version4.txt For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2006 Apr 24 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar This document lists the incompatible differences between Vim 3.0 and Vim 4.0. Although 4.0 is mentioned here, this is also for version 4.1, 4.2, etc.. This file is important for everybody upgrading from Vim 3.0. Read it carefully to avoid unexpected problems. 'backup' option default changed backup-changed Extension for backup file changed backup-extension Structure of swap file changed swapfile-changed "-w scriptout" argument changed scriptout-changed Backspace and Delete keys backspace-delete Escape for | changed escape-bar Key codes changed key-codes-changed Terminal options changed termcap-changed 'errorformat' option changed errorformat-changed 'graphic' option gone graphic-option-gone 'yankendofline' option gone ye-option-gone 'icon' and 'title' default value changed icon-changed 'highlight' option changed highlight-changed 'tildeop' and 'weirdinvert' short names changed short-name-changed Use of "v", "V" and "CTRL-V" in Visual mode use-visual-cmds CTRL-B in Insert mode removed toggle-revins 'backup' option default changed backup-changed ------------------------------- The default value for 'backup' used to be on. This resulted in a backup file being made when the original file was overwritten. Now the default for 'backup' is off. As soon as the writing of the file has successfully finished, the backup file is deleted. If you want to keep the backup file, set 'backup' on in your vimrc. The reason for this change is that many people complained that leaving a backup file behind is not Vi-compatible. 'backup' Extension for backup file changed backup-extension --------------------------------- The extension for the backup file used to be ".bak". Since other programs also use this extension and some users make copies with this extension, it was changed to the less obvious "~". Another advantage is that this takes less space, which is useful when working on a system with short file names. For example, on MS-DOS the backup files for "longfile.c" and "longfile.h" would both become "longfile.bak"; now they will be "longfile.c~" and "longfile.h~". If you prefer to use ".bak", you can set the 'backupext' option: :set bex=.bak Structure of swap file changed swapfile-changed ------------------------------ The contents of the swap file were extended with several parameters. Vim stores the user name and other information about the edited file to make recovery more easy and to be able to know where the swap file comes from. The first part of the swap file can now be understood on a machine with a different byte order or sizeof(int). When you try to recover a file on such a machine, you will get an error message that this is not possible. Because of this change, swap files cannot be exchanged between 3.0 and 4.0. If you have a swap file from a crashed session with 3.0, use Vim 3.0 to recover the file---don't use 4.0. swap-file "-w scriptout" argument changed scriptout-changed ------------------------------- "vim -w scriptout" used to append to the scriptout file. Since this was illogical, it now creates a new file. An existing file is not overwritten (to avoid destroying an existing file for those who rely on the appending). [This was removed again later] -w Backspace and Delete keys backspace-delete ------------------------- In 3.0 both the delete key and the backspace key worked as a backspace in insert mode; they deleted the character to the left of the cursor. In 4.0 the delete key has a new function: it deletes the character under the cursor, just like it does on the command-line. If the cursor is after the end of the line and 'bs' is set, two lines are joined. <Del> i_<Del> In 3.0 the backspace key was always defined as CTRL-H and delete as CTRL-?. In 4.0 the code for the backspace and delete key is obtained from termcap or termlib, and adjusted for the "stty erase" value on Unix. This helps people who define the erase character according to the keyboard they are working on. <BS> i_<BS> If you prefer backspace and delete in Insert mode to have the old behavior, put this line in your vimrc: inoremap ^? ^H And you may also want to add these, to fix the values for <BS> and <Del>: set t_kb=^H set t_kD=^? (Enter ^H with CTRL-V CTRL-H and ^? with CTRL-V CTRL-? or <Del>.) If the value