options.txt For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2024 Oct 28
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
Options options
1. Setting options set-option
2. Automatically setting options auto-setting
3. Options summary option-summary
For an overview of options see quickref.txt option-list.
Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
boolean can only be on or off boolean toggle
number has a numeric value
string has a string value
==============================================================================
1. Setting options set-option E764
:se :set
:se[t][!] Show all options that differ from their default value.
When [!] is present every option is on a separate
line.
:se[t][!] all Show all but terminal options.
When [!] is present every option is on a separate
line.
:se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
key codes are not shown, because they are generated
internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
codes in the GUI is not useful either...
The options have the form t_AB, see
terminal-options.
:se[t]! termcap Idem, but don't use multiple columns.
E518 E519
:se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
:se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
Number option: show value.
String option: show value.
:se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
:set-! :set-inv
:se[t] {option}! or
:se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value.
:set-default :set-& :set-&vi :set-&vim
:se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
current value of 'compatible'.
:se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value.
:se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value.
:se[t] all& Set all options to their default value. The values of
these options are not changed:
all terminal options, starting with t_
'columns'
'cryptmethod'
'encoding'
'key'
'lines'
'term'
'ttymouse'
'ttytype'
Warning: This may have a lot of side effects.
:set-args :set= E487 E521
:se[t] {option}={value} or
:se[t] {option}:{value}
Set string or number option to {value}.
For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0' or
'0o').
The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
set). Many string options with fixed syntax and names
also support completing known values. See
cmdline-completion and complete-set-option.
White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
is not allowed.
See option-backslash for using white space and
backslashes in {value}.
:se[t] {option}+={value} :set+=
Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
{value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma-separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
are removed. When adding a flag that was already
present the option value doesn't change.
Also see :set-args above.
:se[t] {option}^={value} :set^=
Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
comma-separated list, a comma is added, unless the
value was empty.
Also see :set-args above.
:se[t] {option}-={value} :set-=
Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
becomes empty.
When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
one by one to avoid problems.
The individual values from a comma separated list or
list of flags can be inserted by typing 'wildchar'.
See complete-set-option.
Also see :set-args above.
The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example:
:set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
and the following arguments will be ignored.
:set-verbose
When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
was last set. Example:
:verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
shiftwidth=4
Last set from modeline line 1
cindent
Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim line 30
This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":verbose
set all" or ":verbose set" without an argument.
When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message.
When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting
'compatible'.
A few special texts:
Last set from modeline line 1
Option was set in a modeline.
Last set from --cmd argument
Option was set with command line argument --cmd or +.
Last set from -c argument
Option was set with command line argument -c, +, -S or
-q.
Last set from environment variable
Option was set from an environment variable, $VIMINIT,
$GVIMINIT or $EXINIT.
Last set from error handler
Option was cleared when evaluating it resulted in an error.
{not available when compiled without the |+eval| feature}
:set-termcap E522
For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a terminal option. This will
override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form:
:set <t_#4>=^[Ot
This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this:
:set <M-b>=^[b
(the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
You can define any key codes, e.g.:
:set t_xy=^[foo;
There is no warning for using a name that isn't recognized. You can map these
codes as you like:
:map <t_xy> something
E846
When a key code is not set, it's like it does not exist. Trying to get its
value will result in an error:
:set t_kb=
:set t_kb
E846: Key code not set: t_kb
The t_xx options cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
"set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
more-prompt.
option-backslash
To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
down).
In options 'path', 'cdpath', and 'tags', spaces have to be preceded with three
backslashes instead for compatibility with version 3.0 where the options can
be separated by either commas or spaces.
Comma-separated options like 'backupdir' and 'tags' will also require commas
to be escaped with two backslashes, whereas this is not needed for
non-comma-separated ones like 'makeprg'.
When setting options using :let and literal-string, you need to use one
fewer layer of backslash.
A few examples:
:set makeprg=make\ file results in "make file"
:let &makeprg='make file' (same as above)
:set makeprg=make\\\ file results in "make\ file"
:set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags" and "/usr/tags"
:set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags file"
:let &tags='tags\ file' (same as above)
:set makeprg=make,file results in "make,file"
:set makeprg=make\\,file results in "make\,file"
:set tags=tags,file results in "tags" and "file"
:set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags,file"
:let &tags='tags\,file' (same as above)
The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
'titlestring' option to "hi|there":
:set titlestring=hi\|there
This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there":
:set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
Similarly, in legacy script the double quote character starts a comment. To
include the '"' in the option value, use '\"' instead. This example sets the
'titlestring' option to 'hi "there"':
:set titlestring=hi\ \"there\"
In Vim9 script it's simpler, comments start with a '#' character, and only
when preceded by white space. A backslash is needed less often:
vim9script
set titlestring=hi\ "there"
set titlestring=hi#there#
set titlestring=hi\ \#there#
For Win32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More precise: For
options that expect a file name (those where environment variables are
expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not removed. But
a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma, etc.) is used
like explained above.
There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\":
:set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
:set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
:set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
add-option-flags remove-option-flags
E539 E550 E551 E552
Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this:
:set guioptions+=a
Remove a flag from an option like this:
:set guioptions-=a
This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
doesn't appear.
:set_env expand-env expand-environment-var
Environment variables in specific string options will be expanded. If the
environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples:
:set term=$TERM.new
:set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
Handling of local options local-options
Note: The following also applies to global-local options.
Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
has its own copy of this option, thus each can have its own value. This
allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
expects is a bit complicated...
When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the options from the window
that was last closed are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this
window, the values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the
last closed window where the buffer was edited last are used.
It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do:
:e one
:set list
:e two
Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
command you have also set the global value.
:set nolist
:e one
:setlocal list
:e two
Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
global value. Note that if you do this next:
:e one
You will get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited "one".
The options local to a window are remembered for each buffer. This also
happens when the buffer is not loaded, but they are lost when the buffer is
wiped out :bwipe.
Special local window options local-noglobal
The following local window options won't be copied over when new windows are
created, thus they behave slightly differently:
Option Reason
'previewwindow' there can only be a single one
'scroll' specific to existing window
'winfixbuf' specific to existing window
'winfixheight' specific to existing window
'winfixwidth' specific to existing window
Special local buffer options
The following local buffer options won't be copied over when new buffers are
created, thus they behave slightly differently:
Option Reason
'filetype' explicitly set by autocommands
'syntax' explicitly set by autocommands
'bufhidden' denote special-buffers
'buftype' denote special-buffers
'readonly' will be detected automatically
'modified' will be detected automatically
:setl :setlocal
:setl[ocal][!] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
current buffer or window. Not all options have a
local value. If the option does not have a local
value the global value is set.
With the "all" argument: display local values for all
local options.
Without argument: Display local values for all local
options which are different from the default.
When displaying a specific local option, show the
local value. For a global/local boolean option, when
the global value is being used, "--" is displayed
before the option name.
For a global option the global value is
shown (but that might change in the future).
:se[t] {option}< Set the effective value of {option} to its global
value.
For string global-local options, the local value is
removed, so that the global value will be used.
For all other options, the global value is copied to
the local value.
:setl[ocal] {option}< Set the effective value of {option} to its global
value.
For number and boolean global-local options, the
local value is removed, so that the global value will
be used.
For all other options, including string global-local
options, the global value is copied to the local
value.
Note that the behaviour for global-local options is slightly different
between string and number-based options.
:setg :setglobal
:setg[lobal][!] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
option without changing the local value.
When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
With the "all" argument: display global values for all
local options.
Without argument: display global values for all local
options which are different from the default.
For buffer-local and window-local options:
Command global value local value condition
:set option=value set set
:setlocal option=value - set
:setglobal option=value set -
:set option? - display local value is set
:set option? display - local value is not set
:setlocal option? - display
:setglobal option? display -
Global options with a local value global-local
Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers and windows.
For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value.
You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer or window will then
use the local value, while other buffers and windows continue using the global
value.
For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows:
:set makeprg=gmake
then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
another 'makeprg' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
files. You use this command:
:setlocal makeprg=perlmake
You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty:
:setlocal makeprg=
This only works for a string option. For a number or boolean option you need
to use the "<" flag, like this:
:setlocal autoread<
Note that for non-boolean and non-number options using "<" copies the global
value to the local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value
(that matters when the global value changes later). You can also use:
:set path<
This will make the local value of 'path' empty, so that the global value is
used. Thus it does the same as:
:setlocal path=
Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
option-value-function
Some options ('completefunc', 'imactivatefunc', 'imstatusfunc', 'omnifunc',
'operatorfunc', 'quickfixtextfunc', 'tagfunc' and 'thesaurusfunc') are set to
a function name or a function reference or a lambda function. When using a
lambda it will be converted to the name, e.g. "<lambda>123". Examples:
set opfunc=MyOpFunc
set opfunc=function('MyOpFunc')
set opfunc=funcref('MyOpFunc')
set opfunc={a\ ->\ MyOpFunc(a)}
Set to a script-local function:
set opfunc=s:MyLocalFunc
set opfunc=<SID>MyLocalFunc
In Vim9 script the "s:" and "<SID>" can be omitted if the function exists in
the script:
set opfunc=MyLocalFunc
Set using a funcref variable:
let Fn = function('MyTagFunc')
let &tagfunc = Fn
Set using a lambda expression:
let &tagfunc = {t -> MyTagFunc(t)}
Set using a variable with lambda expression:
let L = {a, b, c -> MyTagFunc(a, b , c)}
let &tagfunc = L
In Vim9 script, in a compiled function, you can use a lambda, but a
closure does not work, because the function will be called without the
context of where it was defined.
Setting the filetype
:setf[iletype] [FALLBACK] {filetype} :setf :setfiletype
Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
This is short for:
:if !did_filetype()
: setlocal filetype={filetype}
:endif
This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
settings and syntax files to be loaded.
When the optional FALLBACK argument is present, a
later :setfiletype command will override the
'filetype'. This is to be used for filetype
detections that are just a guess. did_filetype()
will return false after this command.
option-window optwin
:bro[wse] se[t] :set-browse :browse-set :opt :options
:opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
Options are grouped by function.
Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
short help to open a help window with more help for
the option.
Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
"set" line to set the new value. For window and
buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
window, in which case the window below help window is
used (skipping the option-window).
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
$HOME
Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
option and after a space or comma.
On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
of user "user". Example:
:set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
"gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set"
command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
$HOME-windows
On MS-Windows, if $HOME is not defined as an environment variable, then
at runtime Vim will set it to the expansion of $HOMEDRIVE$HOMEPATH.
If $HOMEDRIVE is not set then $USERPROFILE is used.
This expanded value is not exported to the environment, this matters when
running an external command:
:echo system('set | findstr ^HOME=')
and
:echo luaeval('os.getenv("HOME")')
should echo nothing (an empty string) despite exists('$HOME') being true.
When setting $HOME to a non-empty string it will be exported to the
subprocesses.
Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
:fix :fixdel
:fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes
CTRL-? CTRL-H
not CTRL-? CTRL-?
(CTRL-? is 0o177 octal, 0x7f hex)
If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
your .vimrc:
:fixdel
This works no matter what the actual code for
backspace is.
If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
use this:
:if &term == "termname"
: set t_kb=^V<BS>
: fixdel
:endif
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
(don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
with your terminal name.
If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use:
:if &term == "termname"
: set t_kD=^V<Delete>
:endif
Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
(don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
with your terminal name.
Linux-backspace
Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
putting this line in your rc.local:
echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
NetBSD-backspace
Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
the right code, try this:
xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file:
keysym 22 = BackSpace
You need to restart for this to take effect.
==============================================================================
2. Automatically setting options auto-setting
Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
to set options automatically for one or more files:
1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
initialization. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
You can create an initialization file with :mkvimrc, :mkview and
:mksession.
2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
many other things. See autocommand.
3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
modelines. This is explained here.
modeline vim: vi: ex: E520
There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
[text{white}]{vi:vim:ex:}[white]{options}
[text{white}] empty or any text followed by at least one blank
character (<Space> or <Tab>); "ex:" always requires at
least one blank character
{vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
{options} a list of option settings, separated with white space
or ':', where each part between ':' is the argument
for a ":set" command (can be empty)
Examples:
vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6
vim: tw=77
The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
[text{white}]{vi:vim:Vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
[text{white}] empty or any text followed by at least one blank
character (<Space> or <Tab>); "ex:" always requires at
least one blank character
{vi:|vim:|Vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:", "Vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space); When
"Vim" is used it must be "set".
{options} a list of options, separated with white space, which
is the argument for a ":set" command
: a colon
[text] any text or empty
Examples:
/* vim: set ai tw=75: */
/* Vim: set ai tw=75: */
The white space before {vi:|vim:|Vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the
chance that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception:
"vi:" and "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with
version 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this
could be short for "example:").
If the modeline is disabled within a modeline, subsequent modelines will be
ignored. This is to allow turning off modeline on a per-file basis. This is
useful when a line looks like a modeline but isn't. For example, it would be
good to start a YAML file containing strings like "vim:" with
# vim: nomodeline
so as to avoid modeline misdetection. Following options on the same line
after modeline deactivation, if any, are still evaluated (but you would
normally not have any).
modeline-local
The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
buffer and window that contain the file. Although it's possible to set global
options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and
the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result
depends on which one was opened last.
When editing a file that was already loaded, only the window-local options
from the modeline are used. Thus if you manually changed a buffer-local
option after opening the file, it won't be changed if you edit the same buffer
in another window. But window-local options will be set.
modeline-version
If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
number can be specified where "vim:" or "Vim:" is used:
vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
vim={vers}: version {vers}
vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
{vers} is 700 for Vim 7.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 7.0:
/* vim700: set foldmethod=marker */
To use a modeline for Vim after version 7.2:
/* vim>702: set cole=2: */
There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
like:
/* vi:ts=4: */
will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
/* vi:set ts=4: */
If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
/* vi:set fillchars=stl\:^,vert\:\|: */
This sets the 'fillchars' option to "stl:^,vert:\|". Only a single backslash
before the ':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
E992
No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines). And not all options
can be set. For some options a flag is set, so that when the value is used
the sandbox is effective. Some options can only be set from the modeline
when 'modelineexpr' is set (the default is off).
Still, there is always a small risk that a modeline causes trouble. E.g.,
when some joker sets 'textwidth' to 5 all your lines are wrapped unexpectedly.
So disable modelines before editing untrusted text. The mail ftplugin does
this, for example.
Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
example:
au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
"VAR".
==============================================================================
3. Options summary option-summary
In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
'compatible' is set.
Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
program.
global one option for all buffers and windows
local to window each window has its own copy of this option
local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for
buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
buffer is created.
Hidden options hidden-options
Not all options are supported in all versions. This depends on the supported
features and sometimes on the system. A remark about this is in curly braces
below. When an option is not supported it may still be set without getting an
error, this is called a hidden option. You can't get the value of a hidden
option though, it is not stored.
To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use something like this:
if exists('&foo')
This also returns true for a hidden option. To test if option "foo" is really
supported use something like this:
if exists('+foo')
E355
A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at Q_op.
'aleph' 'al' aleph Aleph
'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-Windows, 224 otherwise)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
(when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
See rileft.txt.
'allowrevins' 'ari' 'noallowrevins' 'noari'
'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
'revins'.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'altkeymap' 'akm' 'noaltkeymap' 'noakm'
'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +farsi
feature}
This option was for using Farsi, which has been removed. See
farsi.txt.
'ambiwidth' 'ambw'
'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
global
Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding.
Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class
Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek
letters, Cyrillic letters).
There are currently two possible values:
"single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
expected by most users.
"double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
E834 E835
The value "double" cannot be used if 'listchars' or 'fillchars'
contains a character that would be double width. These errors may
also be given when calling setcellwidths().
The values are overruled for characters specified with
setcellwidths().
There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for
those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in
legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro,
Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets,
therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also
true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text
file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or
Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font
(or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.),
this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived
by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has
to be set to "double" under CJK MS-Windows when the system locale is
set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode Standard Annex #11
(http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11).
Vim may set this option automatically at startup time when Vim is
compiled with the +termresponse feature and if t_u7 is set to the
escape sequence to request cursor position report. The response can
be found in v:termu7resp.
'antialias' 'anti' 'noantialias' 'noanti'
'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default off, on for MacVim)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled
on macOS}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on macOS
v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts,
which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
'arabic' 'arab' 'noarabic' 'noarab'
'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
local to window
{only available when compiled with the +arabic
feature}
This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
Setting this option will:
- Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
- Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
- Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
- Set the 'delcombine' option
Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
Resetting this option will:
- Reset the 'rightleft' option.
- Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
option).
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
Also see arabic.txt.
'arabicshape' 'arshape'
'noarabicshape' 'noarshape'
'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
global
{only available when compiled with the +arabic
feature}
When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
take effect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
one which encompasses:
a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
When disabled the display shows each character's true stand-alone
form.
Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
further details see arabic.txt.
NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
'autochdir' 'acd' 'noautochdir' 'noacd'
'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with it, use
exists("+autochdir") to check}
When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
or selected. When a buffer has no name it also has no directory, thus
the current directory won't change when navigating to it.
Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
'autoindent' 'ai' 'noautoindent' 'noai'
'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
<Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
in 'cpoptions'.
When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
line.
When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
a different way.
The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set and
restored when 'paste' is reset.
'autoread' 'ar' 'noautoread' 'noar'
'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
global or local to buffer global-local
When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
When the file has been deleted this is not done, so you have the text
from before it was deleted. When it appears again then it is read.
timestamp
If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
using the global value:
:set autoread<
'autoshelldir' 'asd' 'noautoshelldir' 'noasd'
'autoshelldir' 'asd' boolean (default off)
global
When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
change the directory of the shell running in a terminal window. You
need proper setting-up, so whenever the shell's pwd changes an OSC 7
escape sequence will be emitted. For example, on Linux, you can
source /etc/profile.d/vte.sh in your shell profile if you use bash or
zsh. For bash this should work (put it in a bash init file):
if [[ -n "$VIM_TERMINAL" ]]; then
PROMPT_COMMAND='_vim_sync_PWD'
function _vim_sync_PWD() {
printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\\' "$PWD"
}
fi
Or, in a zsh init file:
if [[ -n "$VIM_TERMINAL" ]]; then
autoload -Uz add-zsh-hook
add-zsh-hook -Uz chpwd _vim_sync_PWD
function _vim_sync_PWD() {
printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\\' "$PWD"
}
fi
In a fish init file:
if test -n "$VIM_TERMINAL"
function _vim_sync_PWD --on-variable=PWD
printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\\' "$PWD"
end
end
You can find an alternative method at terminal-autoshelldir.
When the parsing of the OSC sequence fails you get E1179 .
'autowrite' 'aw' 'noautowrite' 'noaw'
'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
global
Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
:next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop,
:suspend, :tag, :!, :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when
a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I, '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one
to another file.
A buffer is not written if it becomes hidden, e.g. when 'bufhidden' is
set to "hide" and :next is used.
Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
'autowriteall' for that.
Some buffers will not be written, specifically when 'buftype' is
"nowrite", "nofile", "terminal" or "prompt".
USE WITH CARE: If you make temporary changes to a buffer that you
don't want to be saved this option may cause it to be saved anyway.
Renaming the buffer with ":file {name}" may help avoid this.
'autowriteall' 'awa' 'noautowriteall' 'noawa'
'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
global
Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
been set.
'background' 'bg'
'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light", see below)
global
When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
This will not always be correct.
Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
what the background color looks like. For changing the background
color, see :hi-normal.
When 'background' is changed Vim will adjust the default color groups
for the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will
not change. g:colors_name
When a color scheme is loaded (the "g:colors_name" variable is set)
changing 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
be undone. First delete the "g:colors_name" variable when needed.
When setting 'background' to the default value with:
:set background&
Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
If the GUI supports a dark theme, you can use the "d" flag in
'guioptions', see 'go-d'.
When the t_RB option is set, Vim will use it to request the background
color from the terminal. If the returned RGB value is dark/light and
'background' is not dark/light, 'background' will be set and the
screen is redrawn. This may have side effects, make t_BG empty in
your .vimrc if you suspect this problem. The response to t_RB can
be found in v:termrbgresp.
When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
"light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
"dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
(because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
For MS-Windows the default is "dark".
For other systems "dark" is used when 'term' is "linux",
"screen.linux", "cygwin" or "putty", or $COLORFGBG suggests a dark
background. Otherwise the default is "light".
The :terminal command and the term_start() function use the
'background' value to decide whether the terminal window will start
with a white or black background.
Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
depending on the terminal name. Example:
:if &term == "pcterm"
: set background=dark
:endif
When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
the setting of the 'background' option.
This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
done with ":syntax on".
'backspace' 'bs'
'backspace' 'bs' string (default "", set to "indent,eol,start"
in defaults.vim)
global
Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
a way to backspace over something:
value effect
indent allow backspacing over autoindent
eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
stop once at the start of insert.
nostop like start, except CTRL-W and CTRL-U do not stop at the start of
insert.
When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used, none of
the ways mentioned for the items above are possible.
For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
value effect
0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
3 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,nostop"
See :fixdel if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
'backup' 'bk' 'nobackup' 'nobk'
'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
global
Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
backup-table for more explanations.
When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
oldest version of a file.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'backupcopy' 'bkc'
'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
global or local to buffer global-local
When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
done. This is a comma-separated list of words.
The main values are:
"yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
"no" rename the file and write a new one
"auto" one of the previous, what works best
Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
"breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
"breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
- Takes extra time to copy the file.
+ When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
- When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
not of the real file.
Renaming the file and writing a new one:
+ It's fast.
- Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
file.
- When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming the
file is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on
and the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected,
a copy will be made.
The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
be propagated back to the original source.
crontab
One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
example, as are several file-watcher daemons like inotify. In that
case you probably want to switch this option.
When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file,
however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
others.
When the file is renamed, this is the other way around: The backup has
the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
again not rename the file.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'backupdir' 'bdir'
'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for Win32: ".,$TEMP,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
global
List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
- The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
where this is possible. The directory must exist, Vim will not
create it for you.
- Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
- A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
as the edited file.
- A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-Windows) means to put
the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
"." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
- Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
name, precede it with a backslash.
- To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
- A directory name may end in an '/'.
- For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//",
the backup file name will be built from the complete path to the
file with all path separators changed to percent '%' signs. This
will ensure file name uniqueness in the backup directory.
On Win32, it is also possible to end with "\\". However, When a
separating comma is following, you must use "//", since "\\" will
include the comma in the file name. Therefore it is recommended to
use '//', instead of '\\'.
- Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
- Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
get one in the option (see option-backslash), for example:
:set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
- For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
of the option is removed.
See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value:
:set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
home directory for this to work properly.
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'backupext' 'bex' E589
'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
global
String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
".bak" that you want to keep.
Only normal file name characters can be used; "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
include a timestamp.
:au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' .. strftime("%Y%b%d%X") .. '~'
Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
'backupskip' 'bsk'
'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*"
Unix: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*"
Mac: "/private/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
global
A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
The pattern is used like with :autocmd, see autocmd-patterns.
Watch out for special characters, see option-backslash.
When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
WARNING: Not having a backup file means that when Vim fails to write
your buffer correctly and then, for whatever reason, Vim exits, you
lose both the original file and what you were writing. Only disable
backups if you don't care about losing the file.
Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
$HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.:
:let &backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') .. '/tmp/*'
Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and crontab.
'balloondelay' 'bdlay'
'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
global
{only available when compiled with the +balloon_eval
feature}
Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See balloon-eval.
'ballooneval' 'beval' 'noballooneval' 'nobeval'
'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +balloon_eval
feature}
Switch on the balloon-eval functionality for the GUI.
'balloonevalterm' 'bevalterm' 'noballoonevalterm'
'nobevalterm'
'balloonevalterm' 'bevalterm' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the
+balloon_eval_term feature}
Switch on the balloon-eval functionality for the terminal.
'balloonexpr' 'bexpr'
'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
{only available when compiled with the +balloon_eval
feature}
Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
when 'ballooneval' or 'balloonevalterm' is on. These variables can be
used:
v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
v:beval_winnr number of the window
v:beval_winid ID of the window
v:beval_lnum line number
v:beval_col column number (byte index)
v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
Instead of showing a balloon, which is limited to plain text, consider
using a popup window, see popup_beval_example. A popup window can
use highlighting and show a border.
The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
Example:
function MyBalloonExpr()
return 'Cursor is at line ' .. v:beval_lnum ..
\ ', column ' .. v:beval_col ..
\ ' of file ' .. bufname(v:beval_bufnr) ..
