xref: /vim-8.2.3635/runtime/doc/insert.txt (revision 12ee7ff0)
1*insert.txt*    For Vim version 8.1.  Last change: 2019 May 07
2
3
4		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7						*Insert* *Insert-mode*
8Inserting and replacing text				*mode-ins-repl*
9
10Most of this file is about Insert and Replace mode.  At the end are a few
11commands for inserting text in other ways.
12
13An overview of the most often used commands can be found in chapter 24 of the
14user manual |usr_24.txt|.
15
161. Special keys						|ins-special-keys|
172. Special special keys					|ins-special-special|
183. 'textwidth' and 'wrapmargin' options			|ins-textwidth|
194. 'expandtab', 'smarttab' and 'softtabstop'  options	|ins-expandtab|
205. Replace mode						|Replace-mode|
216. Virtual Replace mode					|Virtual-Replace-mode|
227. Insert mode completion				|ins-completion|
238. Insert mode commands					|inserting|
249. Ex insert commands					|inserting-ex|
2510. Inserting a file					|inserting-file|
26
27Also see 'virtualedit', for moving the cursor to positions where there is no
28character.  Useful for editing a table.
29
30==============================================================================
311. Special keys						*ins-special-keys*
32
33In Insert and Replace mode, the following characters have a special meaning;
34other characters are inserted directly.  To insert one of these special
35characters into the buffer, precede it with CTRL-V.  To insert a <Nul>
36character use "CTRL-V CTRL-@" or "CTRL-V 000".  On some systems, you have to
37use "CTRL-V 003" to insert a CTRL-C.  Note: When CTRL-V is mapped you can
38often use CTRL-Q instead |i_CTRL-Q|.
39
40If you are working in a special language mode when inserting text, see the
41'langmap' option, |'langmap'|, on how to avoid switching this mode on and off
42all the time.
43
44If you have 'insertmode' set, <Esc> and a few other keys get another meaning.
45See |'insertmode'|.
46
47char		action	~
48-----------------------------------------------------------------------
49						*i_CTRL-[* *i_<Esc>*
50<Esc> or CTRL-[	End insert or Replace mode, go back to Normal mode.  Finish
51		abbreviation.
52		Note: If your <Esc> key is hard to hit on your keyboard, train
53		yourself to use CTRL-[.
54		If Esc doesn't work and you are using a Mac, try CTRL-Esc.
55		Or disable Listening under Accessibility preferences.
56						*i_CTRL-C*
57CTRL-C		Quit insert mode, go back to Normal mode.  Do not check for
58		abbreviations.  Does not trigger the |InsertLeave| autocommand
59		event.
60
61						*i_CTRL-@*
62CTRL-@		Insert previously inserted text and stop insert.
63
64						*i_CTRL-A*
65CTRL-A		Insert previously inserted text.
66
67						*i_CTRL-H* *i_<BS>* *i_BS*
68<BS> or CTRL-H	Delete the character before the cursor (see |i_backspacing|
69		about joining lines).
70		See |:fixdel| if your <BS> key does not do what you want.
71
72						*i_<Del>* *i_DEL*
73<Del>		Delete the character under the cursor.  If the cursor is at
74		the end of the line, and the 'backspace' option includes
75		"eol", delete the <EOL>; the next line is appended after the
76		current one.
77		See |:fixdel| if your <Del> key does not do what you want.
78						*i_CTRL-W*
79CTRL-W		Delete the word before the cursor (see |i_backspacing| about
80		joining lines).  See the section "word motions",
81		|word-motions|, for the definition of a word.
82						*i_CTRL-U*
83CTRL-U		Delete all entered characters before the cursor in the current
84		line.  If there are no newly entered characters and
85		'backspace' is not empty, delete all characters before the
86		cursor in the current line.
87		See |i_backspacing| about joining lines.
88						*i_CTRL-I* *i_<Tab>* *i_Tab*
89<Tab> or CTRL-I Insert a tab.  If the 'expandtab' option is on, the
90		equivalent number of spaces is inserted (use CTRL-V <Tab> to
91		avoid the expansion; use CTRL-Q <Tab> if CTRL-V is mapped
92		|i_CTRL-Q|).  See also the 'smarttab' option and
93		|ins-expandtab|.
94						*i_CTRL-J* *i_<NL>*
95<NL> or CTRL-J	Begin new line.
96						*i_CTRL-M* *i_<CR>*
97<CR> or CTRL-M	Begin new line.
98						*i_CTRL-K*
99CTRL-K {char1} [char2]
100		Enter digraph (see |digraphs|).  When {char1} is a special
101		key, the code for that key is inserted in <> form.  For
102		example, the string "<S-Space>" can be entered by typing
103		<C-K><S-Space> (two keys).  Neither char is considered for
104		mapping.
105
106CTRL-N		Find next keyword (see |i_CTRL-N|).
107CTRL-P		Find previous keyword (see |i_CTRL-P|).
108
109CTRL-R {0-9a-z"%#*+:.-=}					*i_CTRL-R*
110		Insert the contents of a register.  Between typing CTRL-R and
111		the second character, '"' will be displayed to indicate that
112		you are expected to enter the name of a register.
113		The text is inserted as if you typed it, but mappings and
114		abbreviations are not used.  If you have options like
115		'textwidth', 'formatoptions', or 'autoindent' set, this will
116		influence what will be inserted.  This is different from what
117		happens with the "p" command and pasting with the mouse.
118		Special registers:
119			'"'	the unnamed register, containing the text of
120				the last delete or yank
121			'%'	the current file name
122			'#'	the alternate file name
123			'*'	the clipboard contents (X11: primary selection)
124			'+'	the clipboard contents
125			'/'	the last search pattern
126			':'	the last command-line
127			'.'	the last inserted text
128			'-'	the last small (less than a line) delete
129							*i_CTRL-R_=*
130			'='	the expression register: you are prompted to
131				enter an expression (see |expression|)
132				Note that 0x80 (128 decimal) is used for
133				special keys.  E.g., you can use this to move
134				the cursor up:
135					CTRL-R ="\<Up>"
136				Use CTRL-R CTRL-R to insert text literally.
137				When the result is a |List| the items are used
138				as lines.  They can have line breaks inside
139				too.
140				When the result is a Float it's automatically
141				converted to a String.
142				When append() or setline() is invoked the undo
143				sequence will be broken.
144		See |registers| about registers.
145
146CTRL-R CTRL-R {0-9a-z"%#*+/:.-=}			*i_CTRL-R_CTRL-R*
147		Insert the contents of a register.  Works like using a single
148		CTRL-R, but the text is inserted literally, not as if typed.
149		This differs when the register contains characters like <BS>.
150		Example, where register a contains "ab^Hc": >
151	CTRL-R a		results in "ac".
152	CTRL-R CTRL-R a		results in "ab^Hc".
153<		Options 'textwidth', 'formatoptions', etc. still apply.  If
154		you also want to avoid these, use CTRL-R CTRL-O, see below.
155		The '.' register (last inserted text) is still inserted as
156		typed.
157
158CTRL-R CTRL-O {0-9a-z"%#*+/:.-=}			*i_CTRL-R_CTRL-O*
159		Insert the contents of a register literally and don't
160		auto-indent.  Does the same as pasting with the mouse
161		|<MiddleMouse>|. When the register is linewise this will
162		insert the text above the current line, like with `P`.
163		Does not replace characters!
164		The '.' register (last inserted text) is still inserted as
165		typed.
166
167CTRL-R CTRL-P {0-9a-z"%#*+/:.-=}			*i_CTRL-R_CTRL-P*
168		Insert the contents of a register literally and fix the
169		indent, like |[<MiddleMouse>|.
170		Does not replace characters!
171		The '.' register (last inserted text) is still inserted as
172		typed.
173
174						*i_CTRL-T*
175CTRL-T		Insert one shiftwidth of indent at the start of the current
176		line.  The indent is always rounded to a 'shiftwidth' (this is
177		vi compatible).
178						*i_CTRL-D*
179CTRL-D		Delete one shiftwidth of indent at the start of the current
180		line.  The indent is always rounded to a 'shiftwidth' (this is
181		vi compatible).
182						*i_0_CTRL-D*
1830 CTRL-D	Delete all indent in the current line.
184
185						*i_^_CTRL-D*
186^ CTRL-D	Delete all indent in the current line.  The indent is
187		restored in the next line.  This is useful when inserting a
188		label.
189
190						*i_CTRL-V*
191CTRL-V		Insert next non-digit literally.  For special keys, the
192		terminal code is inserted.  It's also possible to enter the
193		decimal, octal or hexadecimal value of a character
194		|i_CTRL-V_digit|.
195		The characters typed right after CTRL-V are not considered for
196		mapping.
197		Note: When CTRL-V is mapped (e.g., to paste text) you can
198		often use CTRL-Q instead |i_CTRL-Q|.
199
200						*i_CTRL-Q*
201CTRL-Q		Same as CTRL-V.
202		Note: Some terminal connections may eat CTRL-Q, it doesn't
203		work then.  It does work in the GUI.
204
205CTRL-X		Enter CTRL-X mode.  This is a sub-mode where commands can
206		be given to complete words or scroll the window.  See
207		|i_CTRL-X| and |ins-completion|.
208
209						*i_CTRL-E*
210CTRL-E		Insert the character which is below the cursor.
211						*i_CTRL-Y*
212CTRL-Y		Insert the character which is above the cursor.
213		Note that for CTRL-E and CTRL-Y 'textwidth' is not used, to be
214		able to copy characters from a long line.
215
216						*i_CTRL-_*
217CTRL-_		Switch between languages, as follows:
218		-  When in a rightleft window, revins and nohkmap are toggled,
219		   since English will likely be inserted in this case.
220		-  When in a norightleft window, revins and hkmap are toggled,
221		   since Hebrew will likely be inserted in this case.
222
223		CTRL-_ moves the cursor to the end of the typed text.
224
225		This command is only available when the 'allowrevins' option
226		is set.
227		Please refer to |rileft.txt| for more information about
228		right-to-left mode.
229		Only if compiled with the |+rightleft| feature.
230
231						*i_CTRL-^*
232CTRL-^		Toggle the use of typing language characters.
233		When language |:lmap| mappings are defined:
234		- If 'iminsert' is 1 (langmap mappings used) it becomes 0 (no
235		  langmap mappings used).
236		- If 'iminsert' has another value it becomes 1, thus langmap
237		  mappings are enabled.
