| Quick links: help overview · quick reference · user manual toc · reference manual toc · faq |
term.txt For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2015 Nov 24 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar Terminal information terminal-info Vim uses information about the terminal you are using to fill the screen and recognize what keys you hit. If this information is not correct, the screen may be messed up or keys may not be recognized. The actions which have to be performed on the screen are accomplished by outputting a string of characters. Special keys produce a string of characters. These strings are stored in the terminal options, see terminal-options. NOTE: Most of this is not used when running the GUI. 1. Startup startup-terminal 2. Terminal options terminal-options 3. Window size window-size 4. Slow and fast terminals slow-fast-terminal 5. Using the mouse mouse-using ============================================================================== 1. Startup startup-terminal When Vim is started a default terminal type is assumed. For the Amiga this is a standard CLI window, for MS-DOS the pc terminal, for Unix an ansi terminal. A few other terminal types are always available, see below builtin-terms. You can give the terminal name with the '-T' Vim argument. If it is not given Vim will try to get the name from the TERM environment variable. termcap terminfo E557 E558 E559 On Unix the terminfo database or termcap file is used. This is referred to as "termcap" in all the documentation. At compile time, when running configure, the choice whether to use terminfo or termcap is done automatically. When running Vim the output of ":version" will show +terminfo if terminfo is used. Also see xterm-screens. On non-Unix systems a termcap is only available if Vim was compiled with TERMCAP defined. builtin-terms builtin_terms Which builtin terminals are available depends on a few defines in feature.h, which need to be set at compile time: define output of ":version" terminals builtin NO_BUILTIN_TCAPS -builtin_terms none SOME_BUILTIN_TCAPS +builtin_terms most common ones (default) ALL_BUILTIN_TCAPS ++builtin_terms all available You can see a list of available builtin terminals with ":set term=xxx" (when not running the GUI). Also see +builtin_terms. If the termcap code is included Vim will try to get the strings for the terminal you are using from the termcap file and the builtin termcaps. Both are always used, if an entry for the terminal you are using is present. Which one is used first depends on the 'ttybuiltin' option: 'ttybuiltin' on 1: builtin termcap 2: external termcap 'ttybuiltin' off 1: external termcap 2: builtin termcap If an option is missing in one of them, it will be obtained from the other one. If an option is present in both, the one first encountered is used. Which external termcap file is used varies from system to system and may depend on the environment variables "TERMCAP" and "TERMPATH". See "man tgetent". Settings depending on terminal term-dependent-settings If you want to set options or mappings, depending on the terminal name, you can do this best in your .vimrc. Example: if &term == "xterm" ... xterm maps and settings ... elseif &term =~ "vt10." ... vt100, vt102 maps and settings ... endif raw-terminal-mode For normal editing the terminal will be put into "raw" mode. The strings defined with 't_ti' and 't_ks' will be sent to the terminal. Normally this puts the terminal in a state where the termcap codes are valid and activates the cursor and function keys. When Vim exits the terminal will be put back into the mode it was before Vim started. The strings defined with 't_te' and 't_ke' will be sent to the terminal. On the Amiga, with commands that execute an external command (e.g., "!!"), the terminal will be put into Normal mode for a moment. This means that you can stop the output to the screen by hitting a printing key. Output resumes when you hit <BS>. cs7-problem Note: If the terminal settings are changed after running Vim, you might have an illegal combination of settings. This has been reported on Solaris 2.5 with "stty cs8 parenb", which is restored as "stty cs7 parenb". Use "stty cs8 -parenb -istrip" instead, this is restored correctly. Some termcap entries are wrong in the sense that after sending 't_ks' the cursor keys send codes different from the codes defined in the termcap. To avoid this