ex, vi, view - text editors
ex [-eFGRrSsv] [-c cmd] [-t
tag] [-w size] [file ...]
vi [-eFlRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t
tag] [-w size] [file ...]
view [-eFGRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t
tag] [-w size] [file ...]
The vi program is freely redistributable. You are welcome to copy, modify and
share it with others under the conditions listed in the LICENSE file. If any
company (not individual!) finds vi sufficiently useful that you would have
purchased it, or if any company wishes to redistribute it, contributions to
the authors would be appreciated.
Vi is a screen oriented text editor. Ex is a line-oriented text
editor. Ex and vi are different interfaces to the same program,
and it is possible to switch back and forth during an edit session.
View is the equivalent of using the -R (read-only) option of
vi.
This manual page is the one provided with the nex/nvi
versions of the ex/vi text editors. Nex/nvi are intended as
bug-for-bug compatible replacements for the original Fourth Berkeley
Software Distribution (4BSD) ex and vi programs. For the rest
of this manual page, nex/nvi is used only when it's necessary to
distinguish it from the historic implementations of ex/vi.
This manual page is intended for users already familiar with
ex/vi. Anyone else should almost certainly read a good tutorial on
the editor before this manual page. If you're in an unfamiliar environment,
and you absolutely have to get work done immediately, read the section after
the options description, entitled ``Fast Startup''. It's probably enough to
get you going.
The following options are available:
- -c
- Execute cmd immediately after starting the edit session.
Particularly useful for initial positioning in the file, however
cmd is not limited to positioning commands. This is the POSIX
1003.2 interface for the historic ``+cmd'' syntax. Nex/nvi supports
both the old and new syntax.
- -e
- Start editing in ex mode, as if the command name were ex.
- -F
- Don't copy the entire file when first starting to edit. (The default is to
make a copy in case someone else modifies the file during your edit
session.)
- -G
- Start editing in gtags mode, as if the gtagsmode option was set.
- -l
- Start editing with the lisp and showmatch options set.
- -R
- Start editing in read-only mode, as if the command name was view,
or the readonly option was set.
- -r
- Recover the specified files, or, if no files are specified, list the files
that could be recovered.
- -S
- Run with the secure edit option set, disallowing all access to
external programs.
- -s
- Enter batch mode; applicable only to ex edit sessions. Batch mode
is useful when running ex scripts. Prompts, informative messages
and other user oriented message are turned off, and no startup files or
environmental variables are read. This is the POSIX 1003.2 interface for
the historic ``-'' argument. Nex/nvi supports both the old and new
syntax.
- -t
- Start editing at the specified tag. (See ctags(1)).
- -w
- Set the initial window size to the specified number of lines.
- -v
- Start editing in vi mode, as if the command name was vi or
view.
Command input for ex/vi is read from the standard input. In
the vi interface, it is an error if standard input is not a terminal.
In the ex interface, if standard input is not a terminal, ex
will read commands from it regardless, however, the session will be a batch
mode session, exactly as if the -s option had been specified.
Ex/vi exits 0 on success, and greater than 0 if an error
occurs.
This section will tell you the minimum amount that you need to do simple editing
tasks using vi. If you've never used any screen editor before, you're
likely to have problems even with this simple introduction. In that case you
should find someone that already knows vi and have them walk you
through this section.
Vi is a screen editor. This means that it takes up almost
the entire screen, displaying part of the file on each screen line, except
for the last line of the screen. The last line of the screen is used for you
to give commands to vi, and for vi to give information to
you.
The other fact that you need to understand is that vi is a
modeful editor, i.e. you are either entering text or you are executing
commands, and you have to be in the right mode to do one or the other. You
will be in command mode when you first start editing a file. There are
commands that switch you into input mode. There is only one key that takes
you out of input mode, and that is the <escape> key. (Key names are
written using less-than and greater-than signs, e.g. <escape> means
the ``escape'' key, usually labeled ``esc'' on your terminal's keyboard.) If
you're ever confused as to which mode you're in, keep entering the
<escape> key until vi beeps at you. (Generally, vi will
beep at you if you try and do something that's not allowed. It will also
display error messages.)
