Computer Science
VI(1) VI(1)
NAME
ex, vi, view - text editors
SYNOPSIS
ex [-eFGRrSsv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
vi [-eFGlRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
view [-eFGRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
LICENSE
The vi program is freely redistributable. You are welcome
to copy, modify and share it with others under the condi-
tions 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 redis-
tribute it, contributions to the authors would be appreci-
ated.
DESCRIPTION
Vi is a screen oriented text editor. Ex is a line-ori-
ented 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 ver-
sions 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 position-
ing 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 some-
one else modifies the file during your edit ses-
sion.)
-l Start editing with the lisp and showmatch options
set.
-G Start editing in gtags mode, as if the gtagsmode
option was 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.
If no recoverable files by the specified name
exist, the file is edited as if the -r option had
not been specified.
-S Run with the secure edit option set, disallowing
all access to external programs.
-s Enter batch mode; applicable only to ex edit ses-
sions. Batch mode is useful when running ex
scripts. Prompts, informative messages and other
user oriented message are turned off, and no
startup files or environment 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.
FAST STARTUP
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 prob-
lems 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, usu-
ally 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. (Gener-
ally, 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 show-
mode<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 enter-
ing 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 com-
mand 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.
VI COMMANDS
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 charac-
ter.
[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 cur-
rent 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 non-
blank 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 <char-
acter>.
[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 expres-
sion.
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 begin-
ning 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 <charac-
ter>.
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 cur-
sor.
[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 <charac-
ter>.
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.
VI TEXT INPUT COMMANDS
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 bound-
ary.
<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.
EX COMMANDS
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.
tagp[rev][!]
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.
SET OPTIONS
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 abbre-
viations. 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 associ-
ated 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.
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.
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.
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 imple-
mented.
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 termi-
nals. 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 implementa-
tion.
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.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
COLUMNS
The number of columns on the screen. This value
overrides any system or terminal specific values.
If the COLUMNS environment 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 over-
rides any system or terminal specific values. If
the LINES environment 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 envi-
ronment.
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 environment 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).
ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
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 recov-
ered. See the vi/ex Reference manual section enti-
tled ``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.
FILES
/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.
SEE ALSO
ctags(1), more(3), 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.
HISTORY
The nex/nvi replacements for the ex/vi editor first
appeared in 4.4BSD.
STANDARDS
Nex/nvi is close to IEEE Std1003.2 (``POSIX''). That doc-
ument differs from historical ex/vi practice in several
places; there are changes to be made on both sides.
October 10, 1996 1
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