Option |
Default |
Description |
autoindent (ai) |
noai |
In insert mode,
indents each line to the same level as the line above
or below. Use with the shiftwidth option. |
autoprint (ap) |
ap |
Displays changes after each editor command.
(For global replacement, displays last replacement.) |
autowrite (aw) |
noaw |
Automatically writes (saves) the file if changed
before opening another file with :n or before giving UNIX
command with :!. |
beautify (bf) |
nobf |
Ignores all control characters during
input (except tab, newline, or formfeed). |
directory (dir) |
/tmp |
Names directory in which
ex/vi stores buffer files.
(Directory
must be writable.) |
edcompatible |
noedcompatible |
Remember the flags used with the most recent substitute command
(global, confirming), and use them for the next substitute command.
Despite the name, no actual version of ed
actually behaved this way. |
errorbells (eb) |
errorbells |
Sounds bell when an error occurs. |
exrc (ex) |
noexrc |
Allows the execution of .exrc files that
reside outside the user's home directory. |
hardtabs (ht) |
8 |
Defines boundaries for terminal hardware tabs. |
ignorecase (ic) |
noic |
Disregards case during a search. |
lisp |
nolisp |
Inserts indents in appropriate lisp format.
( ), { },
[[, and ]]
are modified to have meaning
for lisp. |
list |
nolist |
Prints tabs as ^I; marks ends of lines with $.
(Use list to tell if end character is a tab or a space.) |
magic |
magic |
Wildcard characters . (dot),
* (asterisk), and []
(brackets) have special meaning in patterns. |
mesg |
mesg |
Permits system messages to display on terminal
while editing in vi. |
novice |
nonovice |
Requires the use of
long ex command names, such as
copy or read. |
number (nu) |
nonu |
Displays line numbers on left of screen during editing session. |
open |
open |
Allows entry to open
or visual
mode from ex.
Although not in Solaris 2.6 vi,
this option has traditionally been in vi,
and may be in your UNIX's version of vi. |
optimize (opt) |
noopt |
Abolishes carriage returns at the end of lines
when printing multiple lines, speeds output on dumb terminals when
printing lines with leading whitespace (spaces or tabs). |
paragraphs (para) |
IPLPPPQP LIpplpipbp |
Defines paragraph delimiters for movement
by { or }.
The pairs of characters in the value are the names of troff
macros that begin paragraphs. |
prompt |
prompt |
Displays the ex prompt (:)
when vi's Q
command is given. |
readonly (ro) |
noro |
Any writes (saves) of a file will fail unless you
use ! after the write (works with w, ZZ,
or autowrite). |
redraw (re) |
|
vi redraws the screen whenever edits are made
(in other words, insert mode
pushes over existing characters, and deleted lines immediately close up).
Default depends on line speed and terminal type. noredraw is
useful at slow speeds on a dumb terminal: deleted lines show up as @,
and
inserted text appears to overwrite existing text until you
press ESC. |
remap |
remap |
Allows nested map sequences. |
report |
5 |
Displays a message on the status line whenever you make an edit that
affects at least a certain number of lines. For example,
6dd reports the message "6 lines deleted." |
scroll |
[ window] |
Number of lines to scroll with ^D
and ^U commands. |
sections (sect) |
SHNHH HU |
Defines section delimiters for [[ and ]]
movement.
The pairs of characters in the value are the names of
troff macros that begin sections.
|
shell (sh) |
/bin/sh |
Pathname of shell used for shell escape (:!) and shell
command (:sh). Default value is derived from shell
environment, which varies on different systems. |
shiftwidth (sw) |
8 |
Defines number of spaces in
backward (^D) tabs when using the
autoindent option, and for the
<< and >>
commands. |
showmatch (sm) |
nosm |
In vi, when
) or }
is entered, cursor moves
briefly to matching ( or {.
(If no match, rings the error message bell.)
Very useful for programming. |
showmode |
noshowmode |
In insert mode, displays a message on the prompt line indicating the
type of insert you are making. For example, "OPEN MODE,"
or "APPEND MODE." |
slowopen (slow) |
|
Holds off display during insert.
Default depends on line speed and terminal type. |
tabstop (ts) |
8 |
Defines number of spaces that a
TAB indents during editing session.
(Printer still uses system tab of 8.) |
taglength (tl) |
0 |
Defines number of characters that are significant for tags.
Default (zero) means that all characters are significant. |
tags |
tags /usr/lib/tags |
Defines pathname of files containing tags. (See the UNIX
ctags command.)
(By default, vi searches
the file tags in the current directory
and /usr/lib/tags.) |
tagstack |
tagstack |
Enables stacking of tag locations on a stack. |
term |
|
Sets terminal type. |
terse |
noterse |
Displays shorter error messages. |
timeout (to) |
timeout |
Keyboard maps time out after 1 second.[64] |
ttytype |
|
Sets terminal type.
This is just another name for term. |
warn |
warn |
Displays the warning message, "No write since last change." |
window (w) |
|
Shows a certain number of lines of the file on the screen.
Default depends on line speed and terminal type. |
wrapscan (ws) |
ws |
Searches wrap around either end of file. |
wrapmargin (wm) |
0 |
Defines right margin.
If greater than zero, automatically inserts carriage returns to break
lines. |
writeany (wa) |
nowa |
Allows saving to any file. |