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diff --git a/runtime/doc/usr_20.txt b/runtime/doc/usr_20.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a489a46e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/runtime/doc/usr_20.txt @@ -0,0 +1,384 @@ +*usr_20.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2003 Apr 30 + + VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar + + Typing command-line commands quickly + + +Vim has a few generic features that makes it easier to enter commands. Colon +commands can be abbreviated, edited and repeated. Completion is available for +nearly everything. + +|20.1| Command line editing +|20.2| Command line abbreviations +|20.3| Command line completion +|20.4| Command line history +|20.5| Command line window + + Next chapter: |usr_21.txt| Go away and come back + Previous chapter: |usr_12.txt| Clever tricks +Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt| + +============================================================================== +*20.1* Command line editing + +When you use a colon (:) command or search for a string with / or ?, Vim puts +the cursor on the bottom of the screen. There you type the command or search +pattern. This is called the Command line. Also when it's used for entering a +search command. + +The most obvious way to edit the command you type is by pressing the <BS> key. +This erases the character before the cursor. To erase another character, +typed earlier, first move the cursor with the cursor keys. + For example, you have typed this: > + + :s/col/pig/ + +Before you hit <Enter>, you notice that "col" should be "cow". To correct +this, you type <Left> five times. The cursor is now just after "col". Type +<BS> and "w" to correct: > + + :s/cow/pig/ + +Now you can press <Enter> directly. You don't have to move the cursor to the +end of the line before executing the command. + +The most often used keys to move around in the command line: + + <Left> one character left + <Right> one character right + <S-Left> or <C-Left> one word left + <S-Right> or <C-Right> one word right + CTRL-B or <Home> to begin of command line + CTRL-E or <End> to end of command line + + Note: + <S-Left> (cursor left key with Shift key pressed) and <C-Left> (cursor + left key with Control pressed) will not work on all keyboards. Same + for the other Shift and Control combinations. + +You can also use the mouse to move the cursor. + + +DELETING + +As mentioned, <BS> deletes the character before the cursor. To delete a whole +word use CTRL-W. + + /the fine pig ~ + + CTRL-W + + /the fine ~ + +CTRL-U removes all text, thus allows you to start all over again. + + +OVERSTRIKE + +The <Insert> key toggles between inserting characters and replacing the +existing ones. Start with this text: + + /the fine pig ~ + +Move the cursor to the start of "fine" with <S-Left> twice (or <Left> eight +times, if <S-Left> doesn't work). Now press <Insert> to switch to overstrike +and type "great": + + /the greatpig ~ + +Oops, we lost the space. Now, don't use <BS>, because it would delete the +"t" (this is different from Replace mode). Instead, press <Insert> to switch +from overstrike to inserting, and type the space: + + /the great pig ~ + + +CANCELLING + +You thought of executing a : or / command, but changed your mind. To get rid +of what you already typed, without executing it, press CTRL-C or <Esc>. + + Note: + <Esc> is the universal "get out" key. Unfortunately, in the good old + Vi pressing <Esc> in a command line executed the command! Since that + might be considered to be a bug, Vim uses <Esc> to cancel the command. + But with the 'cpoptions' option it can be made Vi compatible. And + when using a mapping (which might be written for Vi) <Esc> also works + Vi compatible. Therefore, using CTRL-C is a method that always works. + +If you are at the start of the command line, pressing <BS> will cancel the +command. It's like deleting the ":" or "/" that the line starts with. + +============================================================================== +*20.2* Command line abbreviations + +Some of the ":" commands are really long. We already mentioned that +":substitute" can be abbreviated to ":s". This is a generic mechanism, all +":" commands can be abbreviated. + +How short can a command get? There are 26 letters, and many more commands. +For example, ":set" also starts with ":s", but ":s" doesn't start a ":set" +command. Instead ":set" can be abbreviated to ":se". + When the shorter form of a command could be used for two commands, it +stands for only one of them. There is no logic behind which one, you have to +learn them. In the help files the shortest form that works is mentioned. For +example: > + + :s[ubstitute] + +This means that the shortest form of ":substitute" is ":s". The following +characters are optional. Thus ":su" and ":sub" also work. + +In the user manual we will either use the full name of command, or a short +version that is still readable. For example, ":function" can be abbreviated +to ":fu". But since most people don't understand what that stands for, we +will use ":fun". (Vim doesn't have a ":funny" command, otherwise ":fun" would +be confusing too.) + +It is recommended that in Vim scripts you write the full command name. That +makes it easier to read back when you make later changes. Except for some +often used commands like ":w" (":write") and ":r" (":read"). + A particularly confusing one is ":end", which could stand for ":endif", +":endwhile" or ":endfunction". Therefore, always use the full name. + + +SHORT OPTION NAMES + +In the user manual the long version of the option names is used. Many options +also have a short name. Unlike ":" commands, there is only one short name +that works. For example, the short name of 'autoindent' is 'ai'. Thus these +two commands do the same thing: > + + :set autoindent + :set ai + +You can find the full list of long and short names here: |option-list|. + +============================================================================== +*20.3* Command line completion + +This is one of those Vim features that, by itself, is a reason to switch from +Vi to Vim. Once you have used this, you can't do without. + +Suppose you have a directory that contains these files: + + info.txt + intro.txt + bodyofthepaper.txt + +To edit the last one, you use the command: > + + :edit bodyofthepaper.txt + +It's easy to type this wrong. A much quicker way is: > + + :edit b<Tab> + +Which will result in the same command. What happened? The <Tab> key does +completion of the word before the cursor. In this case "b". Vim looks in the +directory and finds only one file that starts with a "b". That must be the +one you are looking for, thus Vim completes the file name for you. + +Now type: > + + :edit i<Tab> + +Vim will beep, and give you: > + + :edit info.txt + +The beep means that Vim has found more than one match. It then uses the first +match it found (alphabetically). If you press <Tab> again, you get: > + + :edit intro.txt + +Thus, if the first <Tab> doesn't give you the file you were looking for, press +it again. If there are more matches, you will see them all, one at a time. + If you press <Tab> on the last matching entry, you will go back to what you +first typed: > + + :edit i + +Then it starts all over again. Thus Vim cycles through the list of matches. +Use CTRL-P to go through the list in the other direction: + + <------------------- <Tab> -------------------------+ + | + <Tab> --> <Tab> --> + :edit i :edit info.txt :edit intro.txt + <-- CTRL-P <-- CTRL-P + | + +---------------------- CTRL-P ------------------------> + + +CONTEXT + +When you type ":set i" instead of ":edit i" and press <Tab> you get: > + + :set icon + +Hey, why didn't you get ":set info.txt"? That's because Vim has context +sensitive completion. The kind of words Vim will look for depends on the +command before it. Vim knows that you cannot use a file name just after a +":set" command, but you can use an option name. + Again, if you repeat typing the <Tab>, Vim will cycle through all matches. +There are quite a few, it's better to type more characters first: > + + :set isk<Tab> + +Gives: > + + :set iskeyword + +Now type "=" and press <Tab>: > + + :set iskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255 + +What happens here is that Vim inserts the old value of the option. Now you +can edit it. + What is completed with <Tab> is what Vim expects in that place. Just try +it out to see how it works. In some situations you will not get what you +want. That's either because Vim doesn't know what you want, or because +completion was not implemented for that situation. In that case you will get +a <Tab> inserted (displayed as ^I). + + +LIST MATCHES + +When there are many matches, you would like to see an overview. Do this by +pressing CTRL-D. For example, pressing CTRL-D after: > + + :set is + +results in: > + + :set is + incsearch isfname isident iskeyword isprint + :set is + +Vim lists the matches and then comes back with the text you typed. You can +now check the list for the item you wanted. If it isn't there, you can use +<BS> to correct the word. If there are many matches, type a few more +characters before pressing <Tab> to complete the rest. + If you have watched carefully, you will have noticed that "incsearch" +doesn't start with "is". In this case "is" stands for the short name of +"incsearch". (Many options have a short and a long name.) Vim is clever +enough to know that you might have wanted to expand the short name of the +option into the long name. + + +THERE IS MORE + +The CTRL-L command completes the word to the longest unambiguous string. If +you type ":edit i" and there are files "info.txt" and "info_backup.txt" you +will get ":edit info". + +The 'wildmode' option can be used to change the way completion works. +The 'wildmenu' option can be used to get a menu-like list of matches. +Use the 'suffixes' option to specify files that are less important and appear +at the end of the list of files. +The 'wildignore' option specifies files that are not listed at all. + +More about all of this here: |cmdline-completion| + +============================================================================== +*20.4* Command line history + +In chapter 3 we briefly mentioned the history. The basics are that you can +use the <Up> key to recall an older command line. <Down> then takes you back +to newer commands. + +There are actually four histories. The ones we will mention here are for ":" +commands and for "/" and "?" search commands. The "/" and "?" commands share +the same history, because they are both search commands. The two other +histories are for expressions and input lines for the input() function. +|cmdline-history| + +Suppose you have done a ":set" command, typed ten more colon commands and then +want to repeat that ":set" command again. You could press ":" and then ten +times <Up>. There is a quicker way: > + + :se<Up> + +Vim will now go back to the previous command that started with "se". You have +a good chance that this is the ":set" command you were looking for. At least +you should not have to press <Up> very often (unless ":set" commands is all +you have done). + +The <Up> key will use the text typed so far and compare it with the lines in +the history. Only matching lines will be used. + If you do not find the line you were looking for, use <Down> to go back to +what you typed and correct that. Or use CTRL-U to start all over again. + +To see all the lines in the history: > + + :history + +That's the history of ":" commands. The search history is displayed with this +command: > + + :history / + +CTRL-P will work like <Up>, except that it doesn't matter what you already +typed. Similarly for CTRL-N and <Down>. CTRL-P stands for previous, CTRL-N +for next. + +============================================================================== +*20.5* Command line window + +Typing the text in the command line works different from typing text in Insert +mode. It doesn't allow many commands to change the text. For most commands +that's OK, but sometimes you have to type a complicated command. That's where +the command line window is useful. + +Open the command line window with this command: > + + q: + +Vim now opens a (small) window at the bottom. It contains the command line +history, and an empty line at the end: + + +-------------------------------------+ + |other window | + |~ | + |file.txt=============================| + |:e c | + |:e config.h.in | + |:set path=.,/usr/include,, | + |:set iskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255 | + |:set is | + |:q | + |: | + |command-line=========================| + | | + +-------------------------------------+ + +You are now in Normal mode. You can use the "hjkl" keys to move around. For +example, move up with "5k" to the ":e config.h.in" line. Type "$h" to go to +the "i" of "in" and type "cwout". Now you have changed the line to: + + :e config.h.out ~ + +Now press <Enter> and this command will be executed. The command line window +will close. + The <Enter> command will execute the line under the cursor. It doesn't +matter whether Vim is in Insert mode or in Normal mode. + Changes in the command line window are lost. They do not result in the +history to be changed. Except that the command you execute will be added to +the end of the history, like with all executed commands. + +The command line window is very useful when you want to have overview of the +history, lookup a similar command, change it a bit and execute it. A search +command can be used to find something. + In the previous example the "?config" search command could have been used +to find the previous command that contains "config". It's a bit strange, +because you are using a command line to search in the command line window. +While typing that search command you can't open another command line window, +there can be only one. + +============================================================================== + +Next chapter: |usr_21.txt| Go away and come back + +Copyright: see |manual-copyright| vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: |