238		When no language mappings are defined:
239		- If 'iminsert' is 2 (Input Method used) it becomes 0 (no
240		  Input Method used).
241		- If 'iminsert' has another value it becomes 2, thus the Input
242		  Method is enabled.
243		When set to 1, the value of the "b:keymap_name" variable, the
244		'keymap' option or "<lang>" appears in the status line.
245		The language mappings are normally used to type characters
246		that are different from what the keyboard produces.  The
247		'keymap' option can be used to install a whole number of them.
248
249						*i_CTRL-]*
250CTRL-]		Trigger abbreviation, without inserting a character.
251
252						*i_<Insert>*
253<Insert>	Toggle between Insert and Replace mode.
254-----------------------------------------------------------------------
255
256						*i_backspacing*
257The effect of the <BS>, CTRL-W, and CTRL-U depend on the 'backspace' option
258(unless 'revins' is set).  This is a comma separated list of items:
259
260item	    action ~
261indent	    allow backspacing over autoindent
262eol	    allow backspacing over end-of-line (join lines)
263start	    allow backspacing over the start position of insert; CTRL-W and
264	    CTRL-U stop once at the start position
265
266When 'backspace' is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.  You cannot
267backspace over autoindent, before column 1 or before where insert started.
268
269For backwards compatibility the values "0", "1" and "2" are also allowed, see
270|'backspace'|.
271
272If the 'backspace' option does contain "eol" and the cursor is in column 1
273when one of the three keys is used, the current line is joined with the
274previous line.  This effectively deletes the <EOL> in front of the cursor.
275
276						*i_CTRL-V_digit*
277With CTRL-V the decimal, octal or hexadecimal value of a character can be
278entered directly.  This way you can enter any character, except a line break
279(<NL>, value 10).  There are five ways to enter the character value:
280
281first char	mode	     max nr of chars   max value ~
282(none)		decimal		   3		255
283o or O		octal		   3		377	 (255)
284x or X		hexadecimal	   2		ff	 (255)
285u		hexadecimal	   4		ffff	 (65535)
286U		hexadecimal	   8		7fffffff (2147483647)
287
288Normally you would type the maximum number of characters.  Thus to enter a
289space (value 32) you would type <C-V>032.  You can omit the leading zero, in
290which case the character typed after the number must be a non-digit.  This
291happens for the other modes as well: As soon as you type a character that is
292invalid for the mode, the value before it will be used and the "invalid"
293character is dealt with in the normal way.
294
295If you enter a value of 10, it will end up in the file as a 0.  The 10 is a
296<NL>, which is used internally to represent the <Nul> character.  When writing
297the buffer to a file, the <NL> character is translated into <Nul>.  The <NL>
298character is written at the end of each line.  Thus if you want to insert a
299<NL> character in a file you will have to make a line break.
300
301						*i_CTRL-X* *insert_expand*
302CTRL-X enters a sub-mode where several commands can be used.  Most of these
303commands do keyword completion; see |ins-completion|.  These are not available
304when Vim was compiled without the |+insert_expand| feature.
305
306Two commands can be used to scroll the window up or down, without exiting
307insert mode:
308
309						*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-E*
310CTRL-X CTRL-E		scroll window one line up.
311			When doing completion look here: |complete_CTRL-E|
312
313						*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-Y*
314CTRL-X CTRL-Y		scroll window one line down.
315			When doing completion look here: |complete_CTRL-Y|
316
317After CTRL-X is pressed, each CTRL-E (CTRL-Y) scrolls the window up (down) by
318one line unless that would cause the cursor to move from its current position
319in the file.  As soon as another key is pressed, CTRL-X mode is exited and
320that key is interpreted as in Insert mode.
321
322
323==============================================================================
3242. Special special keys				*ins-special-special*
325
326The following keys are special.  They stop the current insert, do something,
327and then restart insertion.  This means you can do something without getting
328out of Insert mode.  This is very handy if you prefer to use the Insert mode
329all the time, just like editors that don't have a separate Normal mode.  You
330may also want to set the 'backspace' option to "indent,eol,start" and set the
331'insertmode' option.  You can use CTRL-O if you want to map a function key to
332a command.
333
334The changes (inserted or deleted characters) before and after these keys can
335be undone separately.  Only the last change can be redone and always behaves
336like an "i" command.
337
338char		action	~
339-----------------------------------------------------------------------
340<Up>		cursor one line up			     *i_<Up>*
341<Down>		cursor one line down			     *i_<Down>*
342CTRL-G <Up>	cursor one line up, insert start column	     *i_CTRL-G_<Up>*
343CTRL-G k	cursor one line up, insert start column	     *i_CTRL-G_k*
344CTRL-G CTRL-K	cursor one line up, insert start column	     *i_CTRL-G_CTRL-K*
345CTRL-G <Down>	cursor one line down, insert start column    *i_CTRL-G_<Down>*
346CTRL-G j	cursor one line down, insert start column    *i_CTRL-G_j*
347CTRL-G CTRL-J	cursor one line down, insert start column    *i_CTRL-G_CTRL-J*
348<Left>		cursor one character left		     *i_<Left>*
349<Right>		cursor one character right		     *i_<Right>*
350<S-Left>	cursor one word back (like "b" command)	     *i_<S-Left>*
351<C-Left>	cursor one word back (like "b" command)	     *i_<C-Left>*
352<S-Right>	cursor one word forward (like "w" command)   *i_<S-Right>*
353<C-Right>	cursor one word forward (like "w" command)   *i_<C-Right>*
354<Home>		cursor to first char in the line	     *i_<Home>*
355<End>		cursor to after last char in the line	     *i_<End>*
356<C-Home>	cursor to first char in the file	     *i_<C-Home>*
357<C-End>		cursor to after last char in the file	     *i_<C-End>*
358<LeftMouse>	cursor to position of mouse click	     *i_<LeftMouse>*
359<S-Up>		move window one page up			     *i_<S-Up>*
360<PageUp>	move window one page up			     *i_<PageUp>*
361<S-Down>	move window one page down		     *i_<S-Down>*
362<PageDown>	move window one page down		     *i_<PageDown>*
363<ScrollWheelDown>    move window three lines down	*i_<ScrollWheelDown>*
364<S-ScrollWheelDown>  move window one page down		*i_<S-ScrollWheelDown>*
365<ScrollWheelUp>      move window three lines up		*i_<ScrollWheelUp>*
366<S-ScrollWheelUp>    move window one page up		*i_<S-ScrollWheelUp>*
367<ScrollWheelLeft>    move window six columns left	*i_<ScrollWheelLeft>*
368<S-ScrollWheelLeft>  move window one page left		*i_<S-ScrollWheelLeft>*
369<ScrollWheelRight>   move window six columns right	*i_<ScrollWheelRight>*
370<S-ScrollWheelRight> move window one page right		*i_<S-ScrollWheelRight>*
371CTRL-O		execute one command, return to Insert mode   *i_CTRL-O*
372CTRL-\ CTRL-O	like CTRL-O but don't move the cursor	     *i_CTRL-\_CTRL-O*
373CTRL-L		when 'insertmode' is set: go to Normal mode  *i_CTRL-L*
374CTRL-G u	break undo sequence, start new change	     *i_CTRL-G_u*
375CTRL-G U	don't break undo with next left/right cursor *i_CTRL-G_U*
376		movement, if the cursor stays within
377		same the line
378-----------------------------------------------------------------------
379
380Note: If the cursor keys take you out of Insert mode, check the 'noesckeys'
381option.
382
383The CTRL-O command sometimes has a side effect: If the cursor was beyond the
384end of the line, it will be put on the last character in the line.  In
385mappings it's often better to use <Esc> (first put an "x" in the text, <Esc>
386will then always put the cursor on it).  Or use CTRL-\ CTRL-O, but then
387beware of the cursor possibly being beyond the end of the line.  Note that the
388command following CTRL-\ CTRL-O can still move the cursor, it is not restored
389to its original position.
390
391The CTRL-O command takes you to Normal mode.  If you then use a command enter
392Insert mode again it normally doesn't nest.  Thus when typing "a<C-O>a" and
393then <Esc> takes you back to Normal mode, you do not need to type <Esc> twice.
394An exception is when not typing the command, e.g. when executing a mapping or
395sourcing a script.  This makes mappings work that briefly switch to Insert
396mode.
397
398The shifted cursor keys are not available on all terminals.
399
400Another side effect is that a count specified before the "i" or "a" command is
401ignored.  That is because repeating the effect of the command after CTRL-O is
402too complicated.
403
404An example for using CTRL-G u: >
405
406	:inoremap <C-H> <C-G>u<C-H>
407
408This redefines the backspace key to start a new undo sequence.  You can now
409undo the effect of the backspace key, without changing what you typed before
410that, with CTRL-O u.  Another example: >
411
412	:inoremap <CR> <C-]><C-G>u<CR>
413
414This breaks undo at each line break.  It also expands abbreviations before
415this.
416
417An example for using CTRL-G U: >
418
419	inoremap <Left>  <C-G>U<Left>
420	inoremap <Right> <C-G>U<Right>
421	inoremap <expr> <Home> col('.') == match(getline('.'), '\S') + 1 ?
422	 \ repeat('<C-G>U<Left>', col('.') - 1) :
423	 \ (col('.') < match(getline('.'), '\S') ?
424	 \     repeat('<C-G>U<Right>', match(getline('.'), '\S') + 0) :
425	 \     repeat('<C-G>U<Left>', col('.') - 1 - match(getline('.'), '\S')))
426	inoremap <expr> <End> repeat('<C-G>U<Right>', col('$') - col('.'))
427	inoremap ( ()<C-G>U<Left>
428
429This makes it possible to use the cursor keys in Insert mode, without breaking
430the undo sequence and therefore using |.| (redo) will work as expected.
431Also entering a text like (with the "(" mapping from above):
432
433   Lorem ipsum (dolor
434
435will be repeatable by using |.| to the expected
436
437   Lorem ipsum (dolor)
438
439Using CTRL-O splits undo: the text typed before and after it is undone
440separately.  If you want to avoid this (e.g., in a mapping) you might be able
441to use CTRL-R = |i_CTRL-R|.  E.g., to call a function: >
442	:imap <F2> <C-R>=MyFunc()<CR>
443
444When the 'whichwrap' option is set appropriately, the <Left> and <Right>
445keys on the first/last character in the line make the cursor wrap to the
446previous/next line.