To start editing a file, enter the command ``vi
file_name<carriage-return>''. The command you should enter as soon as
you start editing is ``:set verbose showmode<carriage-return>''. This
will make the editor give you verbose error messages and display the current
mode at the bottom of the screen.
The commands to move around the file are:
- h
- Move the cursor left one character.
- j
- Move the cursor down one line.
- k
- Move the cursor up one line.
- l
- Move the cursor right one character.
- <cursor-arrows>
- The cursor arrow keys should work, too.
- /text<carriage-return>
- Search for the string ``text'' in the file, and move the cursor to its
first character.
The commands to enter new text are:
- a
- Append new text, after the cursor.
- i
- Insert new text, before the cursor.
- o
- Open a new line below the line the cursor is on, and start entering
text.
- O
- Open a new line above the line the cursor is on, and start entering
text.
- <escape>
- Once you've entered input mode using the one of the a, i,
O or o commands, use <escape> to quit entering
text and return to command mode.
The commands to copy text are:
- yy
- Copy the line the cursor is on.
- p
- Append the copied line after the line the cursor is on.
The commands to delete text are:
- dd
- Delete the line the cursor is on.
- x
- Delete the character the cursor is on.
The commands to write the file are:
- :w<carriage-return>
- Write the file back to the file with the name that you originally used as
an argument on the vi command line.
- :w file_name<carriage-return>
- Write the file back to the file with the name ``file_name''.
The commands to quit editing and exit the editor are:
- :q<carriage-return>
- Quit editing and leave vi (if you've modified the file, but not saved your
changes, vi will refuse to quit).
- :q!<carriage-return>
- Quit, discarding any modifications that you may have made.
One final caution. Unusual characters can take up more than one
column on the screen, and long lines can take up more than a single screen
line. The above commands work on ``physical'' characters and lines, i.e.
they affect the entire line no matter how many screen lines it takes up and
the entire character no matter how many screen columns it takes up.
The following section describes the commands available in the command mode of
the vi editor. In each entry below, the tag line is a usage synopsis
for the command character.
- [count] <control-A>
- Search forward count times for the current word.
- [count] <control-B>
- Page backwards count screens.
- [count] <control-D>
- Scroll forward count lines.
- [count] <control-E>
- Scroll forward count lines, leaving the current line and column as
is, if possible.
- [count] <control-F>
- Page forward count screens.
- <control-G>
- Display the file information.
- <control-H>
- [count] h
- Move the cursor back count characters in the current line.
- [count] <control-J>
- [count] <control-N>
- [count] j
- Move the cursor down count lines without changing the current
column.
- <control-L>
- <control-R>
- Repaint the screen.
- [count] <control-M>
- [count] +
- Move the cursor down count lines to the first nonblank character of
that line.
- [count] <control-P>
- [count] k
- Move the cursor up count lines, without changing the current
column.
- <control-T>
- Return to the most recent tag context.
- <control-U>
- Scroll backwards count lines.
- <control-W>
- Switch to the next lower screen in the window, or, to the first screen if
there are no lower screens in the window.
- <control-Y>
- Scroll backwards count lines, leaving the current line and column
as is, if possible.
- <control-Z>
- Suspend the current editor session.
- <escape>
- Execute ex commands or cancel partial commands.
- <control-]>
- Push a tag reference onto the tag stack. In gtagsmode, if at the first
column of line, locate function references otherwise function
definitions.
- <control-^>
- Switch to the most recently edited file.
- [count] <space>
- [count] l
- Move the cursor forward count characters without changing the
current line.
- [count] ! motion shell-argument(s)
- Replace text with results from a shell command.
- [count] # #|+|-
- Increment or decrement the cursor number.
- [count] $
- Move the cursor to the end of a line.
- %
- Move to the matching character.
- &
- Repeat the previous substitution command on the current line.
- '<character>
- `<character>
- Return to a context marked by the character <character>.
- [count] (
- Back up count sentences.
- [count] )
- Move forward count sentences.
- [count] ,
- Reverse find character count times.
- [count] -
- Move to first nonblank of the previous line, count times.