\ ' on word "' .. v:beval_text .. '"'
endfunction
set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
set ballooneval balloonevalterm
Also see balloon_show(), it can be used if the content of the balloon
is to be fetched asynchronously. In that case evaluating
'balloonexpr' should result in an empty string. If you get a balloon
with only "0" you probably didn't return anything from your function.
NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
or Sun Workshop).
If the expression starts with s: or <SID>, then it is replaced with
the script ID (local-function). Example:
set bexpr=s:MyBalloonExpr()
set bexpr=<SID>SomeBalloonExpr()
Otherwise, the expression is evaluated in the context of the script
where the option was set, thus script-local items are available.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'balloonexpr', see textlock.
To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check:
if has("balloon_multiline")
When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
expression evaluates to a List this is equal to using each List item
as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
'belloff' 'bo'
'belloff' 'bo' string (default "")
global
Specifies for which events the bell will not be rung. It is a comma
separated list of items. For each item that is present, the bell
will be silenced. This is most useful to specify specific events in
insert mode to be silenced.
You can also make it flash by using 'visualbell'.
item meaning when present
all All events.
backspace When hitting <BS> or <Del> and deleting results in an
error.
cursor Fail to move around using the cursor keys or
<PageUp>/<PageDown> in Insert-mode.
complete Error occurred when using i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K or
i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T.
copy Cannot copy char from insert mode using i_CTRL-Y or
i_CTRL-E.
ctrlg Unknown Char after <C-G> in Insert mode.
error Other Error occurred (e.g. try to join last line)
(mostly used in Normal-mode or Cmdline-mode).
esc hitting <Esc> in Normal-mode.
ex In Visual-mode, hitting Q results in an error.
hangul Ignored.
insertmode Pressing <Esc> in 'insertmode'.
lang Calling the beep module for Lua/Mzscheme/TCL.
mess No output available for g<.
showmatch Error occurred for 'showmatch' function.
operator Empty region error cpo-E.
register Unknown register after <C-R> in Insert-mode.
shell Bell from shell output :!.
spell Error happened on spell suggest.
term Bell from :terminal output.
wildmode More matches in cmdline-completion available
(depends on the 'wildmode' setting).
This is most useful to fine tune when in Insert mode the bell should
be rung. For Normal mode and Ex commands, the bell is often rung to
indicate that an error occurred. It can be silenced by adding the
"error" keyword.
'binary' 'bin' 'nobinary' 'nobin'
'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
use the -b Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
options will be changed (also when it already was on):
'textwidth' will be set to 0
'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
'modeline' will be off
'expandtab' will be off
Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
separates lines).
The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
file is read without conversion.
NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
saved option values.
To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the ++bin argument.
This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
files you edit.
When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
the 'endofline' option.
'bioskey' 'biosk' 'nobioskey' 'nobiosk'
'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
global
{only for MS-DOS}
This was for MS-DOS and is no longer supported.
'blurradius' 'blur'
'blurradius' 'blur' number (default 0)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in MacVim GUI}
When 'transparency' is in effect, a positive value adds a blur effect
to the window background.
'bomb' 'nobomb'
'bomb' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
- this option is on
- the 'binary' option is off
- 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
endian variants.
Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
appear halfway through the resulting file. Gcc doesn't accept a BOM.
When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
will be restored when writing the file.
'breakat' 'brk'
'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
global
{not available when compiled without the +linebreak
feature}
This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
'breakindent' 'bri' 'nobreakindent' 'nobri'
'breakindent' 'bri' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +linebreak
feature}
Every wrapped line will continue visually indented (same amount of
space as the beginning of that line), thus preserving horizontal blocks
of text.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'breakindentopt' 'briopt'
'breakindentopt' 'briopt' string (default empty)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +linebreak
feature}
Settings for 'breakindent'. It can consist of the following optional
items and must be separated by a comma:
min:{n} Minimum text width that will be kept after
applying 'breakindent', even if the resulting
text should normally be narrower. This prevents
text indented almost to the right window border
occupying lots of vertical space when broken.
(default: 20)
shift:{n} After applying 'breakindent', the wrapped line's
beginning will be shifted by the given number of
characters. It permits dynamic French paragraph
indentation (negative) or emphasizing the line
continuation (positive).
(default: 0)
sbr Display the 'showbreak' value before applying the
additional indent.
(default: off)
list:{n} Adds an additional indent for lines that match a
numbered or bulleted list (using the
'formatlistpat' setting).
(default: 0)
list:-1 Uses the width of a match with 'formatlistpat' for
indentation.
column:{n} Indent at column {n}. Will overrule the other
sub-options. Note: an additional indent may be
added for the 'showbreak' setting.
(default: off)
'browsedir' 'bsdir'
'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
global
{only for Motif, GTK, Mac and Win32 GUI}
Which directory to use for the file browser:
last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
file was opened or saved.
buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
current Use the current directory.
{path} Use the specified directory
'bufhidden' 'bh'
'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
local to buffer local-noglobal
This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
displayed in a window:
<empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), even if 'hidden' is
not set
unload unload the buffer, even if 'hidden' is set; the
:hide command will also unload the buffer
delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, even if
'hidden' is set; the :hide command will also delete
the buffer, making it behave like :bdelete
wipe wipe the buffer from the buffer list, even if
'hidden' is set; the :hide command will also wipe
out the buffer, making it behave like :bwipeout
CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
are lost without a warning. Also, these values may break autocommands
that switch between buffers temporarily.
This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
special kinds of buffers. See special-buffers.
'buflisted' 'bl' 'nobuflisted' 'nobl' E85
'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
local to buffer
When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
'buftype' 'bt' E382
'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
local to buffer local-noglobal
The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
<empty> normal buffer
nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
written
nowrite buffer which will not be written
acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
autocommands.
quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors :cwindow
or list of locations :lwindow
help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
manually)
terminal buffer for a terminal (you are not supposed to set
this manually)
prompt buffer where only the last line can be edited, meant
to be used by a plugin, see prompt-buffer
{only when compiled with the |+channel| feature}
popup buffer used in a popup window, see popup.
{only when compiled with the |+textprop| feature}
This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
specify special kinds of buffers. See special-buffers.
Also see win_gettype(), which returns the type of the window.
Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
One such effect is that Vim will not check the timestamp of the file,
if the file is changed by another program this will not be noticed.
A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
list. This value is set by the :cwindow and :lwindow commands and
you are not supposed to change it.
"nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
work (":w filename" does work though).
both: The buffer is never considered to be 'modified'.
There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
example when you quit Vim.
both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
(when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
file).
nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
file name. It is not modified in response to a :cd
command.
both: When using ":e bufname" and already editing "bufname"
the buffer is made empty and autocommands are
triggered as usual for :edit.
E676
"acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
"nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
"nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
without saving. For writing there must be matching BufWriteCmd,
FileWriteCmd or FileAppendCmd autocommands.
'casemap' 'cmp'
'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
global
Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
these words, separated by a comma:
internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
locale does not change the case mapping. This only
matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
"latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
functions are used when available.
keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
This probably only matters for Turkish.
'cdhome' 'cdh' 'nocdhome' 'nocdh'
'cdhome' 'cdh' boolean (default: off)
global
When on, :cd, :tcd and :lcd without an argument changes the
current working directory to the $HOME directory like in Unix.
When off, those commands just print the current directory name.
On Unix this option has no effect.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cdpath' 'cd' E344 E346
'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
global
This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
:cd, :tcd and :lcd commands, provided that the directory being
searched for has a relative path, not an absolute part starting with
"/", "./" or "../", the 'cdpath' option is not used then.
The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
'path'. Also see file-searching.
The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
in the current directory first.
If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
override it:
:let &cdpath = ',' .. substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
(parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
'cedit'
'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
global
The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
Only non-printable keys are allowed.
The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
type. The preferred way is to use key-notation (e.g. <Up>, <C-F>) or
a letter preceded with a caret (e.g. ^F is CTRL-F). Examples:
:set cedit=^Y
:set cedit=<Esc>
Nvi also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
See cmdwin.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vim default value when 'compatible'
is reset.
'charconvert' 'ccv' E202 E214 E513
'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the |+eval| feature}
An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
different encoding from what is desired.
'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
preferred, because it is much faster.
'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin --, because there is no
file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
The expression must return zero, false or an empty string for success,
non-zero or true for failure.
The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
used.
Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
Example:
set charconvert=CharConvert()
fun CharConvert()
system("recode "
\ .. v:charconvert_from .. ".." .. v:charconvert_to
\ .. " <" .. v:fname_in .. " >" .. v:fname_out)
return v:shell_error
endfun
The related Vim variables are:
v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
v:fname_in name of the input file
v:fname_out name of the output file
Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
The advantage of using a function call without arguments is that it is
faster, see expr-option-function.
Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
of this.
If the 'charconvert' expression starts with s: or <SID>, then it is
replaced with the script ID (local-function). Example:
set charconvert=s:MyConvert()
set charconvert=<SID>SomeConvert()
Otherwise the expression is evaluated in the context of the script
where the option was set, thus script-local items are available.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'cindent' 'cin' 'nocindent' 'nocin'
'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
preferred indent style.
If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
external program.
See C-indenting.
When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
option or 'indentexpr'.
This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cinkeys' 'cink'
'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),0],:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
empty.
For the format of this option see cinkeys-format.
See C-indenting.
'cinoptions' 'cino'
'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
local to buffer
The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
program. See cinoptions-values for the values of this option, and
C-indenting for info on C indenting in general.
'cinscopedecls' 'cinsd'
'cinscopedecls' 'cinsd' string (default "public,protected,private")
local to buffer
Keywords that are interpreted as a C++ scope declaration by cino-g.
Useful e.g. for working with the Qt framework that defines additional
scope declarations "signals", "public slots" and "private slots":
set cinscopedecls+=signals,public\ slots,private\ slots
'cinwords' 'cinw'
'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
local to buffer
These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
an appropriate place (inside {}).
Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
"if,If,IF".
'clipboard' 'cb'
'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
for X-windows, "" otherwise)
global
{only in GUI versions or when the +xterm_clipboard
feature is included}
This option is a list of comma-separated names.
Note: if one of the items is "exclude:", then you can't add an item
after that. Therefore do not append an item with += but use ^= to
prepend, e.g.:
set clipboard^=unnamed
When using the GUI see 'go-A'.
These names are recognized:
clipboard-unnamed
unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
register is explicitly specified, it will always be
used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
or not. The clipboard register can always be
explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
gui-clipboard.
clipboard-unnamedplus
unnamedplus A variant of the "unnamed" flag which uses the
clipboard register '+' (quoteplus) instead of
register '*' for all yank, delete, change and put
operations which would normally go to the unnamed
register. When "unnamed" is also included to the
option, yank operations (but not delete, change or
put) will additionally copy the text into register
'*'.
Only available with the +X11 feature.
Availability can be checked with:
if has('unnamedplus')
clipboard-autoselect
autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
windowing system's global selection or put the
selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
register "*. See 'go-a' and quotestar for details.
When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in 'guioptions'
is used, when the GUI is not active, this "autoselect"
flag is used.
Also applies to the modeless selection.
clipboard-autoselectplus
autoselectplus Like "autoselect" but using the + register instead of
the * register. Compare to the 'P' flag in
'guioptions'.
clipboard-autoselectml
autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
clipboard-html
html When the clipboard contains HTML, use this when
pasting. When putting text on the clipboard, mark it
as HTML. This works to copy rendered HTML from
Firefox, paste it as raw HTML in Vim, select the HTML
in Vim and paste it in a rich edit box in Firefox.
You probably want to add this only temporarily,
possibly use BufEnter autocommands.
Only supported for GTK version 2 and later.
clipboard-exclude
exclude:{pattern}
Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
connection will be made to the X server. This is
useful in this situation:
- Running Vim in a console.
- $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
display.
- You do not want to connect to the X server in the
console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
To never connect to the X server use:
exclude:.*
This has the same effect as using the -X argument.
Note that when there is no connection to the X server
the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
cannot be accessed.
The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
The rest of the option value will be used for
{pattern}, this must be the last entry.
'cmdheight' 'ch'
'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
global or local to tab page
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. A larger value
helps avoiding hit-enter prompts.
The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
page can have a different value.
'cmdwinheight' 'cwh'
'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
global
Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. cmdwin
'colorcolumn' 'cc'
'colorcolumn' 'cc' string (default "")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
'colorcolumn' is a comma-separated list of screen columns that are
highlighted with ColorColumn hl-ColorColumn. Useful to align
text. Will make screen redrawing slower.
The screen column can be an absolute number, or a number preceded with
'+' or '-', which is added to or subtracted from 'textwidth'.
:set cc=+1 " highlight column after 'textwidth'
:set cc=+1,+2,+3 " highlight three columns after 'textwidth'
:hi ColorColumn ctermbg=lightgrey guibg=lightgrey
When 'textwidth' is zero then the items with '-' and '+' are not used.
A maximum of 256 columns are highlighted.
'columns' 'co' E594
'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
global
Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
posix-screen-size.
When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your gvimrc file.
When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
window possible:
:set columns=9999
Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
'columnspace' 'csp'
'columnspace' 'csp' number (default 0)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in the MacVim GUI}
Number of pixel columns inserted between characters. With some fonts
there can be too much room between characters. Then it makes sense
to set 'columnspace' to a negative value. This may cause display
problems though!
'com' E524 E525
'comments' 'com' string (default
"s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
local to buffer
A comma-separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
format-comments. See option-backslash about using backslashes to
insert a space.
'cms' E537
'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/* %s */")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
comment text, and should be padded with a space when possible.
Currently used to add markers for folding, see fold-marker. Also
commonly used by commenting plugins (e.g. comment-install).
'compatible' 'cp' 'nocompatible' 'nocp'
'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a vimrc or gvimrc
file is found, reset in defaults.vim)
global
This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
make Vim behave in a more useful way.
This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
other options are also changed as a side effect.
NOTE: Setting or resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected
effects: Mappings are interpreted in another way, undo behaves
differently, etc. If you set this option in your vimrc file, you
should probably put it at the very start.
By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
option.
When a vimrc or gvimrc file is found while Vim is starting up,
this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
that when a vimrc or gvimrc file exists, Vim will use the Vim
defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
with the -u argument). Also see compatible-default and
posix-compliance.
You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
"-N". See -C and -N.
See 'cpoptions' for more fine tuning of Vi compatibility.
When this option is set, numerous other options are set to make Vim as
Vi-compatible as possible. When this option is unset, various options
are set to make Vim more useful. The table below lists all the
options affected.
The {?} column indicates when the options are affected:
+ Means that the option is set to the value given in {set value} when
'compatible' is set.
& Means that the option is set to the value given in {set value} when
'compatible' is set AND is set to its Vim default value when
'compatible' is unset.
- Means the option is NOT changed when setting 'compatible' but IS
set to its Vim default when 'compatible' is unset.
The {effect} column summarises the change when 'compatible' is set.
option ? set value effect
'allowrevins' + off no CTRL-_ command
'antialias' + off don't use antialiased fonts
'arabic' + off reset arabic-related options
'arabicshape' + on correct character shapes
'backspace' + "" normal backspace
'backup' + off no backup file
'backupcopy' & Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
else: "auto" copy or rename backup file
'balloonexpr' + "" text to show in evaluation balloon
'breakindent' + off don't indent when wrapping lines
'cedit' - {unchanged} {set vim default only on resetting 'cp'}
'cdhome' + off ":cd" don't chdir to home on non-Unix
'cindent' + off no C code indentation
'compatible' - {unchanged} {set vim default only on resetting 'cp'}
'copyindent' + off don't copy indent structure
'cpoptions' & (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
'cscopepathcomp'+ 0 don't show directories in tags list
'cscoperelative'+ off don't use basename of path as prefix
'cscopetag' + off don't use cscope for ":tag"
'cscopetagorder'+ 0 see cscopetagorder
'cscopeverbose' + off see cscopeverbose
'delcombine' + off unicode: delete whole char combination
'digraph' + off no digraphs
'esckeys' & off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
this also disables modifyOtherKeys
and xterm-bracketed-paste
'expandtab' + off tabs not expanded to spaces
'fileformats' & "" no automatic file format detection,
"dos,unix" except for MS-Windows
'formatexpr' + "" use 'formatprg' for auto-formatting
'formatoptions' & "vt" Vi compatible formatting
'gdefault' + off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
'history' & 0 no commandline history
'hkmap' + off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
'hkmapp' + off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
'hlsearch' + off no highlighting of search matches
'incsearch' + off no incremental searching
'indentexpr' + "" no indenting by expression
'insertmode' + off do not start in Insert mode
'iskeyword' & "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
characters and '_'
'joinspaces' + on insert 2 spaces after period
'modeline' & off no modelines
'more' & off no pauses in listings
'mzquantum' - {unchanged} {set vim default only on resetting 'cp'}
'numberwidth' & 8 min number of columns for line number
'preserveindent'+ off don't preserve current indent structure
when changing it
'revins' + off no reverse insert
'ruler' + off no ruler
'scrolljump' + 1 no jump scroll
'scrolloff' + 0 no scroll offset
'shelltemp' - {unchanged} {set vim default only on resetting 'cp'}
'shiftround' + off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
'shortmess' & "S" no shortening of messages
'showcmd' & off command characters not shown
'showmode' & off current mode not shown
'sidescrolloff' + 0 cursor moves to edge of screen in scroll
'smartcase' + off no automatic ignore case switch
'smartindent' + off no smart indentation
'smarttab' + off no smart tab size
'softtabstop' + 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
'startofline' + on goto startofline with some commands
'tagcase' & "followic" 'ignorecase' when searching tags file
'tagrelative' & off tag file names are not relative
'termguicolors' + off don't use highlight-(guifg|guibg)
'textauto' & off no automatic textmode detection
'textwidth' + 0 no automatic line wrap
'tildeop' + off tilde is not an operator
'ttimeout' + off no terminal timeout
'undofile' + off don't use an undo file
'viminfo' - {unchanged} {set Vim default only on resetting 'cp'}
'virtualedit' + "" cursor can only be placed on characters
'whichwrap' & "" left-right movements don't wrap
'wildchar' & CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
'writebackup' + on or off depends on the +writebackup feature
'complete' 'cpt' E535
'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
local to buffer
This option specifies how keyword completion ins-completion works
when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
completion i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L. It indicates the type of completion
and the places to scan. It is a comma-separated list of flags:
. scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
w scan buffers from other windows
b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
kspell use the currently active spell checking spell
k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
patterns are valid too. For example:
:set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
are valid too.
i scan current and included files
d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D
] tag completion
t same as "]"
Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds :autocmd are
not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
(gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
whole-line completion.
The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1. the current buffer
2. buffers in other windows
3. other loaded buffers
4. unloaded buffers
5. tags
6. included files
As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
based expansion (e.g., dictionary i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K, included patterns
i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I, tags i_CTRL-X_CTRL-] and normal expansions).
'completefunc' 'cfu'
'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
with CTRL-X CTRL-U. i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U
See complete-functions for an explanation of how the function is
invoked and what it should return. The value can be the name of a
function, a lambda or a Funcref. See option-value-function for
more information.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'completeitemalign' 'cia'
'completeitemalign' 'cia' string (default: "abbr,kind,menu")
global
A comma-separated list of complete-items that controls the alignment
and display order of items in the popup menu during Insert mode
completion. The supported values are abbr, kind, and menu. These
options allow to customize how the completion items are shown in the
popup menu. Note: must always contain those three values in any
order.
'completeopt' 'cot'
'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
global or local to buffer global-local
A comma-separated list of options for Insert mode completion
ins-completion. The supported values are:
menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
sufficient colors are available. ins-completion-menu
menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
Useful when there is additional information about the
match, e.g., what file it comes from.
longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
used.
preview Show extra information about the currently selected
completion in the preview window. Only works in
combination with "menu" or "menuone".
popup Show extra information about the currently selected
completion in a popup window. Only works in combination
with "menu" or "menuone". Overrides "preview".
See 'completepopup' for specifying properties.
{only works when compiled with the |+textprop| feature}
popuphidden
Just like "popup" but initially hide the popup. Use a
CompleteChanged autocommand to fetch the info and call
popup_show() once the popup has been filled.
See the example at complete-popuphidden.
{only works when compiled with the |+textprop| feature}
noinsert Do not insert any text for a match until the user selects
a match from the menu. Only works in combination with
"menu" or "menuone". No effect if "longest" is present.
noselect Do not select a match in the menu, force the user to
select one from the menu. Only works in combination with
"menu" or "menuone".
fuzzy Enable fuzzy-matching for completion candidates. This
allows for more flexible and intuitive matching, where
characters can be skipped and matches can be found even
if the exact sequence is not typed.
'cpp'
'completepopup' 'cpp' string (default empty)
global
{not available when compiled without the +textprop
or +quickfix feature}
When 'completeopt' contains "popup" then this option is used for the
properties of the info popup when it is created. If an info popup
window already exists it is closed, so that the option value is
applied when it is created again.
You can also use popup_findinfo() and then set properties for an
existing info popup with popup_setoptions(). See complete-popup.
'completeslash' 'csl'
'completeslash' 'csl' string (default: "")
local to buffer
{only for MS-Windows}
When this option is set it overrules 'shellslash' for completion:
- When this option is set to "slash", a forward slash is used for path
completion in insert mode. This is useful when editing HTML tag, or
Makefile with 'noshellslash' on MS-Windows.
- When this option is set to "backslash", backslash is used. This is
useful when editing a batch file with 'shellslash' set on MS-Windows.
- When this option is empty, same character is used as for
'shellslash'.
For Insert mode completion the buffer-local value is used. For
command line completion the global value is used.
'concealcursor' 'cocu'
'concealcursor' 'cocu' string (default: "")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +conceal
feature}
Sets the modes in which text in the cursor line can also be concealed.
When the current mode is listed then concealing happens just like in
other lines.
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
i Insert mode
c Command line editing, for 'incsearch'
'v' applies to all lines in the Visual area, not only the cursor.
A useful value is "nc". This is used in help files. So long as you
are moving around text is concealed, but when starting to insert text
or selecting a Visual area the concealed text is displayed, so that
you can see what you are doing.
Keep in mind that the cursor position is not always where it's
displayed. E.g., when moving vertically it may change column.
'conceallevel' 'cole'
'conceallevel' 'cole' number (default 0)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +conceal
feature}
Determine how text with the "conceal" syntax attribute :syn-conceal
is shown:
Value Effect
0 Text is shown normally
1 Each block of concealed text is replaced with one
character. If the syntax item does not have a custom
replacement character defined (see :syn-cchar) the
character defined in 'listchars' is used (default is a
space).
It is highlighted with the "Conceal" highlight group.
2 Concealed text is completely hidden unless it has a
custom replacement character defined (see
:syn-cchar).
3 Concealed text is completely hidden.
Note: in the cursor line concealed text is not hidden, so that you can
edit and copy the text. This can be changed with the 'concealcursor'
option.
'confirm' 'cf' 'noconfirm' 'nocf'
'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
global
When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
instead raise a dialog asking if you wish to save the current
file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally abandon a buffer.
If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the :confirm
command.
Also see the confirm() function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
'conskey' 'consk' 'noconskey' 'noconsk'
'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
global
This was for MS-DOS and is no longer supported.
'copyindent' 'ci' 'nocopyindent' 'noci'
'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
tabs followed by spaces as required (unless 'expandtab' is enabled,
in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
Also see 'preserveindent'.
'cpoptions' 'cpo' cpo
'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFsz",
Vi default: all flags, except "#{|&/\."
$VIM_POSIX: all flags)
global
A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
this indicates Vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
not being Vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
Commas can be added for readability.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" add-option-flags.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
NOTE: In a Vim9 script, when vim9script is encountered, the value
is saved, 'cpoptions' is set to the Vim default, and the saved value
is restored at the end of the script. Changes to the value of
'cpoptions' will be applied to the saved value, but keep in mind that
removing a flag that is not present when 'cpoptions' is changed has no
effect. In the .vimrc file the value is not restored, thus using
vim9script in the .vimrc file results in using the Vim default.
NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
variable exists posix. This means Vim tries to behave like the
POSIX specification.
contains behavior
cpo-a
a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the
current window.
cpo-A
A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the alternate file name for the
current window.
cpo-b
b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
See also map_bar.
cpo-B
B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
abbreviations, user commands and the "to" part of the
menu commands. Remove this flag to be able to use a
backslash like a CTRL-V. For example, the command
":map X \<Esc>" results in X being mapped to:
'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
('<' excluded in both cases)
cpo-c
c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
cursor position, but not further than the start of the
next line. When not present searching continues
one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
"abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
"/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
cpo-C
C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
backslash. See line-continuation.
cpo-d
d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
the tags file relative to the current file, but the
tags file in the current directory.
cpo-D
D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
commands with a character argument, like r, f and
t.
cpo-e
e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
<CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
<CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
cpo-E
E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
"gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
at least one character is to be operated on. Example:
This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
cpo-f
f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
cpo-F
F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
argument will set the file name for the current
buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
yet. Also see cpo-P.
cpo-g
g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
cpo-H
H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
the last blank.
cpo-i
i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
leave it modified.
cpo-I
I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
cpo-j
j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
cpo-J
J A sentence has to be followed by two spaces after
the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
white space.
cpo-k
k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
being mapped to:
'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
Also see the '<' flag below.
cpo-K
K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
cpo-l
l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
See /[]
'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
Also see cpo-\.
cpo-L
L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
(see gR) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
cpo-m
m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
a second or until a character is typed. 'showmatch'
cpo-M
M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
cpo-n
n When included, the column used for 'number' and
'relativenumber' will also be used for text of wrapped
lines.
cpo-o
o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
next search.
cpo-O
O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
protection against a file unexpectedly created by
someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
cpo-p
p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
slightly better algorithm is used.
cpo-P
P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
the 'F' flag is also included cpo-F.
cpo-q
q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
position where it would be when joining two lines.
cpo-r
r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
command, instead of the actually used search string.
cpo-R
R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
marks are kept like :keepmarks was used.
cpo-s
s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
And it is the default. If not present the options are
set when the buffer is created.
cpo-S
S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
(except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
The options are set to the values in the current
buffer. When you change an option and go to another
buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
buffer options global to all buffers.
's' 'S' copy buffer options
no no when buffer created
yes no when buffer first entered (default)
X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
cpo-t
t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
"n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
last used search pattern.
cpo-u
u Undo is Vi compatible. See undo-two-ways.
cpo-v
v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
characters.
cpo-w
w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
character and not all blanks until the start of the
next word.
cpo-W
W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
cpo-x
x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
because <Esc> normally aborts a command. c_<Esc>
cpo-X
X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
and a count.
cpo-y
y A yank command can be redone with ".". Think twice if
you really want to use this, it may break some
plugins, since most people expect "." to only repeat a
change.
cpo-Z
Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
don't reset 'readonly'.
cpo-z
z Special casing the "cw" and "d" command (see cw and
d-special).
cpo-!
! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
used -filter- command is used.
cpo-$
$ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
command that moves the cursor from the insertion
point.
cpo-%
% Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
Parens inside single and double quotes are also
counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
"if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
match the last one. When this flag is not included,
parens inside single and double quotes are treated
specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
there is one). This works very well for C programs.
This flag is also used for other features, such as
C-indenting.
cpo--
- When included, a vertical movement command fails when
it would go above the first line or below the last
line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
last line, unless it already was in that line.
Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
cpo-+
+ When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
itself may still be different from its file.
cpo-star
* Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
cpo-<
< Disable the recognition of special key codes in <>
form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
menu commands. For example, the command
":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
'<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
'<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
Also see the 'k' flag above.
cpo->
> When appending to a register, put a line break before
the appended text.
cpo-;
; When using , or ; to repeat the last t search
and the cursor is right in front of the searched
character, the cursor won't move. When not included,
the cursor would skip over it and jump to the
following occurrence.
POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. posix
contains behavior
cpo-#
# A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
cpo-&
& When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
This flag is tested when exiting.
cpo-\
\ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
literally, only "\]" is special See /[]
'\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
'\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
Also see cpo-l.
cpo-/
/ When "%" is used as the replacement string in a :s
command, use the previous replacement string. :s%
cpo-{
{ The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
at the start of a line.
cpo-.
. The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
need this, since it remembers the full path of an
opened file.
cpo-bar
| The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
with system specific functions.
'cryptmethod' 'cm'
'cryptmethod' 'cm' string (default "blowfish2")
global or local to buffer global-local
Method used for encryption when the buffer is written to a file:
pkzip
zip PkZip compatible method. A weak kind of encryption.
Backwards compatible with Vim 7.2 and older.
Only use if you need to be backwards compatible.
blowfish
blowfish Blowfish method. Medium strong encryption but it has
an implementation flaw. Requires Vim 7.3 or later,
files can NOT be read by Vim 7.2 and older. This adds
a "seed" to the file, every time you write the file
the encrypted bytes will be different.
Obsolete, please do no longer use.
blowfish2
blowfish2 Blowfish method. Medium strong encryption. Requires
Vim 7.4.401 or later, files can NOT be read by Vim 7.3
and older. This adds a "seed" to the file, every time
you write the file the encrypted bytes will be
different. The whole undo file is encrypted, not just
the pieces of text.
E1193 E1194 E1195 E1196 E1230
E1197 E1198 E1199 E1200 E1201
xchacha20 XChaCha20 Cipher with Poly1305 Message Authentication
Code. Medium strong till strong encryption.
Encryption is provided by the libsodium library, it
requires Vim to be built with +sodium.
It adds a seed and a message authentication code (MAC)
to the file. This needs at least a Vim 8.2.3022 to
read the encrypted file.
Encryption of swap files is not supported, therefore
no swap file will be used when xchacha20 encryption is
enabled.
Encryption of undo files is not yet supported,
therefore no undo file will currently be written.
CAREFUL: Files written with this method might have to
be read back with the same version of Vim if the
binary format changes later.
Obsolete, please do no longer use.
xchacha20v2 Same algorithm as with "xchacha20" that correctly
stores the key derivation parameters together with the
encrypted file. Should work better in case the
parameters in the libsodium library ever change.
STILL EXPERIMENTAL: Files written with this method
might have to be read back with the same version of
Vim if the binary format changes later.
You should use "blowfish2", also to re-encrypt older files. The
"xchacha20" method provides better encryption, but it does not work
with all versions of Vim.
When reading an encrypted file 'cryptmethod' will be set automatically
to the detected method of the file being read. Thus if you write it
without changing 'cryptmethod' the same method will be used.
Changing 'cryptmethod' does not mark the file as modified, you have to
explicitly write it, you don't get a warning unless there are other
modifications. Also see :X.
When setting the global value to an empty string, it will end up with
the value "blowfish2". When setting the local value to an empty
string the buffer will use the global value.
When a new encryption method is added in a later version of Vim, and
the current version does not recognize it, you will get E821 .
You need to edit this file with the later version of Vim.
'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc'
'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
See cscopepathcomp.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopeprg' 'csprg'
'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
Specifies the command to execute cscope. See cscopeprg.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'cscopequickfix' 'csqf'
'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
or +quickfix features}
Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
See cscopequickfix.
'cscoperelative' 'csre' 'nocscoperelative' 'nocsre'
'cscoperelative' 'csre' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
In the absence of a prefix (-P) for cscope. setting this option enables
to use the basename of cscope.out path as the prefix.
See cscoperelative.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopetag' 'cst' 'nocscopetag' 'nocst'
'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
Use cscope for tag commands. See cscope-options.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopetagorder' 'csto'
'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
cscopetagorder.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'cscopeverbose' 'csverb'
'nocscopeverbose' 'nocsverb'
'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the +cscope
feature}
Give messages when adding a cscope database. See cscopeverbose.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'cursorbind' 'crb' 'nocursorbind' 'nocrb'
'cursorbind' 'crb' boolean (default off)
local to window
When this option is set, as the cursor in the current
window moves other cursorbound windows (windows that also have
this option set) move their cursors to the corresponding line and
column. This option is useful for viewing the
differences between two versions of a file (see 'diff'); in diff mode,
inserted and deleted lines (though not characters within a line) are
taken into account.
'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' 'nocursorcolumn' 'nocuc'
'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
hl-CursorColumn. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
slower.
If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
these autocommands:
au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
'cursorline' 'cul' 'nocursorline' 'nocul'
'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Highlight the text line of the cursor with CursorLine hl-CursorLine.
Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen redrawing slower.
When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
easier to see the selected text.
'cursorlineopt' 'culopt'
'cursorlineopt' 'culopt' string (default: "number,line")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Comma-separated list of settings for how 'cursorline' is displayed.
Valid values:
"line" Highlight the text line of the cursor with
CursorLine hl-CursorLine.
"screenline" Highlight only the screen line of the cursor with
CursorLine hl-CursorLine.
"number" Highlight the line number of the cursor with
CursorLineNr hl-CursorLineNr.
Special value:
"both" Alias for the values "line,number".
"line" and "screenline" cannot be used together.
'debug'
'debug' string (default "")
global
These values can be used:
msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
anyway.
throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
anyway and also throw an exception and set v:errmsg.
beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
produced.
The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
"msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
'indentexpr'.
'define' 'def'
'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
global or local to buffer global-local
Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
commands like "[i" and "[d" include-search. The 'isident' option is
used to recognize the defined name after the match:
{match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
See option-backslash about inserting backslashes to include a space
or backslash.
The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
useful, to include const type declarations:
^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
You can also use "\ze" just before the name and continue the pattern
to check what is following. E.g. for Javascript, if a function is
defined with "func_name = function(args)":
^\s*\ze\i\+\s*=\s*function(
If the function is defined with "func_name : function() {...":
^\s*\ze\i\+\s*[:]\s*(*function\s*(
When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
To avoid that use :let with a single quote string:
let &l:define = '^\s*\ze\k\+\s*=\s*function('
'delcombine' 'deco' 'nodelcombine' 'nodeco'
'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
global
If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
"x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
default) the character along with its combining characters are
deleted.
Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work differently from "2x"!
This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
to remove only the combining ones.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'dictionary' 'dict'
'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
for keyword completion commands i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K. Each file should
contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
When this option is empty or an entry "spell" is present, and spell
checking is enabled, words in the word lists for the currently active
'spelllang' are used. See spell.
To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
name. See option-backslash about using backslashes.
This has nothing to do with the Dictionary variable type.
Where to find a list of words?
- On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
- In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
- In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
'diff' 'nodiff'
'diff' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +diff
feature}
Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
between files. See vimdiff.
'dex' 'diffexpr'
'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +diff
feature}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain a diff file (either ed-style
or unified-style) from two versions of a file. See diff-diffexpr.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'dip' 'diffopt'
'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "internal,filler,closeoff")
global
{not available when compiled without the +diff
feature}
Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
synchronized with a window that has inserted
lines at the same position. Mostly useful
when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
is set.
context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
When omitted a context of six lines is used.
When using zero the context is actually one,
since folds require a line in between, also
for a deleted line. Set it to a very large
value (999999) to disable folding completely.
See fold-diff.
iblank Ignore changes where lines are all blank. Adds
the "-B" flag to the "diff" command if
'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
of the "diff" command for what this does
exactly.
NOTE: the diff windows will get out of sync,
because no differences between blank lines are
taken into account.
icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
of the "diff" command for what this does
exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
white space, but not leading white space.
iwhiteall Ignore all white space changes. Adds
the "-w" flag to the "diff" command if
'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
of the "diff" command for what this does
exactly.
iwhiteeol Ignore white space changes at end of line.
Adds the "-Z" flag to the "diff" command if
'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
of the "diff" command for what this does
exactly.
horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
explicitly specified otherwise).
vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
explicitly specified otherwise).
closeoff When a window is closed where 'diff' is set
and there is only one window remaining in the
same tab page with 'diff' set, execute
:diffoff in that window. This undoes a
:diffsplit command.
hiddenoff Do not use diff mode for a buffer when it
becomes hidden.
foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
followwrap Follow the 'wrap' option and leave as it is.
internal Use the internal diff library. This is
ignored when 'diffexpr' is set. E960
When running out of memory when writing a
buffer this item will be ignored for diffs
involving that buffer. Set the 'verbose'
option to see when this happens.
indent-heuristic
Use the indent heuristic for the internal
diff library.
algorithm:{text} Use the specified diff algorithm with the
internal diff engine. Currently supported
algorithms are:
myers the default algorithm
minimal spend extra time to generate the
smallest possible diff
patience patience diff algorithm
histogram histogram diff algorithm
Examples:
:set diffopt=internal,filler,context:4
:set diffopt=
:set diffopt=internal,filler,foldcolumn:3
:set diffopt-=internal " do NOT use the internal diff parser
'digraph' 'dg' 'nodigraph' 'nodg'
'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the +digraphs
feature}
Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
{char2}. See digraphs.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'directory' 'dir'
'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
for Win32: ".,$TEMP,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
global
List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
Recommended value: ".,~/vimswap//" - this will put the swap file next
to the edited file if possible, and in your personal swap directory
otherwise. Make sure "~/vimswap//" is only readable for you.
Possible items:
- The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
possible.
- Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
impossible!) and no E303 error will be given.
- A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
- A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-Windows) means to put
the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading "."
is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
- For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//",
the swap file name will be built from the complete path to the file
with all path separators replaced by percent '%' signs (including
the colon following the drive letter on Win32). This will ensure
file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
On Win32, it is also possible to end with "\\". However, When a
separating comma is following, you must use "//", since "\\" will
include the comma in the file name. Therefore it is recommended to
use '//', instead of '\\'.
- Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
name, precede it with a backslash.
- To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
- A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
- Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
- Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
get one in the option (see option-backslash), for example:
:set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
- For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
of the option is removed.
Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
"/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
choice than "/tmp". But others on the computer may be able to see the
files, and it can contain a lot of files, your swap files get lost in
the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your home directory is
tried first.
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'display' 'dy'
'display' 'dy' string (default "", set to "truncate" in
defaults.vim)
global
Change the way text is displayed. This is a comma-separated list of
flags:
lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
in a window will be displayed. "@@@" is put in the
last columns of the last screen line to indicate the
rest of the line is not displayed.
truncate Like "lastline", but "@@@" is displayed in the first
column of the last screen line. Overrules "lastline".
uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
instead of using ^C and ~C.
When neither "lastline" nor "truncate" is included, a last line that
doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
The "@" character can be changed by setting the "lastline" item in
'fillchars'. The character is highlighted with hl-NonText.
'eadirection' 'ead'
'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
global
Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
both width and height of windows is affected
'ed' 'edcompatible' 'noed' 'noedcompatible'
'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
global
Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
toggled each time the flag is given. See complex-change. See
also 'gdefault' option.
Switching this option on may break plugins!
This option is not used in Vim9 script.
'emoji' 'emo' 'noemoji' 'noemo'
'emoji' 'emo' boolean (default: on)
global
When on all Unicode emoji characters are considered to be full width.
This excludes "text emoji" characters, which are normally displayed as
single width. Unfortunately there is no good specification for this
and it has been determined on trial-and-error basis. Use the
setcellwidths() function to change the behavior.
'encoding' 'enc' E543
'encoding' 'enc' string (default for MS-Windows: "utf-8",
otherwise: value from $LANG or "latin1")
global
Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
with. See encoding-names for the possible values.
NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
starts up. See multibyte. To reload the menus see :menutrans.
This option cannot be set from a modeline. It would most likely
corrupt the text.
NOTE: For MacVim and GTK+, it is highly recommended to set 'encoding'
to "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
If you need to know whether 'encoding' is a multibyte encoding, you
can use:
if has("multi_byte_encoding")
Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
set to convert typed and displayed text. See encoding-table.
When you set this option, it fires the EncodingChanged autocommand
event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
to '-' signs.
When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
"iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
utf-8.
When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
viminfo-file. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
'endoffile' 'eof' 'noendoffile' 'noeof'
'endoffile' 'eof' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Indicates that a CTRL-Z character was found at the end of the file
when reading it. Normally only happens when 'fileformat' is "dos".
When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
is on, or 'fixeol' option is off, no CTRL-Z will be written at the
end of the file.
See eol-and-eof for example settings.
'endofline' 'eol' 'noendofline' 'noeol'
'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
is on, or 'fixeol' option is off, no <EOL> will be written for the
last line in the file. This option is automatically set or reset when
starting to edit a new file, depending on whether file has an <EOL>
for the last line in the file. Normally you don't have to set or
reset this option.
When 'binary' is off and 'fixeol' is on the value is not used when
writing the file. When 'binary' is on or 'fixeol' is off it is used
to remember the presence of a <EOL> for the last line in the file, so
that when you write the file the situation from the original file can
be kept. But you can change it if you want to.
See eol-and-eof for example settings.
'equalalways' 'ea' 'noequalalways' 'noea'
'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
global
When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
(depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
If a window size is specified when creating a new window sizes are
currently not equalized (it's complicated, but may be implemented in
the future).
'equalprg' 'ep'
'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
the internal formatting functions are used; either 'lisp', 'cindent'
or 'indentexpr'. When Vim was compiled without internal formatting,
the "indent" program is used.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env. See option-backslash
about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'errorbells' 'eb' 'noerrorbells' 'noeb'
'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
global
Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
screen flash or do nothing. See 'belloff' to finetune when to ring the
bell.
'errorfile' 'ef'
'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
others: "errors.err")
global
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see :cf).
When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
following argument. See -q.
NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'errorformat' 'efm'
'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
global or local to buffer global-local
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
(see errorformat).
'esckeys' 'ek' 'noesckeys' 'noek'
'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
won't work by default.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
NOTE: when this option is off then the modifyOtherKeys and
xterm-bracketed-paste functionality is disabled while in Insert mode
to avoid ending Insert mode with any key that has a modifier.
'eventignore' 'ei'
'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
global
A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
Otherwise this is a comma-separated list of event names. Example:
:set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
'expandtab' 'et' 'noexpandtab' 'noet'
'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
<Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also :retab and ins-expandtab.
This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set and restored when
the 'paste' option is reset.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'exrc' 'ex' 'noexrc' 'noex'
'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
global
Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
directory.
Setting this option is a potential security leak. E.g., consider
unpacking a package or fetching files from github, a .vimrc in there
might be a trojan horse. BETTER NOT SET THIS OPTION!
Instead, define an autocommand in your .vimrc to set options for a
matching directory.
If you do switch this option on you should also consider setting the
'secure' option (see initialization).
Also see .vimrc and gui-init.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'fileencoding' 'fenc' E213
'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
local to buffer
Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
done when writing the file. For reading see below.
When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
No error will be given when the value is set, only when it is used,
only when writing a file.
Conversion will also be done when 'encoding' and 'fileencoding' are
both a Unicode encoding and 'fileencoding' is not utf-8. That's
because internally Unicode is always stored as utf-8.
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding, conversion
is most likely done in a way that the reverse conversion
results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some
characters may be lost!
See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
specified that can be handled by the converter, see
mbyte-conversion.
When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
'fileencoding', use the ++enc argument. One exception: when
'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
"ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
option is set, because the file would be different when written.
Keep in mind that changing 'fenc' from a modeline happens
AFTER the text has been read, thus it applies to when the file will be
written. If you do set 'fenc' in a modeline, you might want to set
'nomodified' to avoid not being able to ":q".
This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
'fe'
NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
'fileencodings' 'fencs'
'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
"ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
global
This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
"utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
the ++bad argument to specify what is done with characters
that can't be converted.
For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
"ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
preferred encoding is to be used. Example:
au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
\ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
non-blank characters.
When the ++enc argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
not used.
Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with:
:setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
an empty file.
The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
(Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
accepted.
The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
environment. On MS-Windows this is the system encoding. Otherwise
this is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful when
'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a non-latin1
encoding, such as Russian.
When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the 8g8
command to find the illegal byte sequence.
WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
file
cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
is read.
'fileformat' 'ff'
'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-Windows default: "dos",
Unix default: "unix")
local to buffer
This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
dos <CR><NL>
unix <NL>
mac <CR>
When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
See file-formats and file-read.
For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
works like it was set to "unix".
This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
option is set, because the file would be different when written.
This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
'fileformats' 'ffs'
'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
Vim+Vi MS-Windows: "dos,unix",
Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
Vi others: "")
global
This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
buffer:
- When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
always. It is not set automatically.
- When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
- When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
<EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
3. If 'fileformat' has not yet been set, and if a <CR> is found, and
if 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
This means that "mac" is only chosen when:
"unix" is not present or no <NL> is found in the file, and
"dos" is not present or no <CR><NL> is found in the file.
Except: if "unix" was chosen, but there is a <CR> before
the first <NL>, and there appear to be more <CR>s than <NL>s in
the first few lines, "mac" is used.
4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
'fileformats' is used.
When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
file only, the option is not changed.
When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
When Vim starts up with an empty buffer the first item is used. You
can overrule this by setting 'fileformat' in your .vimrc.
For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
done:
- When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
format will be used.
- When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
<CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
used.
Also see file-formats.
For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
otherwise 'textauto' is set.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'fileignorecase' 'fic' 'nofileignorecase' 'nofic'
'fileignorecase' 'fic' boolean (default on for systems where case in file
names is normally ignored)
global
When set case is ignored when using file names and directories.
See 'wildignorecase' for only ignoring case when doing completion.
'filetype' 'ft'
'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
local to buffer local-noglobal
When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
name.
Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
this use the ":filetype on" command. :filetype
Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
Example, for in an IDL file:
/* vim: set filetype=idl : */
FileType filetypes
When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
names, it should therefore not be used for a filetype. Example:
/* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */
This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
one dot may appear.
This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
Only alphanumeric characters, '-' and '_' can be used.
'fillchars' 'fcs'
'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-,eob:~")
global or local to window global-local
Characters to fill the statuslines, vertical separators and special
lines in the window.
It is a comma-separated list of items. Each item has a name, a colon
and the value of that item: E1511
item name default Used for
stl ' ' statusline of the current window
stlnc ' ' statusline of the non-current windows
vert '|' vertical separators :vsplit
fold '-' filling 'foldtext'
foldopen '-' mark the beginning of a fold
foldclose '+' show a closed fold
foldsep '|' open fold middle character
diff '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
eob '~' empty lines below the end of a buffer
lastline '@' 'display' contains lastline/truncate
Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default.
Example:
:set fillchars=stl:\ ,stlnc:\ ,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
For the "stl", "stlnc", "foldopen", "foldclose" and "foldsep" items
single-byte and multibyte characters are supported. But double-width
characters are not supported. E1512
The highlighting used for these items:
item name highlight group
stl StatusLine hl-StatusLine
stlnc StatusLineNC hl-StatusLineNC
vert VertSplit hl-VertSplit
fold Folded hl-Folded
diff DiffDelete hl-DiffDelete
eob EndOfBuffer hl-EndOfBuffer
lastline NonText hl-NonText
'findexpr' 'fexpr' E1514
'findexpr' 'fexpr' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
Expression that is evaluated to obtain the filename(s) for the :find
command. When this option is empty, the internal file-searching
mechanism is used.
While evaluating the expression, the v:fname variable is set to the
argument of the :find command.
The expression is evaluated only once per :find command invocation.
The expression can process all the directories specified in 'path'.
The expression may be evaluated for command-line completion as well,
in which case the v:cmdcomplete variable will be set to v:true,
otherwise it will be set to v:false.
If a match is found, the expression should return a List containing
one or more file names. If a match is not found, the expression
should return an empty List.
If any errors are encountered during the expression evaluation, an
empty List is used as the return value.
Using a function call without arguments is faster expr-option-function
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'findexpr' textlock.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
Examples:
" Use glob()
func FindExprGlob()
let pat = v:cmdcomplete ? $'{v:fname}*' : v:fname
return glob(pat, v:false, v:true)
endfunc
set findexpr=FindExprGlob()
" Use the 'git ls-files' output
func FindGitFiles()
let fnames = systemlist('git ls-files')
return fnames->filter('v:val =~? v:fname')
endfunc
set findexpr=FindGitFiles()
'fixendofline' 'fixeol' 'nofixendofline' 'nofixeol'
'fixendofline' 'fixeol' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
When writing a file and this option is on, <EOL> at the end of file
will be restored if missing. Turn this option off if you want to
preserve the situation from the original file.
When the 'binary' option is set the value of this option doesn't
matter.
See the 'endofline' option.
See eol-and-eof for example settings.
'fkmap' 'fk' 'nofkmap' 'nofk'
'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
This option was for using Farsi, which has been removed. See
farsi.txt.
'foldclose' 'fcl'
'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
automatically close when moving out of them.
'foldcolumn' 'fdc'
'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
value is 12.
See folding.
'foldenable' 'fen' 'nofoldenable' 'nofen'
'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
with the zi command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
'foldenable' is off.
This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
See folding.
'foldexpr' 'fde'
'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
or +eval features}
The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
for each line to obtain its fold level. The context is set to the
script where 'foldexpr' was set, script-local items can be accessed.
See fold-expr for the usage.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox if set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option can't be set from a modeline when the 'diff' option is
on or the 'modelineexpr' option is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'foldexpr' textlock.
'foldignore' 'fdi'
'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
The default "#" works well for C programs. See fold-indent.
'foldlevel' 'fdl'
'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
close fewer folds.
This option is set by commands like zm, zM and zR.
See fold-foldlevel.
'foldlevelstart' 'fdls'
'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
global
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for diff-mode also
ignores this option and closes all folds.
It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
When the value is negative, it is not used.
'foldmarker' 'fmr' E536
'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
See fold-marker.
'foldmethod' 'fdm'
'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
fold-manual manual Folds are created manually.
fold-indent indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
fold-expr expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
fold-marker marker Markers are used to specify folds.
fold-syntax syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
fold-diff diff Fold text that is not changed.
'foldminlines' 'fml'
'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Sets the number of screen lines above which a fold can be displayed
closed. Also for manually closed folds. With the default value of
one a fold can only be closed if it takes up two or more screen lines.
Set to zero to be able to close folds of just one screen line.
Note that this only has an effect on what is displayed. After using
"zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
'foldnestmax' 'fdn'
'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
'foldopen' 'fdo'
'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
search,tag,undo")
global
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma-separated
list of items.
NOTE: When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used.
Add the zv command to the mapping to get the same effect.
(rationale: the mapping may want to control opening folds itself)
item commands
all any
block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
insert any command in Insert mode
jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
percent "%"
quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
(not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
Also for [s and ]s.
tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
whole closed fold.
Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
when text is inserted.
To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the zx command or
set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
'foldtext' 'fdt'
'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +folding
feature}
An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
fold. The context is set to the script where 'foldexpr' was set,
script-local items can be accessed. See fold-foldtext for the
usage.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox if set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'foldtext' textlock.
'formatexpr' 'fex'
'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the gq
operator or automatic formatting (see 'formatoptions'). When this
option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
The v:lnum variable holds the first line to be formatted.
The v:count variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
The v:char variable holds the character that is going to be
inserted if the expression is being evaluated due to
automatic formatting. This can be empty. Don't insert
it yet!
Example:
:set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. autoload
The advantage of using a function call without arguments is that it is
faster, see expr-option-function.
The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
same spot relative to the text then! The mode() function will
return "i" or "R" in this situation.
When the expression evaluates to non-zero Vim will fall back to using
the internal format mechanism.
If the expression starts with s: or <SID>, then it is replaced with
the script ID (local-function). Example:
set formatexpr=s:MyFormatExpr()
set formatexpr=<SID>SomeFormatExpr()
Otherwise, the expression is evaluated in the context of the script
where the option was set, thus script-local items are available.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option. That stops the option from working,
since changing the buffer text is not allowed.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
'formatlistpat' 'flp'
'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
local to buffer
A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
the line below it. You can use /\ze to mark the end of the match
while still checking more characters. There must be a character
following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
like there is no match.
The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
character and white space.
'formatoptions' 'fo'
'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
local to buffer
This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
formatting is to be done.
See fo-table for possible values and gq for how to format text.
When the 'paste' option is on, no formatting is done (like
'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can be inserted for readability.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" add-option-flags.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'formatprg' 'fp'
'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
selected with the gq operator. The program must take the input on
stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
such a program.
If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
format function will be used C-indenting.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env. See option-backslash
about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'fsync' 'fs' 'nofsync' 'nofs'
'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
global
When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
off.
Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
'fsync' also applies to writefile() (unless a flag is used to
overrule it) and when writing undo files (see undo-persistence).
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'fullscreen' 'fu' 'nofullscreen' 'nofu'
'fullscreen' 'fu' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in MacVim GUI}
When this option is set, the whole screen is covered by Vim. Screen
decorations drawn by the operating system (such as the dock or the
menu bar) are hidden. Most of Vim's window chrome is hidden as well
(e.g. toolbar, title bar). The tab bar and scroll bars remain visible.
Updates to the window position are ignored in fullscreen mode.
By default, this will use macOS's native full screen feature, which
will put the MacVim window into another Space under Mission Control.
MacVim also provides a custom full screen solution which you can
select by setting MMNativeFullScreen to NO, or toggle it under
Preferences → Appearance. Under custom full-screen, the window will
not be put in another space, which makes it easier to Cmd-Tab to other
windows.
Custom / non-native full screen configuration:
See 'fuoptions' for how Vim resizes and colors the background when
entering and leaving fullscreen mode.
There is an optional fade-to-black effect while transitioning that
could be turned on by using the hidden preference
MMFullScreenFadeTime (specified in seconds). It defaults to 0,
meaning this effect is turned off. Setting it to a positive value
(e.g. 0.25) will create an effect that fades to black during the full
screen transition to make it less jarring.
Note: While in 'fullscreen', you cannot set 'lines' or 'columns', as
they are determined by the size of the window. 'fuoptions' allows you
to override part of that behavior if using custom full screen.
'fuoptions' 'fuopt'
'fuoptions' 'fuopt' string (default "maxvert,maxhorz")
global
{not in Vi}
{only in MacVim GUI}
{not supported in native full screen mode}
In non-native fullscreen mode, MacVim can be configured to either show
all the content filling up the whole screen, or only use part of the
screen to show the content, centered. This option controls the size
of the Vim control as well as the color of the unused screen area. It
is a comma-separated list of values as follows:
value effect
maxvert When entering fullscreen, 'lines' is set to the maximum number
of lines fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. If unset,
'lines' will be unchanged when entering fullscreen mode.
maxhorz When entering fullscreen, 'columns' is set to the maximum number
of columns fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. If unset,
'columns' will be unchanged when entering fullscreen mode.
background:color
When entering fullscreen, 'color' defines the color of the part
of the screen that is not occupied by the Vim control. If
'color' is an 8-digit hexadecimal number preceded by '#',
it is interpreted as an explicit color value '#aarrggbb', with
one byte each for the alpha, red, green, and blue values.
Otherwise, 'color' is interpreted as a highlight group name,
and the fullscreen background is filled with that highlight
group's background color, as defined by the current color
scheme.
Examples:
Don't change size when entering fullscreen:
:set fuoptions=
Only maximize vertically when entering fullscreen:
:set fuoptions=maxvert
Maximize only vertically when entering fullscreen, and color the
background dark blue:
:set fuoptions=maxvert,background:#FF003042
Don't change size when entering fullscreen, and color the background
like the current text background:
:set fuoptions=background:Normal
'gdefault' 'gd' 'nogdefault' 'nogd'
'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
global
When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
of all or one match. See complex-change.
command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off
:s/// subst. all subst. one
:s///g subst. one subst. all
:s///gg subst. all subst. one
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
Setting this option may break plugins that rely on the default
behavior of the 'g' flag. This will also make the 'g' flag have the
opposite effect of that documented in :s_g.
This option is not used in Vim9 script.
'grepformat' 'gfm'
'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l:%m,%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
global
Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
'errorformat' option: see errorformat.
'grepprg' 'gp'
'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
global or local to buffer global-local
Program to use for the :grep command. This option may contain '%'
and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
will be included. Environment variables are expanded :set_env. See
option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
also work well with a single file:
:set grepprg=grep\ -nH
Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the :grep command
works like :vimgrep, :lgrep like :lvimgrep, :grepadd like
:vimgrepadd and :lgrepadd like :lvimgrepadd.
See also the section :make_makeprg, since most of the comments there
apply equally to 'grepprg'.
For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
otherwise it's "grep -n".
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'guicursor' 'gcr' E545 E546 E548 E549
'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
ve:ver35-Cursor,
o:hor50-Cursor,
i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
sm:block-Cursor
-blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
for Win32 console:
"n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
for Win32 console}
This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
modes. It fully works in the GUI. In a Win32 console, only the
height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by specifying a
block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or horizontal cursor.
For a console the 't_SI', 't_SR', and 't_EI' escape sequences are
used.
The option is a comma-separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
mode-list and an argument-list:
mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
if not specified)
o Operator-pending mode
i Insert mode
r Replace mode
c Command-line Normal (append) mode
ci Command-line Insert mode
cr Command-line Replace mode
sm showmatch in Insert mode
a all modes
The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
block block cursor, fills the whole character
[only one of the above three should be present]
blinkwait{N} cursor-blinking
blinkon{N}
blinkoff{N}
blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
executing a command.
To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
xterm-blink.
{group-name}
a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
for the cursor
{group-name}/{group-name}
Two highlight group names, the first is used when
no language mappings are used, the other when they
are. language-mapping
Examples of parts:
n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
highlight group
i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
"iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
faster.
The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
blinking: "a:blinkon0"
Examples of cursor highlighting:
:highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
:highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
'guifont' 'gfn'
E235 E596
'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
In its simplest form the value is just one font name.
See gui-font for the details.
'guifontset' 'gfs'
E250 E252 E234 E597 E598
'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
with the +xfontset feature}
{not available in the GTK+ GUI}
When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
xfontset.
'guifontwide' 'gfw' E231 E533 E534
'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
used. See gui-fontwide.
'guiheadroom' 'ghr'
'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
global
{only for GTK and X11 GUI}
The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
e.g., in your gvimrc file. When zero, the whole screen height will
be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
screen.
'guiligatures' 'gli' E1243
'guiligatures' 'gli' string (default "")
global
{only for GTK and Win32 GUI}
List of ASCII characters that, when combined together, can create more
complex shapes. Each character must be a printable ASCII character
with a value in the 32-127 range.
Example:
:set guiligatures=!\"#$%&()*+-./:<=>?@[]^_{\|~
Changing this option updates screen output immediately. Set it to an
empty string to disable ligatures.
'guioptions' 'go'
'guioptions' 'go' string (default "egmrLtT" (MS-Windows,
"t" is removed in defaults.vim),
"aegimrLtT" (GTK and Motif),
)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
GUI should be used.
To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
"+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" add-option-flags.
Valid characters are as follows:
'go-!'
'!' External commands are executed in a terminal window. Without
this flag the MS-Windows GUI will open a console window to
execute the command. The Unix GUI will simulate a dumb
terminal to list the command output.
The terminal window will be positioned at the bottom, and grow
upwards as needed.
'go-a'
'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
The same applies to the modeless selection.
'go-P'
'P' Like autoselect but using the "+ register instead of the "*
register.
'go-A'
'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
applies to the modeless selection.
'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless
"" - -
"a" yes yes
"A" - yes
"aA" yes yes
When using a terminal see the 'clipboard' option.
'go-c'
'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
choices.
'go-d'
'd' Use dark theme variant if available. Currently only works for
GTK+ GUI.
'go-e'
'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X, Haiku, and MS-Windows.
'go-f'
'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
foreground. gui-fork
Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
happened already when the gvimrc file is read.
MacVim does not support this flag due to limitations with
forking on Mac OS X.
'go-i'
'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
limitations of X11. For a color icon, see X11-icon.
'go-m'
'm' Menu bar is present.
'go-M'
'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the gvimrc
file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
`:syntax on` and `:filetype on` commands load the menu too).
'go-g'
'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
'go-t'
't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
GTK+ and Motif 1.2 GUI.
'go-T'
'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif,
Photon and MacVim GUIs.
'go-r'
'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
'go-R'
'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'go-l'
'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
'go-L'
'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
split window.
'go-b'
'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
flag is included. gui-horiz-scroll
'go-h'
'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
line. Reduces computations. gui-horiz-scroll
And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
you really want to :-). See gui-scrollbars for more information.
'go-v'
'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
vertical layout is used anyway. Not supported in GTK 3.
'go-p'
'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
before starting the GUI. Set it in your gvimrc. Adding or
removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
'go-F'
'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See gui-footer.
'go-k'
'k' Keep the GUI window size when adding/removing a scrollbar, or
toolbar, tabline, etc. Instead, the behavior is similar to
when the window is maximized and will adjust 'lines' and
'columns' to fit to the window. Without the 'k' flag Vim will
try to keep 'lines' and 'columns' the same when adding and
removing GUI components.
'guipty' 'noguipty'
'guipty' boolean (default on)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
I/O to/from shell commands. See gui-pty.
'guitablabel' 'gtl'
'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
When non-empty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
default label. See setting-guitablabel for more info.
The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
used.
'guitabtooltip' 'gtt'
'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
When non-empty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
You can include a line break. Simplest method is to use :let:
:let &guitabtooltip = "line one\nline two"
'helpfile' 'hf'
'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MS-Windows) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
(others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
global
Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
in 'runtimepath' will be used.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env. For example:
"$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
tried. Also see $VIMRUNTIME and option-backslash about including
spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'helpheight' 'hh'
'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
global
Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
'helplang' 'hlg'
'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
global
{only available when compiled with the +multi_lang
feature}
Comma-separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
language and not in the English help.
Example:
:set helplang=de,it
This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
files.
When using CTRL-] and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
See help-translated.
'hidden' 'hid' 'nohidden' 'nohid'
'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
global
When off a buffer is unloaded when it is abandoned. When on a
buffer becomes hidden when it is abandoned. If the buffer is still
displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
hidden even if the 'hidden' option is off when these three are true:
- the buffer is modified
- 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible
- the '!' flag was used
Also see windows.txt.
To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" :hide.
WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
'highlight' 'hl'
'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
"8:SpecialKey,~:EndOfBuffer,@:NonText,
d:Directory,e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,
l:Search,m:MoreMsg,M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,
a:LineNrAbove,b:LineNrBelow,
N:CursorLineNr,r:Question,s:StatusLine,
S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,t:Title,
v:Visual,V:VisualNOS,w:WarningMsg,
W:WildMenu,f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,
A:DiffAdd,C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,
T:DiffText,>:SignColumn,-:Conceal,
B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,R:SpellRare,
L:SpellLocal,+:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
k:PmenuMatch,<:PmenuMatchSel,
[:PmenuKind,]:PmenuKindSel,
{:PmenuExtra,}:PmenuExtraSel,
x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb,*:TabLine,
#:TabLineSel,_:TabLineFill,!:CursorColumn,
.:CursorLine,o:ColorColumn,q:QuickFixLine,
z:StatusLineTerm,Z:StatusLineTermNC,
g:MsgArea")
global
This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
occasions. It is a comma-separated list of character pairs. The
first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
use for that occasion. The occasions are:
hl-SpecialKey 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
hl-EndOfBuffer ~ lines after the last line in the buffer
hl-NonText @ '@' at the end of the window and
characters from 'showbreak'
hl-Directory d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
things in listings
hl-ErrorMsg e error messages
h (obsolete, ignored)
hl-IncSearch i 'incsearch' highlighting
hl-CurSearch y current instance of last search pattern
hl-Search l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
hl-MoreMsg m more-prompt
hl-ModeMsg M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
hl-MsgArea g Command-line and message area
hl-LineNr n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands, and
when 'number' or 'relativenumber' option is set.
hl-LineNrAbove a line number above the cursor for when the
'relativenumber' option is set.
hl-LineNrBelow b line number below the cursor for when the
'relativenumber' option is set.
hl-CursorLineNr N like n for when 'cursorline' or 'relativenumber' is
set.
hl-Question r hit-enter prompt and yes/no questions
hl-StatusLine s status line of current window status-line
hl-StatusLineNC S status lines of not-current windows
hl-Title t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
hl-VertSplit c column used to separate vertically split windows
hl-Visual v Visual mode
hl-VisualNOS V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
Selection" Only X11 Gui's gui-x11 and
xterm-clipboard.
hl-WarningMsg w warning messages
hl-WildMenu W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
hl-Folded f line used for closed folds
hl-FoldColumn F 'foldcolumn'
hl-DiffAdd A added line in diff mode
hl-DiffChange C changed line in diff mode
hl-DiffDelete D deleted line in diff mode
hl-DiffText T inserted text in diff mode
hl-SignColumn > column used for signs
hl-Conceal - the placeholders used for concealed characters
(see 'conceallevel')
hl-SpellBad B misspelled word spell
hl-SpellCap P word that should start with capital spell
hl-SpellRare R rare word spell
hl-SpellLocal L word from other region spell
hl-Pmenu + popup menu normal line
hl-PmenuSel = popup menu selected line
hl-PmenuKind [ popup menu "kind" normal line
hl-PmenuKindSel ] popup menu "kind" selected line
hl-PmenuExtra { popup menu "extra" normal line
hl-PmenuExtraSel } popup menu "extra" selected line
hl-PmenuSbar x popup menu scrollbar
hl-PmenuThumb X popup menu scrollbar thumb
hl-PmenuMatch k popup menu matched text
hl-PmenuMatchSel < popup menu matched text in selected line
The display modes are:
r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
c undercurl (termcap entry "Us" and "Ce")
2 double underline (termcap entry "Ds" and "Ce")
d dotted underline (termcap entry "ds" and "Ce")
= dashed underline (termcap entry "Ds" and "Ce")
t strikethrough (termcap entry "Ts" and "Te")
n no highlighting
- no highlighting
: use a highlight group
The default is used for occasions that are not included.
If you want to change what the display modes do, see dos-colors
for an example.
When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
of highlighting, including using color. See :highlight on how to
define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
See highlight-default for the default highlight groups.
'history' 'hi'
'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 50, Vi default: 0,
set to 200 in defaults.vim)
global
A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
is remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
each of these histories (see cmdline-editing).
The maximum value is 10000.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'hkmap' 'hk' 'nohkmap' 'nohk'
'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
toggle this option. See rileft.txt.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'hkmapp' 'hkp' 'nohkmapp' 'nohkp'
'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
See rileft.txt.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'hlsearch' 'hls' 'nohlsearch' 'nohls'
'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the
+extra_search feature}
When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
are not applied. If the "CurSearch" highlight group is set then the
current match is highlighted with that.
See also: 'incsearch' and :match.
When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
off with :nohlsearch. This does not change the option value, as
soon as you use a search command, the highlighting comes back.
'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
You can specify whether the highlight status is restored on startup
with the 'h' flag in 'viminfo' viminfo-h.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'icon' 'noicon'
'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
global
When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
builtin termcap).
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
restored if possible X11. See X11-icon for changing the icon on
X11.
For MS-Windows the icon can be changed, see windows-icon.
'iconstring'
'iconstring' string (default "")
global
When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
(currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
Does not work for MS-Windows.
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
restored if possible X11.
When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
'titlestring' for example settings.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
{not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
'ignorecase' 'ic' 'noignorecase' 'noic'
'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
global
Ignore case in search patterns, cmdline-completion, when
searching in the tags file, and non-Vim9 expr-==.
Also see 'smartcase' and 'tagcase'.
Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
/ignorecase.
'imactivatefunc' 'imaf'
'imactivatefunc' 'imaf' string (default "")
global
This option specifies a function that will be called to
activate or deactivate the Input Method. The value can be the name of
a function, a lambda or a Funcref. See option-value-function for
more information.
It is not used in the MS-Windows GUI version.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
Example:
function ImActivateFunc(active)
if a:active
... do something
else
... do something
endif
" return value is not used
endfunction
set imactivatefunc=ImActivateFunc
'imactivatekey' 'imak'
'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with +xim and
+GUI_GTK} E599
Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
tells Vim what the key is.
Format:
[MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
S Shift key
L Lock key
C Control key
1 Mod1 key
2 Mod2 key
3 Mod3 key
4 Mod4 key
5 Mod5 key
Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
both shift+ctrl+space.
See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
Example:
:set imactivatekey=S-space
"S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
'imcmdline' 'imc' 'noimcmdline' 'noimc'
'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
global
When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
characters with dead keys.
'imdisable' 'imd' 'noimdisable' 'noimd'
'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
global
When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
the IM when it doesn't work properly.
Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX. This may change
in later releases.
'iminsert' 'imi'
'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0)
local to buffer
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
Insert mode. Valid values:
0 :lmap is off and IM is off
1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
this can be used:
:inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
mode.
Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
i_CTRL-^.
The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
The value 0 may not work correctly with Motif with some XIM
methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
You can set 'imactivatefunc' and 'imstatusfunc' to handle IME/XIM
via external command if Vim is not compiled with the +xim,
+multi_byte_ime or global-ime.
'imsearch' 'ims'
'imsearch' 'ims' number (default -1)
local to buffer
Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
entering a search pattern. Valid values:
-1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
0 :lmap is off and IM is off
1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
c_CTRL-^.
The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
option to a valid keymap name.
The value 0 may not work correctly with Motif with some XIM
methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
'imstatusfunc' 'imsf'
'imstatusfunc' 'imsf' string (default "")
global
This option specifies a function that is called to obtain the status
of Input Method. It must return a positive number when IME is active.
The value can be the name of a function, a lambda or a Funcref.
See option-value-function for more information.
It is not used in the MS-Windows GUI version.
Example:
function ImStatusFunc()
let is_active = ...do something
return is_active ? 1 : 0
endfunction
set imstatusfunc=ImStatusFunc
NOTE: This function is invoked very often. Keep it fast.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
'imstyle' 'imst'
'imstyle' 'imst' number (default 1)
global
{only available when compiled with +xim and
+GUI_GTK}
This option specifies the input style of Input Method:
0 use on-the-spot style
1 over-the-spot style
See: xim-input-style
For a long time on-the-spot style had been used in the GTK version of
vim, however, it is known that it causes troubles when using mappings,
single-repeat, etc. Therefore over-the-spot style becomes the
default now. This should work fine for most people, however if you
have any problem with it, try using on-the-spot style.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
'include' 'inc'
'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
global or local to buffer global-local
{not available when compiled without the
+find_in_path feature}
Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
pattern, just like for the "/" command (See pattern). The default
value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
"]I", "[d", etc.
Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
'includeexpr' 'inex'
'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the
+find_in_path or +eval features}
Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java:
:setlocal includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
Note the double backslash: the :set command first halves them, then
one remains it the value, where "\." matches a dot literally. For
simple character replacements tr() avoids the need for escaping:
:setlocal includeexpr=tr(v:fname,'.','/')
Also used for the gf command if an unmodified file name can't be
found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
Also used for <cfile>.
If the expression starts with s: or <SID>, then it is replaced with
the script ID (local-function). Example:
setlocal includeexpr=s:MyIncludeExpr()
setlocal includeexpr=<SID>SomeIncludeExpr()
Otherwise, the expression is evaluated in the context of the script
where the option was set, thus script-local items are available.
It is more efficient if the value is just a function call without
arguments, see expr-option-function.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'includeexpr' textlock.
'incsearch' 'is' 'noincsearch' 'nois'
'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off, set in defaults.vim if the
+reltime feature is supported)
global
{not available when compiled without the
+extra_search features}
While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
Also applies to the pattern in commands:
:global
:lvimgrep
:lvimgrepadd
:smagic
:snomagic
:sort
:substitute
:vglobal
:vimgrep
:vimgrepadd
Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
cursor to the match.
You can use the CTRL-G and CTRL-T keys to move to the next and
previous match. c_CTRL-G c_CTRL-T
When compiled with the +reltime feature Vim only searches for about
half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
are typing the pattern.
The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
When 'hlsearch' is on, all matched strings are highlighted too while
typing a search command. See also: 'hlsearch'.
If you don't want to turn 'hlsearch' on, but want to highlight all
matches while searching, you can turn on and off 'hlsearch' with
autocmd. Example:
augroup vimrc-incsearch-highlight
autocmd!
autocmd CmdlineEnter /,\? :set hlsearch
autocmd CmdlineLeave /,\? :set nohlsearch
augroup END
CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
to the command line. If 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' are set and the
command line has no uppercase characters, the added character is
converted to lowercase.
CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'indentexpr' 'inde'
'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
It is used when a new line is created, for the = operator and
in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
'smartindent' indenting. When 'lisp' is set, this option is
only used when 'lispoptions' contains "expr:1".
When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
The expression is evaluated with v:lnum set to the line number for
which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
If the expression starts with s: or <SID>, then it is replaced with
the script ID (local-function). Example:
set indentexpr=s:MyIndentExpr()
set indentexpr=<SID>SomeIndentExpr()
Otherwise, the expression is evaluated in the context of the script
where the option was set, thus script-local items are available.
The advantage of using a function call without arguments is that it is
faster, see expr-option-function.
The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
used for the indent).
Functions useful for computing the indent are indent(), cindent()
and lispindent().
The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
Normally this option would be set to call a function:
:set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
"msg".