447
448The CTRL-G j and CTRL-G k commands can be used to insert text in front of a
449column.  Example: >
450   int i;
451   int j;
452Position the cursor on the first "int", type "istatic <C-G>j       ".  The
453result is: >
454   static int i;
455	  int j;
456When inserting the same text in front of the column in every line, use the
457Visual blockwise command "I" |v_b_I|.
458
459==============================================================================
4603. 'textwidth' and 'wrapmargin' options			*ins-textwidth*
461
462The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically break a line before it
463gets too long.  Set the 'textwidth' option to the desired maximum line
464length.  If you then type more characters (not spaces or tabs), the
465last word will be put on a new line (unless it is the only word on the
466line).  If you set 'textwidth' to 0, this feature is disabled.
467
468The 'wrapmargin' option does almost the same.  The difference is that
469'textwidth' has a fixed width while 'wrapmargin' depends on the width of the
470screen.  When using 'wrapmargin' this is equal to using 'textwidth' with a
471value equal to (columns - 'wrapmargin'), where columns is the width of the
472screen.
473
474When 'textwidth' and 'wrapmargin' are both set, 'textwidth' is used.
475
476If you don't really want to break the line, but view the line wrapped at a
477convenient place, see the 'linebreak' option.
478
479The line is only broken automatically when using Insert mode, or when
480appending to a line.  When in replace mode and the line length is not
481changed, the line will not be broken.
482
483Long lines are broken if you enter a non-white character after the margin.
484The situations where a line will be broken can be restricted by adding
485characters to the 'formatoptions' option:
486"l"  Only break a line if it was not longer than 'textwidth' when the insert
487     started.
488"v"  Only break at a white character that has been entered during the
489     current insert command.  This is mostly Vi-compatible.
490"lv" Only break if the line was not longer than 'textwidth' when the insert
491     started and only at a white character that has been entered during the
492     current insert command.  Only differs from "l" when entering non-white
493     characters while crossing the 'textwidth' boundary.
494
495Normally an internal function will be used to decide where to break the line.
496If you want to do it in a different way set the 'formatexpr' option to an
497expression that will take care of the line break.
498
499If you want to format a block of text, you can use the "gq" operator.  Type
500"gq" and a movement command to move the cursor to the end of the block.  In
501many cases, the command "gq}" will do what you want (format until the end of
502paragraph).  Alternatively, you can use "gqap", which will format the whole
503paragraph, no matter where the cursor currently is.  Or you can use Visual
504mode: hit "v", move to the end of the block, and type "gq".  See also |gq|.
505
506==============================================================================
5074. 'expandtab', 'smarttab' and 'softtabstop' options	*ins-expandtab*
508
509If the 'expandtab' option is on, spaces will be used to fill the amount of
510whitespace of the tab.  If you want to enter a real <Tab>, type CTRL-V first
511(use CTRL-Q when CTRL-V is mapped |i_CTRL-Q|).
512The 'expandtab' option is off by default.  Note that in Replace mode, a single
513character is replaced with several spaces.  The result of this is that the
514number of characters in the line increases.  Backspacing will delete one
515space at a time.  The original character will be put back for only one space
516that you backspace over (the last one).
517
518							*ins-smarttab*
519When the 'smarttab' option is on, a <Tab> inserts 'shiftwidth' positions at
520the beginning of a line and 'tabstop' positions in other places.  This means
521that often spaces instead of a <Tab> character are inserted.  When 'smarttab'
522is off, a <Tab> always inserts 'tabstop' positions, and 'shiftwidth' is only
523used for ">>" and the like.
524
525							*ins-softtabstop*
526When the 'softtabstop' option is non-zero, a <Tab> inserts 'softtabstop'
527positions, and a <BS> used to delete white space, will delete 'softtabstop'
528positions.  This feels like 'tabstop' was set to 'softtabstop', but a real
529<Tab> character still takes 'tabstop' positions, so your file will still look
530correct when used by other applications.
531
532If 'softtabstop' is non-zero, a <BS> will try to delete as much white space to
533move to the previous 'softtabstop' position, except when the previously
534inserted character is a space, then it will only delete the character before
535the cursor.  Otherwise you cannot always delete a single character before the
536cursor.  You will have to delete 'softtabstop' characters first, and then type
537extra spaces to get where you want to be.
538
539==============================================================================
5405. Replace mode				*Replace* *Replace-mode* *mode-replace*
541
542Enter Replace mode with the "R" command in normal mode.
543
544In Replace mode, one character in the line is deleted for every character you
545type.  If there is no character to delete (at the end of the line), the
546typed character is appended (as in Insert mode).  Thus the number of
547characters in a line stays the same until you get to the end of the line.
548If a <NL> is typed, a line break is inserted and no character is deleted.
549
550Be careful with <Tab> characters.  If you type a normal printing character in
551its place, the number of characters is still the same, but the number of
552columns will become smaller.
553
554If you delete characters in Replace mode (with <BS>, CTRL-W, or CTRL-U), what
555happens is that you delete the changes.  The characters that were replaced
556are restored.  If you had typed past the existing text, the characters you
557added are deleted.  This is effectively a character-at-a-time undo.
558
559If the 'expandtab' option is on, a <Tab> will replace one character with
560several spaces.  The result of this is that the number of characters in the
561line increases.  Backspacing will delete one space at a time.  The original
562character will be put back for only one space that you backspace over (the
563last one).
564
565==============================================================================
5666. Virtual Replace mode		*vreplace-mode* *Virtual-Replace-mode*
567
568Enter Virtual Replace mode with the "gR" command in normal mode.
569{not available when compiled without the |+vreplace| feature}
570
571Virtual Replace mode is similar to Replace mode, but instead of replacing
572actual characters in the file, you are replacing screen real estate, so that
573characters further on in the file never appear to move.
574
575So if you type a <Tab> it may replace several normal characters, and if you
576type a letter on top of a <Tab> it may not replace anything at all, since the
577<Tab> will still line up to the same place as before.
578
579Typing a <NL> still doesn't cause characters later in the file to appear to
580move.  The rest of the current line will be replaced by the <NL> (that is,
581they are deleted), and replacing continues on the next line.  A new line is
582NOT inserted unless you go past the end of the file.
583
584Interesting effects are seen when using CTRL-T and CTRL-D.  The characters
585before the cursor are shifted sideways as normal, but characters later in the
586line still remain still.  CTRL-T will hide some of the old line under the
587shifted characters, but CTRL-D will reveal them again.
588
589As with Replace mode, using <BS> etc will bring back the characters that were
590replaced.  This still works in conjunction with 'smartindent', CTRL-T and
591CTRL-D, 'expandtab', 'smarttab', 'softtabstop', etc.
592
593In 'list' mode, Virtual Replace mode acts as if it was not in 'list' mode,
594unless "L" is in 'cpoptions'.
595
596Note that the only situations for which characters beyond the cursor should
597appear to move are in List mode |'list'|, and occasionally when 'wrap' is set
598(and the line changes length to become shorter or wider than the width of the
599screen).  In other cases spaces may be inserted to avoid following characters
600to move.
601
602This mode is very useful for editing <Tab> separated columns in tables, for
603entering new data while keeping all the columns aligned.
604
605==============================================================================
6067. Insert mode completion				*ins-completion*
607
608In Insert and Replace mode, there are several commands to complete part of a
609keyword or line that has been typed.  This is useful if you are using
610complicated keywords (e.g., function names with capitals and underscores).
611
612These commands are not available when the |+insert_expand| feature was
613disabled at compile time.
614
615Completion can be done for:
616
6171. Whole lines						|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|
6182. keywords in the current file				|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-N|
6193. keywords in 'dictionary'				|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|
6204. keywords in 'thesaurus', thesaurus-style		|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|
6215. keywords in the current and included files		|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|
6226. tags							|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]|
6237. file names						|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F|
6248. definitions or macros				|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
6259. Vim command-line					|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-V|
62610. User defined completion				|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
62711. omni completion					|i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
62812. Spelling suggestions				|i_CTRL-X_s|
62913. keywords in 'complete'				|i_CTRL-N| |i_CTRL-P|
630
631All these, except CTRL-N and CTRL-P, are done in CTRL-X mode.  This is a
632sub-mode of Insert and Replace modes.  You enter CTRL-X mode by typing CTRL-X
633and one of the CTRL-X commands.  You exit CTRL-X mode by typing a key that is
634not a valid CTRL-X mode command.  Valid keys are the CTRL-X command itself,
635CTRL-N (next), and CTRL-P (previous).
636
637To get the current completion information, |complete_info()| can be used.
638Also see the 'infercase' option if you want to adjust the case of the match.
639
640							*complete_CTRL-E*
641When completion is active you can use CTRL-E to stop it and go back to the
642originally typed text.  The CTRL-E will not be inserted.
643
644							*complete_CTRL-Y*
645When the popup menu is displayed you can use CTRL-Y to stop completion and
646accept the currently selected entry.  The CTRL-Y is not inserted.  Typing a
647space, Enter, or some other unprintable character will leave completion mode
648and insert that typed character.
649
650When the popup menu is displayed there are a few more special keys, see
651|popupmenu-keys|.
652
653Note: The keys that are valid in CTRL-X mode are not mapped.  This allows for
654":map ^F ^X^F" to work (where ^F is CTRL-F and ^X is CTRL-X).  The key that
655ends CTRL-X mode (any key that is not a valid CTRL-X mode command) is mapped.
656Also, when doing completion with 'complete' mappings apply as usual.
657
658Note: While completion is active Insert mode can't be used recursively.
659Mappings that somehow invoke ":normal i.." will generate an E523 error.
660
661The following mappings are suggested to make typing the completion commands
662a bit easier (although they will hide other commands): >
663    :inoremap ^] ^X^]
664    :inoremap ^F ^X^F
665    :inoremap ^D ^X^D
666    :inoremap ^L ^X^L
667
668As a special case, typing CTRL-R to perform register insertion (see
669|i_CTRL-R|) will not exit CTRL-X mode.  This is primarily to allow the use of
670the '=' register to call some function to determine the next operation.  If
671the contents of the register (or result of the '=' register evaluation) are
672not valid CTRL-X mode keys, then CTRL-X mode will be exited as if those keys
673had been typed.