- [count] .
- Repeat the last vi command that modified text.
- /RE<carriage-return>
- /RE/ [offset]<carriage-return>
- ?RE<carriage-return>
- ?RE? [offset]<carriage-return>
- N
- n
- Search forward or backward for a regular expression.
- 0
- Move to the first character in the current line.
- :
- Execute an ex command.
- [count] ;
- Repeat the last character find count times.
- [count] < motion
- [count] > motion
- Shift lines left or right.
- @ buffer
- Execute a named buffer.
- [count] A
- Enter input mode, appending the text after the end of the line.
- [count] B
- Move backwards count bigwords.
- [buffer] [count] C
- Change text from the current position to the end-of-line.
- [buffer] D
- Delete text from the current position to the end-of-line.
- [count] E
- Move forward count end-of-bigwords.
- [count] F <character>
- Search count times backward through the current line for
<character>.
- [count] G
- Move to line count, or the last line of the file if count
not specified.
- [count] H
- Move to the screen line count - 1 lines below the top of the
screen.
- [count] I
- Enter input mode, inserting the text at the beginning of the line.
- [count] J
- Join lines.
- [count] L
- Move to the screen line count - 1 lines above the bottom of the
screen.
- M
- Move to the screen line in the middle of the screen.
- [count] O
- Enter input mode, appending text in a new line above the current
line.
- [buffer] P
- Insert text from a buffer.
- Q
- Exit vi (or visual) mode and switch to ex mode.
- [count] R
- Enter input mode, replacing the characters in the current line.
- [buffer] [count] S
- Substitute count lines.
- [count] T <character>
- Search backwards, count times, through the current line for the
character after the specified <character>.
- U
- Restore the current line to its state before the cursor last moved to
it.
- [count] W
- Move forward count bigwords.
- [buffer] [count] X
- Delete count characters before the cursor.
- [buffer] [count] Y
- Copy (or ``yank'') count lines into the specified buffer.
- ZZ
- Write the file and exit vi.
- [count] [[
- Back up count section boundaries.
- [count] ]]
- Move forward count section boundaries.
- ^
- Move to first nonblank character on the current line.
- [count] _
- Move down count - 1 lines, to the first nonblank character.
- [count] a
- Enter input mode, appending the text after the cursor.
- [count] b
- Move backwards count words.
- [buffer] [count] c motion
- Change a region of text.
- [buffer] [count] d motion
- Delete a region of text.
- [count] e
- Move forward count end-of-words.
- [count] f<character>
- Search forward, count times, through the rest of the current line
for <character>.
- [count] i
- Enter input mode, inserting the text before the cursor.
- m <character>
- Save the current context (line and column) as
<character>.
- [count] o
- Enter input mode, appending text in a new line under the current
line.
- [buffer] p
- Append text from a buffer.
- [count] r <character>
- Replace count characters.
- [buffer] [count] s
- Substitute count characters in the current line starting with the
current character.
- [count] t <character>
- Search forward, count times, through the current line for the
character immediately before <character>.
- u
- Undo the last change made to the file.
- [count] w
- Move forward count words.
- [buffer] [count] x
- Delete count characters.
- [buffer] [count] y motion
- Copy (or ``yank'') a text region specified by the count and motion
into a buffer.
- [count1] z [count2] -|.|+|^|<carriage-return>
- Redraw, optionally repositioning and resizing the screen.
- [count] {
- Move backward count paragraphs.
- [count] |
- Move to a specific column position on the current line.
- [count] }
- Move forward count paragraphs.
- [count] ~
- Reverse the case of the next count character(s).
- [count] ~ motion
- Reverse the case of the characters in a text region specified by the
count and motion.
- <interrupt>
- Interrupt the current operation.
The following section describes the commands available in the text input mode of
the vi editor.
- <nul>
- Replay the previous input.
- <control-D>
- Erase to the previous shiftwidth column boundary.
- ^<control-D>
- Erase all of the autoindent characters, and reset the autoindent
level.
- 0<control-D>
- Erase all of the autoindent characters.
