Learning the vi and Vim Editors, 8th Edition

Appendix A. The vi, ex, and Vim Editors

This appendix summarizes the standard features of vi in quick-reference format. Commands entered at the colon prompt (known as ex commands because they date back to the original creation of that editor) are included, as well as the most popular Vim features.

This appendix presents the following topics:

• Command-line syntax

• Review of vi operations

• vi commands

• vi configuration

• ex basics

• Alphabetical summary of ex commands

Command-Line Syntax

The three most common ways of starting a Vim session are:

vim [options] file
vim [options] -c num file
vim [options] -c /pattern file

You can open file for editing, optionally at line num or at the first line matching pattern. If no file is specified, the editor opens with an empty buffer.

Command-Line Options

Because vi and ex are the same program, they share the same options. However, some options make sense for only one version of the program. Brackets indicate optional items. Command-line options specific to Vim are so marked:

+[num]

Start editing at line number num, or at the last line of the file if num is omitted.

+/pattern

Start editing at the first line matching pattern.¹

+?pattern

Start editing at the last line matching pattern.¹

-b

Edit the file in binary mode. {Vim}

-c command

Run the given ex command upon startup. Only one -c option is permitted for vi; Vim accepts up to 10. The older form of this option, +command, is still supported.

--cmd command

Like -c, but execute ...