674
675For example, the following will map <Tab> to either actually insert a <Tab> if
676the current line is currently only whitespace, or start/continue a CTRL-N
677completion operation: >
678
679	function! CleverTab()
680	   if strpart( getline('.'), 0, col('.')-1 ) =~ '^\s*$'
681	      return "\<Tab>"
682	   else
683	      return "\<C-N>"
684	   endif
685	endfunction
686	inoremap <Tab> <C-R>=CleverTab()<CR>
687
688
689
690Completing whole lines					*compl-whole-line*
691
692							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L*
693CTRL-X CTRL-L		Search backwards for a line that starts with the
694			same characters as those in the current line before
695			the cursor.  Indent is ignored.  The matching line is
696			inserted in front of the cursor.
697			The 'complete' option is used to decide which buffers
698			are searched for a match.  Both loaded and unloaded
699			buffers are used.
700	CTRL-L	or
701	CTRL-P		Search backwards for next matching line.  This line
702			replaces the previous matching line.
703
704	CTRL-N		Search forward for next matching line.  This line
705			replaces the previous matching line.
706
707	CTRL-X CTRL-L	After expanding a line you can additionally get the
708			line next to it by typing CTRL-X CTRL-L again, unless
709			a double CTRL-X is used.  Only works for loaded
710			buffers.
711
712Completing keywords in current file			*compl-current*
713
714							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-P*
715							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-N*
716CTRL-X CTRL-N		Search forwards for words that start with the keyword
717			in front of the cursor.  The found keyword is inserted
718			in front of the cursor.
719
720CTRL-X CTRL-P		Search backwards for words that start with the keyword
721			in front of the cursor.  The found keyword is inserted
722			in front of the cursor.
723
724	CTRL-N		Search forward for next matching keyword.  This
725			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
726
727	CTRL-P		Search backwards for next matching keyword.  This
728			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
729
730	CTRL-X CTRL-N or
731	CTRL-X CTRL-P	Further use of CTRL-X CTRL-N or CTRL-X CTRL-P will
732			copy the words following the previous expansion in
733			other contexts unless a double CTRL-X is used.
734
735If there is a keyword in front of the cursor (a name made out of alphabetic
736characters and characters in 'iskeyword'), it is used as the search pattern,
737with "\<" prepended (meaning: start of a word).  Otherwise "\<\k\k" is used
738as search pattern (start of any keyword of at least two characters).
739
740In Replace mode, the number of characters that are replaced depends on the
741length of the matched string.  This works like typing the characters of the
742matched string in Replace mode.
743
744If there is not a valid keyword character before the cursor, any keyword of
745at least two characters is matched.
746	e.g., to get:
747	    printf("(%g, %g, %g)", vector[0], vector[1], vector[2]);
748	just type:
749	    printf("(%g, %g, %g)", vector[0], ^P[1], ^P[2]);
750
751The search wraps around the end of the file, the value of 'wrapscan' is not
752used here.
753
754Multiple repeats of the same completion are skipped; thus a different match
755will be inserted at each CTRL-N and CTRL-P (unless there is only one
756matching keyword).
757
758Single character matches are never included, as they usually just get in
759the way of what you were really after.
760	e.g., to get:
761		printf("name = %s\n", name);
762	just type:
763		printf("name = %s\n", n^P);
764	or even:
765		printf("name = %s\n", ^P);
766The 'n' in '\n' is skipped.
767
768After expanding a word, you can use CTRL-X CTRL-P or CTRL-X CTRL-N to get the
769word following the expansion in other contexts.  These sequences search for
770the text just expanded and further expand by getting an extra word.  This is
771useful if you need to repeat a sequence of complicated words.  Although CTRL-P
772and CTRL-N look just for strings of at least two characters, CTRL-X CTRL-P and
773CTRL-X CTRL-N can be used to expand words of just one character.
774	e.g., to get:
775		M&eacute;xico
776	you can type:
777		M^N^P^X^P^X^P
778CTRL-N starts the expansion and then CTRL-P takes back the single character
779"M", the next two CTRL-X CTRL-P's get the words "&eacute" and ";xico".
780
781If the previous expansion was split, because it got longer than 'textwidth',
782then just the text in the current line will be used.
783
784If the match found is at the end of a line, then the first word in the next
785line will be inserted and the message "word from next line" displayed, if
786this word is accepted the next CTRL-X CTRL-P or CTRL-X CTRL-N will search
787for those lines starting with this word.
788
789
790Completing keywords in 'dictionary'			*compl-dictionary*
791
792							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K*
793CTRL-X CTRL-K		Search the files given with the 'dictionary' option
794			for words that start with the keyword in front of the
795			cursor.  This is like CTRL-N, but only the dictionary
796			files are searched, not the current file.  The found
797			keyword is inserted in front of the cursor.  This
798			could potentially be pretty slow, since all matches
799			are found before the first match is used.  By default,
800			the 'dictionary' option is empty.
801			For suggestions where to find a list of words, see the
802			'dictionary' option.
803
804	CTRL-K	or
805	CTRL-N		Search forward for next matching keyword.  This
806			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
807
808	CTRL-P		Search backwards for next matching keyword.  This
809			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
810
811							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T*
812CTRL-X CTRL-T		Works as CTRL-X CTRL-K, but in a special way.  It uses
813			the 'thesaurus' option instead of 'dictionary'.  If a
814			match is found in the thesaurus file, all the
815			remaining words on the same line are included as
816			matches, even though they don't complete the word.
817			Thus a word can be completely replaced.
818
819			For an example, imagine the 'thesaurus' file has a
820			line like this: >
821				angry furious mad enraged
822<			Placing the cursor after the letters "ang" and typing
823			CTRL-X CTRL-T would complete the word "angry";
824			subsequent presses would change the word to "furious",
825			"mad" etc.
826			Other uses include translation between two languages,
827			or grouping API functions by keyword.
828
829	CTRL-T	or
830	CTRL-N		Search forward for next matching keyword.  This
831			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
832
833	CTRL-P		Search backwards for next matching keyword.  This
834			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
835
836
837Completing keywords in the current and included files	*compl-keyword*
838
839The 'include' option is used to specify a line that contains an include file
840name.  The 'path' option is used to search for include files.
841
842							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I*
843CTRL-X CTRL-I		Search for the first keyword in the current and
844			included files that starts with the same characters
845			as those before the cursor.  The matched keyword is
846			inserted in front of the cursor.
847
848	CTRL-N		Search forwards for next matching keyword.  This
849			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
850			Note: CTRL-I is the same as <Tab>, which is likely to
851			be typed after a successful completion, therefore
852			CTRL-I is not used for searching for the next match.
853
854	CTRL-P		Search backward for previous matching keyword.  This
855			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
856
857	CTRL-X CTRL-I	Further use of CTRL-X CTRL-I will copy the words
858			following the previous expansion in other contexts
859			unless a double CTRL-X is used.
860
861Completing tags						*compl-tag*
862							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]*
863CTRL-X CTRL-]		Search for the first tag that starts with the same
864			characters as before the cursor.  The matching tag is
865			inserted in front of the cursor.  Alphabetic
866			characters and characters in 'iskeyword' are used
867			to decide which characters are included in the tag
868			name (same as for a keyword).  See also |CTRL-]|.
869			The 'showfulltag' option can be used to add context
870			from around the tag definition.
871	CTRL-]	or
872	CTRL-N		Search forwards for next matching tag.  This tag
873			replaces the previous matching tag.
874
875	CTRL-P		Search backward for previous matching tag.  This tag
876			replaces the previous matching tag.
877
878
879Completing file names					*compl-filename*
880							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F*
881CTRL-X CTRL-F		Search for the first file name that starts with the
882			same characters as before the cursor.  The matching
883			file name is inserted in front of the cursor.
884			Alphabetic characters and characters in 'isfname'
885			are used to decide which characters are included in
886			the file name.  Note: the 'path' option is not used
887			here (yet).
888	CTRL-F	or
889	CTRL-N		Search forwards for next matching file name.  This
890			file name replaces the previous matching file name.
891
892	CTRL-P		Search backward for previous matching file name.
893			This file name replaces the previous matching file
894			name.
895
896
897Completing definitions or macros			*compl-define*
898
899The 'define' option is used to specify a line that contains a definition.
900The 'include' option is used to specify a line that contains an include file
901name.  The 'path' option is used to search for include files.
902
903							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D*
904CTRL-X CTRL-D		Search in the current and included files for the
905			first definition (or macro) name that starts with
906			the same characters as before the cursor.  The found
907			definition name is inserted in front of the cursor.
908	CTRL-D	or
909	CTRL-N		Search forwards for next matching macro name.  This
910			macro name replaces the previous matching macro
911			name.
912
913	CTRL-P		Search backward for previous matching macro name.
914			This macro name replaces the previous matching macro
915			name.
916
917	CTRL-X CTRL-D	Further use of CTRL-X CTRL-D will copy the words
918			following the previous expansion in other contexts
919			unless a double CTRL-X is used.
920
921
922Completing Vim commands					*compl-vim*
923
924Completion is context-sensitive.  It works like on the Command-line.  It
925completes an Ex command as well as its arguments.  This is useful when writing
926a Vim script.
927
928							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-V*
929CTRL-X CTRL-V		Guess what kind of item is in front of the cursor and
930			find the first match for it.
931			Note: When CTRL-V is mapped you can often use CTRL-Q
932			instead of |i_CTRL-Q|.
933	CTRL-V	or
934	CTRL-N		Search forwards for next match.  This match replaces
935			the previous one.
936
937	CTRL-P		Search backwards for previous match.  This match
938			replaces the previous one.
939
940	CTRL-X CTRL-V	Further use of CTRL-X CTRL-V will do the same as
941			CTRL-V.  This allows mapping a key to do Vim command
942			completion, for example: >
943				:imap <Tab> <C-X><C-V>
944
945User defined completion					*compl-function*
946
947Completion is done by a function that can be defined by the user with the
948'completefunc' option.  See below for how the function is called and an
949example |complete-functions|.
950
951							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U*
952CTRL-X CTRL-U		Guess what kind of item is in front of the cursor and
953			find the first match for it.
954	CTRL-U	or
955	CTRL-N		Use the next match.  This match replaces the previous
956			one.
957
958	CTRL-P		Use the previous match.  This match replaces the
959			previous one.
960
961
962Omni completion						*compl-omni*
963
964Completion is done by a function that can be defined by the user with the
965'omnifunc' option.  This is to be used for filetype-specific completion.
966
967See below for how the function is called and an example |complete-functions|.
968For remarks about specific filetypes see |compl-omni-filetypes|.
969More completion scripts will appear, check www.vim.org.  Currently there is a
970first version for C++.
971
972							*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O*
973CTRL-X CTRL-O		Guess what kind of item is in front of the cursor and
974			find the first match for it.
975	CTRL-O	or
976	CTRL-N		Use the next match.  This match replaces the previous
977			one.
978
979	CTRL-P		Use the previous match.  This match replaces the
980			previous one.
981
982
983Spelling suggestions					*compl-spelling*
984
985A word before or at the cursor is located and correctly spelled words are
986suggested to replace it.  If there is a badly spelled word in the line, before
987or under the cursor, the cursor is moved to after it.  Otherwise the word just
988before the cursor is used for suggestions, even though it isn't badly spelled.
989
990NOTE: CTRL-S suspends display in many Unix terminals.  Use 's' instead.  Type
991CTRL-Q to resume displaying.
992
993						*i_CTRL-X_CTRL-S* *i_CTRL-X_s*
994CTRL-X CTRL-S   or
995CTRL-X s		Locate the word in front of the cursor and find the
996			first spell suggestion for it.
997	CTRL-S	or
998	CTRL-N		Use the next suggestion.  This replaces the previous
999			one.  Note that you can't use 's' here.
1000
1001	CTRL-P		Use the previous suggestion.  This replaces the
1002			previous one.
1003
1004
1005Completing keywords from different sources		*compl-generic*
1006
1007							*i_CTRL-N*
1008CTRL-N			Find next match for words that start with the
1009			keyword in front of the cursor, looking in places
1010			specified with the 'complete' option.  The found
1011			keyword is inserted in front of the cursor.
1012
1013							*i_CTRL-P*
1014CTRL-P			Find previous match for words that start with the
1015			keyword in front of the cursor, looking in places
1016			specified with the 'complete' option.  The found
1017			keyword is inserted in front of the cursor.
1018
1019	CTRL-N		Search forward for next matching keyword.  This
1020			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
1021
1022	CTRL-P		Search backwards for next matching keyword.  This
1023			keyword replaces the previous matching keyword.
1024
1025	CTRL-X CTRL-N or
1026	CTRL-X CTRL-P	Further use of CTRL-X CTRL-N or CTRL-X CTRL-P will
1027			copy the words following the previous expansion in
1028			other contexts unless a double CTRL-X is used.
1029
1030
1031FUNCTIONS FOR FINDING COMPLETIONS			*complete-functions*
1032
1033This applies to 'completefunc' and 'omnifunc'.
1034
1035The function is called in two different ways:
1036- First the function is called to find the start of the text to be completed.
1037- Later the function is called to actually find the matches.
1038
1039On the first invocation the arguments are:
1040   a:findstart  1
1041   a:base	empty
1042
1043The function must return the column where the completion starts.  It must be a
1044number between zero and the cursor column "col('.')".  This involves looking
1045at the characters just before the cursor and including those characters that
1046could be part of the completed item.  The text between this column and the
1047cursor column will be replaced with the matches.  If the returned value is
1048larger than the cursor column, the cursor column is used.
1049
1050Negative return values:
1051   -2 	To cancel silently and stay in completion mode.
1052   -3 	To cancel silently and leave completion mode.
1053   Another negative value: completion starts at the cursor column
1054
1055On the second invocation the arguments are:
1056   a:findstart  0
1057   a:base	the text with which matches should match; the text that was
1058		located in the first call (can be empty)
1059
1060The function must return a List with the matching words.  These matches
1061usually include the "a:base" text.  When there are no matches return an empty
1062List.
1063
1064In order to return more information than the matching words, return a Dict
1065that contains the List.  The Dict can have these items:
1066	words		The List of matching words (mandatory).
1067	refresh		A string to control re-invocation of the function
1068			(optional).
1069			The only value currently recognized is "always", the
1070			effect is that the function is called whenever the
1071			leading text is changed.
1072
1073If you want to suppress the warning message for an empty result, return
1074|v:none|.  This is useful to implement asynchronous completion with
1075|complete()|.
1076
1077Other items are ignored.
1078
1079For acting upon end of completion, see the |CompleteDone| autocommand event.
1080
1081For example, the function can contain this: >
1082	let matches = ... list of words ...
1083	return {'words': matches, 'refresh': 'always'}
1084<
1085						*complete-items*
1086Each list item can either be a string or a Dictionary.  When it is a string it
1087is used as the completion.  When it is a Dictionary it can contain these
1088items:
1089	word		the text that will be inserted, mandatory
1090	abbr		abbreviation of "word"; when not empty it is used in
1091			the menu instead of "word"
1092	menu		extra text for the popup menu, displayed after "word"
1093			or "abbr"
1094	info		more information about the item, can be displayed in a
1095			preview window
1096	kind		single letter indicating the type of completion
1097	icase		when non-zero case is to be ignored when comparing
1098			items to be equal; when omitted zero is used, thus
1099			items that only differ in case are added
1100	equal		when non-zero, always treat this item to be equal when
1101			comparing. Which means, "equal=1" disables filtering
1102			of this item.
1103	dup		when non-zero this match will be added even when an
1104			item with the same word is already present.
1105	empty		when non-zero this match will be added even when it is
1106			an empty string
1107	user_data 	custom data which is associated with the item and
1108			available in |v:completed_item|
1109
1110All of these except "icase", "equal", "dup" and "empty" must be a string.  If
1111an item does not meet these requirements then an error message is given and
1112further items in the list are not used.  You can mix string and Dictionary
1113items in the returned list.
1114
1115The "menu" item is used in the popup menu and may be truncated, thus it should
1116be relatively short.  The "info" item can be longer, it will  be displayed in
1117the preview window when "preview" appears in 'completeopt'.  The "info" item
1118will also remain displayed after the popup menu has been removed.  This is
1119useful for function arguments.  Use a single space for "info" to remove
1120existing text in the preview window.  The size of the preview window is three
1121lines, but 'previewheight' is used when it has a value of 1 or 2.
1122
1123The "kind" item uses a single letter to indicate the kind of completion.  This
1124may be used to show the completion differently (different color or icon).
1125Currently these types can be used:
1126	v	variable
1127	f	function or method
1128	m	member of a struct or class
1129	t	typedef
1130	d	#define or macro
1131
1132When searching for matches takes some time call |complete_add()| to add each
1133match to the total list.  These matches should then not appear in the returned
1134list!  Call |complete_check()| now and then to allow the user to press a key
1135while still searching for matches.  Stop searching when it returns non-zero.
1136
1137							*E839* *E840*
1138The function is allowed to move the cursor, it is restored afterwards.
1139The function is not allowed to move to another window or delete text.
1140
1141An example that completes the names of the months: >
1142	fun! CompleteMonths(findstart, base)
1143	  if a:findstart
1144	    " locate the start of the word
1145	    let line = getline('.')
1146	    let start = col('.') - 1
1147	    while start > 0 && line[start - 1] =~ '\a'
1148	      let start -= 1
1149	    endwhile
1150	    return start
1151	  else
1152	    " find months matching with "a:base"
1153	    let res = []
1154	    for m in split("Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec")
1155	      if m =~ '^' . a:base
1156		call add(res, m)
1157	      endif
1158	    endfor
1159	    return res
1160	  endif
1161	endfun
1162	set completefunc=CompleteMonths
1163<
1164The same, but now pretending searching for matches is slow: >
1165	fun! CompleteMonths(findstart, base)
1166	  if a:findstart
1167	    " locate the start of the word
1168	    let line = getline('.')
1169	    let start = col('.') - 1
1170	    while start > 0 && line[start - 1] =~ '\a'
1171	      let start -= 1
1172	    endwhile
1173	    return start
1174	  else
1175	    " find months matching with "a:base"
1176	    for m in split("Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec")
1177	      if m =~ '^' . a:base
1178		call complete_add(m)
1179	      endif
1180	      sleep 300m	" simulate searching for next match
1181	      if complete_check()
1182		break
1183	      endif
1184	    endfor
1185	    return []
1186	  endif
1187	endfun
1188	set completefunc=CompleteMonths
1189<
1190
1191INSERT COMPLETION POPUP MENU				*ins-completion-menu*
1192							*popupmenu-completion*
1193Vim can display the matches in a simplistic popup menu.
1194
1195The menu is used when:
1196- The 'completeopt' option contains "menu" or "menuone".
1197- The terminal supports at least 8 colors.
1198- There are at least two matches.  One if "menuone" is used.
1199
1200The 'pumheight' option can be used to set a maximum height.  The default is to
1201use all space available.
1202The 'pumwidth' option can be used to set a minimum width.  The default is 15
1203characters.
1204
1205There are three states:
12061. A complete match has been inserted, e.g., after using CTRL-N or CTRL-P.
12072. A cursor key has been used to select another match.  The match was not
1208   inserted then, only the entry in the popup menu is highlighted.
12093. Only part of a match has been inserted and characters were typed or the
1210   backspace key was used.  The list of matches was then adjusted for what is
1211   in front of the cursor.
1212
1213You normally start in the first state, with the first match being inserted.
1214When "longest" is in 'completeopt' and there is more than one match you start
1215in the third state.
1216
1217If you select another match, e.g., with CTRL-N or CTRL-P, you go to the first
1218state.  This doesn't change the list of matches.
1219
1220When you are back at the original text then you are in the third state.  To
1221get there right away you can use a mapping that uses CTRL-P right after
1222starting the completion: >
1223	:imap <F7> <C-N><C-P>
1224<
1225						*popupmenu-keys*
1226In the first state these keys have a special meaning:
1227<BS> and CTRL-H   Delete one character, find the matches for the word before
1228		  the cursor.  This reduces the list of matches, often to one
1229		  entry, and switches to the second state.
1230Any non-special character:
1231		  Stop completion without changing the match and insert the
1232		  typed character.
1233
1234In the second and third state these keys have a special meaning:
1235<BS> and CTRL-H   Delete one character, find the matches for the shorter word
1236		  before the cursor.  This may find more matches.
1237CTRL-L		  Add one character from the current match, may reduce the
1238		  number of matches.
1239any printable, non-white character:
1240		  Add this character and reduce the number of matches.
1241
1242In all three states these can be used:
1243CTRL-Y		  Yes: Accept the currently selected match and stop completion.
1244CTRL-E		  End completion, go back to what was there before selecting a
1245		  match (what was typed or longest common string).
1246<PageUp>	  Select a match several entries back, but don't insert it.