See indent-expression.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
The expression will be evaluated in the sandbox when set from a
modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'indentexpr' textlock.
'indentkeys' 'indk'
'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},0),0],:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
local to buffer
A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see indentkeys-format.
See C-indenting and indent-expression.
'infercase' 'inf' 'noinfercase' 'noinf'
'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
When doing keyword completion in insert mode ins-completion, and
'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
'insertmode' 'im' 'noinsertmode' 'noim'
'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
global
Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for evim.
These Insert mode commands will be useful:
- Use the cursor keys to move around.
- Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command i_CTRL-O. When
this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
- Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
<Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. i_CTRL-L
These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
- when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
- <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
- <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
- CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
- CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see CTRL-Z. i_CTRL-Z
However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
When executing commands with :normal 'insertmode' is not used.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'isfname' 'isf'
'isfname' 'isf' string (default for Win32:
"@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
global
The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a pattern.
Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
'&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
cmd.exe.
The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
not work for digits). Example:
"_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
option or the end of a range. Example:
"^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
"@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
case ASCII letters.
"a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
expected. Example:
"48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
" -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
comma, plus <Tab>.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
'isident' 'isi'
'isident' 'isi' string (default for Win32:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
global
The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
pattern. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
option. For '@' only characters up to 255 are used.
Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
'iskeyword' 'isk'
'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for Win32:
"@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
local to buffer
Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
"w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a pattern. See
'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For '@'
characters above 255 check the "word" character class (any character
that is not white space or punctuation).
For C programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
'*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
command).
When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
This option also influences syntax highlighting, unless the syntax
uses :syn-iskeyword.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'isprint' 'isp'
'isprint' 'isp' string (default for Win32 and VMS:
"@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
global
The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
screen. It is also used for "\p" in a pattern. The characters from
space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
32 - 126 always single characters
127 "^?"
128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
255 "~?"
When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
displayed as <xx>.
The SpecialKey highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
hl-SpecialKey
Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
replacement character will be shown.
Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
There is no option to specify these characters.
'joinspaces' 'js' 'nojoinspaces' 'nojs'
'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
global
Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
Otherwise only one space is inserted.
NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
'jumpoptions' 'jop'
'jumpoptions' 'jop' string (default "")
global
List of words that change the behavior of the jumplist.
stack Make the jumplist behave like the tagstack.
Relative location of entries in the jumplist is
preserved at the cost of discarding subsequent entries
when navigating backwards in the jumplist and then
jumping to a location. jumplist-stack
'key'
'key' string (default "")
local to buffer
{only available when compiled with the +cryptv
feature}
The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
See encryption and 'cryptmethod'.
Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
key. Use the :X command. But you can make 'key' empty:
:set key=
It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
"echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
be careful not to make a typing error!
You also cannot use :set-=, :set+=, :set^= on this option to
prevent an attacker from guessing substrings in your key.
You can use "&key" in an expression to detect whether encryption is
enabled. When 'key' is set it returns "*****" (five stars).
'keymap' 'kmp' E544
'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
local to buffer
{only available when compiled with the +keymap
feature}
Name of a keyboard mapping. See mbyte-keymap.
Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
Only alphanumeric characters, '.', '-' and '_' can be used.
'keymodel' 'km'
'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
global
List of comma-separated words, which enable special things that keys
can do. These values can be used:
startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
present in 'selectmode').
stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
<PageUp> and <PageDown>.
The 'keymodel' option is set by the :behave command.
'keyprotocol' 'kpc'
'keyprotocol' 'kpc' string (default: see below)
global
Specifies what keyboard protocol to use depending on the value of
'term'. The supported keyboard protocols names are:
none whatever the terminal uses
mok2 modifyOtherKeys level 2, as supported by xterm
kitty Kitty keyboard protocol, as supported by Kitty
The option value is a list of comma separated items. Each item has
a pattern that is matched against the 'term' option, a colon and the
protocol name to be used. To illustrate this, the default value would
be set with:
set keyprotocol=kitty:kitty,foot:kitty,wezterm:kitty,xterm:mok2
This means that when 'term' contains "kitty, "foot" or "wezterm"
somewhere then the "kitty" protocol is used. When 'term' contains
"xterm" somewhere, then the "mok2" protocol is used.
The first match is used, thus if you want to have "kitty" use the
kitty protocol, but "badkitty" not, then you should match "badkitty"
first and use the "none" value:
set keyprotocol=badkitty:none,kitty:kitty
The option is used after 'term' has been changed. First the termcap
entries are set, possibly using the builtin list, see builtin-terms.
Then this option is inspected and if there is a match and a protocol
is specified the following happens:
none Nothing, the regular t_TE and t_TI values remain
mok2 The t_TE value is changed to:
CSI >4;m disables modifyOtherKeys
The t_TI value is changed to:
CSI >4;2m enables modifyOtherKeys
CSI ?4m request the modifyOtherKeys state
kitty The t_TE value is changed to:
CSI >4;m disables modifyOtherKeys
CSI =0;1u disables the kitty keyboard protocol
The t_TI value is changed to:
CSI =1;1u enables the kitty keyboard protocol
CSI ?u request kitty keyboard protocol state
CSI >c request the termresponse
If you notice problems, such as characters being displayed that
disappear after CTRL-L, you might want to try making this option
empty. Then set the 'term' option to have it take effect:
set keyprotocol=
let &term = &term
'keywordprg' 'kp'
'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
VMS: "help")
global or local to buffer global-local
Program to use for the K command. Environment variables are
expanded :set_env. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
value did this, which is now deprecated.)
When the first character is ":", the command is invoked as a Vim
Ex command with [count] added as an argument if it is not zero.
When "man", "man -s" or an Ex command is used, Vim will automatically
translate a count for the "K" command and pass it as the first
argument. For "man -s" the "-s" is removed when there is no count.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
Example:
:set keywordprg=man\ -s
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'langmap' 'lmap' E357 E358
'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +langmap
feature}
This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
inserted directly. When in Normal mode the 'langmap' option takes
care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
be able to execute Normal mode commands.
This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
mapped in Insert mode.
Also consider setting 'langremap' to off, to prevent 'langmap' from
applying to characters resulting from a mapping.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): greek
:set langmap=ΑA,ΒB,ΨC,ΔD,ΕE,ΦF,ΓG,ΗH,ΙI,ΞJ,ΚK,ΛL,ΜM,ΝN,ΟO,ΠP,QQ,ΡR,ΣS,ΤT,ΘU,ΩV,WW,ΧX,ΥY,ΖZ,αa,βb,ψc,δd,εe,φf,γg,ηh,ιi,ξj,κk,λl,μm,νn,οo,πp,qq,ρr,σs,τt,θu,ωv,ςw,χx,υy,ζz
Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands):
:set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
part can be in one of two forms:
1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
2. A list of "from" characters, a semicolon and a list of "to"
characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
";", ',', '"', '|' and backslash itself.
This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
langmap mappings) in the following cases:
o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
'lm'
'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +menu and
+multi_lang features}
Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath':
"lang/menu_" .. &langmenu .. ".vim"
(without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
matter what $LANG is set to:
:set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
When 'langmenu' is empty, v:lang is used.
Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
the English menus:
:set langmenu=none
This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
this option has no effect. But you could do this:
:source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
:set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
:source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
'langnoremap' 'lnr' 'nolangnoremap' 'nolnr'
'langnoremap' 'lnr' boolean (default off, set in defaults.vim)
global
{only available when compiled with the +langmap
feature}
This is just like 'langremap' but with the value inverted. It only
exists for backwards compatibility. When setting 'langremap' then
'langnoremap' is set to the inverted value, and the other way around.
'langremap' 'lrm' 'nolangremap' 'nolrm'
'langremap' 'lrm' boolean (default on, set to off in defaults.vim)
global
{only available when compiled with the +langmap
feature}
When off, setting 'langmap' does not apply to characters resulting from
a mapping. This basically means, if you noticed that setting
'langmap' disables some of your mappings, try resetting this option.
This option defaults to on for backwards compatibility. Set it off if
that works for you to avoid mappings to break.
'laststatus' 'ls'
'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
global
The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
status line:
0: never
1: only if there are at least two windows
2: always
The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
windows, but it takes another screen line. status-line
'lazyredraw' 'lz' 'nolazyredraw' 'nolz'
'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
global
When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
update use :redraw.
This may occasionally cause display errors. It is only meant to be set
temporarily when performing an operation where redrawing may cause
flickering or cause a slowdown.
'linebreak' 'lbr' 'nolinebreak' 'nolbr'
'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +linebreak
feature}
If on, Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents.
If 'breakindent' is set, line is visually indented. Then, the value
of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines. This option
is not used when the 'wrap' option is off.
Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
with the right amount of white space.
'lines' E593
'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
global
Number of lines of the Vim window.
Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
terminal initialization code. Also see posix-screen-size.
When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your gvimrc file.
Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
use this command to get the tallest window possible:
:set lines=999
Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
If you get fewer lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
'linespace' 'lsp'
'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
global
{only in the GUI}
Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
When non-zero there is room for underlining.
With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
though!
'lisp' 'nolisp'
'lisp' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
"cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
better. Also see 'lispwords'.
The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
"=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
'lispoptions' 'lop'
'lispoptions' 'lop' string (default "")
local to buffer
Comma-separated list of items that influence the Lisp indenting when
enabled with the 'lisp' option. Currently only one item is
supported:
expr:1 use 'indentexpr' for Lisp indenting when it is set
expr:0 do not use 'indentexpr' for Lisp indenting (default)
Note that when using 'indentexpr' the = operator indents all the
lines, otherwise the first line is not indented (Vi-compatible).
'lispwords' 'lw'
'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
global or local to buffer global-local
Comma-separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting when
enabled with the 'lisp' option.
'list' 'nolist'
'list' boolean (default off)
local to window
List mode: By default show tabs as CTRL-I is displayed, display $
after end of line. Useful to see the difference between tabs and
spaces and for trailing blanks. Further changed by the 'listchars'
option.
The cursor is displayed at the start of the space a Tab character
occupies, not at the end as usual in Normal mode. To get this cursor
position while displaying Tabs with spaces, use:
:set list lcs=tab:\ \
Note that list mode will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth'
or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
changing the way tabs are displayed.
'listchars' 'lcs'
'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
global or local to window global-local
Strings to use in 'list' mode and for the :list command. It is a
comma-separated list of string settings. E1511
lcs-eol
eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
line.
lcs-tab
tab:xy[z] Two or three characters to be used to show a tab.
The third character is optional.
tab:xy The 'x' is always used, then 'y' as many times as will
fit. Thus "tab:>-" displays:
>
>-
>--
etc.
tab:xyz The 'z' is always used, then 'x' is prepended, and
then 'y' is used as many times as will fit. Thus
"tab:<->" displays:
>
<>
<->
<-->
etc.
When "tab:" is omitted, a tab is shown as ^I.
lcs-space
space:c Character to show for a space. When omitted, spaces
are left blank.
lcs-multispace
multispace:c...
One or more characters to use cyclically to show for
multiple consecutive spaces. Overrides the "space"
setting, except for single spaces. When omitted, the
"space" setting is used. For example,
`:set listchars=multispace:---+` shows ten consecutive
spaces as:
---+---+--
lcs-lead
lead:c Character to show for leading spaces. When omitted,
leading spaces are blank. Overrides the "space" and
"multispace" settings for leading spaces. You can
combine it with "tab:", for example:
:set listchars+=tab:>-,lead:.
lcs-leadmultispace
leadmultispace:c...
Like the lcs-multispace value, but for leading
spaces only. Also overrides lcs-lead for leading
multiple spaces.
`:set listchars=leadmultispace:---+` shows ten
consecutive leading spaces as:
---+---+--XXX
Where "XXX" denotes the first non-blank characters in
the line.
lcs-trail
trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
trailing spaces are blank. Overrides the "space" and
"multispace" settings for trailing spaces.
lcs-extends
extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
off and the line continues beyond the right of the
screen.
lcs-precedes
precedes:c Character to show in the first visible column of the
physical line, when there is text preceding the
character visible in the first column.
lcs-conceal
conceal:c Character to show in place of concealed text, when
'conceallevel' is set to 1.
lcs-nbsp
nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space character
(0xA0 (160 decimal) and U+202F). Left blank when
omitted.
The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
characters are allowed. All characters must be single width. E1512
Each character can be specified as hex:
set listchars=eol:\\x24
set listchars=eol:\\u21b5
set listchars=eol:\\U000021b5
Note that a double backslash is used. The number of hex characters
must be exactly 2 for \\x, 4 for \\u and 8 for \\U.
Examples:
:set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
:set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
:set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
"precedes". "SpecialKey" will be used for "tab", "nbsp", "space",
"multispace", "lead" and "trail".
hl-NonText hl-SpecialKey
'lpl' 'nolpl' 'loadplugins' 'noloadplugins'
'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
global
When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up load-plugins.
This option can be reset in your vimrc file to disable the loading
of plugins.
Note that using the "-u NONE", "-u DEFAULTS" and "--noplugin" command
line arguments reset this option. See -u and --noplugin.
'luadll'
'luadll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +lua/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Lua shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_LUA_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'macatsui' 'nomacatsui'
'macatsui' boolean (default on)
global
{not supported}
No longer supported, as the Mac OS X GUI code was removed.
'macligatures' 'nomacligatures'
'macligatures' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled on
Mac OS X}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
v10.5 or later. When on, Vim will display ligatures if the selected
'guifont' supports them. Examples for such fonts are Fira Code or
Haskelig.
Note: Currently this option only has an effect if
'Use Core Text renderer' is enabled in the GUI preferences pane.
'macthinstrokes' 'nomacthinstrokes'
'macthinstrokes' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
{only available when compiled with GUI enabled on
Mac OS X}
This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
v10.8 or later. When on, Vim will render the text a little lighter
which looks nice with a dark colorscheme.
Note: Currently this option only has an effect if
'Use Core Text renderer' is enabled in the GUI preferences pane.
'macmeta' 'mmta' 'nomacmeta' 'nommta'
'macmeta' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{only available in MacVim GUI}
Use option (alt) as meta key. When on, option-key presses are not
interpreted, thus enabling bindings to <M-..>. When off, option-key
presses are interpreted by the selected input method and inserted as
text.
Note: Some keys (e.g. <M-F1>, <M-Tab>, <M-Return>, <M-Left>) can be
bound with the Meta flag even when this option is disabled, but this
is not the case for the majority of keys (e.g. <M-a>, <M-`>).
'magic' 'nomagic'
'magic' boolean (default on)
global
Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
See pattern.
WARNING: Switching this option off most likely breaks plugins! That
is because many patterns assume it's on and will fail when it's off.
Only switch it off when working with old Vi scripts. In any other
situation write patterns that work when 'magic' is on. Include "\M"
when you want to /\M.
In Vim9 script the value of 'magic' is ignored, patterns behave like
it is always set.
'makeef' 'mef'
'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
Name of the errorfile for the :make command (see :make_makeprg)
and the :grep command.
When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
existing file.
NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'makeencoding' 'menc'
'makeencoding' 'menc' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
Encoding used for reading the output of external commands. When empty,
encoding is not converted.
This is used for :make, :lmake, :grep, :lgrep, :grepadd,
:lgrepadd, :cfile, :cgetfile, :caddfile, :lfile, :lgetfile,
and :laddfile.
This would be mostly useful when you use MS-Windows and set 'encoding'
to "utf-8". If +iconv is enabled and GNU libiconv is used, setting
'makeencoding' to "char" has the same effect as setting to the system
locale encoding. Example:
:set encoding=utf-8
:set makeencoding=char " system locale is used
'makeprg' 'mp'
'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
global or local to buffer global-local
Program to use for the ":make" command. See :make_makeprg.
This option may contain '%' and '#' characters (see :_% and :_#),
which are expanded to the current and alternate file name. Use ::S
to escape file names in case they contain special characters.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env. See option-backslash
about including spaces and backslashes.
Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
"myfilter" do it like this:
:set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
where the arguments will be included, for example:
:set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'matchpairs' 'mps'
'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
local to buffer
Characters that form pairs. The % command jumps from one to the
other.
Only character pairs are allowed that are different, thus you cannot
jump between two double quotes.
The characters must be separated by a colon.
The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
'>' (for HTML):
:set mps+=<:>
A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
assignment, useful for languages like C and Java:
:au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
the $VIMRUNTIME/pack/dist/opt/matchit directory. add-local-help
'matchtime' 'mat'
'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
global
Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
'maxcombine' 'mco'
'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
global
The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
Maximum value is 6.
Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
combining characters, you just can't see them. Use g8 or ga.
See mbyte-combining.
'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd'
'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
global
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
Increasing this limit above 200 also changes the maximum for Ex
command recursion, see E169.
See also :function.
Also used for maximum depth of callback functions.
'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' E223
'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
global
Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
key-mapping.
'maxmem' 'mm'
'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory
available)
global
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
other memory to be freed.
The maximum usable value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a
limit.
The value is ignored when 'swapfile' is off.
Also see 'maxmemtot'.
'maxmempattern' 'mmp'
'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
global
Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
The maximum value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
E363
When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
"\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
Might also happen on redraw, when syntax rules try to match a complex
text structure.
Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit, in
which case you get an "Out of memory" error instead.
'maxmemtot' 'mmt'
'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
dependent) or half the amount of memory
available)
global
Maximum amount of memory in Kbyte to use for all buffers together.
The maximum usable value is about 2000000 (2 Gbyte). Use this to work
without a limit.
On 64 bit machines higher values might work. But hey, do you really
need more than 2 Gbyte for text editing? Keep in mind that text is
stored in the swap file, one can edit files > 2 Gbyte anyway. We do
need the memory to store undo info.
Buffers with 'swapfile' off still count to the total amount of memory
used.
Also see 'maxmem'.
'mis'
'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
global
{not available when compiled without the +menu
feature}
Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
'mkspellmem' 'msm'
'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
global
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Parameters for :mkspell. This tunes when to start compressing the
word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
this tuning is complicated.
There are three numbers, separated by commas:
{start},{inc},{added}
For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
memory that is available to Vim.
When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
will be allocated.
After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
slower.
The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
you have 1 Gbyte you could use:
:set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
If you have less than 512 Mbyte :mkspell may fail for some
languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'modeline' 'ml' 'nomodeline' 'noml'
'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
Vi default: off)
local to buffer
If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
no lines are checked. See modeline.
'modelineexpr' 'mle' 'nomodelineexpr' 'nomle'
'modelineexpr' 'mle' boolean (default: off)
global
When on allow some options that are an expression to be set in the
modeline. Check the option for whether it is affected by
'modelineexpr'. Also see modeline.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'modelines' 'mls'
'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
global
If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
no lines are checked. See modeline.
NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'modifiable' 'ma' 'nomodifiable' 'noma'
E21
'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
Can be reset on startup with the -M command line argument.
'modified' 'mod' 'nomodified' 'nomod'
'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
local to buffer local-noglobal
When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
when:
1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
undo command to go back to the original text will reset the
option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
when it was written.
2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
reset.
Similarly for 'eol' and 'bomb'.
This option is not set when a change is made to the buffer as the
result of a BufNewFile, BufRead/BufReadPost, BufWritePost,
FileAppendPost or VimLeave autocommand event. See gzip-example for
an explanation.
When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
will be ignored.
Note that the text may actually be the same, e.g. 'modified' is set
when using "rA" on an "A".
'more' 'nomore'
'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
the more-prompt. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
listing continues until finished.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'mouse'
'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI and Win32,
set to "a" or "nvi" in defaults.vim)
global
Enable the use of the mouse. Works for most terminals (xterm, Win32
win32-mouse, QNX pterm, *BSD console with sysmouse and Linux console
with gpm). For using the mouse in the GUI, see gui-mouse. The
mouse can be enabled for different modes:
n Normal mode and Terminal modes
v Visual mode
i Insert mode
c Command-line mode
h all previous modes when editing a help file
a all previous modes
r for hit-enter and more-prompt prompt
Normally you would enable the mouse in all five modes with:
:set mouse=a
If your terminal can't overrule the mouse events going to the
application, use:
:set mouse=nvi
Then you can press ":", select text for the system, and press Esc to go
back to Vim using the mouse events.
In defaults.vim "nvi" is used if the 'term' option is not matching
"xterm".
When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
See mouse-using. Also see 'clipboard'.
Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
"* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
Also see the 'clipboard' option.
'mousefocus' 'mousef' 'nomousefocus' 'nomousef'
'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
global
{only works in the GUI}
The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
MS-Windows: Also see 'scrollfocus' for what window is scrolled when
using the mouse scroll wheel.
'mousehide' 'mh' 'nomousehide' 'nomh'
'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
global
{only works in the GUI}
When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
'mousemodel' 'mousem'
'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for Win32)
global
Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
the right mouse button is used for:
extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
like in an xterm.
popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
mouse button extends a selection. This works like
with Microsoft Windows.
popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
course, that right clicking outside a selection will
end Visual mode.
Overview of what button does what for each model:
mouse extend popup(_setpos)
left click place cursor place cursor
left drag start selection start selection
shift-left search word extend selection
right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
right drag extend selection -
middle click paste paste
In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
You need to define this first, see popup-menu.
Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
See gui-mouse-mapping. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
The 'mousemodel' option is set by the :behave command.
'mousemoveevent' 'mousemev' 'nomousemoveevent' 'nomousemev'
'mousemoveevent' 'mousemev' boolean (default off)
global
{only works in the GUI}
When on, mouse move events are delivered to the input queue and are
available for mapping. The default, off, avoids the mouse movement
overhead except when needed. See gui-mouse-mapping.
Warning: Setting this option can make pending mappings to be aborted
when the mouse is moved.
Currently only works in the GUI, may be made to work in a terminal
later.
'mouseshape' 'mouses' E547
'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i-r:beam,s:updown,sd:udsizing,
vs:leftright,vd:lrsizing,m:no,
ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
global
{only available when compiled with the +mouseshape
feature}
This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
different modes. The option is a comma-separated list of parts, much
like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
and an argument-list:
mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
In a normal window:
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
if not specified)
o Operator-pending mode
i Insert mode
r Replace mode
Others:
c appending to the command-line
ci inserting in the command-line
cr replacing in the command-line
m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
ml idem, but cursor in the last line
e any mode, pointer below last window
s any mode, pointer on a status line
sd any mode, while dragging a status line
vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
a everywhere
The shape is one of the following:
avail name looks like
w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
w x beam I-beam
w x updown up-down sizing arrows
w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
x crosshair like a big thin +
x hand1 black hand
x hand2 white hand
x pencil what you write with
x question big ?
x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
x for X11.
Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
pointer.
Example:
:set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
'mousetime' 'mouset'
'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
global
Only for GUI, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
recognized as a multi click.
'mzquantum' 'mzq'
'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
global
{not available when compiled without the +mzscheme
feature}
The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vim default value when 'compatible'
is reset.
'mzschemedll'
'mzschemedll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +mzscheme/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the MzScheme shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_MZSCH_DLL which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
The value must be set in the vimrc script or earlier. In the
startup, before the load-plugins step.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'mzschemegcdll'
'mzschemegcdll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +mzscheme/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the MzScheme GC shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_MZGC_DLL which was specified at compile time.
The value can be equal to 'mzschemedll' if it includes the GC code.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'nrformats' 'nf'
'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "bin,octal,hex",
set to "bin,hex" in defaults.vim)
local to buffer
This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
respectively; see CTRL-A for more info on these commands.
alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
letter index a), b), etc. octal-nrformats
octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
"0x100" results in "0x0ff".
bin If included, numbers starting with "0b" or "0B" will be
considered to be binary. Example: Using CTRL-X on
"0b1000" subtracts one, resulting in "0b0111".
unsigned If included, numbers are recognized as unsigned. Thus a
leading dash or negative sign won't be considered as part of
the number. Examples:
Using CTRL-X on "2020" in "9-2020" results in "9-2019"
(without "unsigned" it would become "9-2021").
Using CTRL-A on "2020" in "9-2020" results in "9-2021"
(without "unsigned" it would become "9-2019").
Using CTRL-X on "0" or CTRL-A on "18446744073709551615"
(2^64 - 1) has no effect, overflow is prevented.
blank If included, treat numbers as signed or unsigned based on
preceding whitespace. If a number with a leading dash has its
dash immediately preceded by a non-whitespace character (i.e.,
not a tab or a " "), the negative sign won't be considered as
part of the number. For example:
Using CTRL-A on "14" in "Carbon-14" results in "Carbon-15"
(without "blank" it would become "Carbon-13").