for t_kb is correct, but the t_kD value is not, use the ":fixdel" command. It will set t_kD according to the value of t_kb. This is useful if you are using several different terminals. :fixdel When ^H is not recognized as <BS> or <Del>, it is used like a backspace. Escape for | changed escape-bar -------------------- When the 'b' flag is present in 'cpoptions', the backslash cannot be used to escape '|' in mapping and abbreviate commands, only CTRL-V can. This is Vi-compatible. If you work in Vi-compatible mode and had used "\|" to include a bar in a mapping, this needs to be replaced by "^V|". See :bar. Key codes changed key-codes-changed ----------------- The internal representation of key codes has changed dramatically. In 3.0 a one-byte code was used to represent a key. This caused problems with different characters sets that also used these codes. In 4.0 a three-byte code is used that cannot be confused with a character. key-notation If you have used the single-byte key codes in your vimrc for mappings, you will have to replace them with the 4.0 codes. Instead of using the three-byte code directly, you should use the symbolic representation for this in <>. See the table below. The table also lists the old name, as it was used in the 3.0 documentation. The key names in <> can be used in mappings directly. This makes it possible to copy/paste examples or type them literally. The <> notation has been introduced for this <>. The 'B' and '<' flags must not be present in 'cpoptions' to enable this to work 'cpoptions'. old name new name old code old MS-DOS code hex dec hex dec <ESC> <Esc> <TAB> <Tab> <LF> <NL> <NewLine> <LineFeed> <SPACE> <Space> <NUL> <Nul> <BELL> <Bell> <BS> <BS> <BackSpace> <INSERT> <Insert> <DEL> <Del> <Delete> <HOME> <Home> <END> <End> <PAGE_UP> <PageUp> <PAGE_DOWN> <PageDown> <C_UP> <Up> 0x80 128 0xb0 176 <C_DOWN> <Down> 0x81 129 0xb1 177 <C_LEFT> <Left> 0x82 130 0xb2 178 <C_RIGHT> <Right> 0x83 131 0xb3 179 <SC_UP> <S-Up> 0x84 132 0xb4 180 <SC_DOWN> <S-Down> 0x85 133 0xb5 181 <SC_LEFT> <S-Left> 0x86 134 0xb6 182 <SC_RIGHT> <S-Right> 0x87 135 0xb7 183 <F1> <F1> 0x88 136 0xb8 184 <F2> <F2> 0x89 137 0xb9 185 <F3> <F3> 0x8a 138 0xba 186 <F4> <F4> 0x8b 139 0xbb 187 <F5> <F5> 0x8c 140 0xbc 188 <F6> <F6> 0x8d 141 0xbd 189 <F7> <F7> 0x8e 142 0xbe 190 <F8> <F8> 0x8f 143 0xbf 191 <F9> <F9> 0x90 144 0xc0 192 <F10> <F10> 0x91 145 0xc1 193 <SF1> <S-F1> 0x92 146 0xc2 194 <SF2> <S-F2> 0x93 147 0xc3 195 <SF3> <S-F3> 0x94 148 0xc4 196 <SF4> <S-F4> 0x95 149 0xc5 197 <SF5> <S-F5> 0x96 150 0xc6 198 <SF6> <S-F6> 0x97 151 0xc7 199 <SF7> <S-F7> 0x98 152 0xc8 200 <SF8> <S-F8> 0x99 153 0xc9 201 <SF9> <S-F9> 0x9a 154 0xca 202 <SF10> <S-F10> 0x9b 155 0xcb 203 <HELP> <Help> 0x9c 156 0xcc 204 <UNDO> <Undo> 0x9d 157 0xcd 205 (not used) 0x9e 158 0xce 206 (not used) 0x9f 159 0xcf 207 Terminal options changed termcap-changed ------------------------ The names of the terminal options have been changed to match the termcap names of these options. All terminal options now have the name t_xx, where xx is the termcap name. Normally these options are not used, unless you have a termcap entry that is wrong or incomplete, or you have set the highlight options to a different value. terminal-options Note that for some keys there is no termcap name. Use the <> type of name instead, which is a good idea anyway. Note that "t_ti" has become "t_mr" (invert/reverse output) and "t_ts" has become "t_ti" (init terminal mode). Be careful when you use "t_ti"! old name new name meaning t_cdl t_DL delete number of lines t_cdl t_ci t_vi cursor invisible t_ci t_cil t_AL insert number of lines t_cil t_cm t_cm move cursor t_cri t_RI cursor number of chars right t_cri t_cv t_ve cursor visible t_cv t_cvv t_vs cursor very visible t_cvv t_dl t_dl delete line t_cs t_cs scroll region t_ed t_cl clear display t_ed t_el t_ce clear line t_el t_il t_al insert line t_il t_da display may be retained above the screen t_db display may be retained below the screen t_ke t_ke put terminal out of keypad transmit mode t_ks t_ks put terminal in keypad transmit mode t_ms t_ms save to move cursor in highlight mode t_se t_se normal mode (undo t_so) t_so t_so shift out (standout) mode t_ti t_mr reverse highlight t_tb t_md bold mode t_tb t_tp t_me highlight end t_tp t_sr t_sr scroll reverse t_te t_te out of termcap mode t_ts t_ti into termcap mode t_ts_old t_vb t_vb visual