-V CTRL-J. "^@" will be shown. Using '|' is the 641preferred method. But for external commands a <NL> must be used, because a 642'|' is included in the external command. To avoid the special meaning of <NL> 643it must be preceded with a backslash. Example: > 644 :r !date<NL>-join 645This reads the current date into the file and joins it with the previous line. 646 647Note that when the command before the '|' generates an error, the following 648commands will not be executed. 649 650 651Because of Vi compatibility the following strange commands are supported: > 652 :| print current line (like ":p") 653 :3| print line 3 (like ":3p") 654 :3 goto line 3 655 656A colon is allowed between the range and the command name. It is ignored 657(this is Vi compatible). For example: > 658 :1,$:s/pat/string 659 660When the character '%' or '#' is used where a file name is expected, they are 661expanded to the current and alternate file name (see the chapter "editing 662files" |:_%| |:_#|). 663 664Embedded spaces in file names are allowed on the Amiga if one file name is 665expected as argument. Trailing spaces will be ignored, unless escaped with a 666backslash or CTRL-V. Note that the ":next" command uses spaces to separate 667file names. Escape the spaces to include them in a file name. Example: > 668 :next foo\ bar goes\ to school\ 669starts editing the three files "foo bar", "goes to" and "school ". 670 671When you want to use the special characters '"' or '|' in a command, or want 672to use '%' or '#' in a file name, precede them with a backslash. The 673backslash is not required in a range and in the ":substitute" command. 674See also |`=|. 675 676 *:_!* 677The '!' (bang) character after an Ex command makes the command behave in a 678different way. The '!' should be placed immediately after the command, without 679any blanks in between. If you insert blanks the '!' will be seen as an 680argument for the command, which has a different meaning. For example: 681 :w! name write the current buffer to file "name", overwriting 682 any existing file 683 :w !name send the current buffer as standard input to command 684 "name" 685 686============================================================================== 6874. Ex command-line ranges *cmdline-ranges* *[range]* *E16* 688 689Some Ex commands accept a line range in front of them. This is noted as 690[range]. It consists of one or more line specifiers, separated with ',' or 691';'. 692 693The basics are explained in section |10.3| of the user manual. 694 695 *:,* *:;* 696When separated with ';' the cursor position will be set to that line 697before interpreting the next line specifier. This doesn't happen for ','. 698Examples: > 699 4,/this line/ 700< from line 4 till match with "this line" after the cursor line. > 701 5;/that line/ 702< from line 5 till match with "that line" after line 5. 703 704The default line specifier for most commands is the cursor position, but the 705commands ":write" and ":global" have the whole file (1,$) as default. 706 707If more line specifiers are given than required for the command, the first 708one(s) will be ignored. 709 710Line numbers may be specified with: *:range* *{address}* 711 {number} an absolute line number 712 . the current line *:.* 713 $ the last line in the file *:$* 714 % equal to 1,$ (the entire file) *:%* 715 't position of mark t (lowercase) *:'* 716 'T position of mark T (uppercase); when the mark is in 717 another file it cannot be used in a range 718 /{pattern}[/] the next line where {pattern} matches *:/* 719 ?{pattern}[?] the previous line where {pattern} matches *:?* 720 \/ the next line where the previously used search 721 pattern matches 722 \? the previous line where the previously used search 723 pattern matches 724 \& the next line where the previously used substitute 725 pattern matches 726 727Each may be followed (several times) by '+' or '-' and an optional number. 728This number is added or subtracted from the preceding line number. If the 729number is omitted, 1 is used. 730 731The "/" and "?" after {pattern} are required to separate the pattern from 732anything that follows. 