Using CTRL-X on "8" in "Carbon -8" results in "Carbon -9"
(because -8 is preceded by whitespace. If "unsigned" was
set, it would result in "Carbon -7").
If this format is included, overflow is prevented as if
"unsigned" were set. If both this format and "unsigned" are
included, "unsigned" will take precedence.
Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
recognized as octal or hex.
'number' 'nu' 'nonumber' 'nonu'
'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
local to window
Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
number.
When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
characters are put before the number.
For highlighting see hl-LineNr, and hl-CursorLineNr, and the
:sign-define "numhl" argument.
number_relativenumber
The 'relativenumber' option changes the displayed number to be
relative to the cursor. Together with 'number' there are these
four combinations (cursor in line 3):
'nonu' 'nu' 'nonu' 'nu'
'nornu' 'nornu' 'rnu' 'rnu'
|apple | 1 apple | 2 apple | 2 apple
|pear | 2 pear | 1 pear | 1 pear
|nobody | 3 nobody | 0 nobody |3 nobody
|there | 4 there | 1 there | 1 there
'numberwidth' 'nuw'
'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
local to window
{only available when compiled with the +linebreak
feature}
Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
when the 'number' or 'relativenumber' option is set or printing lines
with a line number. Since one space is always between the number and
the text, there is one less character for the number itself.
The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
fit the highest line number in the buffer respectively the number of
rows in the window, depending on whether 'number' or 'relativenumber'
is set. Thus with the Vim default of 4 there is room for a line number
up to 999. When the buffer has 1000 lines five columns will be used.
The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 20.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'omnifunc' 'ofu'
'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O
See complete-functions for an explanation of how the function is
invoked and what it should return. The value can be the name of a
function, a lambda or a Funcref. See option-value-function for
more information.
This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
:filetype-plugin-on
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'opendevice' 'odev' 'noopendevice' 'noodev'
'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
global
{only for MS-Windows} E796
Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
it is off by default.
Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
result in editing a device.
'operatorfunc' 'opfunc'
'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
global
This option specifies a function to be called by the g@ operator.
See :map-operator for more info and an example. The value can be
the name of a function, a lambda or a Funcref. See
option-value-function for more information.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'osfiletype' 'oft'
'osfiletype' 'oft' string (default: "")
local to buffer
This option was supported on RISC OS, which has been removed.
'packpath' 'pp'
'packpath' 'pp' string (default: see 'runtimepath')
Directories used to find packages. See packages.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'paragraphs' 'para'
'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp")
global
Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
of two letters (see object-motions).
'paste' 'nopaste'
'paste' boolean (default off)
global
Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
unexpected effects.
Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
mouse clicks itself.
This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
- mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
- abbreviations are disabled
- 'autoindent' is reset
- 'expandtab' is reset
- 'hkmap' is reset
- 'revins' is reset
- 'ruler' is reset
- 'showmatch' is reset
- 'smarttab' is reset
- 'softtabstop' is set to 0
- 'textwidth' is set to 0
- 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
- 'varsofttabstop' is made empty
These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
- 'cindent'
- 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
- 'indentexpr'
- 'lisp'
- 'smartindent'
NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
set the 'paste' option again.
When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
'pastetoggle' 'pt'
'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
global
When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
option. This is like specifying a mapping:
:map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
Command-line mode.
Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
this:
:map <F10> :set paste<CR>
:map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
:imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
:imap <F11> <nop>
:set pastetoggle=<F11>
This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
sequence.
When the value has several bytes 'ttimeoutlen' applies.
'pex' 'patchexpr'
'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +diff
feature}
Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
the resulting new version of the file. See diff-patchexpr.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'patchmode' 'pm' E205 E206
'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
global
When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
".orig" or ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work
(Detail: The backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the
new file has been successfully written, that's why it must be possible
to write a backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an
empty file is created.
When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
recognized as a compressed file.
Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
'path' 'pa' E343 E345 E347 E854
'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
other systems: ".,,")
global or local to buffer global-local
This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
gf, [f, ]f, ^Wf, :find, :sfind, :tabfind and other commands,
provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not
starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The directories in the 'path'
option may be relative or absolute.
- Use commas to separate directory names:
:set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
- Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space:
:set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
- To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
backslash:
:set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
- To search relative to the directory of the current file, use:
:set path=.
- To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
commas:
:set path=,,
- A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
- Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
- When using netrw.vim URLs can be used. For example, adding
"http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
- Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree using "*", "**" and
";". See file-searching for info and syntax.
- Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option:
:set path=.,c:\\include
Or just use '/' instead:
:set path=.,c:/include
Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
the file!
The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
'path', see :checkpath.
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default. To remove the current directory use:
:set path-=
To add the current directory use:
:set path+=
To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
names are separated with a semicolon:
:let &path = &path .. "," .. substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
'perldll'
'perldll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +perl/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Perl shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_PERL_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'preserveindent' 'pi' 'nopreserveindent' 'nopi'
'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless 'expandtab' is
enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
a Tab.
NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
Also see 'copyindent'.
Use :retab to clean up white space.
'previewheight' 'pvh'
'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
global
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
Default height for a preview window. Used for :ptag and associated
commands. Used for CTRL-W_} when no count is given. Not used when
'previewpopup' is set.
'pvp'
'previewpopup' 'pvp' string (default empty)
global
{not available when compiled without the +textprop
or +quickfix feature}
When not empty a popup window is used for commands that would open a
preview window. See preview-popup.
Not used for the insert completion info, add "popup" to
'completeopt' for that.
'previewwindow' 'nopreviewwindow'
'pvw' 'nopvw' E590
'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
local to window local-noglobal
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
:ptag, :pedit, etc.
'printdevice' 'pdev'
'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
feature}
The name of the printer to be used for :hardcopy.
See pdev-option.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'printencoding' 'penc'
'printencoding' 'penc' string (default empty, except for some systems)
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
and +postscript features}
Sets the character encoding used when printing.
See penc-option.
'printexpr' 'pexpr'
'printexpr' 'pexpr' string (default: see below)
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
and +postscript features}
Expression used to print the PostScript produced with :hardcopy.
See pexpr-option.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'printfont' 'pfn'
'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
feature}
The name of the font that will be used for :hardcopy.
See pfn-option.
'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
feature}
The format of the header produced in :hardcopy output.
See pheader-option.
'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs'
'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
and +postscript features}
The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from :hardcopy.
See pmbcs-option.
'printmbfont' 'pmbfn'
'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +printer
and +postscript features}
List of font names to be used for CJK output from :hardcopy.
See pmbfn-option.
'printoptions' 'popt'
'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
List of items that control the format of the output of :hardcopy.
See popt-option.
'prompt' 'noprompt'
'prompt' boolean (default on)
global
When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
'pumheight' 'ph'
'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
global
Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
ins-completion-menu.
'pumwidth' 'pw'
'pumwidth' 'pw' number (default 15)
global
Determines the minimum width to use for the popup menu for Insert mode
completion. ins-completion-menu.
'pythondll'
'pythondll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +python/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Python 2.x shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_PYTHON_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'pythonhome'
'pythonhome' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +python/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Python 2.x home directory. When 'pythonhome'
and the PYTHONHOME environment variable are not set, PYTHON_HOME,
which was specified at compile time, will be used for the Python 2.x
home directory.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'pythonthreedll'
'pythonthreedll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +python3/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Python 3 shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_PYTHON3_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'pythonthreehome'
'pythonthreehome' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +python3/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Python 3 home directory. When
'pythonthreehome' and the PYTHONHOME environment variable are not set,
PYTHON3_HOME, which was specified at compile time, will be used for
the Python 3 home directory.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'pyxversion' 'pyx'
'pyxversion' 'pyx' number (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +python or
the +python3 feature}
Specifies the python version used for pyx* functions and commands
python_x. The default value is as follows:
Compiled with Default
+python and +python3 0
only +python 2
only +python3 3
Available values are 0, 2 and 3.
If 'pyxversion' is 0, it is set to 2 or 3 after the first execution of
any python2/3 commands or functions. E.g. :py sets to 2, and :py3
sets to 3. :pyx sets it to 3 if Python 3 is available, otherwise sets
to 2 if Python 2 is available.
See also: has-pythonx
If Vim is compiled with only +python or +python3 setting
'pyxversion' has no effect. The pyx* functions and commands are
always the same as the compiled version.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'quickfixtextfunc' 'qftf'
'quickfixtextfunc' 'qftf' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the +quickfix
feature}
This option specifies a function to be used to get the text to display
in the quickfix and location list windows. This can be used to
customize the information displayed in the quickfix or location window
for each entry in the corresponding quickfix or location list. See
quickfix-window-function for an explanation of how to write the
function and an example. The value can be the name of a function, a
lambda or a Funcref. See option-value-function for more
information.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'quoteescape' 'qe'
'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
local to buffer
The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
objects like a', a" and a` a'.
When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
'readonly' 'ro' 'noreadonly' 'noro'
'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
local to buffer local-noglobal
If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is set for the
newly edited buffer.
See 'modifiable' for disallowing changes to the buffer.
'redrawtime' 'rdt'
'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
global
{only available when compiled with the +reltime
feature}
The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
searching for patterns for 'hlsearch', :match highlighting and syntax
highlighting.
When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
matches will be highlighted.
For syntax highlighting the time applies per window. When over the
limit syntax highlighting is disabled until CTRL-L is used.
This is used to avoid that Vim hangs when using a very complicated
pattern.
'regexpengine' 're'
'regexpengine' 're' number (default 0)
global
This selects the default regexp engine. two-engines
The possible values are:
0 automatic selection
1 old engine
2 NFA engine
Note that when using the NFA engine and the pattern contains something
that is not supported the pattern will not match. This is only useful
for debugging the regexp engine.
Using automatic selection enables Vim to switch the engine, if the
default engine becomes too costly. E.g., when the NFA engine uses too
many states. This should prevent Vim from hanging on a combination of
a complex pattern with long text.
'relativenumber' 'rnu' 'norelativenumber' 'nornu'
'relativenumber' 'rnu' boolean (default off)
local to window
Show the line number relative to the line with the cursor in front of
each line. Relative line numbers help you use the count you can
precede some vertical motion commands (e.g. j k + -) with, without
having to calculate it yourself. Especially useful in combination with
other commands (e.g. y d c < > gq gw =).
When the 'n' option is excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped
line will not use the column of line numbers (this is the default when
'compatible' isn't set).
The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
number.
When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
characters are put before the number.
See hl-LineNr and hl-CursorLineNr for the highlighting used for
the number.
The number in front of the cursor line also depends on the value of
'number', see number_relativenumber for all combinations of the two
options.
'remap' 'noremap'
'remap' boolean (default on)
global
Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
old Vi scripts.
'renderoptions' 'rop'
'renderoptions' 'rop' string (default: empty)
global
{only available when compiled with GUI and DIRECTX on
MS-Windows}
Select a text renderer and set its options. The options depend on the
renderer.
Syntax:
set rop=type:{renderer}(,{name}:{value})*
Currently, only one optional renderer is available.
render behavior
directx Vim will draw text using DirectX (DirectWrite). It makes
drawn glyphs more beautiful than default GDI.
It requires 'encoding' is "utf-8", and only works on
MS-Windows Vista or newer version.
Options:
name meaning type value
gamma gamma float 1.0 - 2.2 (maybe)
contrast enhancedContrast float (unknown)
level clearTypeLevel float (unknown)
geom pixelGeometry int 0 - 2 (see below)
renmode renderingMode int 0 - 6 (see below)
taamode textAntialiasMode int 0 - 3 (see below)
scrlines Scroll Lines int (deprecated)
See this URL for detail (except for scrlines):
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd368190.aspx
For geom: structure of a device pixel.
0 - DWRITE_PIXEL_GEOMETRY_FLAT
1 - DWRITE_PIXEL_GEOMETRY_RGB
2 - DWRITE_PIXEL_GEOMETRY_BGR
See this URL for detail:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd368114.aspx
For renmode: method of rendering glyphs.
0 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_DEFAULT
1 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_ALIASED
2 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_GDI_CLASSIC
3 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_GDI_NATURAL
4 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_NATURAL
5 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_NATURAL_SYMMETRIC
6 - DWRITE_RENDERING_MODE_OUTLINE
See this URL for detail:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd368118.aspx
For taamode: antialiasing mode used for drawing text.
0 - D2D1_TEXT_ANTIALIAS_MODE_DEFAULT
1 - D2D1_TEXT_ANTIALIAS_MODE_CLEARTYPE
2 - D2D1_TEXT_ANTIALIAS_MODE_GRAYSCALE
3 - D2D1_TEXT_ANTIALIAS_MODE_ALIASED
See this URL for detail:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd368170.aspx
For scrlines:
This was used for optimizing scrolling behavior, however this
is now deprecated. If specified, it is simply ignored.
Example:
set encoding=utf-8
set gfn=Ricty_Diminished:h12
set rop=type:directx
If select a raster font (Courier, Terminal or FixedSys which
have ".fon" extension in file name) to 'guifont', it will be
drawn by GDI as a fallback.
NOTE: It is known that some fonts and options combination
causes trouble on drawing glyphs.
- 'renmode:5' and 'renmode:6' will not work with some
special made fonts (True-Type fonts which includes only
bitmap glyphs).
- 'taamode:3' will not work with some vector fonts.
NOTE: With this option, you can display colored emoji
(emoticon) in Windows 8.1 or later. To display colored emoji,
there are some conditions which you should notice.
- If your font includes non-colored emoji already, it will
be used.
- If your font doesn't have emoji, the system chooses an
alternative symbol font. On Windows 10, "Segoe UI Emoji"
will be used.
- When this alternative font didn't have fixed width glyph,
emoji might be rendered beyond the bounding box of drawing
cell.
Other render types are currently not supported.
'report'
'report' number (default 2)
global
Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
instead of the number of lines.
'restorescreen' 'rs' 'norestorescreen' 'nors'
'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
global
{only in MS-Windows console version}
When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
happens when executing external commands.
For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
set t_ti= t_te=
To enable restoring (for an xterm):
set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
(Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
'revins' 'ri' 'norevins' 'nori'
'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
global
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
backwards" ins-reverse. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
This option is reset when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste' is
reset.
'rightleft' 'rl' 'norightleft' 'norl'
'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
local to window
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
in different windows). Also see rileft.txt.
'rightleftcmd' 'rlc'
'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
local to window
{only available when compiled with the +rightleft
feature}
Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
search "/" and "?" commands
This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
'rubydll'
'rubydll' string (default: depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +ruby/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Ruby shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_RUBY_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'ruler' 'ru' 'noruler' 'noru'
'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off, set in defaults.vim)
global
Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
text in the file is shown on the far right:
Top first line is visible
Bot last line is visible
All first and last line are visible
45% relative position in the file
If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'.
If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multibyte character), both
the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
separated with a dash.
For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
This option is reset when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste' is
reset.
If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
you are, use "g CTRL-G" g_CTRL-G.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'rulerformat' 'ruf'
'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
global
{not available when compiled without the +statusline
feature}
When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
Example:
:set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
'runtimepath' 'rtp' vimfiles
'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
Unix: "$HOME/.vim or
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vim,
$VIM/vimfiles,
$VIMRUNTIME,
$VIM/vimfiles/after,
$HOME/.vim/after"
Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
$VIM/vimfiles,
$VIMRUNTIME,
$VIM/vimfiles/after,
home:vimfiles/after"
MS-Windows: "$HOME/vimfiles,
$VIM/vimfiles,
$VIMRUNTIME,
$VIM/vimfiles/after,
$HOME/vimfiles/after"
Haiku: "$BE_USER_SETTINGS/vim,
$VIM/vimfiles,
$VIMRUNTIME,
$VIM/vimfiles/after,
$BE_USER_SETTINGS/vim/after"
VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
$VIM/vimfiles,
$VIMRUNTIME,
$VIM/vimfiles/after,
sys$login:vimfiles/after")
global
This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
files:
filetype.vim filetypes by file name new-filetype
scripts.vim filetypes by file contents new-filetype-scripts
autoload/ automatically loaded scripts autoload-functions
colors/ color scheme files :colorscheme
compiler/ compiler files :compiler
doc/ documentation write-local-help
ftplugin/ filetype plugins write-filetype-plugin
import/ files that are found by :import
indent/ indent scripts indent-expression
keymap/ key mapping files mbyte-keymap
lang/ message translations :menutrans and multi-lang
menu.vim GUI menus menu.vim
pack/ packages :packadd
plugin/ plugin scripts write-plugin
print/ files for printing postscript-print-encoding
spell/ spell checking files spell
syntax/ syntax files mysyntaxfile
tutor/ files for vimtutor tutor
And any other file searched for with the :runtime command.
For $XDG_CONFIG_HOME see xdg-base-dir.
The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
administrator.
3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
after-directory
4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
defaults (rarely needed)
5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
More entries are added when using packages. If it gets very long
then `:set rtp` will be truncated, use `:echo &rtp` to see the full
string.
Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
wildcards.
See :runtime.
Example:
:set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
files).
You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
runtime files.
When Vim is started with --clean the home directory entries are not
included.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'scroll' 'scr'
'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
local to window local-noglobal
Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
changes. This may happen when enabling the status-line or
'tabline' option after setting the 'scroll' option.
If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
height with ":set scroll=0".
'scrollbind' 'scb' 'noscrollbind' 'noscb'
'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
local to window
See also scroll-binding. When this option is set, scrolling the
current window also scrolls other scrollbind windows (windows that
also have this option set). This option is useful for viewing the
differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
See 'scrollopt' for options that determine how this option should be
interpreted.
This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
'scrollfocus' 'scf' 'noscrollfocus' 'noscf'
'scrollfocus' 'scf' boolean (default off)
global
{only for MS-Windows GUI}
When using the scroll wheel and this option is set, the window under
the mouse pointer is scrolled. With this option off the current
window is scrolled.
Systems other than MS-Windows always behave like this option is on.
'scrolljump' 'sj'
'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
global
Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
height.
NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
'scrolloff' 'so'
'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0, set to 5 in defaults.vim)
global or local to window global-local
Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
when long lines wrap).
After using the local value, go back the global value with one of
these two:
setlocal scrolloff<
setlocal scrolloff=-1
For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'scrollopt' 'sbo'
'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
global
This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
Options.
The following words are available:
ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
reach a position before the start or after the end of
the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
to the desired position when possible.
When now making that window the current one, two
things can be done with the relative offset:
1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
window. When going back to the other window, the
new relative offset will be used.
2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
going back to the other window, it still uses the
same relative offset.
Also see scroll-binding.
When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
even when "ver" isn't there.
'sections' 'sect'
'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
global
Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
two letters (See object-motions). The default makes a section start
at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
'secure' 'nosecure' E523
'secure' boolean (default off)
global
When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'selection' 'sel'
'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
global
This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
in Visual and Select mode.
Possible values:
value past line inclusive
old no yes
inclusive yes yes
exclusive yes no
"past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
character past the line.
"inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
selection.
When "old" is used and 'virtualedit' allows the cursor to move past
the end of line the line break still isn't included.
Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
The 'selection' option is set by the :behave command.
'selectmode' 'slm'
'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
global
This is a comma-separated list of words, which specifies when to start
Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
Possible values:
mouse when using the mouse
key when using shifted special keys
cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
See Select-mode.
The 'selectmode' option is set by the :behave command.
'sessionoptions' 'ssop'
'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
help,options,tabpages,winsize,terminal")
global
{not available when compiled without the +mksession
feature}
Changes the effect of the :mksession command. It is a comma
separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
something:
word save and restore
blank empty windows
buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
curdir the current directory
folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
fold options
globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
String and Number types are stored.
help the help window
localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
global values for local options)
options all options and mappings (also global values for local
options)
skiprtp exclude 'runtimepath' and 'packpath' from the options
resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
will become the current directory (useful with
projects accessed over a network from different
systems)
slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
slashes
tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
is restored, so that you can make a session for each
tab page separately
terminal include terminal windows where the command can be
restored
unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
on Windows or DOS
winpos position of the whole Vim window
winsize window sizes
Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
When neither "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored
with absolute paths.
If you leave out "options" many things won't work well after restoring
the session.
"slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
'shell' 'sh' E91
'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh", Win32: "cmd.exe")
global
Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
In restricted-mode shell commands will not be possible. This mode
is used if the value of $SHELL ends in "false" or "nologin".
If the name of the shell contains a space, you need to enclose it in
quotes and escape the space. Example with quotes:
:set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
"-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
name. Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
separators.
Example with escaped space (Vim will do this when initializing the
option from $SHELL):
:set shell=/bin/with\\\ space/sh
The resulting value of 'shell' is "/bin/with\ space/sh", two
backslashes are consumed by :set.
Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
filtering).
For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this:
:set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellcmdflag' 'shcf'
'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c";
Win32, when 'shell' contains "powershell":
"-Command", or when it does not contain "sh"
somewhere: "/c")
global
Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
"bash.exe -c ls", "powershell.exe -Command dir", or "cmd.exe /c dir".
For MS-Windows, the default is set according to the value of 'shell',
to reduce the need to set this option by the user.
On Unix it can have more than one flag. Each white space separated
part is passed as an argument to the shell command.
See option-backslash about including spaces and backslashes.
Also see dos-shell and dos-powershell for MS-Windows.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellpipe' 'sp'
'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", ">%s 2>&1", "| tee", "|& tee"
"2>&1| tee", or
"2>&1 | Out-File -Encoding default")
global
{not available when compiled without the +quickfix
feature}
String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
error file. See also :make_makeprg. See option-backslash about
including spaces and backslashes.
The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
(the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
of this option).
For the Amiga the default is ">". For MS-Windows using powershell the
default is "2>&1 | Out-File -Encoding default", otherwise the default
is ">%s 2>&1". The output is directly saved in a file and not echoed
to the screen.
For Unix the default is "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
"tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "mksh", "pdksh", "zsh", "zsh-beta",
"bash", "fish", "ash" or "dash" the default becomes "2>&1| tee". This
means that stderr is also included. Before using the 'shell' option a
path is removed, thus "/bin/sh" uses "sh".
For Unix and MS-Windows, when the 'shell' option is "pwsh" the default
becomes ">%s 2>&1" and the output is not echoed to the screen.
The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
explicitly set before.
When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
become obsolete (at least for Unix).
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellquote' 'shq'
'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: "")
global
Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
probably not useful to set both options.
This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
third-party shells on MS-Windows-like systems, such as the MKS Korn
Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". See dos-shell.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellredir' 'srr'
'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&", ">%s 2>&1", or
"2>&1 | Out-File -Encoding default")
global
String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
file. See also :!. See option-backslash about including spaces
and backslashes.
The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
(the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
of this option).
The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh" or
"tcsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "mksh", "pdksh", "zsh", "zsh-beta",
"bash", "fish", or "pwsh", the default becomes ">%s 2>&1". This means
that stderr is also included. For Win32, the Unix checks are done and
additionally "cmd" is checked for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1",
and "powershell" is checked for which makes the default
"2>&1 | Out-File -Encoding default" (see dos-powershell). Also, the
same names with ".exe" appended are checked for.
The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
explicitly set before.
In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
become obsolete (at least for Unix).
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellslash' 'ssl' 'noshellslash' 'nossl'
'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
global
{only for MS-Windows}
When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of cmd.exe, pwsh.exe, or
powershell.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are
changed to forward slashes by Vim.
Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
any file for best results. This might change in the future.
'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
separator. To test if this is so use:
if exists('+shellslash')
Also see 'completeslash'.
'shelltemp' 'stmp' 'noshelltemp' 'nostmp'
'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
global
When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix and MS-Windows 2K and
later. You can check it with:
:if has("filterpipe")
The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
can be detected.
The FilterReadPre, FilterReadPost and FilterWritePre,
FilterWritePost autocommands event are not triggered when
'shelltemp' is off.
The system() function does not respect this option and always uses
temp files.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vim default value when 'compatible'
is reset.
'shelltype' 'st'
'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
global
{only for the Amiga}
On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
which use a shell.
0 and 1: always use the shell
2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
'shellxescape' 'sxe'
'shellxescape' 'sxe' string (default: "";
for MS-Windows: "\"&|<>()@^")
global
When 'shellxquote' is set to "(" then the characters listed in this
option will be escaped with a '^' character. This makes it possible
to execute most external commands with cmd.exe.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shellxquote' 'sxq'
'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
for Win32, when 'shell' is cmd.exe: "("
for Win32, when 'shell' is
powershell.exe: "\""
for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
somewhere: "\""
for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
global
Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
to set both options.