bell t_csc t_CS cursor is relative to scroll region t_csc t_ku t_ku <Up> arrow up t_kd t_kd <Down> arrow down t_kr t_kr <Right> arrow right t_kl t_kl <Left> arrow left t_sku <S-Up> shifted arrow up t_sku t_skd <S-Down> shifted arrow down t_skd t_skr t_%i <S-Right> shifted arrow right t_skr t_skl t_#4 <S-Left> shifted arrow left t_skl t_f1 t_k1 <F1> function key 1 t_f1 t_f2 t_k2 <F2> function key 2 t_f2 t_f3 t_k3 <F3> function key 3 t_f3 t_f4 t_k4 <F4> function key 4 t_f4 t_f5 t_k5 <F5> function key 5 t_f5 t_f6 t_k6 <F6> function key 6 t_f6 t_f7 t_k7 <F7> function key 7 t_f7 t_f8 t_k8 <F8> function key 8 t_f8 t_f9 t_k9 <F9> function key 9 t_f9 t_f10 t_k; <F10> function key 10 t_f10 t_sf1 <S-F1> shifted function key 1 t_sf1 t_sf2 <S-F2> shifted function key 2 t_sf2 t_sf3 <S-F3> shifted function key 3 t_sf3 t_sf4 <S-F4> shifted function key 4 t_sf4 t_sf5 <S-F5> shifted function key 5 t_sf5 t_sf6 <S-F6> shifted function key 6 t_sf6 t_sf7 <S-F7> shifted function key 7 t_sf7 t_sf8 <S-F8> shifted function key 8 t_sf8 t_sf9 <S-F9> shifted function key 9 t_sf9 t_sf10 <S-F10> shifted function key 10 t_sf10 t_help t_%1 <Help> help key t_help t_undo t_&8 <Undo> undo key t_undo 'errorformat' option changed errorformat-changed ---------------------------- 'errorformat' can now contain several formats, separated by commas. The first format that matches is used. The default values have been adjusted to catch the most common formats. errorformat If you have a format that contains a comma, it needs to be preceded with a backslash. Type two backslashes, because the ":set" command will eat one. 'graphic' option gone graphic-option-gone --------------------- The 'graphic' option was used to make the characters between <~> and 0xa0 display directly on the screen. Now the 'isprint' option takes care of this with many more possibilities. The default setting is the same; you only need to look into this if you previously set the 'graphic' option in your vimrc. 'isprint' 'yankendofline' option gone ye-option-gone --------------------------- The 'yankendofline' option has been removed. Instead you can just use :map Y y$ 'icon' and 'title' default value changed icon-changed ---------------------------------------- The 'title' option is now only set by default if the original title can be restored. Avoids "Thanks for flying Vim" titles. If you want them anyway, put ":set title" in your vimrc. 'title' The default for 'icon' now depends on the possibility of restoring the original value, just like 'title'. If you don't like your icon titles to be changed, add this line to your vimrc: 'icon' :set noicon 'highlight' option changed highlight-changed -------------------------- The 'i' flag now means italic highlighting, instead of invert. The 'r' flag is used for reverse highlighting, which is what 'i' used to be. Normally you won't see the difference, because italic mode is not supported on most terminals and reverse mode is used as a fallback. 'highlight' When an occasion is not present in 'highlight', use the mode from the default value for 'highlight', instead of reverse mode. 'tildeop' and 'weirdinvert' short names changed short-name-changed ----------------------------------------------- Renamed 'to' (abbreviation for 'tildeop') to 'top'. 'tildeop' Renamed 'wi' (abbreviation for 'weirdinvert') to 'wiv'. 'weirdinvert' This was done because Vi uses 'wi' as the short name for 'window' and 'to' as the short name for 'timeout'. This means that if you try setting these options, you won't get an error message, but the effect will be different. Use of "v", "V" and "CTRL-V" in Visual mode use-visual-cmds ------------------------------------------- In Visual mode, "v", "V", and "CTRL-V" used to end Visual mode. Now this happens only if the Visual mode was in the corresponding type. Otherwise the type of Visual mode is changed. Now only ESC can be used in all circumstances to end Visual mode without doing anything. v_V CTRL-B in Insert mode removed toggle-revins ----------------------------- CTRL-B in Insert mode used to toggle the 'revins' option. If you don't know this and accidentally hit CTRL-B, it is very difficult to find out how to undo it. Since hardly anybody uses this feature, it is disabled by default. If you want to use it, define RIGHTLEFT in feature.h before compiling. 'revins' vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: