VI(1) VI(1)
NAME
ex, vi - text editor
SYNOPSIS
ex [ - ] [ -v ] [ -t tag ] [ -r ] [ -R ] [ +command ] [ -l ]
name ...
edit [ options ]
vi [ -t tag ] [ -r ] [ -R ] [ +command ] [ -l ] [ -wn ] name
...
DESCRIPTION
Ex is a superset of ed(1) with a display editing facility;
edit is a simplified subset of ex; and vi is a fully
display-based editor with similar capabilities. Option -R
makes the editor read-only.
FILES
/usr/lib/ex?.?strings error messages
/usr/lib/ex?.?recover recover command
/usr/lib/ex?.?preserve preserve command
/etc/termcap describes capabilities of terminals
~/.exrc editor startup file
/tmp/Exnnnnn editor temporary
/tmp/Rxnnnnn named buffer temporary
/usr/preserve preservation directory
SEE ALSO
Edit: A Tutorial
Ex Reference Manual
An Introduction to Display Editing with Vi
Vi Quick Reference Card, all in BSD 4.1 Progammer's Manual,
Volume 2
ed(1), jim(9.1), sed(1)
BUGS
The undo command causes all marks to be lost on lines
changed and then restored if the marked lines were changed.
Undo never clears the buffer modified condition.
The z command prints a number of logical rather than physi-
cal lines. More than a screen full of output may result if
long lines are present.
File input/output errors don't print a name if the command
line `-' option is used.
There is no easy way to do a single scan ignoring case.
The editor does not warn if text is placed in named buffers
and not used before exiting the editor.
Null characters are discarded in input files, and cannot
appear in resultant files.
VI(1) VI(1)
Software tabs using ^T work only immediately after the
autoindent.
The wrapmargin option can be fooled since it looks at output
columns when blanks are typed. If a long word passes
through the margin and onto the next line without a break,
then the line won't be broken.
The source command does not work when executed as :source;
there is no way to use the :append, :change, and :insert
commands in vi, since it is not possible to give more than
one line of input to a : escape. To use these on a :global
you must Q to ex command mode, execute them, and then reen-
ter the screen editor with vi or open.