When the value is '(' then ')' is appended. When the value is '"('
then ')"' is appended.
When the value is '(' then also see 'shellxescape'.
This is an empty string by default on most systems, but is known to be
useful for on Win32 version, either for cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or
pwsh.exe which automatically strips off the first and last quote on a
command, or 3rd-party shells such as the MKS Korn Shell or bash, where
it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according the value of
'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the user. See
dos-shell.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'shiftround' 'sr' 'noshiftround' 'nosr'
'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
global
Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'shiftwidth' 'sw'
'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
'cindent', >>, <<, etc.
When zero the 'tabstop' value will be used. Use the shiftwidth()
function to get the effective shiftwidth value.
'shortmess' 'shm'
'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToOS", Vi default: "S",
POSIX default: "AS")
global E1336
This option helps to avoid all the hit-enter prompts caused by file
messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
It is a list of flags:
flag meaning when present
f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)" shm-f
i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]" shm-i
l use "999L, 888B" instead of "999 lines, 888 bytes" shm-l
m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]" shm-m
n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]" shm-n
r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]" shm-r
w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message shm-w
and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" shm-x
instead of "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac
format]"
a all of the above abbreviations shm-a
o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent shm-o
message for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when
'autowrite' on)
O message for reading a file overwrites any previous shm-O
message; also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn")
s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or shm-s
"search hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages; when using
the search count do not show "W" before the count message
(see shm-S below)
t truncate file message at the start if it is too long shm-t
to fit on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most
column; ignored in Ex mode
T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too shm-T
long to fit on the command line; "..." will appear in the
middle; ignored in Ex mode
W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file shm-W
A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing shm-A
swap file is found
I don't give the intro message when starting Vim, shm-I
see :intro
c don't give ins-completion-menu messages; for shm-c
example, "-- XXX completion (YYY)", "match 1 of 2", "The only
match", "Pattern not found", "Back at original", etc.
C don't give messages while scanning for ins-completion shm-C
items, for instance "scanning tags"
q use "recording" instead of "recording @a" shm-q
F don't give the file info when editing a file, like shm-F
:silent was used for the command; note that this also
affects messages from autocommands and 'autoread' reloading
S do not show search count message when searching, e.g. shm-S
"[1/5]". When the "S" flag is not present (e.g. search count
is shown), the "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" and
"search hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages are only
indicated by a "W" (Mnemonic: Wrapped) letter before the
search count statistics.
This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
Useful values:
shm= No abbreviation of message.
shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'shortname' 'sn' 'noshortname' 'nosn'
'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is useful
when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
or crossdos.
'showbreak' 'sbr' E595
'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
global or local to window global-local
{not available when compiled without the +linebreak
feature}
String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
values are "> " or "+++ ":
:set showbreak=>\
Note the backslash to escape the trailing space. It's easier like
this:
:let &showbreak = '+++ '
Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
'highlight'.
Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
"n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
A window-local value overrules a global value. If the global value is
set and you want no value in the current window use NONE:
:setlocal showbreak=NONE
'showcmd' 'sc' 'noshowcmd' 'nosc'
'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix,
Vi default: off, set in defaults.vim)
global
Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
option off if your terminal is slow.
In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
- When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
If the number of bytes is different it is also displayed: "2-6"
means two characters and six bytes.
- When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
- When selecting a block, the size in screen characters:
{lines}x{columns}.
This information can be displayed in an alternative location using the
'showcmdloc' option.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'showcmdloc' 'sloc'
'showcmdloc' 'sloc' string (default "last")
global
This option can be used to display the (partially) entered command in
another location. Possible values are:
last Last line of the screen (default).
statusline Status line of the current window.
tabline First line of the screen if 'showtabline' is enabled.
Setting this option to "statusline" or "tabline" means that these will
be redrawn whenever the command changes, which can be on every key
pressed.
The %S 'statusline' item can be used in 'statusline' or 'tabline' to
place the text. Without a custom 'statusline' or 'tabline' it will be
displayed in a convenient location.
'showfulltag' 'sft' 'noshowfulltag' 'nosft'
'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
global
When completing a word in insert mode (see ins-completion) from the
tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
required (coding style permitting).
Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
match the typed text.
'showmatch' 'sm' 'noshowmatch' 'nosm'
'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
global
When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
seen or not).
This option is reset when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste' is
reset.
When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
blinking when showing the match.
The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
matches.
Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
around pi_paren.txt.
Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
'showmode' 'smd' 'noshowmode' 'nosmd'
'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
this message.
When XIM may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
not set.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'showtabline' 'stal'
'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
global
The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
will be displayed:
0: never
1: only if there are at least two tab pages
2: always
This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
line.
See tab-page for more information about tab pages.
'sidescroll' 'ss'
'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
global
The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
commands.
'sidescrolloff' 'siso'
'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
global or local to window global-local
The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
value greater than 0 while having 'sidescroll' also at a non-zero
value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
close to the beginning of the line.
After using the local value, go back the global value with one of
these two:
setlocal sidescrolloff<
setlocal sidescrolloff=-1
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
onto the "extends" character:
:set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
:set sidescrolloff=1
'signcolumn' 'scl'
'signcolumn' 'scl' string (default "auto")
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +signs
feature}
Whether or not to draw the signcolumn. Valid values are:
"auto" only when there is a sign to display
"no" never
"yes" always
"number" display signs in the 'number' column. If the number
column is not present, then behaves like "auto".
'smartcase' 'scs' 'nosmartcase' 'noscs'
'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
global
Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc. After
"*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'smartindent' 'si' 'nosmartindent' 'nosi'
'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
see C-indenting. When 'cindent' is on or 'indentexpr' is set,
setting 'si' has no effect. 'indentexpr' is a more advanced
alternative.
Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
An indent is automatically inserted:
- After a line ending in '{'.
- After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
- Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
given the same indent as the matching '{'.
When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
right.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
This option is reset when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste' is
reset.
'smarttab' 'sta' 'nosmarttab' 'nosta'
'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
global
When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
<BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
line.
When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
right shift-left-right.
What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
option. Also see ins-expandtab. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
This option is reset when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste' is
reset.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'smoothscroll' 'sms' 'nosmoothscroll' 'nosms'
'smoothscroll' 'sms' boolean (default off)
local to window
Scrolling works with screen lines. When 'wrap' is set and the first
line in the window wraps part of it may not be visible, as if it is
above the window. "<<<" is displayed at the start of the first line,
highlighted with hl-NonText.
You may also want to add "lastline" to the 'display' option to show as
much of the last line as possible.
NOTE: partly implemented, doesn't work yet for gj and gk.
'softtabstop' 'sts'
'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
local to buffer
Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
<Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
When 'sts' is negative, the value of 'shiftwidth' is used.
'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set and restored
when 'paste' is reset.
See also ins-expandtab. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
set.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
If Vim is compiled with the +vartabs feature then the value of
'softtabstop' will be ignored if 'varsofttabstop' is set to
anything other than an empty string.
'spell' 'nospell'
'spell' boolean (default off)
local to window
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
When on spell checking will be done. See spell.
The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
'spellcapcheck' 'spc'
'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
with SpellCap hl-SpellCap (unless the word is also badly spelled).
When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
Only used when 'spell' is set.
Be careful with special characters, see option-backslash about
including spaces and backslashes.
To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
set-spc-auto.
'spellfile' 'spf'
'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Name of the word list file where words are added for the zg and zw
commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
The path may include characters from 'isfname', space, comma and '@'.
E765
It may also be a comma-separated list of names. A count before the
zg and zw commands can be used to access each. This allows using
a personal word list file and a project word list file.
When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
ignoring the region.
The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
have to appear in 'spelllang'.
Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
without region name will be found.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'spelllang' 'spl'
'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
A comma-separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example:
set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
that are not recognized will be highlighted.
The word list name must consist of alphanumeric characters, a dash or
an underscore. It should not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
Britain. (Note: currently en_au and en_nz dictionaries are older than
en_ca, en_gb and en_us).
If the name "cjk" is included East Asian characters are excluded from
spell checking. This is useful when editing text that also has Asian
words.
Note that the "medical" dictionary does not exist, it is just an
example of a longer name.
E757
As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
(_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
files twice.
How the related spell files are found is explained here: spell-load.
If the spellfile.vim plugin is active and you use a language name
for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
will ask you if you want to download the file.
After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
"spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
up to the first character that is not an ASCII letter or number and
not a dash. Also see set-spc-auto.
'spelloptions' 'spo'
'spelloptions' 'spo' string (default "")
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
A comma-separated list of options for spell checking:
camel When a word is CamelCased, assume "Cased" is a
separate word: every upper-case character in a word
that comes after a lower case character indicates the
start of a new word.
'spellsuggest' 'sps'
'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
global
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the z= command and
the spellsuggest() function. This is a comma-separated list of
items:
best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
scoring to improve the ordering.
double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
results. The first method is "fast", the other method
computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
word. That only works when the language specifies
sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
better results.
fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
simple typing mistakes.
{number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for z=.
Not used for spellsuggest(). The number of
suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
minus two.
timeout:{millisec} Limit the time searching for suggestions to
{millisec} milliseconds. Applies to the following
methods. When omitted the limit is 5000. When
negative there is no limit. {only works when built
with the +reltime feature}
file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
separated by a slash. The first column contains the
bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
Example:
theribal/terrible
Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
comments.
The word in the second column must be correct,
otherwise it will not be used. Add the word to an
".add" file if it is currently flagged as a spelling
mistake.
The file is used for all languages.
expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
trouble with spaces. Best is to call a function
without arguments, see expr-option-function.
v:val holds the badly spelled word. The expression
must evaluate to a List of Lists, each with a
suggestion and a score.
Example:
[['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
Set 'verbose' and use z= to see the scores that the
internal methods use. A lower score is better.
This may invoke spellsuggest() if you temporarily
set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
appear several times in any order. Example:
:set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'splitbelow' 'sb' 'nosplitbelow' 'nosb'
'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
global
When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
one. :split
'splitkeep' 'spk'
'splitkeep' 'spk' string (default "cursor")
global
The value of this option determines the scroll behavior when opening,
closing or resizing horizontal splits.
Possible values are:
cursor Keep the same relative cursor position.
screen Keep the text on the same screen line.
topline Keep the topline the same.
For the "screen" and "topline" values, the cursor position will be
changed when necessary. In this case, the jumplist will be populated
with the previous cursor position. For "screen", the text cannot always
be kept on the same screen line when 'wrap' is enabled.
'splitright' 'spr' 'nosplitright' 'nospr'
'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
global
When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
current one. :vsplit
'startofline' 'sol' 'nostartofline' 'nosol'
'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
global
When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
(if possible). This applies to the commands:
- CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B, CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", "gg"
- "d", "<<", "==" and ">>" with a linewise operator
(operator-resulting-pos)
- "%" with a count
- buffer changing commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.)
- Ex commands that only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
'statusline' 'stl' E540 E542
'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
global or local to window global-local
{not available when compiled without the +statusline
feature}
When non-empty, this option determines the content of the status line.
Also see status-line.
The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
%-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
All fields except the {item} are optional. A single percent sign can
be given as "%%".
When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example:
:set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
The g:statusline_winid variable will be set to the window-ID of the
window that the status line belongs to.
The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
Note that the "%!" expression is evaluated in the context of the
current window and buffer, while %{} items are evaluated in the
context of the window that the statusline belongs to.
When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
When the result contains unprintable characters the result is
unpredictable.
Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of CTRL-G.
field meaning
- Left justify the item. The default is right justified
when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
Value must be 50 or less.
maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
an exponential notation.
item A one letter code as described below.
Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
second character in "item" is the type:
N for number
S for string
F for flags as described below
- not applicable
item meaning
f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
directory.
F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
m F Modified flag, text is "[+]"; "[-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
r F Readonly flag, text is "[RO]".
R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
h F Help buffer flag, text is "[help]".
H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
w F Preview window flag, text is "[Preview]".
W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., "[vim]". See 'filetype'.
Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
q S "[Quickfix List]", "[Location List]" or empty.
k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when :lmap mappings are
being used: "<keymap>"
n N Buffer number.
b N Value of character under cursor.
B N As above, in hexadecimal.
o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
{not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
O N As above, in hexadecimal.
N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
l N Line number.
L N Number of lines in buffer.
c N Column number (byte index).
v N Virtual column number (screen column).
V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
p N Percentage through file in lines as in CTRL-G.
P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length, unless
translated.
S S 'showcmd' content, see 'showcmdloc'.
a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
{ NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'. The
expression cannot contain a '}' character, call a function to
work around that. See stl-%{ below.
{% - This is almost same as { except the result of the expression is
re-evaluated as a statusline format string. Thus if the
return value of expr contains % items they will get expanded.
The expression can contain the } character, the end of
expression is denoted by %}.
For example:
func! Stl_filename() abort
return "%t"
endfunc
stl=%{Stl_filename()} results in "%t"
stl=%{%Stl_filename()%} results in `"Name of current file"`
%} - End of {% expression
( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
< - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
No width fields allowed.
= - Separation point between alignment sections. Each section will
be separated by an equal number of spaces. With one %= what
comes after it will be right-aligned. With two %= there is a
middle part, with white space left and right of it.
No width fields allowed.
# - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
windows.
* - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied to
StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
The number N must be between 1 and 9. See hl-User1..9
When displaying a flag, Vim removes the leading comma, if any, when
that flag comes right after plaintext. This will make a nice display
when flags are used like in the examples below.
When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set.
:set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
line is displayed.
stl-%{ g:actual_curbuf g:actual_curwin
While evaluating %{} the current buffer and current window will be set
temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
The variable "g:actual_curbuf" is set to the bufnr() number of the
real current buffer and "g:actual_curwin" to the window-ID of the
real current window. These values are strings.
The 'statusline' option will be evaluated in the sandbox if set from
a modeline, see sandbox-option.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
evaluating 'statusline' textlock.
If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
using :redrawstatus.
A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
described above.
Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim --clean" to get it right.
Examples:
Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set
:set statusline=%<%f\ %h%w%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga")
:set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red.
:set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
:hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded
:set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
In the :autocmd's:
:let b:gzflag = 1
And:
:unlet b:gzflag
And define this function:
:function VarExists(var, val)
: if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
:endfunction
'suffixes' 'su'
'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
global
Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
match a wildcard. See suffixes. Commas can be used to separate the
suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
separator, precede it with a backslash (see option-backslash about
including spaces and backslashes).
See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
'suffixesadd' 'sua'
'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
local to buffer
Comma-separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example:
:set suffixesadd=.java
'swapfile' 'swf' 'noswapfile' 'noswf'
'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
local to buffer
Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
Careful: All text will be in memory:
- Don't use this for big files.
- Recovery will be impossible!
A swapfile will only be present when 'updatecount' is non-zero and
'swapfile' is set.
When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
Also see swap-file and 'swapsync'.
If you want to open a new buffer without creating a swap file for it,
use the :noswapfile modifier.
See 'directory' for where the swap file is created.
This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
specify special kinds of buffers. See special-buffers.
'swapsync' 'sws'
'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
global
When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
'switchbuf' 'swb'
'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
global
This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
This option is checked, when
- jumping to errors with the quickfix commands (:cc, :cn, :cp,
etc.).
- jumping to a tag using the :stag command.
- opening a file using the CTRL-W_f or CTRL-W_F command.
- jumping to a buffer using a buffer split command (e.g. :sbuffer,
:sbnext, or :sbrewind).
Possible values (comma-separated list):
useopen If included, jump to the first open window in the
current tab page that contains the specified buffer
(if there is one). Otherwise: Do not examine other
windows.
usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
pages.
split If included, split the current window before loading
a buffer for a quickfix command that display errors.
Otherwise: do not split, use current window (when used
in the quickfix window: the previously used window or
split if there is no other window).
vsplit Just like "split" but split vertically.
newtab Like "split", but open a new tab page. Overrules
"split" when both are present.
uselast If included, jump to the previously used window when
jumping to errors with quickfix commands.
If a window has 'winfixbuf' enabled, 'switchbuf' is currently not
applied to the split window.
'synmaxcol' 'smc'
'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
long line.
Set to zero to remove the limit.
'syntax' 'syn'
'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
local to buffer local-noglobal
{not available when compiled without the +syntax
feature}
When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
b:current_syntax variable does).
This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
/* vim: set syntax=idl : */
When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
names. Example:
/* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */
This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use:
:set syntax=OFF
To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
'filetype' option:
:set syntax=ON
What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
Only alphanumeric characters, '.', '-' and '_' can be used.
'tabclose' 'tcl'
'tabclose' 'tcl' string (default "")
global
This option controls the behavior when closing tab pages (e.g., using
:tabclose). When empty Vim goes to the next (right) tab page.
Possible values (comma-separated list):
left If included, go to the previous tab page instead of
the next one.
uselast If included, go to the previously used tab page if
possible. This option takes precedence over the
others.
'tabline' 'tal'
'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
global
When non-empty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
tab pages line. See setting-tabline for more info.
The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
instead. Note that the two tab pages lines are very different.
The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
tabpagenr(), tabpagewinnr() and tabpagebuflist() to figure out
the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
When changing something that is used in 'tabline' that does not
trigger it to be updated, use :redrawtabline.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
'tabpagemax' 'tpm'
'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
global
Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the -p command line
argument or the ":tab all" command. tabpage
'tabstop' 'ts'
'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
the :retab command, and the 'softtabstop' option.
Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
appear wrong in many places, e.g., when printing it.
The value must be more than 0 and less than 10000.
There are five main ways to use tabs in Vim:
1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
(or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
This is the recommended way, the file will look the same with other
tools and when listing it in a terminal.
2. Set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed (leave
it at 8 just in case). The file will be a bit larger.
You do need to check if no Tabs exist in the file. You can get rid
of them by first setting 'expandtab' and using %retab!, making
sure the value of 'tabstop' is set correctly.
3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
You do need to check if no Tabs exist in the file, just like in the
item just above.
4. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
modeline to set these values when editing the file again. Only
works when using Vim to edit the file, other tools assume a tabstop
is worth 8 spaces.
5. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
changed.
If Vim is compiled with the +vartabs feature then the value of
'tabstop' will be ignored if 'vartabstop' is set to anything other
than an empty string.
'tagbsearch' 'tbs' 'notagbsearch' 'notbs'
'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
global
When searching for a tag (e.g., for the :ta command), Vim can either
use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted:
!_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
[The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
files listed in 'tags', and case is ignored or a pattern is used
instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
be found in the retry.
If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
linear search can be avoided when case is ignored. Use a value of '2'
in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be case-fold
sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in the command:
"sort -f -o tags tags". For Universal ctags and Exuberant ctags
version 5.x or higher (at least 5.5) the --sort=foldcase switch can be
used for this as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for
this to work.
By default, tag searches are case-sensitive. Case is ignored when
'ignorecase' is set and 'tagcase' is "followic", or when 'tagcase' is
"ignore".
Also when 'tagcase' is "followscs" and 'smartcase' is set, or
'tagcase' is "smart", and the pattern contains only lowercase
characters.
When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
must be included in the tags file.
This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
command-line completion and ":help").
'tagcase' 'tc'
'tagcase' 'tc' string (default "followic")
global or local to buffer global-local
This option specifies how case is handled when searching the tags
file:
followic Follow the 'ignorecase' option
followscs Follow the 'smartcase' and 'ignorecase' options
ignore Ignore case
match Match case
smart Ignore case unless an upper case letter is used
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'tagfunc' 'tfu'
'tagfunc' 'tfu' string (default: empty)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
This option specifies a function to be used to perform tag searches.
The function gets the tag pattern and should return a List of matching
tags. See tag-function for an explanation of how to write the
function and an example. The value can be the name of a function, a
lambda or a Funcref. See option-value-function for more
information.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'taglength' 'tl'
'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
global
If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
'tagrelative' 'tr' 'notagrelative' 'notr'
'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'tags' 'tag' E433
'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
+emacs_tags: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
global or local to buffer global-local
Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with backslashes
(see option-backslash about including spaces/commas and backslashes).
When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded :set_env. Also see
tags-option.
"*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
a directory tree. See file-searching. E.g., "/lib/**/tags" will
find all files named "tags" below "/lib". The filename itself cannot
contain wildcards, it is used as-is. E.g., "/lib/**/tags?" will find
files called "tags?".
The tagfiles() function can be used to get a list of the file names
actually used.
If Vim was compiled with the +emacs_tags feature, Emacs-style tag
files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
differences are ignored (MS-Windows). emacs-tags
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
'tagstack' 'tgst' 'notagstack' 'notgst'
'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
global
When on, the tagstack is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
mapping which should not change the tagstack.
'tcldll'
'tcldll' string (default depends on the build)
global
{only available when compiled with the +tcl/dyn
feature}
Specifies the name of the Tcl shared library. The default is
DYNAMIC_TCL_DLL, which was specified at compile time.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'term' E529 E530 E531
'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
on Amiga: "amiga"
on Haiku: "xterm"
on Mac: "mac-ansi"
on Unix: "ansi"
on VMS: "ansi"
on Win 32: "win32")
global
Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
characters. Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
For example:
:set term=$TERM
See termcap.
'termbidi' 'tbidi'
'notermbidi' 'notbidi'
'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
global
{only available when compiled with the +arabic
feature}
The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
This option is reset when the GUI is started.
For further details see arabic.txt.
'termencoding' 'tenc'
'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""
with GTK+ and MacVim GUIs: "utf-8")
global
Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
display).
E617 E950
Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ and MacVim GUIs. After the GUI
has been successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set to
"utf-8". Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected, and
an error message is shown.
For the Win32 GUI and console versions 'termencoding' is not used,
because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
This is the normal value.
Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
encoding-table.
The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
want to edit a UTF-8 file:
:let &termencoding = &encoding
:set encoding=utf-8
You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
'termguicolors' 'tgc' 'notermguicolors' 'notgc' E954
'termguicolors' 'tgc' boolean (default off)
global
{not available when compiled without the
+termguicolors feature}
When on, uses highlight-guifg and highlight-guibg attributes in
the terminal (thus using 24-bit color).
Requires a ISO-8613-3 compatible terminal. If setting this option
does not work (produces a colorless UI) reading xterm-true-color
might help.
For Win32 console, Windows 10 version 1703 (Creators Update) or later
is required. Use this check to find out:
if has('vcon')
This requires Vim to be built with the +vtp feature.
Note that the "cterm" attributes are still used, not the "gui" ones.
When using Vim with Windows Terminal, the background of Windows
Terminal is normally filled with the Vim background color. Setting
'termguicolors' and the guibg of the Normal highlight group to NONE
will make the background transparent:
:hi Normal guibg=NONE
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'termwinkey' 'twk'
'termwinkey' 'twk' string (default "")
local to window
The key that starts a CTRL-W command in a terminal window. Other keys
are sent to the job running in the window.
The key can be specified as a single character, a key-notation (e.g.
<Up>, <C-F>) or a letter preceded with a caret (e.g. ^F is CTRL-F):
:set twk=X
:set twk=^I
:set twk=<C-L>
The string must be one key stroke but can be multiple bytes.
When not set CTRL-W is used, so that CTRL-W : gets you to the command
line. If 'termwinkey' is set to CTRL-L then CTRL-L : gets you to the
command line.
'termwinscroll' 'twsl'
'termwinscroll' 'twsl' number (default 10000)
local to buffer
{not available when compiled without the
+terminal feature}
Number of scrollback lines to keep. When going over this limit the
first 10% of the scrollback lines are deleted. This is just to reduce
the memory usage. See Terminal-Normal.
Also used as a limit for text sent to the terminal in one write,
multiplied by the number of columns times 3 (average number of bytes
per cell).
'termwinsize' 'tws'
'termwinsize' 'tws' string (default "")
local to window
Size used when opening the terminal window. Format:
{rows}x{columns} or {rows}*{columns}.
- When empty the terminal gets the size from the window.
- When set with a "x" (e.g., "24x80") the terminal size is not
adjusted to the window size. If the window is smaller only the
top-left part is displayed.
- When set with a "*" (e.g., "10*50") the terminal size follows the
window size, but will not be smaller than the specified rows and/or
columns.
- When rows is zero then use the height of the window.
- When columns is zero then use the width of the window.
- Using "0x0" or "0*0" is the same as empty.
- Can be overruled in the term_start() options with "term_rows" and
"term_cols".
Examples:
"30x0" uses 30 rows and the current window width.
"20*0" uses at least 20 rows and the current window width.