733 734The "/" and "?" may be preceded with another address. The search starts from 735there. The difference from using ';' is that the cursor isn't moved. 736Examples: > 737 /pat1//pat2/ Find line containing "pat2" after line containing 738 "pat1", without moving the cursor. 739 7;/pat2/ Find line containing "pat2", after line 7, leaving 740 the cursor in line 7. 741 742The {number} must be between 0 and the number of lines in the file. When 743using a 0 (zero) this is interpreted as a 1 by most commands. Commands that 744use it as a count do use it as a zero (|:tag|, |:pop|, etc). Some commands 745interpret the zero as "before the first line" (|:read|, search pattern, etc). 746 747Examples: > 748 .+3 three lines below the cursor 749 /that/+1 the line below the next line containing "that" 750 .,$ from current line until end of file 751 0;/that the first line containing "that", also matches in the 752 first line. 753 1;/that the first line after line 1 containing "that" 754 755Some commands allow for a count after the command. This count is used as the 756number of lines to be used, starting with the line given in the last line 757specifier (the default is the cursor line). The commands that accept a count 758are the ones that use a range but do not have a file name argument (because 759a file name can also be a number). 760 761Examples: > 762 :s/x/X/g 5 substitute 'x' by 'X' in the current line and four 763 following lines 764 :23d 4 delete lines 23, 24, 25 and 26 765 766 767Folds and Range 768 769When folds are active the line numbers are rounded off to include the whole 770closed fold. See |fold-behavior|. 771 772 773Reverse Range *E493* 774 775A range should have the lower line number first. If this is not the case, Vim 776will ask you if it should swap the line numbers. 777 Backwards range given, OK to swap ~ 778This is not done within the global command ":g". 779 780You can use ":silent" before a command to avoid the question, the range will 781always be swapped then. 782 783 784Count and Range *N:* 785 786When giving a count before entering ":", this is translated into: 787 :.,.+(count - 1) 788In words: The 'count' lines at and after the cursor. Example: To delete 789three lines: > 790 3:d<CR> is translated into: .,.+2d<CR> 791< 792 793Visual Mode and Range *v_:* 794 795{Visual}: Starts a command-line with the Visual selected lines as a 796 range. The code `:'<,'>` is used for this range, which makes 797 it possible to select a similar line from the command-line 798 history for repeating a command on different Visually selected 799 lines. 800 When Visual mode was already ended, a short way to use the 801 Visual area for a range is `:*`. This requires that "*" does 802 not appear in 'cpo', see |cpo-star|. Otherwise you will have 803 to type `:'<,'>` 804 805 806============================================================================== 8075. Ex command-line flags *ex-flags* 808 809These flags are supported by a selection of Ex commands. They print the line 810that the cursor ends up after executing the command: 811 812 l output like for |:list| 813 # add line number 814 p output like for |:print| 815 816The flags can be combined, thus "l#" uses both a line number and |:list| style 817output. 818 819============================================================================== 8206. Ex special characters *cmdline-special* 821 822Note: These are special characters in the executed command line. If you want 823to insert special things while typing you can use the CTRL-R command. For 824example, "%" stands for the current file name, while CTRL-R % inserts the 825current file name right away. See |c_CTRL-R|. 826 827Note: If you want to avoid the effects of special characters in a Vim script 828you may want to use |fnameescape()|. Also see |`=|. 829 830 831In Ex commands, at places where a file name can be used, the following 832characters have a special meaning. These can also be used in the expression 833function |expand()|. 834 % Is replaced with the current file name. *:_%* *c_%* 835 # Is replaced with the alternate file name. *:_#* *c_#* 836 This is remembered for every window. 