- <control-T>
- Insert sufficient <tab> and <space> characters
to move forward to the next shiftwidth column boundary. If
expandtab is set, only insert <space> characters.
- <erase>
- <control-H>
- Erase the last character.
- <literal next>
- Quote the next character.
- <escape>
- Resolve all text input into the file, and return to command mode.
- <line erase>
- Erase the current line.
- <control-W>
- <word erase>
- Erase the last word. The definition of word is dependent on the
altwerase and ttywerase options.
- <control-X>[0-9A-Fa-f]+
- Insert a character with the specified hexadecimal value into the
text.
- <interrupt>
- Interrupt text input mode, returning to command mode.
The following section describes the commands available in the ex editor.
In each entry below, the tag line is a usage synopsis for the command.
- <end-of-file>
- Scroll the screen.
- ! argument(s)
- [range]! argument(s)
- Execute a shell command, or filter lines through a shell command.
- "
- A comment.
- [range] nu[mber] [count] [flags]
- [range] # [count] [flags]
- Display the selected lines, each preceded with its line number.
- @ buffer
- * buffer
- Execute a buffer.
- [line] a[ppend][!]
- The input text is appended after the specified line.
- [range] c[hange][!] [count]
- The input text replaces the specified range.
- cs[cope] add | find | help | kill | reset
- Execute a Cscope command.
- [range] d[elete] [buffer] [count] [flags]
- Delete the lines from the file.
- di[splay] b[uffers] | c[onnections] | s[creens] | t[ags]
- Display buffers, Cscope connections, screens or tags.
- [Ee][dit][!] [+cmd] [file]
- [Ee]x[!] [+cmd] [file]
- Edit a different file.
- exu[sage] [command]
- Display usage for an ex command.
- f[ile] [file]
- Display and optionally change the file name.
- [Ff]g [name]
- Vi mode only. Foreground the specified screen.
- [range] g[lobal] /pattern/ [commands]
- [range] v /pattern/ [commands]
- Apply commands to lines matching (or not matching) a pattern.
- he[lp]
- Display a help message.
- [line] i[nsert][!]
- The input text is inserted before the specified line.
- [range] j[oin][!] [count] [flags]
- Join lines of text together.
- [range] l[ist] [count] [flags]
- Display the lines unambiguously.
- map[!] [lhs rhs]
- Define or display maps (for vi only).
- [line] ma[rk] <character>
- [line] k <character>
- Mark the line with the mark <character>.
- [range] m[ove] line
- Move the specified lines after the target line.
- mk[exrc][!] file
- Write the abbreviations, editor options and maps to the specified
file.
- [Nn][ext][!] [file ...]
- Edit the next file from the argument list.
- [line] o[pen] /pattern/ [flags]
- Enter open mode.
- pre[serve]
- Save the file in a form that can later be recovered using the ex
-r option.
- [Pp]rev[ious][!]
- Edit the previous file from the argument list.
- [range] p[rint] [count] [flags]
- Display the specified lines.
- [line] pu[t] [buffer]
- Append buffer contents to the current line.
- q[uit][!]
- End the editing session.
- [line] r[ead][!] [file]
- Read a file.
- rec[over] file
- Recover file if it was previously saved.
- res[ize] [+|-]size
- Vi mode only. Grow or shrink the current screen.
- rew[ind][!]
- Rewind the argument list.
- rta[g][!] tagstring
- Edit the file referring the specified tag. (Only in gtagsmode)
- se[t] [option[=[value]] ...] [nooption ...] [option? ...]
[all]
- Display or set editor options.
- sh[ell]
- Run a shell program.
- so[urce] file
- Read and execute ex commands from a file.
- [range] s[ubstitute] [/pattern/replace/] [options] [count]
[flags]
- [range] & [options] [count] [flags]
- [range] ~ [options] [count] [flags]
- Make substitutions.
- su[spend][!]
- st[op][!]
- <suspend>
- Suspend the edit session.
- [Tt]a[g][!] tagstring
- Edit the file containing the specified tag.
- tagn[ext][!]
- Edit the file containing the next context for the current tag.
- tagp[op][!] [file | number]
- Pop to the specified tag in the tags stack.
- tagpr[ev][!]
- Edit the file containing the previous context for the current tag.
- unm[ap][!] lhs
- Unmap a mapped string.
- ve[rsion]
- Display the version of the ex/vi editor.
- [line] vi[sual] [type] [count] [flags]
- Ex mode only. Enter vi.
- [Vi]i[sual][!] [+cmd] [file]
- Vi mode only. Edit a new file.
- viu[sage] [command]
- Display usage for a vi command.
- [range] w[rite][!] [>>] [file]
- [range] w[rite] [!] [file]
- [range] wn[!] [>>] [file]
- [range] wq[!] [>>] [file]
- Write the file.
- [range] x[it][!] [file]
- Write the file if it has been modified.
- [range] ya[nk] [buffer] [count]
- Copy the specified lines to a buffer.
- [line] z [type] [count] [flags]
- Adjust the window.
There are a large number of options that may be set (or unset) to change the
editor's behavior. This section describes the options, their abbreviations and
their default values.
In each entry below, the first part of the tag line is the full
name of the option, followed by any equivalent abbreviations. The part in
square brackets is the default value of the option. Most of the options are
boolean, i.e. they are either on or off, and do not have an associated
value.
Options apply to both ex and vi modes, unless
otherwise specified.
- altwerase [off]
- Vi only. Select an alternate word erase algorithm.
- autoindent, ai [off]
- Automatically indent new lines.
- autoprint, ap [off]
- Ex only. Display the current line automatically.
- autowrite, aw [off]
- Write modified files automatically when changing files.
- backup [""]
- Backup files before they are overwritten.
- beautify, bf [off]
- Discard control characters.
- cdpath [environment variable CDPATH, or current directory]
- The directory paths used as path prefixes for the cd command.
- cedit [no default]
- Set the character to edit the colon command-line history.
- columns, co [80]
- Set the number of columns in the screen.
- comment [off]
- Vi only. Skip leading comments in shell, C and C++ language
files.
- directory, dir [environment variable TMPDIR, or /tmp]
- The directory where temporary files are created.
- edcompatible, ed [off]
- Remember the values of the ``c'' and ``g'' suffices to the
substitute commands, instead of initializing them as unset for each
new command.
- errorbells, eb [off]
- Ex only. Announce error messages with a bell.
- expandtab, et [off]
- Prevent the use of <tab> characters in leading whitespace
when shifting text, autoindenting, indenting with
<control-T>, or outdenting with
<control-D>.
- exrc, ex [off]
- Read the startup files in the local directory.
- extended [off]
- Regular expressions are extended (i.e. egrep(1)-style)
expressions.
- filec [no default]
- Set the character to perform file path completion on the colon command
line.
- flash [on]
- Flash the screen instead of beeping the keyboard on error.
- gtagsmode, gt [off]
- Use GTAGS and GRTAGS instead of tags.
- hardtabs, ht [8]
- Set the spacing between hardware tab settings.
- iclower [off]
- Makes all Regular Expressions case-insensitive, as long as an upper-case
letter does not appear in the search string.
- ignorecase, ic [off]
- Ignore case differences in regular expressions.
- imctrl [off]
- Control input method by using escape sequences compatible to Tera Term and
RLogin. The state of input method in commands specified by imkey option is
saved and restored automatically. Input method is then deactivated on
returning to command mode. If terminal does not accept these escape
sequences, screen should be corrupted.
- imkey [/?aioAIO]
- Set commands which the state of input method is restored and saved on
entering and leaving, respectively.
- keytime [6]
- The 10th's of a second ex/vi waits for a subsequent key to complete
a key mapping.
- leftright [off]
- Vi only. Do left-right scrolling.
- lines, li [24]
- Vi only. Set the number of lines in the screen.
- lisp [off]
- Vi only. Modify various search commands and options to work with
Lisp. This option is not yet implemented.
- list [off]
- Display lines in an unambiguous fashion.
- lock [on]
- Attempt to get an exclusive lock on any file being edited, read or
written.
- magic [on]
- Treat certain characters specially in regular expressions.
- matchchars [[]{}()<>]
- Character pairs looked for by the % command.
- matchtime [7]
- Vi only. The 10th's of a second ex/vi pauses on the matching
character when the showmatch option is set.
- mesg [on]
- Permit messages from other users.
- modelines, modeline [off]
- Read the first and last few lines of each file for ex commands.
This option will never be implemented.
- noprint [""]
- Characters that are never handled as printable characters.
- number, nu [off]
- Precede each line displayed with its current line number.
- octal [off]
- Display unknown characters as octal numbers, instead of the default
hexadecimal.
- open [on]
- Ex only. If this option is not set, the open and
visual commands are disallowed.
- optimize, opt [on]
- Vi only. Optimize text throughput to dumb terminals. This option
is not yet implemented.
- paragraphs, para [IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp]
- Vi only. Define additional paragraph boundaries for the {
and } commands.
- path []
- Define additional directories to search for files being edited.
- print [""]
- Characters that are always handled as printable characters.
- prompt [on]
- Ex only. Display a command prompt.
- readonly, ro [off]
- Mark the file and session as read-only.
- recdir [/var/tmp/vi.recover]
- The directory where recovery files are stored.
- redraw, re [off]
- Vi only. Simulate an intelligent terminal on a dumb one. This
option is not yet implemented.
- remap [on]
- Remap keys until resolved.
- report [5]
- Set the number of lines about which the editor reports changes or
yanks.
- ruler [off]
- Vi only. Display a row/column ruler on the colon command line.
- scroll, scr [window / 2]
- Set the number of lines scrolled.
- searchincr [off]
- Makes the / and ? commands incremental.
- sections, sect [NHSHH HUnhsh]
- Vi only. Define additional section boundaries for the [[ and
]] commands.
- secure [off]
- Turns off all access to external programs.
- shell, sh [environment variable SHELL, or /bin/sh]
- Select the shell used by the editor.
- shellmeta [~{[*?$`'"\]
- Set the meta characters checked to determine if file name expansion is
necessary.
- shiftwidth, sw [8]
- Set the autoindent and shift command indentation width.
- showmatch, sm [off]
- Vi only. Note matching ``{'' and ``('' for ``}'' and ``)''
characters.
- showmode, smd [off]
- Vi only. Display the current editor mode and a ``modified''
flag.
- sidescroll [16]
- Vi only. Set the amount a left-right scroll will shift.
- slowopen, slow [off]
- Delay display updating during text input. This option is not yet
implemented.
- sourceany [off]
- Read startup files not owned by the current user. This option will
never be implemented.
- tabstop, ts [8]
- This option sets tab widths for the editor display.
- taglength, tl [0]
- Set the number of significant characters in tag names.
- tags, tag [tags /var/db/libc.tags /sys/kern/tags]
- Set the list of tags files.
- term, ttytype, tty [environment variable TERM]
- Set the terminal type.
- terse [off]
- This option has historically made editor messages less verbose. It has no
effect in this implementation.
- tildeop [off]
- Modify the ~ command to take an associated motion.
- timeout, to [on]
- Time out on keys which may be mapped.
- ttywerase [off]
- Vi only. Select an alternate erase algorithm.
- verbose [off]
- Vi only. Display an error message for every error.
- w300 [no default]
- Vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is less than 1200
baud.
- w1200 [no default]
- Vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is equal to 1200
baud.
- w9600 [no default]
- Vi only. Set the window size if the baud rate is greater than 1200
baud.
- warn [on]
- Ex only. This option causes a warning message to the terminal if
the file has been modified, since it was last written, before a !
command.
- window, w, wi [environment variable LINES]
- Set the window size for the screen.
- windowname [off]
- Change the icon/window name to the current file name even if it can't be
restored on editor exit.
- wraplen, wl [0]
- Vi only. Break lines automatically, the specified number of columns
from the left-hand margin. If both the wraplen and
wrapmargin edit options are set, the wrapmargin value is
used.
- wrapmargin, wm [0]
- Vi only. Break lines automatically, the specified number of columns
from the right-hand margin. If both the wraplen and
wrapmargin edit options are set, the wrapmargin value is
used.
