Setting Options (Learning the vi Editor, Sixth Edition) Appendix C. Setting Options Contents: Solaris 2.6 vi Options nvi 1.79 Options elvis 2.0 Options vim 5.1 Options vile 8.0 Options This appendix describes the important set command options for Solaris 2.6 vi, nvi 1.79, elvis 2.0, vim 5.1, and vile 8.0. C.1. Solaris 2.6 vi Options Table C.1 contains brief descriptions of the important set command options. In the first column, options are listed in alphabetical order; if the option can be abbreviated, that abbreviation is shown in parentheses. The second column shows the default setting that vi uses unless you issue an explicit set command (either manually or in the .exrc file). The last column describes what the option does, when enabled. Table C.1. Solaris 2.6 vi Set Options 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. [64] When you have mappings of several keys (for example, :map zzz 3dw), you probably want to use notimeout. Otherwise you need to type zzz within 1 second. When you have an insert mode mapping for a cursor key (for example, :map! ^[OB ^[ja), you should use timeout. Otherwise, vi won't react to ESC until you type another key. B.2. Alphabetical List of Commands C.2. nvi 1.79 Options Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.