837 #n (where n is a number) is replaced with *:_#0* *:_#n* 838 the file name of buffer n. "#0" is the same as "#". *c_#n* 839 ## Is replaced with all names in the argument list *:_##* *c_##* 840 concatenated, separated by spaces. Each space in a name 841 is preceded with a backslash. 842 #<n (where n is a number > 0) is replaced with old *:_#<* *c_#<* 843 file name n. See |:oldfiles| or |v:oldfiles| to get the 844 number. *E809* 845 {only when compiled with the |+eval| and |+viminfo| features} 846 847Note that these, except "#<n", give the file name as it was typed. If an 848absolute path is needed (when using the file name from a different directory), 849you need to add ":p". See |filename-modifiers|. 850 851The "#<n" item returns an absolute path, but it will start with "~/" for files 852below your home directory. 853 854Note that backslashes are inserted before spaces, so that the command will 855correctly interpret the file name. But this doesn't happen for shell 856commands. For those you probably have to use quotes (this fails for files 857that contain a quote and wildcards): > 858 :!ls "%" 859 :r !spell "%" 860 861To avoid the special meaning of '%' and '#' insert a backslash before it. 862Detail: The special meaning is always escaped when there is a backslash before 863it, no matter how many backslashes. 864 you type: result ~ 865 # alternate.file 866 \# # 867 \\# \# 868Also see |`=|. 869 870 *:<cword>* *<cword>* *:<cWORD>* *<cWORD>* 871 *:<cexpr>* *<cexpr>* *:<cfile>* *<cfile>* 872 *:<afile>* *<afile>* *:<abuf>* *<abuf>* 873 *:<amatch>* *<amatch>* 874 *:<sfile>* *<sfile>* *:<slnum>* *<slnum>* 875 *:<sflnum>* *<sflnum>* *E499* *E500* 876Note: these are typed literally, they are not special keys! 877 <cword> is replaced with the word under the cursor (like |star|) 878 <cWORD> is replaced with the WORD under the cursor (see |WORD|) 879 <cexpr> is replaced with the word under the cursor, including more 880 to form a C expression. E.g., when the cursor is on "arg" 881 of "ptr->arg" then the result is "ptr->arg"; when the 882 cursor is on "]" of "list[idx]" then the result is 883 "list[idx]". This is used for |v:beval_text|. 884 <cfile> is replaced with the path name under the cursor (like what 885 |gf| uses) 886 <afile> When executing autocommands, is replaced with the file name 887 of the buffer being manipulated, or the file for a read or 888 write. *E495* 889 <abuf> When executing autocommands, is replaced with the currently 890 effective buffer number (for ":r file" and ":so file" it is 891 the current buffer, the file being read/sourced is not in a 892 buffer). *E496* 893 <amatch> When executing autocommands, is replaced with the match for 894 which this autocommand was executed. *E497* 895 It differs from <afile> only when the file name isn't used 896 to match with (for FileType, Syntax and SpellFileMissing 897 events). 898 <sfile> When executing a ":source" command, is replaced with the 899 file name of the sourced file. *E498* 900 When executing a function, is replaced with: 901 "function {function-name}[{lnum}]" 902 function call nesting is indicated like this: 903 "function {function-name1}[{lnum}]..{function-name2}[{lnum}]" 904 Note that filename-modifiers are useless when <sfile> is 905 used inside a function. 906 <slnum> When executing a ":source" command, is replaced with the 907 line number. *E842* 908 When executing a function it's the line number relative to 909 the start of the function. 910 <sflnum> When executing a script, is replaced with the line number. 911 It differs from <slnum> in that <sflnum> is replaced with 912 the script line number in any situation. *E961* 913 914 *filename-modifiers* 915*:_%:* *::8* *::p* *::.* *::~* *::h* *::t* *::r* *::e* *::s* *::gs* *::S* 916 *%:8* *%:p* *%:.* *%:~* *%:h* *%:t* *%:r* *%:e* *%:s* *%:gs* *%:S* 917The file name modifiers can be used after "%", "#", "#n", "<cfile>", "<sfile>", 918"<afile>" or "<abuf>". They are also used with the |fnamemodify()| function. 919 920These modifiers can be given, in this order: 921 :p Make file name a full path. Must be the first modifier. Also 922 changes "~/" (and "~user/" for Unix and VMS) to the path for 923 the home directory. If the name is a directory a path 924 separator is added at the end. For a file name that does not 925 exist and does not have an absolute path the result is 926 unpredictable. On MS-Windows an 8.3 filename is expanded to 927 the long name. 928 :8 Converts the path to 8.3 short format (currently only on 929 MS-Windows). Will act on as much of a path that is an 930 existing path. 931 :~ Reduce file name to be relative to the home directory, if 932 possible. File name is unmodified if it is not below the home 933 directory. 934 :. Reduce file name to be relative to current directory, if 935 possible. File name is unmodified if it is not below the 936 current directory. 937 For maximum shortness, use ":~:.". 938 :h Head of the file name (the last component and any separators 939 removed). Cannot be used with :e, :r or :t. 940 Can be repeated to remove several components at the end. 941 When the file name ends in a path separator, only the path 942 separator is removed. Thus ":p:h" on a directory name results 943 on the directory name itself (without trailing slash). 944 When the file name is an absolute path (starts with "/" for 945 Unix; "x:\" for Win32; "drive:" for Amiga), that part is not 946 removed. When there is no head (path is relative to current 947 directory) the result is empty. 948 :t Tail of the file name (last component of the name). Must 949 precede any :r or :e. 950 :r Root of the file name (the last extension removed). When 951 there is only an extension (file name that starts with '.', 952 e.g., ".vimrc"), it is not removed. Can be repeated to remove 953 several extensions (last one first). 954 :e Extension of the file name. Only makes sense when used alone. 955 When there is no extension the result is empty. 956 When there is only an extension (file name that starts with 957 '.'), the result is empty. Can be repeated to include more 958 extensions. If there are not enough extensions (but at least 959 one) as much as possible are included. 960 :s?pat?sub? 961 Substitute the first occurrence of "pat" with "sub". This 962 works like the |:s| command. "pat" is a regular expression. 963 Any character can be used for '?', but it must not occur in 964 "pat" or "sub". 965 After this, the previous modifiers can be used again. For 966 example ":p", to make a full path after the substitution. 967 :gs?pat?sub? 968 Substitute all occurrences of "pat" with "sub". Otherwise 969 this works like ":s". 970 :S Escape special characters for use with a shell command (see 971 |shellescape()|). Must be the last one. Examples: > 972 :!dir <cfile>:S 973 :call system('chmod +w -- ' . expand('%:S')) 974 975Examples, when the file name is "src/version.c", current dir 976"/home/mool/vim": > 977 :p /home/mool/vim/src/version.c 978 :p:. src/version.c 979 :p:~ ~/vim/src/version.c 980 :h src 981 :p:h /home/mool/vim/src 982 :p:h:h /home/mool/vim 983 :t version.c 984 :p:t version.c 985 :r src/version 986 :p:r /home/mool/vim/src/version 987 :t:r version 988 :e c 989 :s?version?main? src/main.c 990 :s?version?main?:p /home/mool/vim/src/main.c 991 :p:gs?/?\\? \home\mool\vim\src\version.c 992 993Examples, when the file name is "src/version.c.gz": > 994 :p /home/mool/vim/src/version.c.gz 995 :e gz 996 :e:e c.gz 997 :e:e:e c.gz 998 :e:e:r c 999 :r src/version.c 1000 :r:e c 1001 :r:r src/version 1002 :r:r:r src/version 1003< 1004 *extension-removal* *:_%<* 1005If a "<" is appended to "%", "#", "#n" or "CTRL-V p" the extension of the file 1006name is removed (everything after and including the last '.' in the file 1007name). This is included for backwards compatibility with version 3.0, the 1008":r" form is preferred. Examples: > 1009 1010 % current file name 1011 %< current file name without extension 1012 # alternate file name for current window 1013 #< idem, without extension 1014 #31 alternate file number 31 1015 #31< idem, without extension 1016 <cword> word under the cursor 1017 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor (see |WORD|) 1018 <cfile> path name under the cursor 1019 <cfile>< idem, without extension 1020 1021Note: Where a file name is expected wildcards expansion is done. On Unix the 1022shell is used for this, unless it can be done internally (for speed). 1023Unless in |restricted-mode|, backticks work also, like in > 1024 :n `echo *.c` 1025But expansion is only done if there are any wildcards before expanding the 1026'%', '#', etc.. This avoids expanding wildcards inside a file name. If you 1027want to expand the result of <cfile>, add a wildcard character to it. 1028Examples: (alternate file name is "?readme?") 1029 command expands to ~ 1030 :e # :e ?readme? 1031 :e `ls #` :e {files matching "?readme?"} 1032 :e #.* :e {files matching "?readme?.*"} 1033 :cd <cfile> :cd {file name under cursor} 1034 :cd <cfile>* :cd {file name under cursor plus "*" and then expanded} 1035Also see |`=|. 1036 1037When the expanded argument contains a "!" and it is used for a shell command 1038(":!cmd", ":r !cmd" or ":w !cmd"), the "!" is escaped with a backslash to 1039avoid it being expanded into a previously used command. When the 'shell' 1040option contains "sh", this is done twice, to avoid the shell trying to expand 1041the "!". 1042 1043 *filename-backslash* 1044For filesystems that use a backslash as directory separator (MS-Windows), it's 1045a bit difficult to recognize a backslash that is used to escape the special 1046meaning of the next character. The general rule is: If the backslash is 1047followed by a normal file name character, it does not have a special meaning. 1048Therefore "\file\foo" is a valid file name, you don't have to type the 1049backslash twice. 1050 1051An exception is the '$' sign. It is a valid character in a file name. But 1052to avoid a file name like "$home" to be interpreted as an environment variable, 1053it needs to be preceded by a backslash. Therefore you need to use "/\$home" 1054for the file "$home" in the root directory. A few examples: 1055 1056 FILE NAME INTERPRETED AS ~ 1057 $home expanded to value of environment var $home 1058 \$home file "$home" in current directory 1059 /\$home file "$home" in root directory 1060 \\$home file "\\", followed by expanded $home 1061 1062Also see |`=|. 1063 1064============================================================================== 10657. Command-line window *cmdline-window* *cmdwin* 1066 *command-line-window* 1067In the command-line window the command line can be edited just like editing 1068text in any window. It is a special kind of window, because you cannot leave 1069it in a normal way. 1070{not available when compiled without the |+cmdline_hist| feature} 1071 1072 1073OPEN *c_CTRL-F* *q:* *q/* *q?* 1074 1075There are two ways to open the command-line window: 10761. From Command-line mode, use the key specified with the 'cedit' option. 1077 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is not set. 10782. From Normal mode, use the "q:", "q/" or "q?" command. 1079 This starts editing an Ex command-line ("q:") or search string ("q/" or 1080 "q?"). Note that this is not possible while recording is in progress (the 1081 "q" stops recording then). 1082 1083When the window opens it is filled with the command-line history. The last 1084line contains the command as typed so far. The left column will show a 1085character that indicates the type of command-line being edited, see 1086|cmdwin-char|. 1087 1088Vim will be in Normal mode when the editor is opened, except when 'insertmode' 1089is set. 1090 1091The height of the window is specified with 'cmdwinheight' (or smaller if there 1092is no room). The window is always full width and is positioned just above the 1093command-line. 1094 1095 1096EDIT 1097 1098You can now use commands to move around and edit the text in the window. Both 1099in Normal mode and Insert mode. 1100 1101It is possible to use ":", "/" and other commands that use the command-line, 1102but it's not possible to open another command-line window then. There is no 1103nesting. 