1247<PageDown>	  Select a match several entries further, but don't insert it.
1248<Up>		  Select the previous match, as if CTRL-P was used, but don't
1249		  insert it.
1250<Down>		  Select the next match, as if CTRL-N was used, but don't
1251		  insert it.
1252<Space> or <Tab>  Stop completion without changing the match and insert the
1253		  typed character.
1254
1255The behavior of the <Enter> key depends on the state you are in:
1256first state:	  Use the text as it is and insert a line break.
1257second state:	  Insert the currently selected match.
1258third state:	  Use the text as it is and insert a line break.
1259
1260In other words: If you used the cursor keys to select another entry in the
1261list of matches then the <Enter> key inserts that match.  If you typed
1262something else then <Enter> inserts a line break.
1263
1264
1265The colors of the menu can be changed with these highlight groups:
1266Pmenu		normal item  |hl-Pmenu|
1267PmenuSel	selected item  |hl-PmenuSel|
1268PmenuSbar	scrollbar  |hl-PmenuSbar|
1269PmenuThumb	thumb of the scrollbar  |hl-PmenuThumb|
1270
1271There are no special mappings for when the popup menu is visible.  However,
1272you can use an Insert mode mapping that checks the |pumvisible()| function to
1273do something different.  Example: >
1274	:inoremap <Down> <C-R>=pumvisible() ? "\<lt>C-N>" : "\<lt>Down>"<CR>
1275
1276You can use of <expr> in mapping to have the popup menu used when typing a
1277character and some condition is met.  For example, for typing a dot: >
1278	inoremap <expr> . MayComplete()
1279	func MayComplete()
1280	    if (can complete)
1281	      return ".\<C-X>\<C-O>"
1282	    endif
1283	    return '.'
1284	endfunc
1285
1286See |:map-<expr>| for more info.
1287
1288
1289FILETYPE-SPECIFIC REMARKS FOR OMNI COMPLETION	    *compl-omni-filetypes*
1290
1291The file used for {filetype} should be autoload/{filetype}complete.vim
1292in 'runtimepath'.  Thus for "java" it is autoload/javacomplete.vim.
1293
1294
1295C							*ft-c-omni*
1296
1297Completion of C code requires a tags file.  You should use Exuberant ctags,
1298because it adds extra information that is needed for completion.  You can find
1299it here: http://ctags.sourceforge.net/  Version 5.6 or later is recommended.
1300
1301For version 5.5.4 you should add a patch that adds the "typename:" field:
1302	ftp://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/unstable/patches/ctags-5.5.4.patch
1303A compiled .exe for MS-Windows can be found at:
1304	http://ctags.sourceforge.net/
1305	https://github.com/universal-ctags/ctags-win32
1306
1307If you want to complete system functions you can do something like this.  Use
1308ctags to generate a tags file for all the system header files: >
1309	% ctags -R -f ~/.vim/systags /usr/include /usr/local/include
1310In your vimrc file add this tags file to the 'tags' option: >
1311	set tags+=~/.vim/systags
1312
1313When using CTRL-X CTRL-O after a name without any "." or "->" it is completed
1314from the tags file directly.  This works for any identifier, also function
1315names.  If you want to complete a local variable name, which does not appear
1316in the tags file, use CTRL-P instead.
1317
1318When using CTRL-X CTRL-O after something that has "." or "->" Vim will attempt
1319to recognize the type of the variable and figure out what members it has.
1320This means only members valid for the variable will be listed.
1321
1322When a member name already was complete, CTRL-X CTRL-O will add a "." or
1323"->" for composite types.
1324
1325Vim doesn't include a C compiler, only the most obviously formatted
1326declarations are recognized.  Preprocessor stuff may cause confusion.
1327When the same structure name appears in multiple places all possible members
1328are included.
1329
1330
1331CSS							*ft-css-omni*
1332
1333Complete properties and their appropriate values according to CSS 2.1
1334specification.
1335
1336
1337HTML							*ft-html-omni*
1338XHTML							*ft-xhtml-omni*
1339
1340CTRL-X CTRL-O provides completion of various elements of (X)HTML files.  It is
1341designed to support writing of XHTML 1.0 Strict files but will also work for
1342other versions of HTML. Features:
1343
1344- after "<" complete tag name depending on context (no div suggestion inside
1345  of an a tag); '/>' indicates empty tags
1346- inside of tag complete proper attributes (no width attribute for an a tag);
1347  show also type of attribute; '*' indicates required attributes
1348- when attribute has limited number of possible values help to complete them
1349- complete names of entities
1350- complete values of "class" and "id" attributes with data obtained from
1351  <style> tag and included CSS files
1352- when completing value of "style" attribute or working inside of "style" tag
1353  switch to |ft-css-omni| completion
1354- when completing values of events attributes or working inside of "script"
1355  tag switch to |ft-javascript-omni| completion
1356- when used after "</" CTRL-X CTRL-O will close the last opened tag
1357
1358Note: When used first time completion menu will be shown with little delay
1359- this is time needed for loading of data file.
1360Note: Completion may fail in badly formatted documents. In such case try to
1361run |:make| command to detect formatting problems.
1362
1363
1364HTML flavor						*html-flavor*
1365
1366The default HTML completion depends on the filetype.  For HTML files it is
1367HTML 4.01 Transitional ('filetype' is "html"), for XHTML it is XHTML 1.0
1368Strict ('filetype' is "xhtml").
1369
1370When doing completion outside of any other tag you will have possibility to
1371choose DOCTYPE and the appropriate data file will be loaded and used for all
1372next completions.
1373
1374More about format of data file in |xml-omni-datafile|. Some of the data files
1375may be found on the Vim website (|www|).
1376
1377Note that b:html_omni_flavor may point to a file with any XML data.  This
1378makes possible to mix PHP (|ft-php-omni|) completion with any XML dialect
1379(assuming you have data file for it).  Without setting that variable XHTML 1.0
1380Strict will be used.
1381
1382
1383JAVASCRIPT					       *ft-javascript-omni*
1384
1385Completion of most elements of JavaScript language and DOM elements.
1386
1387Complete:
1388
1389- variables
1390- function name; show function arguments
1391- function arguments
1392- properties of variables trying to detect type of variable
1393- complete DOM objects and properties depending on context
1394- keywords of language
1395
1396Completion works in separate JavaScript files (&ft==javascript), inside of
1397<script> tag of (X)HTML and in values of event attributes (including scanning
1398of external files).
1399
1400DOM compatibility
1401
1402At the moment (beginning of 2006) there are two main browsers - MS Internet
1403Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. These two applications are covering over 90% of
1404market. Theoretically standards are created by W3C organisation
1405(http://www.w3c.org) but they are not always followed/implemented.
1406
1407		IE	FF	W3C  Omni completion ~
1408		+/-	+/-	+    +		     ~
1409		+	+	-    +		     ~
1410		+	-	-    -		     ~
1411		-	+	-    -		     ~
1412
1413Regardless from state of implementation in browsers but if element is defined
1414in standards, completion plugin will place element in suggestion list. When
1415both major engines implemented element, even if this is not in standards it
1416will be suggested. All other elements are not placed in suggestion list.
1417
1418
1419PHP							*ft-php-omni*
1420
1421Completion of PHP code requires a tags file for completion of data from
1422external files and for class aware completion. You should use Exuberant ctags
1423version 5.5.4 or newer. You can find it here: http://ctags.sourceforge.net/
1424
1425Script completes:
1426
1427- after $ variables name
1428  - if variable was declared as object add "->", if tags file is available show
1429    name of class
1430  - after "->" complete only function and variable names specific for given
1431    class. To find class location and contents tags file is required. Because
1432    PHP isn't strongly typed language user can use @var tag to declare class: >
1433
1434	/* @var $myVar myClass */
1435	$myVar->
1436<
1437    Still, to find myClass contents tags file is required.
1438
1439- function names with additional info:
1440  - in case of built-in functions list of possible arguments and after | type
1441    data returned by function
1442  - in case of user function arguments and name of file where function was
1443    defined (if it is not current file)
1444
1445- constants names
1446- class names after "new" declaration
1447
1448
1449Note: when doing completion first time Vim will load all necessary data into
1450memory. It may take several seconds. After next use of completion delay
1451should not be noticeable.
1452
1453Script detects if cursor is inside <?php ?> tags. If it is outside it will
1454automatically switch to HTML/CSS/JavaScript completion. Note: contrary to
1455original HTML files completion of tags (and only tags) isn't context aware.
1456
1457
1458RUBY							*ft-ruby-omni*
1459
1460Completion of Ruby code requires that vim be built with |+ruby|.
1461
1462Ruby completion will parse your buffer on demand in order to provide a list of
1463completions.  These completions will be drawn from modules loaded by 'require'
1464and modules defined in the current buffer.
1465
1466The completions provided by CTRL-X CTRL-O are sensitive to the context:
1467
1468	  CONTEXT			   COMPLETIONS PROVIDED ~
1469
1470 1. Not inside a class definition    Classes, constants and globals
1471
1472 2. Inside a class definition	     Methods or constants defined in the class
1473
1474 3. After '.', '::' or ':'	     Methods applicable to the object being
1475				       dereferenced
1476
1477 4. After ':' or ':foo'		     Symbol name (beginning with 'foo')
1478
1479Notes:
1480 - Vim will load/evaluate code in order to provide completions.  This may
1481   cause some code execution, which may be a concern. This is no longer
1482   enabled by default, to enable this feature add >
1483     let g:rubycomplete_buffer_loading = 1
1484<- In context 1 above, Vim can parse the entire buffer to add a list of
1485   classes to the completion results. This feature is turned off by default,
1486   to enable it add >
1487     let g:rubycomplete_classes_in_global = 1
1488<  to your vimrc
1489 - In context 2 above, anonymous classes are not supported.
1490 - In context 3 above, Vim will attempt to determine the methods supported by
1491   the object.
1492 - Vim can detect and load the Rails environment for files within a rails
1493   project. The feature is disabled by default, to enable it add >
1494     let g:rubycomplete_rails = 1
1495<  to your vimrc
1496
1497
1498SYNTAX							*ft-syntax-omni*
1499
1500Vim has the ability to color syntax highlight nearly 500 languages.  Part of
1501this highlighting includes knowing what keywords are part of a language.  Many
1502filetypes already have custom completion scripts written for them, the
1503syntaxcomplete plugin provides basic completion for all other filetypes.  It
1504does this by populating the omni completion list with the text Vim already
1505knows how to color highlight.  It can be used for any filetype and provides a
1506minimal language-sensitive completion.
1507
1508To enable syntax code completion you can run: >
1509    setlocal omnifunc=syntaxcomplete#Complete
1510
1511You can automate this by placing the following in your |.vimrc| (after any
1512":filetype" command): >
1513    if has("autocmd") && exists("+omnifunc")
1514	autocmd Filetype *
1515		    \	if &omnifunc == "" |
1516		    \		setlocal omnifunc=syntaxcomplete#Complete |
1517		    \	endif
1518    endif
1519
1520The above will set completion to this script only if a specific plugin does
1521not already exist for that filetype.
1522
1523Each filetype can have a wide range of syntax items.  The plugin allows you to
1524customize which syntax groups to include or exclude from the list.  Let's have
1525a look at the PHP filetype to see how this works.
1526
1527If you edit a file called, index.php, run the following command: >
1528    syntax list
1529
1530The first thing you will notice is that there are many different syntax groups.
1531The PHP language can include elements from different languages like HTML,
1532JavaScript and many more.  The syntax plugin will only include syntax groups
1533that begin with the filetype, "php", in this case.  For example these syntax
1534groups are included by default with the PHP: phpEnvVar, phpIntVar,
1535phpFunctions.
1536
1537If you wish non-filetype syntax items to also be included, you can use a
1538regular expression syntax (added in version 13.0 of
1539autoload/syntaxcomplete.vim) to add items.  Looking at the output from
1540":syntax list" while editing a PHP file I can see some of these entries: >
1541    htmlArg,htmlTag,htmlTagName,javaScriptStatement,javaScriptGlobalObjects
1542
1543To pick up any JavaScript and HTML keyword syntax groups while editing a PHP
1544file, you can use 3 different regexs, one for each language.  Or you can
1545simply restrict the include groups to a particular value, without using
1546a regex string: >
1547    let g:omni_syntax_group_include_php = 'php\w\+,javaScript\w\+,html\w\+'
1548    let g:omni_syntax_group_include_php = 'phpFunctions,phpMethods'
1549<
1550The basic form of this variable is: >
1551    let g:omni_syntax_group_include_{filetype} = 'regex,comma,separated'
1552
1553The PHP language has an enormous number of items which it knows how to syntax
1554highlight.  These items will be available within the omni completion list.
1555
1556Some people may find this list unwieldy or are only interested in certain
1557items.  There are two ways to prune this list (if necessary).  If you find
1558certain syntax groups you do not wish displayed you can use two different
1559methods to identify these groups.  The first specifically lists the syntax
1560groups by name.  The second uses a regular expression to identify both
1561syntax groups.  Simply add one the following to your vimrc: >
1562    let g:omni_syntax_group_exclude_php = 'phpCoreConstant,phpConstant'
1563    let g:omni_syntax_group_exclude_php = 'php\w*Constant'
1564
1565Add as many syntax groups to this list by comma separating them.  The basic
1566form of this variable is: >
1567    let g:omni_syntax_group_exclude_{filetype} = 'regex,comma,separated'
1568
1569You can create as many of these variables as you need, varying only the
1570filetype at the end of the variable name.
1571
1572The plugin uses the isKeyword option to determine where word boundaries are
1573for the syntax items.  For example, in the Scheme language completion should
1574include the "-", call-with-output-file.  Depending on your filetype, this may
1575not provide the words you are expecting.  Setting the
1576g:omni_syntax_use_iskeyword option to 0 will force the syntax plugin to break
1577on word characters.   This can be controlled adding the following to your
1578vimrc: >
1579    let g:omni_syntax_use_iskeyword = 0
1580
1581For plugin developers, the plugin exposes a public function OmniSyntaxList.
1582This function can be used to request a List of syntax items.  When editing a
1583SQL file (:e syntax.sql) you can use the ":syntax list" command to see the
1584various groups and syntax items.  For example: >
1585    syntax list
1586
1587Yields data similar to this:
1588    sqlOperator    xxx some prior all like and any escape exists in is not ~
1589                       or intersect minus between distinct ~
1590                       links to Operator ~
1591    sqlType        xxx varbit varchar nvarchar bigint int uniqueidentifier ~
1592                       date money long tinyint unsigned xml text smalldate ~
1593                       double datetime nchar smallint numeric time bit char ~
1594                       varbinary binary smallmoney ~
1595                       image float integer timestamp real decimal ~
1596
1597There are two syntax groups listed here: sqlOperator and sqlType.  To retrieve
1598a List of syntax items you can call OmniSyntaxList a number of different
1599ways.  To retrieve all syntax items regardless of syntax group:  >
1600    echo OmniSyntaxList( [] )
1601
1602To retrieve only the syntax items for the sqlOperator syntax group: >
1603    echo OmniSyntaxList( ['sqlOperator'] )
1604
1605To retrieve all syntax items for both the sqlOperator and sqlType groups: >
1606    echo OmniSyntaxList( ['sqlOperator', 'sqlType'] )
1607
1608A regular expression can also be used: >
1609    echo OmniSyntaxList( ['sql\w\+'] )
1610
1611From within a plugin, you would typically assign the output to a List: >
1612    let myKeywords = []
1613    let myKeywords = OmniSyntaxList( ['sqlKeyword'] )
1614
1615
1616SQL							*ft-sql-omni*
1617
1618Completion for the SQL language includes statements, functions, keywords.
1619It will also dynamically complete tables, procedures, views and column lists
1620with data pulled directly from within a database.  For detailed instructions
1621and a tutorial see |omni-sql-completion|.
1622
1623The SQL completion plugin can be used in conjunction with other completion
1624plugins.  For example, the PHP filetype has its own completion plugin.
1625Since PHP is often used to generate dynamic website by accessing a database,
1626the SQL completion plugin can also be enabled.  This allows you to complete
1627PHP code and SQL code at the same time.
1628
1629
1630XML							*ft-xml-omni*
1631
1632Vim 7 provides a mechanism for context aware completion of XML files.  It
1633depends on a special |xml-omni-datafile| and two commands: |:XMLns| and
1634|:XMLent|.  Features are:
1635
1636- after "<" complete the tag name, depending on context
1637- inside of a tag complete proper attributes
1638- when an attribute has a limited number of possible values help to complete
1639  them
1640- complete names of entities (defined in |xml-omni-datafile| and in the
1641  current file with "<!ENTITY" declarations)
1642- when used after "</" CTRL-X CTRL-O will close the last opened tag
1643
1644Format of XML data file					*xml-omni-datafile*
1645
1646XML data files are stored in the "autoload/xml" directory in 'runtimepath'.
1647Vim distribution provides examples of data files in the
1648"$VIMRUNTIME/autoload/xml" directory.  They have a meaningful name which will
1649be used in commands.  It should be a unique name which will not create
1650conflicts.  For example, the name xhtml10s.vim means it is the data file for
1651XHTML 1.0 Strict.
1652
1653Each file contains a variable with a name like g:xmldata_xhtml10s . It is
1654a compound from two parts:
1655
16561. "g:xmldata_"  general prefix, constant for all data files
16572. "xhtml10s"    the name of the file and the name of the described XML
1658		 dialect; it will be used as an argument for the |:XMLns|
1659		 command
1660
1661Part two must be exactly the same as name of file.
1662
1663The variable is a |Dictionary|.  Keys are tag names and each value is a two
1664element |List|.  The first element of the List is also a List with the names
1665of possible children.  The second element is a |Dictionary| with the names of
1666attributes as keys and the possible values of attributes as values.  Example: >
1667
1668    let g:xmldata_crippled = {
1669    \ "vimxmlentities": ["amp", "lt", "gt", "apos", "quot"],
1670    \ 'vimxmlroot': ['tag1'],
1671    \ 'tag1':
1672    \ [ ['childoftag1a', 'childoftag1b'], {'attroftag1a': [],
1673    \ 'attroftag1b': ['valueofattr1', 'valueofattr2']}],
1674    \ 'childoftag1a':
1675    \ [ [], {'attrofchild': ['attrofchild']}],
1676    \ 'childoftag1b':
1677    \ [ ['childoftag1a'], {'attrofchild': []}],
1678    \ "vimxmltaginfo": {
1679    \ 'tag1': ['Menu info', 'Long information visible in preview window']},
1680    \ 'vimxmlattrinfo': {
1681    \ 'attrofchild': ['Menu info', 'Long information visible in preview window']}}
1682
1683This example would be put in the "autoload/xml/crippled.vim" file and could
1684help to write this file: >
1685
1686    <tag1 attroftag1b="valueofattr1">
1687        <childoftag1a attrofchild>
1688                &amp; &lt;
1689        </childoftag1a>
1690        <childoftag1b attrofchild="5">
1691            <childoftag1a>
1692                &gt; &apos; &quot;
1693            </childoftag1a>
1694        </childoftag1b>
1695    </tag1>
1696
1697In the example four special elements are visible:
1698
16991. "vimxmlentities" - a special key with List containing entities of this XML
1700   dialect.
17012. If the list containing possible values of attributes has one element and
1702   this element is equal to the name of the attribute this attribute will be
1703   treated as boolean and inserted as 'attrname' and not as 'attrname="'
17043. "vimxmltaginfo" - a special key with a Dictionary containing tag
1705   names as keys and two element List as values, for additional menu info and
1706   the long description.
17074. "vimxmlattrinfo" - special key with Dictionary containing attribute names
1708   as keys and two element List as values, for additional menu info and long
1709   description.
1710
1711Note: Tag names in the data file MUST not contain a namespace description.
1712Check xsl.vim for an example.
1713Note: All data and functions are publicly available as global
1714variables/functions and can be used for personal editing functions.
1715
1716
1717DTD -> Vim							*dtd2vim*
1718
1719On |www| is the script |dtd2vim| which parses DTD and creates an XML data file
1720for Vim XML omni completion.
1721
1722    dtd2vim: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1462
1723
1724Check the beginning of that file for usage details.
1725The script requires perl and:
1726
1727    perlSGML: http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/perlsgml
1728
1729
1730Commands
1731
1732:XMLns {name} [{namespace}]					*:XMLns*
1733
1734Vim has to know which data file should be used and with which namespace.  For
1735loading of the data file and connecting data with the proper namespace use
1736|:XMLns| command.  The first (obligatory) argument is the name of the data
1737(xhtml10s, xsl).  The second argument is the code of namespace (h, xsl).  When
1738used without a second argument the dialect will be used as default - without
1739namespace declaration.  For example to use XML completion in .xsl files: >
1740
1741	:XMLns xhtml10s
1742	:XMLns xsl xsl
1743
1744
1745:XMLent {name}							*:XMLent*
1746
1747By default entities will be completed from the data file of the default
1748namespace.  The XMLent command should be used in case when there is no default
1749namespace: >
1750
1751	:XMLent xhtml10s
1752
1753Usage
1754
1755While used in this situation (after declarations from previous part, | is
1756cursor position): >
1757
1758	<|
1759
1760Will complete to an appropriate XHTML tag, and in this situation: >
1761
1762	<xsl:|
1763
1764Will complete to an appropriate XSL tag.
1765
1766
1767The script xmlcomplete.vim, provided through the |autoload| mechanism,
1768has the xmlcomplete#GetLastOpenTag() function which can be used in XML files
1769to get the name of the last open tag (b:unaryTagsStack has to be defined): >
1770
1771	:echo xmlcomplete#GetLastOpenTag("b:unaryTagsStack")
1772
1773
1774
1775==============================================================================
17768. Insert mode commands					*inserting*
1777
1778The following commands can be used to insert new text into the buffer.  They
1779can all be undone and repeated with the "." command.
1780
1781							*a*
1782a			Append text after the cursor [count] times.  If the
1783			cursor is in the first column of an empty line Insert
1784			starts there.  But not when 'virtualedit' is set!
1785
1786							*A*
1787A			Append text at the end of the line [count] times.
1788
1789<insert>	or				*i* *insert* *<Insert>*
1790i			Insert text before the cursor [count] times.
1791			When using CTRL-O in Insert mode |i_CTRL-O| the count
1792			is not supported.
1793
1794							*I*
1795I			Insert text before the first non-blank in the line
1796			[count] times.
1797			When the 'H' flag is present in 'cpoptions' and the
1798			line only contains blanks, insert start just before
1799			the last blank.
1800
1801							*gI*
1802gI			Insert text in column 1 [count] times.
1803
1804							*gi*
1805gi			Insert text in the same position as where Insert mode
1806			was stopped last time in the current buffer.
1807			This uses the |'^| mark.  It's different from "`^i"
1808			when the mark is past the end of the line.
1809			The position is corrected for inserted/deleted lines,
1810			but NOT for inserted/deleted characters.
1811			When the |:keepjumps| command modifier is used the |'^|
1812			mark won't be changed.
1813
1814							*o*
1815o			Begin a new line below the cursor and insert text,
1816			repeat [count] times.
1817			When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
1818			ignored.
1819
1820							*O*
1821O			Begin a new line above the cursor and insert text,
1822			repeat [count] times.
1823			When the '#' flag is in 'cpoptions' the count is
1824			ignored.
1825
1826These commands are used to start inserting text.  You can end insert mode with
1827<Esc>.  See |mode-ins-repl| for the other special characters in Insert mode.
1828The effect of [count] takes place after Insert mode is exited.
1829
1830When 'autoindent' is on, the indent for a new line is obtained from the
1831previous line.  When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on, the indent for a line
1832is automatically adjusted for C programs.
1833
1834'textwidth' can be set to the maximum width for a line.  When a line becomes
1835too long when appending characters a line break is automatically inserted.
1836
1837
1838==============================================================================
18399. Ex insert commands					*inserting-ex*
1840
1841							*:a* *:append*
1842:{range}a[ppend][!]	Insert several lines of text below the specified
1843			line.  If the {range} is missing, the text will be
1844			inserted after the current line.
1845			Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
1846			command is executed.
1847
1848							*:i* *:in* *:insert*
1849:{range}i[nsert][!]	Insert several lines of text above the specified
1850			line.  If the {range} is missing, the text will be
1851			inserted before the current line.
1852			Adding [!] toggles 'autoindent' for the time this
1853			command is executed.
1854
1855These two commands will keep on asking for lines, until you type a line
1856containing only a ".".  Watch out for lines starting with a backslash, see
1857|line-continuation|.
1858
1859When in Ex mode (see |-e|) a backslash at the end of the line can be used to
1860insert a NUL character.  To be able to have a line ending in a backslash use
1861two backslashes.  This means that the number of backslashes is halved, but
1862only at the end of the line.
1863
1864NOTE: These commands cannot be used with |:global| or |:vglobal|.
1865":append" and ":insert" don't work properly in between ":if" and
1866":endif", ":for" and ":endfor", ":while" and ":endwhile".
1867
1868							*:start* *:startinsert*
1869:star[tinsert][!]	Start Insert mode just after executing this command.
1870			Works like typing "i" in Normal mode.  When the ! is
1871			included it works like "A", append to the line.
1872			Otherwise insertion starts at the cursor position.
1873			Note that when using this command in a function or
1874			script, the insertion only starts after the function
1875			or script is finished.
1876			This command does not work from |:normal|.
1877
1878							*:stopi* *:stopinsert*
1879:stopi[nsert]		Stop Insert mode as soon as possible.  Works like
1880			typing <Esc> in Insert mode.
1881			Can be used in an autocommand, example: >
1882				:au BufEnter scratch stopinsert
1883<
1884					*replacing-ex* *:startreplace*
1885:startr[eplace][!]	Start Replace mode just after executing this command.
1886			Works just like typing "R" in Normal mode.  When the
1887			! is included it acts just like "$R" had been typed
1888			(ie. begin replace mode at the end-of-line).  Other-
1889			wise replacement begins at the cursor position.
1890			Note that when using this command in a function or
1891			script that the replacement will only start after
1892			the function or script is finished.
1893
1894							*:startgreplace*
1895:startg[replace][!]	Just like |:startreplace|, but use Virtual Replace
1896			mode, like with |gR|.
1897
1898==============================================================================
189910. Inserting a file					*inserting-file*
1900
1901							*:r* *:re* *:read*
1902:r[ead] [++opt] [name]
1903			Insert the file [name] (default: current file) below
1904			the cursor.
1905			See |++opt| for the possible values of [++opt].
1906
1907:{range}r[ead] [++opt] [name]
1908			Insert the file [name] (default: current file) below
1909			the specified line.
1910			See |++opt| for the possible values of [++opt].
1911
1912							*:r!* *:read!*
1913:[range]r[ead] [++opt] !{cmd}
1914			Execute {cmd} and insert its standard output below
1915			the cursor or the specified line.  A temporary file is
1916			used to store the output of the command which is then
1917			read into the buffer.  'shellredir' is used to save
1918			the output of the command, which can be set to include
1919			stderr or not.  {cmd} is executed like with ":!{cmd}",
1920			any '!' is replaced with the previous command |:!|.
1921			See |++opt| for the possible values of [++opt].
1922
1923These commands insert the contents of a file, or the output of a command,
1924into the buffer.  They can be undone.  They cannot be repeated with the "."
1925command.  They work on a line basis, insertion starts below the line in which
1926the cursor is, or below the specified line.  To insert text above the first
1927line use the command ":0r {name}".
1928
1929After the ":read" command, the cursor is left on the first non-blank in the
1930first new line.  Unless in Ex mode, then the cursor is left on the last new
1931line (sorry, this is Vi compatible).
1932
1933If a file name is given with ":r", it becomes the alternate file.  This can be
1934used, for example, when you want to edit that file instead: ":e! #".  This can
1935be switched off by removing the 'a' flag from the 'cpoptions' option.
1936
1937Of the [++opt] arguments one is specifically for ":read", the ++edit argument.
1938This is useful when the ":read" command is actually used to read a file into
1939the buffer as if editing that file.  Use this command in an empty buffer: >
1940	:read ++edit filename
1941The effect is that the 'fileformat', 'fileencoding', 'bomb', etc. options are
1942set to what has been detected for "filename".  Note that a single empty line
1943remains, you may want to delete it.
1944
1945							*file-read*
1946The 'fileformat' option sets the <EOL> style for a file:
1947'fileformat'    characters	   name				~
1948  "dos"		<CR><NL> or <NL>   DOS format
1949  "unix"	<NL>		   Unix format
1950  "mac"		<CR>		   Mac format
1951Previously 'textmode' was used.  It is obsolete now.
1952
1953If 'fileformat' is "dos", a <CR> in front of an <NL> is ignored and a CTRL-Z
1954at the end of the file is ignored.
1955
1956If 'fileformat' is "mac", a <NL> in the file is internally represented by a
1957<CR>.  This is to avoid confusion with a <NL> which is used to represent a
1958<NUL>.  See |CR-used-for-NL|.
1959
1960If the 'fileformats' option is not empty Vim tries to recognize the type of
1961<EOL> (see |file-formats|).  However, the 'fileformat' option will not be
1962changed, the detected format is only used while reading the file.
1963A similar thing happens with 'fileencodings'.
1964
1965On non-MS-DOS, Win32, and OS/2 systems the message "[dos format]" is shown if
1966a file is read in DOS format, to remind you that something unusual is done.
1967On Macintosh, MS-DOS, Win32, and OS/2 the message "[unix format]" is shown if
1968a file is read in Unix format.
1969On non-Macintosh systems, the message "[Mac format]" is shown if a file is
1970read in Mac format.
1971
1972An example on how to use ":r !": >
1973	:r !uuencode binfile binfile
1974This command reads "binfile", uuencodes it and reads it into the current
1975buffer.  Useful when you are editing e-mail and want to include a binary
1976file.
1977
1978							*read-messages*
1979When reading a file Vim will display a message with information about the read
1980file.  In the table is an explanation for some of the items.  The others are
1981self explanatory.  Using the long or the short version depends on the
1982'shortmess' option.
1983
1984	long		short		meaning ~
1985	[readonly]	{RO}		the file is write protected
1986	[fifo/socket]			using a stream
1987	[fifo]				using a fifo stream
1988	[socket]			using a socket stream
1989	[CR missing]			reading with "dos" 'fileformat' and a
1990					NL without a preceding CR was found.
1991	[NL found]			reading with "mac" 'fileformat' and a
1992					NL was found (could be "unix" format)
1993	[long lines split]		at least one line was split in two
1994	[NOT converted]			conversion from 'fileencoding' to
1995					'encoding' was desired but not
1996					possible
1997	[converted]			conversion from 'fileencoding' to
1998					'encoding' done
1999	[crypted]			file was decrypted
2000	[READ ERRORS]			not all of the file could be read
2001
2002
2003 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:
2004