While running Vim a lot of help can be obtained from the
on-line help system, with the ":help" command.
Type ":help subject" to get help on a specific subject.
For example: ":help ZZ" to get help for the "ZZ" command.
Use vim is started with a command of the form
vim [ options ] [ file ... ]
OPTIONS
The options may be given in any order, before or after
filenames. Options without an argument can be combined
after a single dash.
+[num] For the first file the cursor will be positioned
on line "num". If "num" is missing, the cursor
will be positioned on the last line.
+/{pat} For the first file the cursor will be positioned
on the first occurrence of {pat}. See ":help
search_pattern" for the available search pat-
terns.
+{command}
-c {command}
{command} will be executed after the first file
has been read. {command} is interpreted as an
Ex command. If the {command} contains spaces it
must be enclosed in double quotes (this depends
on the shell that is used). Example: Vim "+set
si" main.c
Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" commands.
-b Binary mode. A few options will be set that
makes it possible to edit a binary or executable
file.
-C Compatible. Set the 'compatible' option. This
will make Vim behave mostly like Vi, even though
a .vimrc file exists.
-d {device} Open {device} for use as a terminal. Only on
the Amiga. Example: "-d con:20/30/600/150".
-e Start Vim in Ex mode, just like the executable
was called "ex".
-f Foreground. For the GUI version, Vim will not
fork and detach from the shell it was started
in. On the Amiga, Vim is not restarted to open
a new window. This option should be used when
Vim is executed by a program that will wait for
the edit session to finish (e.g. mail). On the
Amiga the ":sh" and ":!" commands will not work.
-F If Vim has been compiled with FKMAP support for
editing right-to-left oriented files and Farsi
keyboard mapping, this option starts Vim in
Farsi mode, i.e. 'fkmap' and 'rightleft' are
set. Otherwise an error message is given and
Vim aborts.
-g If Vim has been compiled with GUI support, this
option enables the GUI. If no GUI support was
compiled in, an error message is given and Vim
aborts.
-h Give a bit of help about the command line argu-
ments and options. After this Vim exits.
-H If Vim has been compiled with RIGHTLEFT support
for editing right-to-left oriented files and
Hebrew keyboard mapping, this option starts Vim
in Hebrew mode, i.e. 'hkmap' and 'rightleft' are
set. Otherwise an error message is given and
Vim aborts.
-i {viminfo}
When using the viminfo file is enabled, this
option sets the filename to use, instead of the
default "~/.viminfo". This can also be used to
skip the use of the .viminfo file, by giving the
name "NONE".
-L Same as -r.
-l Lisp mode. Sets the 'lisp' and 'showmatch'
options on.
-N No-compatible mode. Reset the 'compatible'
option. This will make Vim behave a bit better,
but less Vi compatible, even though a .vimrc
file does not exist.
-n No swap file will be used. Recovery after a
crash will be impossible. Handy if you want to
edit a file on a very slow medium (e.g. floppy).
Can also be done with ":set uc=0". Can be
undone with ":set uc=200".
-o[N] Open N windows. When N is omitted, open one
window for each file.
-R Read-only mode. The 'readonly' option will be
set. You can still edit the buffer, but will be
prevented from accidently overwriting a file.
If you do want to overwrite a file, add an exc-
lamation mark to the Ex command, as in ":w!".
The -R option also implies the -n option (see
below). The 'readonly' option can be reset with
":set noro". See ":help 'readonly'".
-r List swap files, with information about using
them for recovery.
-r {file} Recovery mode. The swap file is used to recover
a crashed editing session. The swap file is a
file with the same filename as the text file
with ".swp" appended. See ":help recovery".
-s Silent mode. Only when started as "Ex" or when
the "-e" option was given before the "-s"
option.
-s {scriptin}
The script file {scriptin} is read. The charac-
ters in the file are interpreted as if you had
typed them. The same can be done with the com-
mand ":source! {scriptin}". If the end of the
file is reached before the editor exits, further
characters are read from the keyboard.
-T {terminal}
Tells Vim the name of the terminal you are
using. Only required when the automatic way
doesn't work. Should be a terminal known to Vim
(builtin) or defined in the termcap or terminfo
file.
-u {vimrc} Use the commands in the file {vimrc} for ini-
tializations. All the other initializations are
skipped. Use this to edit a special kind of
files. It can also be used to skip all initial-
izations by giving the name "NONE". See ":help
initialization" within vim for more details.
-U {gvimrc} Use the commands in the file {gvimrc} for GUI
initializations. All the other GUI initializa-
tions are skipped. It can also be used to skip
all GUI initializations by giving the name
"NONE". See ":help gui_init" within vim for
more details.
-V Verbose. Give messages about which files are
sourced and for reading and writing a viminfo
file.
-v Start Vim in Vi mode, just like the executable
was called "vi". This only has effect when the
executable is called "ex".
-w {scriptout}
All the characters that you type are recorded in
the file {scriptout}, until you exit Vim. This
is useful if you want to create a script file to
be used with "vim -s" or ":source!". If the
{scriptout} file exists, characters are
appended.
-W {scriptout}
Like -w, but an existing file is overwritten.
-x Filter read and written files through crypt.
Not implemented yet.
-Z Restricted mode. Works like the executable
starts with "r".
-- Denotes the end of the options. Arguments after
this will be handled as a file name. This can
be used to edit a filename that starts with a
'-'.
FILES