- wrapscan, ws [on]
- Set searches to wrap around the end or beginning of the file.
- writeany, wa [off]
- Turn off file-overwriting checks.
- COLUMNS
- The number of columns on the screen. This value overrides any system or
terminal specific values. If the COLUMNS environmental variable is
not set when ex/vi runs, or the columns option is explicitly
reset by the user, ex/vi enters the value into the
environment.
- EXINIT
- A list of ex startup commands, read if the variable NEXINIT
is not set.
- HOME
- The user's home directory, used as the initial directory path for the
startup ``$HOME/.nexrc'' and ``$HOME/.exrc'' files. This
value is also used as the default directory for the vi cd
command.
- LINES
- The number of rows on the screen. This value overrides any system or
terminal specific values. If the LINES environmental variable is
not set when ex/vi runs, or the lines option is explicitly
reset by the user, ex/vi enters the value into the
environment.
- NEXINIT
- A list of ex startup commands.
- SHELL
- The user's shell of choice (see also the shell option).
- TERM
- The user's terminal type. The default is the type ``unknown''. If the
TERM environmental variable is not set when ex/vi runs, or
the term option is explicitly reset by the user, ex/vi
enters the value into the environment.
- TMPDIR
- The location used to stored temporary files (see also the directory
edit option).
- SIGALRM
- Vi/ex uses this signal for periodic backups of file modifications
and to display ``busy'' messages when operations are likely to take a long
time.
- SIGHUP
- SIGTERM
- If the current buffer has changed since it was last written in its
entirety, the editor attempts to save the modified file so it can be later
recovered. See the vi/ex Reference manual section entitled
``Recovery'' for more information.
- SIGINT
- When an interrupt occurs, the current operation is halted, and the editor
returns to the command level. If interrupted during text input, the text
already input is resolved into the file as if the text input had been
normally terminated.
- SIGWINCH
- The screen is resized. See the vi/ex Reference manual section
entitled ``Sizing the Screen'' for more information.
- SIGCONT
- SIGQUIT
- SIGTSTP
- Vi/ex ignores these signals.
- /bin/sh
- The default user shell.
- /etc/vi.exrc
- System-wide vi startup file.
- /tmp
- Temporary file directory.
- /var/tmp/vi.recover
- The default recovery file directory.
- $HOME/.nexrc
- 1st choice for user's home directory startup file.
- $HOME/.exrc
- 2nd choice for user's home directory startup file.
- .nexrc
- 1st choice for local directory startup file.
- .exrc
- 2nd choice for local directory startup file.
ctags(1), more(1), curses(3), dbopen(3)
The ``Vi Quick Reference'' card.
``An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi'', found in the
``UNIX User's Manual Supplementary Documents'' section of both the 4.3BSD
and 4.4BSD manual sets. This document is the closest thing available to an
introduction to the vi screen editor.
``Ex Reference Manual (Version 3.7)'', found in the ``UNIX User's
Manual Supplementary Documents'' section of both the 4.3BSD and 4.4BSD
manual sets. This document is the final reference for the ex editor,
as distributed in most historic 4BSD and System V systems.
``Edit: A tutorial'', found in the ``UNIX User's Manual
Supplementary Documents'' section of the 4.3BSD manual set. This document is
an introduction to a simple version of the ex screen editor.
``Ex/Vi Reference Manual'', found in the ``UNIX User's Manual
Supplementary Documents'' section of the 4.4BSD manual set. This document is
the final reference for the nex/nvi text editors, as distributed in
4.4BSD and 4.4BSD-Lite.
Roff source for all of these documents is distributed with
nex/nvi in the nvi/USD.doc directory of the nex/nvi
source code.
The files ``autowrite'', ``input'', ``quoting'' and ``structures''
found in the nvi/docs/internals directory of the nex/nvi
source code.
The nex/nvi replacements for the ex/vi editor first appeared in
4.4BSD.
Nex/nvi is close to IEEE Std1003.2 (``POSIX''). That document differs
from historical ex/vi practice in several places; there are changes to
be made on both sides.