1104 *E11* 1105The command-line window is not a normal window. It is not possible to move to 1106another window or edit another buffer. All commands that would do this are 1107disabled in the command-line window. Of course it _is_ possible to execute 1108any command that you entered in the command-line window. Other text edits are 1109discarded when closing the window. 1110 1111 1112CLOSE *E199* 1113 1114There are several ways to leave the command-line window: 1115 1116<CR> Execute the command-line under the cursor. Works both in 1117 Insert and in Normal mode. 1118CTRL-C Continue in Command-line mode. The command-line under the 1119 cursor is used as the command-line. Works both in Insert and 1120 in Normal mode. There is no redraw, thus the window will 1121 remain visible. 1122:quit Discard the command line and go back to Normal mode. 1123 ":close", ":exit", ":xit" and CTRL-\ CTRL-N also work. 1124:qall Quit Vim, unless there are changes in some buffer. 1125:qall! Quit Vim, discarding changes to any buffer. 1126 1127Once the command-line window is closed the old window sizes are restored. The 1128executed command applies to the window and buffer where the command-line was 1129started from. This works as if the command-line window was not there, except 1130that there will be an extra screen redraw. 1131The buffer used for the command-line window is deleted. Any changes to lines 1132other than the one that is executed with <CR> are lost. 1133 1134If you would like to execute the command under the cursor and then have the 1135command-line window open again, you may find this mapping useful: > 1136 1137 :autocmd CmdwinEnter * map <buffer> <F5> <CR>q: 1138 1139 1140VARIOUS 1141 1142The command-line window cannot be used: 1143- when there already is a command-line window (no nesting) 1144- for entering an encryption key or when using inputsecret() 1145 1146Some options are set when the command-line window is opened: 1147'filetype' "vim", when editing an Ex command-line; this starts Vim syntax 1148 highlighting if it was enabled 1149'rightleft' off 1150'modifiable' on 1151'buftype' "nofile" 1152'swapfile' off 1153 1154It is allowed to write the buffer contents to a file. This is an easy way to 1155save the command-line history and read it back later. 1156 1157If the 'wildchar' option is set to <Tab>, and the command-line window is used 1158for an Ex command, then two mappings will be added to use <Tab> for completion 1159in the command-line window, like this: > 1160 :imap <buffer> <Tab> <C-X><C-V> 1161 :nmap <buffer> <Tab> a<C-X><C-V> 1162Note that hitting <Tab> in Normal mode will do completion on the next 1163character. That way it works at the end of the line. 1164If you don't want these mappings, disable them with: > 1165 au CmdwinEnter [:>] iunmap <Tab> 1166 au CmdwinEnter [:>] nunmap <Tab> 1167You could put these lines in your vimrc file. 1168 1169While in the command-line window you cannot use the mouse to put the cursor in 1170another window, or drag statuslines of other windows. You can drag the 1171statusline of the command-line window itself and the statusline above it. 1172Thus you can resize the command-line window, but not others. 1173 1174The |getcmdwintype()| function returns the type of the command-line being 1175edited as described in |cmdwin-char|. 1176 1177 1178AUTOCOMMANDS 1179 1180Two autocommand events are used: |CmdwinEnter| and |CmdwinLeave|. You can use 1181the Cmdwin events to do settings specifically for the command-line window. 1182Be careful not to cause side effects! 1183Example: > 1184 :au CmdwinEnter : let b:cpt_save = &cpt | set cpt=. 1185 :au CmdwinLeave : let &cpt = b:cpt_save 1186This sets 'complete' to use completion in the current window for |i_CTRL-N|. 1187Another example: > 1188 :au CmdwinEnter [/?] startinsert 1189This will make Vim start in Insert mode in the command-line window. 1190 1191 *cmdwin-char* 1192The character used for the pattern indicates the type of command-line: 1193 : normal Ex command 1194 > debug mode command |debug-mode| 1195 / forward search string 1196 ? backward search string 1197 = expression for "= |expr-register| 1198 @ string for |input()| 1199 - text for |:insert| or |:append| 1200 1201 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: 1202