"0*40" uses the current window height and at least 40 columns.
Note that the command running in the terminal window may still change
the size of the terminal. In that case the Vim window will be
adjusted to that size, if possible.
'termwintype' 'twt'
'termwintype' 'twt' string (default "")
global
{only available when compiled with the terminal
feature on MS-Windows}
Specify the virtual console (pty) used when opening the terminal
window.
Possible values are:
"" use ConPTY if it is stable, winpty otherwise
"winpty" use winpty, fail if not supported
"conpty" use ConPTY, fail if not supported
ConPTY support depends on the platform. Windows 10 October 2018
Update is the first version that supports ConPTY, however it is still
considered unstable. ConPTY might become stable in the next release
of Windows 10. winpty support needs to be installed. If neither is
supported then you cannot open a terminal window.
'terse' 'noterse'
'terse' boolean (default off)
global
When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
shortens a lot of messages}
'textauto' 'ta' 'notextauto' 'nota'
'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
global
This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'textmode' 'tx' 'notextmode' 'notx'
'textmode' 'tx' boolean (Win32: default on,
others: default off)
local to buffer
This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
"unix".
'textwidth' 'tw'
'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
local to buffer
Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
this.
'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set and restored
when 'paste' is reset.
When 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
'formatoptions' and ins-textwidth.
When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
'thesaurus' 'tsr'
'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
global or local to buffer global-local
List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
for thesaurus completion commands i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T. See
compl-thesaurus.
This option is not used if 'thesaurusfunc' is set, either for the
buffer or globally.
To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
name. See option-backslash about using backslashes. The use of
:set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing directories
from the list. This avoids problems when a future version uses
another default. Backticks cannot be used in this option for security
reasons.
'thesaurusfunc' 'tsrfu'
'thesaurusfunc' 'tsrfu' string (default: empty)
global or local to buffer global-local
{not available when compiled without the +eval
feature}
This option specifies a function to be used for thesaurus completion
with CTRL-X CTRL-T. i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T See compl-thesaurusfunc.
The value can be the name of a function, a lambda or a Funcref.
See option-value-function for more information.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'tildeop' 'top' 'notildeop' 'notop'
'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
global
When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'timeout' 'to' 'notimeout' 'noto'
'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
global
'ttimeout' 'nottimeout'
'ttimeout' boolean (default off, set in defaults.vim)
global
These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
'timeout' 'ttimeout' action
off off do not time out
on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
off on time out on key codes
If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
the next character to arrive. After that the already received
characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
reset the 'timeout' option.
NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'timeoutlen' 'tm'
'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
global
'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm'
'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1, set to 100 in defaults.vim)
global
The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
when part of a command has been typed.
Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
a non-negative number.
ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay
< 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
>= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
tell so. A useful setting would be
:set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
(time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
a tenth of a second).
'title' 'notitle'
'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
global
When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
Where:
filename the name of the file being edited
- indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
+ indicates the file was modified
= indicates the file is read-only
=+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
(path) is the path of the file being edited
- VIM the server name v:servername or "VIM"
Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
(currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
terminals with a non-empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
X11
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
works for the icon name 'icon'.
But: When Vim was started with the -X argument, restoring the title
will not work (except in the GUI).
If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
ssh -X machine_name xterm &
then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
title of the window should change back to what it should be after
exiting Vim.
'titlelen'
'titlelen' number (default 85)
global
Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
'titleold'
'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
global
This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
'titlestring' is not empty.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'titlestring'
'titlestring' string (default "")
global
When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
non-empty 't_ts' option).
When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
be restored if possible, see X11.
When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. If it contains
an invalid '%' format, the value is used as-is and no error or warning
will be given when the value is set.
This option cannot be set in a modeline when 'modelineexpr' is off.
Example:
:auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() .. "/" .. expand("%:p")
:set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
of the available space.
Some people prefer to have the file name first:
:set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
separating space only when needed.
NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
{not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
'toolbar' 'tb'
'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
global
{only for +GUI_GTK, +GUI_Motif, +GUI_Photon and
gui_macvim}
The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
possible values are:
icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
Note: Tooltips are always enabled in MacVim.
If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
following:
:set tb=icons,text
Motif cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
will show icons if both are requested.
If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example:
:set guioptions-=T
Also see gui-toolbar.
'toolbariconsize' 'tbis'
'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
global
{only in the GTK+ and MacVim GUIs}
Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
tiny Use tiny icons.
small Use small icons (default).
medium Use medium-sized icons.
large Use large icons.
huge Use even larger icons.
giant Use very big icons.
The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
the current theme. Common dimensions are giant=48x48, huge=32x32,
large=24x24, medium=24x24, small=20x20 and tiny=16x16. In MacVim, both
tiny and small equal 24x24, whereas medium and large equal 32x32.
If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
by user preferences or the current theme is used.
'transparency' 'transp'
'transparency' 'transp' number (default 0)
global
{not in Vi}
{only in MacVim GUI}
Transparency of the window background as a percent, with 0 meaning
opaque and 100 meaning completely transparent. Trying to set a value
outside the range 0-100 results in an error.
'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' 'nottybuiltin' 'notbi'
'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
global
When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
the change to take effect, for example:
:set notbi term=$TERM
See also termcap.
Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
xterm entries...).
'ttyfast' 'tf' 'nottyfast' 'notf'
'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default on)
global
Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
The default used to be set only for some terminal names, but these
days nearly all terminals are fast, therefore the default is now "on".
If you have a slow connection you may want to set this option off,
e.g. depending on the host name:
if hostname() =~ 'faraway'
set nottyfast
endif
'ttymouse' 'ttym'
'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
global
{only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
available when compiled without +mouse}
Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
Currently these strings are valid:
xterm-mouse
xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
"<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
"s" = button state
"c" = column plus 33
"r" = row plus 33
This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec",
"urxvt", and "sgr" for solutions.
xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
work. See below for how Vim detects this
automatically.
netterm-mouse
netterm NetTerm mouse handling. A left mouse click generates
"<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
for the row and column. No other mouse events are
supported.
dec-mouse
dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
jsbterm-mouse
jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
pterm-mouse
pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
urxvt-mouse
urxvt Mouse handling for the urxvt (rxvt-unicode) terminal.
The mouse works only if the terminal supports this
encoding style, but it does not have 223 columns limit
unlike "xterm" or "xterm2".
sgr-mouse
sgr Mouse handling for the terminal that emits SGR-styled
mouse reporting. The mouse works even in columns
beyond 223. This option is backward compatible with
"xterm2" because it can also decode "xterm2" style
mouse codes.
The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time +mouse_xterm
+mouse_dec +mouse_netterm +mouse_jsbterm +mouse_urxvt
+mouse_sgr.
Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
"xterm", "xterm2", "urxvt" or "sgr" (because dec mouse codes conflict
with them).
This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
set to a name that starts with "xterm", "mlterm", "screen", "tmux",
"st" (full match only), "st-" or "stterm", and 'ttymouse' is not set
already.
If the terminfo/termcap entry "XM" exists and the first number is
"1006" then 'ttymouse' will be set to "sgr". This works for many
modern terminals.
Additionally, if vim is compiled with the +termresponse feature and
t_RV is set to the escape sequence to request the xterm version
number, more intelligent detection is done.
The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
from 95 to 276. The "sgr" value will be set if Vim detects Mac
Terminal.app, iTerm2 or mintty, and when the xterm version is 277 or
higher.
If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" or "sgr"
automatically, set t_RV to an empty string:
:set t_RV=
'ttyscroll' 'tsl'
'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
global
Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
'ttytype' 'tty'
'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
global
Alias for 'term', see above.
'undodir' 'udir'
'undodir' 'udir' string (default ".")
global
{only when compiled with the |+persistent_undo| feature}
List of directory names for undo files, separated with commas.
See 'backupdir' for details of the format.
"." means using the directory of the file. The undo file name for
"file.txt" is ".file.txt.un~".
For other directories the file name is the full path of the edited
file, with path separators replaced with "%".
When writing: The first directory that exists is used. "." always
works, no directories after "." will be used for writing.
When reading all entries are tried to find an undo file. The first
undo file that exists is used. When it cannot be read an error is
given, no further entry is used.
See undo-persistence.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'undofile' 'noundofile' 'udf' 'noudf'
'undofile' 'udf' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{only when compiled with the |+persistent_undo| feature}
When on, Vim automatically saves undo history to an undo file when
writing a buffer to a file, and restores undo history from the same
file on buffer read.
The directory where the undo file is stored is specified by 'undodir'.
For more information about this feature see undo-persistence.
The undo file is not read when 'undoreload' causes the buffer from
before a reload to be saved for undo.
When 'undofile' is turned off the undo file is NOT deleted.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
'undolevels' 'ul'
'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS and Win32)
global or local to buffer global-local
Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used.
Nevertheless, a single change can already use a large amount of memory.
Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
itself:
set ul=0
But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
Also see undo-two-ways.
Set to -1 for no undo at all. You might want to do this only for the
current buffer:
setlocal ul=-1
This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
The local value is set to -123456 when the global value is to be used.
Also see clear-undo.
'undoreload' 'ur'
'undoreload' 'ur' number (default 10000)
global
Save the whole buffer for undo when reloading it. This applies to the
":e!" command and reloading for when the buffer changed outside of
Vim. FileChangedShell
The save only happens when this option is negative or when the number
of lines is smaller than the value of this option.
Set this option to zero to disable undo for a reload.
When saving undo for a reload, any undo file is not read.
Note that this causes the whole buffer to be stored in memory. Set
this option to a lower value if you run out of memory.
'updatecount' 'uc'
'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
global
After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
recovery crash-recovery). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
Vim with the "-n" option, see startup. When editing in readonly
mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with 'swapfile'.
When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
Also see 'swapsync'.
This option has no meaning in buffers where 'buftype' is "nofile"
or "nowrite".
'updatetime' 'ut'
'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
global
If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
written to disk (see crash-recovery). Also used for the
CursorHold autocommand event.
'varsofttabstop' 'vsts'
'varsofttabstop' 'vsts' string (default "")
local to buffer
{only available when compiled with the +vartabs
feature}
A list of the number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while editing,
such as inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like variable-
width <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mixture of spaces
and <Tab>s is used. Tab widths are separated with commas, with the
final value applying to all subsequent tabs.
For example, when editing assembly language files where statements
start in the 9th column and comments in the 41st, it may be useful
to use the following:
:set varsofttabstop=8,32,8
This will set soft tabstops with 8 and 8 + 32 spaces, and 8 more
for every column thereafter.
Note that the value of 'softtabstop' will be ignored while
'varsofttabstop' is set.
'vartabstop' 'vts'
'vartabstop' 'vts' string (default "")
local to buffer
{only available when compiled with the +vartabs
feature}
A list of the number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for,
separated by commas. Each value corresponds to one tab, with the
final value applying to all subsequent tabs. For example:
:set vartabstop=4,20,10,8
This will make the first tab 4 spaces wide, the second 20 spaces,
the third 10 spaces, and all following tabs 8 spaces.
Note that the value of 'tabstop' will be ignored while 'vartabstop'
is set.
'verbose' 'vbs'
'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
global
When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
Currently, these messages are given:
>= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
>= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
>= 4 Shell commands.
>= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
>= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
>= 9 Every executed autocommand.
>= 11 Finding items in a path
>= 12 Every executed function.
>= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
>= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
>= 15 Every executed Ex command from a script (truncated at 200
characters).
>= 16 Every executed Ex command.
This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See -V.
This option is also set by the :verbose command.
When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
displayed.
'verbosefile' 'vfile'
'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
global
When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
When the file exists messages are appended.
Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
empty. Writes are buffered, thus may not show up for some time.
Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
The difference with :redir is that verbose messages are not
displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'viewdir' 'vdir'
'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga: "home:vimfiles/view",
for Win32: "$HOME/vimfiles/view",
for Unix: "$HOME/.vim/view" or
"$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vim/view"
for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view")
global
{not available when compiled without the +mksession
feature}
Name of the directory where to store files for :mkview.
For $XDG_CONFIG_HOME see xdg-base-dir.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'viewoptions' 'vop'
'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor,curdir")
global
{not available when compiled without the +mksession
feature}
Changes the effect of the :mkview command. It is a comma-separated
list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
word save and restore
cursor cursor position in file and in window
folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
fold options
options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
global values for local options)
localoptions same as "options"
slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
slashes
unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
on MS-Windows
curdir the window-local directory, if set with :lcd
"slash" and "unix" are useful on MS-Windows when sharing view files
with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
but the MS-Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
'viminfo' 'vi' E526 E527 E528
'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for
MS-Windows: '100,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
for Amiga: '100,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
for others: '100,<50,s10,h)
global
{not available when compiled without the +viminfo
feature}
When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
when exiting Vim (see viminfo-file). Except when 'viminfofile' is
"NONE".
The string should be a comma-separated list of parameters, each
consisting of a single character identifying the particular parameter,
followed by a number or string which specifies the value of that
parameter. If a particular character is left out, then the default
value is used for that parameter. The following is a list of the
identifying characters and the effect of their value.
CHAR VALUE
viminfo-!
! When included, save and restore global variables that start
with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
and "_K_L_M" are not. Nested List and Dict items may not be
read back correctly, you end up with an empty item.
viminfo-quote
" Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
start of a comment!
viminfo-%
% When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Quickfix
('buftype'), unlisted ('buflisted'), unnamed and buffers on
removable media (viminfo-r) are not saved.
When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
buffers are stored.
viminfo-'
' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
'viminfo' is non-empty.
Including this item also means that the jumplist and the
changelist are stored in the viminfo file.
viminfo-/
/ Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
'history' is used.
viminfo-:
: Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
viminfo-<
< Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
viminfo-@
@ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
viminfo-c
c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
'encoding'. See viminfo-encoding.
viminfo-f
f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
viminfo-h
h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
has been used since the last search command.
viminfo-n
n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
the 'n'. Must be at the end of the option! If the
'viminfofile' option is set, that file name overrides the one
given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are
expanded when opening the file, not when setting the option.
viminfo-r
r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-Windows you
could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
characters.
viminfo-s
s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
"s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
Example:
:set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
'50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
edited.
<1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
remembered.
s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
:0 Command-line history will not be saved.
n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
that is, save all of the search history, and also the
previous search and substitute patterns.
no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use :rviminfo to
load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vim default value when 'compatible'
is reset.
'viminfofile' 'vif'
'viminfofile' 'vif' string (default: "")
global
{not available when compiled without the +viminfo
feature}
When non-empty, overrides the file name used for viminfo.
When equal to "NONE" no viminfo file will be read or written.
This option can be set with the -i command line flag. The --clean
command line flag sets it to "NONE".
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'virtualedit' 've'
'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
global or local to window global-local
A comma-separated list of these words:
block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
none When used as the local value, do not allow virtual
editing even when the global value is set. When used
as the global value, "none" is the same as "".
NONE Alternative spelling of "none".
Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
editing a table.
"onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because l can move
the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
Using the $ command will move to the last character in the line, not
past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
The g$ command will move to the end of the screen line.
It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
not get a warning for it.
When combined with other words, "none" is ignored.
NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
'visualbell' 'vb' 'novisualbell' 'novb' beep
'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
global
Use a visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
use:
:set vb t_vb=
If you want a short flash, you can use this on many terminals:
:set vb t_vb=[?5h$<100>[?5l
Here $<100> specifies the time, you can use a smaller or bigger value
to get a shorter or longer flash.
Note: Vim will limit the bell to once per half a second. This avoids
having to wait for the flashing to finish when there are lots of
bells, e.g. on key repeat. This also happens without 'visualbell'
set.
In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
where 40 is the time in msec.
Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
might want to set it again in your gvimrc.
Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
Also see 'errorbells'.
'warn' 'nowarn'
'warn' boolean (default on)
global
Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
has been changed.
'weirdinvert' 'wiv' 'noweirdinvert' 'nowiv'
'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
global
This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
'whichwrap' 'ww'
'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
global
Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
char key mode
b <BS> Normal and Visual
s <Space> Normal and Visual
h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
< <Left> Normal and Visual
> <Right> Normal and Visual
~ "~" Normal
[ <Left> Insert and Replace
] <Right> Insert and Replace
For example:
:set ww=<,>,[,]
allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
"dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
cursor.
When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
line (not an empty line) then it will not move to the next line. This
makes "dl", "cl", "yl" etc. work normally.
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'wildchar' 'wc'
'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
global
Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
More info here: cmdline-completion.
The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
'wildcharm' for that.
Some keys will not work, such as CTRL-C, <CR> and Enter.
<Esc> can be used, but hitting it twice in a row will still exit
command-line as a failsafe measure.
Although 'wc' is a number option, it can be specified as a number, a
single character, a key-notation (e.g. <Up>, <C-F>) or a letter
preceded with a caret (e.g. ^F is CTRL-F):
:set wc=27
:set wc=X
:set wc=^I
:set wc=<Tab>
NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
'wildcharm' 'wcm'
'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
global
'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
keys suitable for this option by looking at ex-edit-index. Normally
you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.:
:set wcm=<C-Z>
:cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
'wildignore' 'wig'
'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
global
A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
patterns is ignored when expanding wildcards, completing file or
directory names, and influences the result of expand(), glob() and
globpath() unless a flag is passed to disable this.
The pattern is used like with :autocmd, see autocmd-patterns.
Also see 'suffixes'.
Example:
:set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
The use of :set+= and :set-= is preferred when adding or removing
a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
uses another default.
'wildignorecase' 'wic' 'nowildignorecase' 'nowic'
'wildignorecase' 'wic' boolean (default off)
global
When set case is ignored when completing file names and directories.
Has no effect when 'fileignorecase' is set.
Does not apply when the shell is used to expand wildcards, which
happens when there are special characters.
'wmnu' 'nowmnu'
'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off, set in defaults.vim)
global
When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
the possible matches are shown.
When 'wildoptions' contains "pum", then the completion matches are
shown in a popup menu. Otherwise they are displayed just above the
command line, with the first match highlighted (overwriting the status
line, if there is one).
Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
You can check the current mode with wildmenumode().
If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
as needed.
The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
for selecting a completion.
While the "wildmenu" is active, the following keys have special
meanings:
CTRL-P - go to the previous entry
CTRL-N - go to the next entry
<CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
dot: move into a submenu.
CTRL-E - end completion, go back to what was there before
selecting a match.
CTRL-Y - accept the currently selected match and stop
completion.
When not using the popup menu for command line completion, the
following keys have special meanings:
<Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
<Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
parent directory or parent menu.
<Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
subdirectory or submenu.
When using the popup menu for command line completion, the following
keys have special meanings:
<Up> <Down> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
<PageUp> - select a match several entries back
<PageDown> - select a match several entries further
<Left> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
parent directory or parent menu.
<Right> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
subdirectory or submenu.
This makes the menus accessible from the console console-menus.
If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
of selecting a different match, use this:
:cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
:cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
hl-WildMenu.
'wildmode' 'wim'
'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
global
Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
'wildchar'. It is a comma-separated list of up to four parts. Each
part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
The second part for the second use, etc.
Each part consists of a colon separated list consisting of the
following possible values:
"" Complete only the first match.
"full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
the original string is used and then the first match
again. Will also start 'wildmenu' if it is enabled.
"longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
result in a longer string, use the next part.
"list" When more than one match, list all matches.
"lastused" When completing buffer names and more than one buffer
matches, sort buffers by time last used (other than
the current buffer).
When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
Examples of useful colon-separated values:
"longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
enabled. Will not complete to the next full match.
"list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
complete first match.
"list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
complete till longest common string.
"list:lastused" When more than one buffer matches, list all matches
and sort buffers by time last used (other than the
current buffer).
Examples:
:set wildmode=full
Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default)
:set wildmode=longest,full
Complete longest common string, then each full match
:set wildmode=list:full
List all matches and complete each full match
:set wildmode=list,full
List all matches without completing, then each full match
:set wildmode=longest,list
Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
More info here: cmdline-completion.
'wildoptions' 'wop'
'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
global
A list of words that change how cmdline-completion is done.
The following values are supported:
fuzzy Use fuzzy-matching to find completion matches. When
this value is specified, wildcard expansion will not
be used for completion. The matches will be sorted by
the "best match" rather than alphabetically sorted.
This will find more matches than the wildcard
expansion. Currently fuzzy matching based completion
is not supported for file and directory names and
instead wildcard expansion is used.
pum Display the completion matches using the popup menu
in the same style as the ins-completion-menu.
tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
d #define
f function
'winaltkeys' 'wak'
'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
global
{only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
done with the :simalt command.
yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
combinations cannot be mapped.
menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
keys can be mapped.
If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
key is never used for the menu.
This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
'wincolor' 'wcr'
'wincolor' 'wcr' string (default empty)
local to window
Highlight group name to use for this window instead of the Normal
color hl-Normal.
'window' 'wi'
'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
global
Window height used for CTRL-F and CTRL-B when there is only one
window and the value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen
will scroll 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
When resizing the Vim window, and the value is smaller than 1 or more
than or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
Note: Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window, use
'lines' for that.
'winfixbuf'
'winfixbuf' 'wfb' boolean (default off)
local to window
If enabled, the window and the buffer it is displaying are paired.
For example, attempting to change the buffer with :edit will fail.
Other commands which change a window's buffer such as :cnext will
also skip any window with 'winfixbuf' enabled. However if an Ex
command has a "!" modifier, it can force switching buffers.
'winfixheight' 'wfh' 'nowinfixheight' 'nowfh'
'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
local to window local-noglobal
Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
'equalalways' is set. Also for CTRL-W_=. Set by default for the
preview-window and quickfix-window.
The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
'winfixwidth' 'wfw' 'nowinfixwidth' 'nowfw'
'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
local to window local-noglobal
Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
'equalalways' is set. Also for CTRL-W_=.
The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
'winheight' 'wh' E591
'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
global
Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
cost of the height of other windows.
Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
using the VimEnter event:
au VimEnter * set winheight=999
Minimum value is 1.
The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
height of the current window.
'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
the minimal height for other windows.
'winminheight' 'wmh'
'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
global
The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
'winminwidth' 'wmw'
'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
global
The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
to go.)
Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
'winptydll'
'winptydll' string (default "winpty32.dll" or "winpty64.dll")
global
{only available when compiled with the terminal
feature on MS-Windows}
Specifies the name of the winpty shared library, used for the
:terminal command. The default depends on whether Vim was built as a
32-bit or 64-bit executable. If not found, "winpty.dll" is tried as
a fallback.
Environment variables are expanded :set_env.
This option cannot be set from a modeline or in the sandbox, for
security reasons.
'winwidth' 'wiw' E592
'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
global
Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
width of the current window.
'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
the minimal width for other windows.
'wrap' 'nowrap'
'wrap' boolean (default on)
local to window
This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
horizontally.
The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this:
:set sidescroll=5
:set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and wrap-off.
This option can't be set from a modeline when the 'diff' option is
on.
'wrapmargin' 'wm'
'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
local to buffer
Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
and inserting continues on the next line.
Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
This option is set to 0 when 'paste' is set and restored when 'paste'
is reset.
See also 'formatoptions' and ins-textwidth.
'wrapscan' 'ws' 'nowrapscan' 'nows'
'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) E384 E385
global
Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to ]s and
[s, searching for spelling mistakes.
'write' 'nowrite'
'write' boolean (default on)
global
Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
still allowed. Can be reset with the -m or -M command line
argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
writing a temporary file.
'writeany' 'wa' 'nowriteany' 'nowa'
'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
global
Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
'writebackup' 'wb' 'nowritebackup' 'nowb'
'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with +writebackup feature, off
otherwise)
global
Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
also on.
WARNING: Switching this option off means that when Vim fails to write
your buffer correctly and then, for whatever reason, Vim exits, you
lose both the original file and what you were writing. Only reset
this option if your file system is almost full and it makes the write
fail (and make sure not to exit Vim until the write was successful).
See backup-table for another explanation.
When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
Depending on 'backupcopy' the backup is a new file or the original
file renamed (and a new file is written).
NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
set.
'writedelay' 'wd'
'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
global
The number of milliseconds to wait for each character sent to the
screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
one. For debugging purposes.
'xtermcodes' 'noxtermcodes'
'xtermcodes' boolean (default on)
global
When detecting xterm patchlevel 141 or higher with the termresponse
mechanism and this option is set, Vim will request the actual terminal
key codes and number of colors from the terminal. This takes care of
various configuration options of the terminal that cannot be obtained
from the termlib/terminfo entry, see xterm-codes.
A side effect may be that t_Co changes and Vim will redraw the
display.
vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: