nvi(1)


NAME

   ex, vi, view - text editors

SYNOPSIS

   ex [-eRrSsv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
   vi [-elRrSv] [-c cmd] [-t tag] [-w size] [file ...]
   view [-eRrSv] [-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  conditions  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
   redistribute it, contributions to the authors would be appreciated.

DESCRIPTION

   Vi  is  a  screen  oriented  text  editor.   Ex is a line‐oriented 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 versions  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 positioning 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.

   -l     Start editing with the lisp and showmatch options 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 sessions.  Batch
          mode is useful when running ex  scripts.   Prompts,  informative
          messages  and other user oriented message are turned off, and no
          startup files or environmental 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.

   Note that the -F option (which  prevented  ex/vi  from  making  a  full
   backup of the target file) has been removed and is no longer available.

   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  problems  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,  usually  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.  (Generally,
   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  showmode<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.

   <cursorarrows>
          The cursor arrow keys should work, too.

   /text<carriagereturn>
          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  entering  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<carriagereturn>
          Write the  file  back  to  the  file  with  the  name  that  you
          originally used as an argument on the vi command line.

   :w file_name<carriagereturn>
          Write the file back to the file with the name “file_name”.

   The commands to quit editing and exit the editor are:

   :q<carriagereturn>
          Quit  editing and leave vi (if you've modified the file, but not
          saved your changes, vi will refuse to quit).

   :q!<carriagereturn>
          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 character.

   [count] <controlA>
          Search forward count times for the current word.

   [count] <controlB>
          Page backwards count screens.

   [count] <controlD>
          Scroll forward count lines.

   [count] <controlE>
          Scroll forward count lines, leaving the current line and  column
          as is, if possible.

   [count] <controlF>
          Page forward count screens.

   <controlG>
          Display the file information.

   <controlH>

   [count] h
          Move the cursor back count characters in the current line.

   [count] <controlJ>

   [count] <controlN>

   [count] j
          Move  the  cursor  down count lines without changing the current
          column.

   <controlL>

   <controlR>
          Repaint the screen.

   [count] <controlM>

   [count] +
          Move the cursor down count lines to the first nonblank character
          of that line.

   [count] <controlP>

   [count] k
          Move  the  cursor  up  count lines, without changing the current
          column.

   <controlT>
          Return to the most recent tag context.

   <controlU>
          Scroll backwards count lines.

   <controlW>
          Switch to the next lower screen in the window, or, to the  first
          screen if there are no lower screens in the window.

   <controlY>
          Scroll  backwards  count  lines,  leaving  the  current line and
          column as is, if possible.

   <controlZ>
          Suspend the current editor session.

   <escape>
          Execute ex commands or cancel partial commands.

   <control]>
          Push a tag reference onto the tag stack.

   <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 shellargument(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 <character>.

   [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<carriagereturn>

   /RE/ [offset]<carriagereturn>

   ?RE<carriagereturn>

   ?RE? [offset]<carriagereturn>

   N

   n      Search forward or backward for a regular expression.

   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  beginning  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 <character>.

   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 cursor.

   [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 <character>.

   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] -|.|+|^|<carriagereturn>
          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), if the  tildeop
          option is unset.

   [count] ~ motion
          Reverse the case of the characters in a text region specified by
          the count and motion, if the tildeop option is set.

   <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.

   <controlD>
          Erase to the previous shiftwidth column boundary.

   ^<controlD>
          Erase all of the autoindent characters, and reset the autoindent
          level.

   0<controlD>
          Erase all of the autoindent characters.

   <controlT>
          Insert sufficient <tab> and <space> characters to  move  forward
          to the next shiftwidth column boundary.

   <erase>

   <controlH>
          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.

   <controlW>

   <word erase>
          Erase the last word.  The definition of word is dependent on the
          altwerase and ttywerase options.

   <controlX>[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.

   <endoffile>
          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.

   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 abbreviations.  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
   associated value.

   Options apply to both ex and  vi  modes,  unless  otherwise  specified.
   Multiple  options can be given in one set or unset, separated by spaces
   or tabs.  Spaces and tabs can be included in string options  (eg.  tags
   or  filec)  by  preceding each with a backslash.  There's no way to get
   backslash itself into an option.

   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.

   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 implemented.

   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 terminals.  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 implementation.

   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
          environmental 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  overrides  any
          system  or terminal specific values.  If the LINES environmental
          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
          environment.

   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 environmental 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  recovered.   See  the  vi/ex  Reference  manual
          section entitled “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(1), 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  document  differs
   from  historical ex/vi practice in several places; there are changes to
   be made on both sides.





Opportunity


Personal Opportunity - Free software gives you access to billions of dollars of software at no cost. Use this software for your business, personal use or to develop a profitable skill. Access to source code provides access to a level of capabilities/information that companies protect though copyrights. Open source is a core component of the Internet and it is available to you. Leverage the billions of dollars in resources and capabilities to build a career, establish a business or change the world. The potential is endless for those who understand the opportunity.

Business Opportunity - Goldman Sachs, IBM and countless large corporations are leveraging open source to reduce costs, develop products and increase their bottom lines. Learn what these companies know about open source and how open source can give you the advantage.





Free Software


Free Software provides computer programs and capabilities at no cost but more importantly, it provides the freedom to run, edit, contribute to, and share the software. The importance of free software is a matter of access, not price. Software at no cost is a benefit but ownership rights to the software and source code is far more significant.


Free Office Software - The Libre Office suite provides top desktop productivity tools for free. This includes, a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation engine, drawing and flowcharting, database and math applications. Libre Office is available for Linux or Windows.





Free Books


The Free Books Library is a collection of thousands of the most popular public domain books in an online readable format. The collection includes great classical literature and more recent works where the U.S. copyright has expired. These books are yours to read and use without restrictions.


Source Code - Want to change a program or know how it works? Open Source provides the source code for its programs so that anyone can use, modify or learn how to write those programs themselves. Visit the GNU source code repositories to download the source.





Education


Study at Harvard, Stanford or MIT - Open edX provides free online courses from Harvard, MIT, Columbia, UC Berkeley and other top Universities. Hundreds of courses for almost all major subjects and course levels. Open edx also offers some paid courses and selected certifications.


Linux Manual Pages - A man or manual page is a form of software documentation found on Linux/Unix operating systems. Topics covered include computer programs (including library and system calls), formal standards and conventions, and even abstract concepts.