you can set 't_ks' (and 't_ke') to empty strings. This must be done during initialization (see initialization), otherwise it's too late. Some termcap entries assume that the highest bit is always reset. For example: The cursor-up entry for the Amiga could be ":ku=\E[A:". But the Amiga really sends "\233A". This works fine if the highest bit is reset, e.g., when using an Amiga over a serial line. If the cursor keys don't work, try the entry ":ku=\233A:". Some termcap entries have the entry ":ku=\E[A:". But the Amiga really sends "\233A". On output "\E[" and "\233" are often equivalent, on input they aren't. You will have to change the termcap entry, or change the key code with the :set command to fix this. Many cursor key codes start with an <Esc>. Vim must find out if this is a single hit of the <Esc> key or the start of a cursor key sequence. It waits for a next character to arrive. If it does not arrive within one second a single <Esc> is assumed. On very slow systems this may fail, causing cursor keys not to work sometimes. If you discover this problem reset the 'timeout' option. Vim will wait for the next character to arrive after an <Esc>. If you want to enter a single <Esc> you must type it twice. Resetting the 'esckeys' option avoids this problem in Insert mode, but you lose the possibility to use cursor and function keys in Insert mode. On the Amiga the recognition of window resizing is activated only when the terminal name is "amiga" or "builtin_amiga". Some terminals have confusing codes for the cursor keys. The televideo 925 is such a terminal. It sends a CTRL-H for cursor-left. This would make it impossible to distinguish a backspace and cursor-left. To avoid this problem CTRL-H is never recognized as cursor-left. vt100-cursor-keys xterm-cursor-keys Other terminals (e.g., vt100 and xterm) have cursor keys that send <Esc>OA, <Esc>OB, etc. Unfortunately these are valid commands in insert mode: Stop insert, Open a new line above the new one, start inserting 'A', 'B', etc. Instead of performing these commands Vim will erroneously recognize this typed key sequence as a cursor key movement. To avoid this and make Vim do what you want in either case you could use these settings: :set notimeout " don't timeout on mappings :set ttimeout " do timeout on terminal key codes :set timeoutlen=100 " timeout after 100 msec This requires the key-codes to be sent within 100 msec in order to recognize them as a cursor key. When you type you normally are not that fast, so they are recognized as individual typed commands, even though Vim receives the same sequence of bytes. vt100-function-keys xterm-function-keys An xterm can send function keys F1 to F4 in two modes: vt100 compatible or not. Because Vim may not know what the xterm is sending, both types of keys are recognized. The same happens for the <Home> and <End> keys. normal vt100 <F1> t_k1 <Esc>[11~ <xF1> <Esc>OP <xF1>-xterm <F2> t_k2 <Esc>[12~ <xF2> <Esc>OQ <xF2>-xterm <F3> t_k3 <Esc>[13~ <xF3> <Esc>OR <xF3>-xterm <F4> t_k4 <Esc>[14~ <xF4> <Esc>OS <xF4>-xterm <Home> t_kh <Esc>[7~ <xHome> <Esc>OH <xHome>-xterm <End> t_@7 <Esc>[4~ <xEnd> <Esc>OF <xEnd>-xterm When Vim starts, <xF1> is mapped to <F1>, <xF2> to <F2> etc. This means that by default both codes do the same thing. If you make a mapping for <xF2>, because your terminal does have two keys, the default mapping is overwritten, thus you can use the <F2> and <xF2> keys for something different. xterm-shifted-keys Newer versions of xterm support shifted function keys and special keys. Vim recognizes most of them. Use ":set termcap" to check which are supported and what the codes are. Mostly these are not in a termcap, they are only supported by the builtin_xterm termcap. xterm-modifier-keys Newer versions of xterm support Alt and Ctrl for most function keys. To avoid having to add all combinations of Alt, Ctrl and Shift for every key a special sequence is recognized at the end of a termcap entry: ";*X". The "X" can be any character, often '~' is used. The ";*" stands for an optional modifier argument. ";2" is Shift, ";3" is Alt, ";5" is Ctrl and ";9" is Meta (when it's different from Alt). They can be combined. Examples: :set <F8>=^[[19;*~ :set <Home>=^[[1;*H Another speciality about these codes is that they are not overwritten by another code. That is to avoid that the codes obtained from xterm directly t_RV overwrite them. xterm-scroll-region The default termcap entry for xterm on Sun and other platforms does not contain the entry for scroll regions. Add ":cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:" to the xterm entry in /etc/termcap and everything should work. xterm-end-home-keys On some systems (at least on FreeBSD with XFree86 3.1.2) the codes that the <End> and <Home> keys send contain a <Nul> character. To make these keys send the proper key code, add these lines to your ~/.Xdefaults file: *VT100.Translations: #override \n\ <Key>Home: string("0x1b") string("[7~") \n\ <Key>End: string("0x1b") string("[8~") xterm-8bit xterm-8-bit Xterm can be run in a mode where it uses 8-bit escape sequences. The CSI code is used instead of <Esc>[. The advantage is that an <Esc> can quickly be recognized in Insert mode, because it can't be confused with the start of a special key. For the builtin termcap entries, Vim checks if the 'term' option contains "8bit" anywhere. It then uses 8-bit characters for the termcap entries, the mouse and a few other things. You would normally set $TERM in your shell to "xterm-8bit" and Vim picks this up and adjusts to the 8-bit setting automatically. When Vim receives a response to the t_RV (request version) sequence and it starts with CSI, it assumes that the terminal is in 8-bit mode and will convert all key sequences to their 8-bit variants. ============================================================================== 2. Terminal options terminal-options termcap-options E436 The terminal options can be set just like normal options. But they are not shown with the ":set all" command. Instead use ":set termcap". It is always possible to change individual strings by setting the appropriate option. For example: :set t_ce=^V^[[K (CTRL-V, <Esc>, [, K) {Vi: no terminal options. You have to exit Vi, edit the termcap entry and try again} The options are listed below. The associated termcap code is always equal to the last two characters of the option name. Only one termcap code is required: Cursor motion, 't_cm'. The options 't_da', 't_db', 't_ms', 't_xs', 't_xn' represent flags in the termcap. When the termcap flag is present, the option will be set to "y". But any non-empty string means that the flag is set. An empty string means that the flag is not set. 't_CS' works like this too, but it isn't a termcap flag. OUTPUT CODES option meaning t_AB set background color (ANSI) t_AB 't_AB' t_AF set foreground color (ANSI) t_AF 't_AF' t_AL add number of blank lines t_AL 't_AL' t_al add new blank line t_al 't_al' t_bc backspace character t_bc 't_bc' t_cd clear to end of screen t_cd 't_cd' t_ce clear to end of line t_ce 't_ce' t_cl clear screen t_cl 't_cl' t_cm cursor motion (required!) E437 t_cm 't_cm' t_Co number of colors t_Co 't_Co' t_CS if non-empty, cursor relative to scroll region t_CS 't_CS' t_cs define scrolling region t_cs 't_cs' t_CV define vertical scrolling region t_CV 't_CV' t_da if non-empty, lines from above scroll down t_da 't_da' t_db if non-empty, lines from below scroll up t_db 't_db' t_DL delete number of lines t_DL 't_DL' t_dl delete line t_dl 't_dl' t_fs set window title end (from status line) t_fs 't_fs' t_ke exit "keypad transmit" mode t_ke 't_ke' t_ks start "keypad transmit" mode t_ks 't_ks' t_le move cursor one char left t_le 't_le' t_mb blinking mode t_mb 't_mb' t_md bold mode t_md 't_md' t_me Normal mode (undoes t_mr, t_mb, t_md and color) t_me 't_me' t_mr reverse (invert) mode t_mr 't_mr' t_ms 't_ms' t_ms if non-empty, cursor can be moved in standout/inverse mode t_nd non destructive space character t_nd 't_nd' t_op reset to original color pair t_op 't_op' t_RI cursor number of chars right t_RI 't_RI' t_Sb set background color t_Sb 't_Sb' t_Sf set foreground color t_Sf 't_Sf' t_se standout end t_se 't_se' t_so standout mode t_so 't_so' t_sr scroll reverse (backward) t_sr 't_sr' t_te out of "termcap" mode t_te 't_te' t_ti put terminal in "termcap" mode t_ti 't_ti' t_ts set window title start (to status line) t_ts 't_ts' t_ue underline end t_ue 't_ue' t_us underline mode t_us 't_us' t_Ce undercurl end t_Ce 't_Ce' t_Cs undercurl mode t_Cs 't_Cs' t_ut clearing uses the current background color t_ut 't_ut' t_vb visual bell t_vb 't_vb' t_ve cursor visible t_ve 't_ve' t_vi cursor invisible t_vi 't_vi' t_vs cursor very visible t_vs 't_vs' t_xs 't_xs' t_xs if non-empty, standout not erased by overwriting (hpterm) t_xn 't_xn' t_xn if non-empty, writing a character at the last screen cell does not cause scrolling t_ZH italics mode t_ZH 't_ZH' t_ZR italics end t_ZR 't_ZR' Added by Vim (there are no standard codes for these): t_IS set icon text start t_IS 't_IS' t_IE set icon text end t_IE 't_IE' t_WP set window position (Y, X) in pixels t_WP 't_WP' t_WS set window size (height, width) in characters t_WS 't_WS' t_SI start insert mode (bar cursor shape) t_SI 't_SI' t_SR start replace mode (underline cursor shape) t_SR 't_SR' t_EI end insert or replace mode (block cursor shape) t_EI 't_EI' termcap-cursor-shape t_RV request terminal version string (for xterm) t_RV 't_RV' xterm-8bit v:termresponse 'ttymouse' xterm-codes t_u7 request cursor position (for xterm) t_u7 't_u7' see 'ambiwidth' t_RB request terminal background color t_RB 't_RB' see 'ambiwidth' KEY CODES Note: Use the <> form if possible option name meaning t_ku <Up> arrow up t_ku 't_ku' t_kd <Down> arrow down t_kd 't_kd' t_kr <Right> arrow right t_kr 't_kr' t_kl <Left> arrow left t_kl 't_kl' <xUp> alternate arrow up <xUp> <xDown> alternate arrow down <xDown> <xRight> alternate arrow right <xRight> <xLeft> alternate arrow left <xLeft> <S-Up> shift arrow up <S-Down> shift arrow down t_%i <S-Right> shift arrow right t_%i 't_%i' t_#4 <S-Left> shift arrow left t_#4 't_#4' t_k1 <F1> function key 1 t_k1 't_k1' <xF1> alternate F1 <xF1> t_k2 <F2> function key 2 <F2> t_k2 't_k2' <xF2> alternate F2 <xF2> t_k3 <F3> function key 3 <F3> t_k3 't_k3' <xF3> alternate F3 <xF3> t_k4 <F4> function key 4 <F4> t_k4 't_k4' <xF4> alternate F4 <xF4> t_k5 <F5> function key 5 <F5> t_k5 't_k5' t_k6 <F6> function key 6 <F6> t_k6 't_k6' t_k7 <F7> function key 7 <F7> t_k7 't_k7' t_k8 <F8> function key 8 <F8> t_k8 't_k8' t_k9 <F9> function key 9 <F9> t_k9 't_k9' t_k; <F10> function key 10 <F10> t_k; 't_k;' t_F1 <F11> function key 11 <F11> t_F1 't_F1' t_F2 <F12> function key 12 <F12> t_F2 't_F2' t_F3 <F13> function key 13 <F13> t_F3 't_F3' t_F4 <F14> function key 14 <F14> t_F4 't_F4' t_F5 <F15> function key 15 <F15> t_F5 't_F5' t_F6 <F16> function key 16 <F16> t_F6 't_F6' t_F7 <F17> function key 17 <F17> t_F7 't_F7' t_F8 <F18> function key 18 <F18> t_F8 't_F8' t_F9 <F19> function key 19 <F19> t_F9 't_F9' <S-F1> shifted function key 1 <S-xF1> alternate <S-F1> <S-xF1> <S-F2> shifted function key 2 <S-F2> <S-xF2> alternate <S-F2> <S-xF2> <S-F3> shifted function key 3 <S-F3> <S-xF3> alternate <S-F3> <S-xF3> <S-F4> shifted function key 4 <S-F4> <S-xF4> alternate <S-F4> <S-xF4> <S-F5> shifted function key 5 <S-F5> <S-F6> shifted function key 6 <S-F6> <S-F7> shifted function key 7 <S-F7> <S-F8> shifted function key 8 <S-F8> <S-F9> shifted function key 9 <S-F9> <S-F10> shifted function key 10 <S-F10> <S-F11> shifted function key 11 <S-F11> <S-F12> shifted function key 12 <S-F12> t_%1 <Help> help key t_%1 't_%1' t_&8 <Undo> undo key t_&8 't_&8' t_kI <Insert> insert key t_kI 't_kI' t_kD <Del> delete key t_kD 't_kD' t_kb <BS> backspace key t_kb 't_kb' t_kB <S-Tab> back-tab (shift-tab) <S-Tab> t_kB 't_kB' t_kh <Home> home key t_kh 't_kh' t_#2 <S-Home> shifted home key <S-Home> t_#2 't_#2' <xHome> alternate home key <xHome> t_@7 <End> end key t_@7 't_@7' t_*7 <S-End> shifted end key <S-End> t_star7 't_star7' <xEnd> alternate end key <xEnd> t_kP <PageUp> page-up key t_kP 't_kP' t_kN <PageDown> page-down key t_kN 't_kN' t_K1 <kHome> keypad home key t_K1 't_K1' t_K4 <kEnd> keypad end key t_K4 't_K4' t_K3 <kPageUp> keypad page-up key t_K3 't_K3' t_K5 <kPageDown> keypad page-down key t_K5 't_K5' t_K6 <kPlus> keypad plus key <kPlus> t_K6 't_K6' t_K7 <kMinus> keypad minus key <kMinus> t_K7 't_K7' t_K8 <kDivide> keypad divide <kDivide> t_K8 't_K8' t_K9 <kMultiply> keypad multiply <kMultiply> t_K9 't_K9' t_KA <kEnter> keypad enter key <kEnter> t_KA 't_KA' t_KB <kPoint> keypad decimal point <kPoint> t_KB 't_KB' t_KC <k0> keypad 0 <k0> t_KC 't_KC' t_KD <k1> keypad 1 <k1> t_KD 't_KD' t_KE <k2> keypad 2 <k2> t_KE 't_KE' t_KF <k3> keypad 3 <k3> t_KF 't_KF' t_KG <k4> keypad 4 <k4> t_KG 't_KG' t_KH <k5> keypad 5 <k5> t_KH 't_KH' t_KI <k6> keypad 6 <k6> t_KI 't_KI' t_KJ <k7> keypad 7 <k7> t_KJ 't_KJ' t_KK <k8> keypad 8 <k8> t_KK 't_KK' t_KL <k9> keypad 9 <k9> t_KL 't_KL' <Mouse> leader of mouse code <Mouse> Note about t_so and t_mr: When the termcap entry "so" is not present the entry for "mr" is used. And vice versa. The same is done for "se" and "me". If your terminal supports both inversion and standout mode, you can see two different modes. If your terminal supports only one of the modes, both will look the same. keypad-comma The keypad keys, when they are not mapped, behave like the equivalent normal key. There is one exception: if you have a comma on the keypad instead of a decimal point, Vim will use a dot anyway. Use these mappings to fix that: :noremap <kPoint> , :noremap! <kPoint> , xterm-codes There is a special trick to obtain the key codes which currently only works for xterm. When t_RV is defined and a response is received which indicates an xterm with patchlevel 141 or higher, Vim uses special escape sequences to request the key codes directly from the xterm. The responses are used to adjust the various t_ codes. This avoids the problem that the xterm can produce different codes, depending on the mode it is in (8-bit, VT102, VT220, etc.). The result is that codes like <xF1> are no longer needed. Note: This is only done on startup. If the xterm options are changed after Vim has started, the escape sequences may not be recognized anymore. xterm-resize Window resizing with xterm only works if the allowWindowOps resource is enabled. On some systems and versions of xterm it's disabled by default because someone thought it would be a security issue. It's not clear if this is actually the case. To overrule the default, put this line in your ~/.Xdefaults or ~/.Xresources: XTerm*allowWindowOps: true And run "xrdb -merge .Xresources" to make it effective. You can check the value with the context menu (right mouse button while CTRL key is pressed), there should be a tick at allow-window-ops. termcap-colors Note about colors: The 't_Co' option tells Vim the number of colors available. When it is non-zero, the 't_AB' and 't_AF' options are used to set the color. If one of these is not available, 't_Sb' and 't_Sf' are used. 't_me' is used to reset to the default colors. termcap-cursor-shape termcap-cursor-color When Vim enters Insert mode the 't_SI' escape sequence is sent. When Vim enters Replace mode the 't_SR' escape sequence is sent if it is set, otherwise 't_SI' is sent. When leaving Insert mode or Replace mode 't_EI' is used. This can be used to change the shape or color of the cursor in Insert or Replace mode. These are not standard termcap/terminfo entries, you need to set them yourself. Example for an xterm, this changes the color of the cursor: if &term =~ "xterm" let &t_SI = "\<Esc>]12;purple\x7" let &t_SR = "\<Esc>]12;red\x7" let &t_EI = "\<Esc>]12;blue\x7" endif NOTE: When Vim exits the shape for Normal mode will remain. The shape from before Vim started will not be restored. {not available when compiled without the |+cursorshape| feature} termcap-title The 't_ts' and 't_fs' options are used to set the window title if the terminal allows title setting via sending strings. They are sent before and after the title string, respectively. Similar 't_IS' and 't_IE' are used to set the icon text. These are Vim-internal extensions of the Unix termcap, so they cannot be obtained from an external termcap. However, the builtin termcap contains suitable entries for xterm and iris-ansi, so you don't need to set them here. hpterm If inversion or other highlighting does not work correctly, try setting the 't_xs' option to a non-empty string. This makes the 't_ce' code be used to remove highlighting from a line. This is required for "hpterm". Setting the 'weirdinvert' option has the same effect as making 't_xs' non-empty, and vice versa. scroll-region Some termcaps do not include an entry for 'cs' (scroll region), although the terminal does support it. For example: xterm on a Sun. You can use the builtin_xterm or define t_cs yourself. For example: :set t_cs=^V^[[%i%d;%dr Where ^V is CTRL-V and ^[ is <Esc>. The vertical scroll region t_CV is not a standard termcap code. Vim uses it internally in the GUI. But it can also be defined for a terminal, if you can find one that supports it. The two arguments are the left and right column of the region which to restrict the scrolling to. Just like t_cs defines the top and bottom lines. Defining t_CV will make scrolling in vertically split windows a lot faster. Don't set t_CV when t_da or t_db is set (text isn't cleared when scrolling). Unfortunately it is not possible to deduce from the termcap how cursor positioning should be done when using a scrolling region: Relative to the beginning of the screen or relative to the beginning of the scrolling region. Most terminals use the first method. A known exception is the MS-DOS console (pcterm). The 't_CS' option should be set to any string when cursor positioning is relative to the start of the scrolling region. It should be set to an empty string otherwise. It defaults to "yes" when 'term' is "pcterm". Note for xterm users: The shifted cursor keys normally don't work. You can make them work with the xmodmap command and some mappings in Vim. Give these commands in the xterm: xmodmap -e "keysym Up = Up F13" xmodmap -e "keysym Down = Down F16" xmodmap -e "keysym Left = Left F18" xmodmap -e "keysym Right = Right F19" And use these mappings in Vim: :map <t_F3> <S-Up> :map! <t_F3> <S-Up> :map <t_F6> <S-Down> :map! <t_F6> <S-Down> :map <t_F8> <S-Left> :map! <t_F8> <S-Left> :map <t_F9> <S-Right> :map! <t_F9> <S-Right> Instead of, say, <S-Up> you can use any other command that you want to use the shift-cursor-up key for. (Note: To help people that have a Sun keyboard with left side keys F14 is not used because it is confused with the undo key; F15 is not used, because it does a window-to-front; F17 is not used, because it closes the window. On other systems you can probably use them.) ============================================================================== 3. Window size window-size [This is about the size of the whole window Vim is using, not a window that is created with the ":split" command.] If you are running Vim on an Amiga and the terminal name is "amiga" or "builtin_amiga", the amiga-specific window resizing will be enabled. On Unix systems three methods are tried to get the window size: - an ioctl call (TIOCGSIZE or TIOCGWINSZ, depends on your system) - the environment variables "LINES" and "COLUMNS" - from the termcap entries "li" and "co" If everything fails a default size of 24 lines and 80 columns is assumed. If a window-resize signal is received the size will be set again. If the window size is wrong you can use the 'lines' and 'columns' options to set the correct values. One command can be used to set the screen size: :mod :mode E359 E362 :mod[e] [mode] Without argument this only detects the screen size and redraws the screen. With MS-DOS it is possible to switch screen mode. [mode] can be one of these values: "bw40" 40 columns black&white "c40" 40 columns color "bw80" 80 columns black&white "c80" 80 columns color (most people use this) "mono" 80 columns monochrome "c4350" 43 or 50 lines EGA/VGA mode number mode number to use, depends on your video card ============================================================================== 4. Slow and fast terminals slow-fast-terminal slow-terminal If you have a fast terminal you may like to set the 'ruler' option. The cursor position is shown in the status line. If you are using horizontal scrolling ('wrap' option off) consider setting 'sidescroll' to a small number. If you have a slow terminal you may want to reset the 'showcmd' option. The command characters will not be shown in the status line. If the terminal scrolls very slowly, set the 'scrolljump' to 5 or so. If the cursor is moved off the screen (e.g., with "j") Vim will scroll 5 lines at a time. Another possibility is to reduce the number of lines that Vim uses with the command "z{height}<CR>". If the characters from the terminal are arriving with more than 1 second between them you might want to set the 'timeout' and/or 'ttimeout' option. See the "Options" chapter options. If your terminal does not support a scrolling region, but it does support insert/delete line commands, scrolling with multiple windows may make the lines jump up and down. If you don't want this set the 'ttyfast' option. This will redraw the window instead of scroll it. If your terminal scrolls very slowly, but redrawing is not slow, set the 'ttyscroll' option to a small number, e.g., 3. This will make Vim redraw the screen instead of scrolling, when there are more than 3 lines to be scrolled. If you are using a color terminal that is slow, use this command: hi NonText cterm=NONE ctermfg=NONE This avoids that spaces are sent when they have different attributes. On most terminals you can't see this anyway. If you are using Vim over a slow serial line, you might want to try running Vim inside the "screen" program. Screen will optimize the terminal I/O quite a bit. If you are testing termcap options, but you cannot see what is happening, you might want to set the 'writedelay' option. When non-zero, one character is sent to the terminal at a time (does not work for MS-DOS). This makes the screen updating a lot slower, making it possible to see what is happening. ============================================================================== 5. Using the mouse mouse-using This section is about using the mouse on a terminal or a terminal window. How to use the mouse in a GUI window is explained in gui-mouse. For scrolling with a mouse wheel see scroll-mouse-wheel. Don't forget to enable the mouse with this command: :set mouse=a Otherwise Vim won't recognize the mouse in all modes (See 'mouse'). Currently the mouse is supported for Unix in an xterm window, in a *BSD console with sysmouse, in a Linux console (with GPM gpm-mouse), for MS-DOS and in a Windows console. Mouse clicks can be used to position the cursor, select an area and paste. These characters in the 'mouse' option tell in which situations the mouse will be used by Vim: n Normal mode v Visual mode i Insert mode c Command-line mode h all previous modes when in a help file a all previous modes r for hit-enter prompt The default for 'mouse' is empty, the mouse is not used. Normally you would do: :set mouse=a to start using the mouse (this is equivalent to setting 'mouse' to "nvich"). If you only want to use the mouse in a few modes or also want to use it for the two questions you will have to concatenate the letters for those modes. For example: :set mouse=nv Will make the mouse work in Normal mode and Visual mode. :set mouse=h Will make the mouse work in help files only (so you can use "g<LeftMouse>" to jump to tags). Whether the selection that is started with the mouse is in Visual mode or Select mode depends on whether "mouse" is included in the 'selectmode' option. In an xterm, with the currently active mode included in the 'mouse' option, normal mouse clicks are used by Vim, mouse clicks with the shift or ctrl key pressed go to the xterm. With the currently active mode not included in 'mouse' all mouse clicks go to the xterm. xterm-clipboard In the Athena and Motif GUI versions, when running in a terminal and there is access to the X-server (DISPLAY is set), the copy and paste will behave like in the GUI. If not, the middle mouse button will insert the unnamed register. In that case, here is how you copy and paste a piece of text: Copy/paste with the mouse and Visual mode ('mouse' option must be set, see above): 1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last letter of the text and release the button. This will start Visual mode and highlight the selected area. 2. Press "y" to yank the Visual text in the unnamed register. 3. Click the left mouse button at the insert position. 4. Click the middle mouse button. Shortcut: If the insert position is on the screen at the same time as the Visual text, you can do 2, 3 and 4 all in one: Click the middle mouse button at the insert position. Note: When the -X command line argument is used, Vim will not connect to the X server and copy/paste to the X clipboard (selection) will not work. Use the shift key with the mouse buttons to let the xterm do the selection. xterm-command-server When the X-server clipboard is available, the command server described in x11-clientserver can be enabled with the --servername command line argument. xterm-copy-paste NOTE: In some (older) xterms, it's not possible to move the cursor past column 95 or 223. This is an xterm problem, not Vim's. Get a newer xterm color-xterm. Also see 'ttymouse'. Copy/paste in xterm with (current mode NOT included in 'mouse'): 1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last letter of the text and release the button. 2. Use normal Vim commands to put the cursor at the insert position. 3. Press "a" to start Insert mode. 4. Click the middle mouse button. 5. Press ESC to end Insert mode. (The same can be done with anything in 'mouse' if you keep the shift key pressed while using the mouse.) Note: if you lose the 8th bit when pasting (special characters are translated into other characters), you may have to do "stty cs8 -istrip -parenb" in your shell before starting Vim. Thus in an xterm the shift and ctrl keys cannot be used with the mouse. Mouse commands requiring the CTRL modifier can be simulated by typing the "g" key before using the mouse: "g<LeftMouse>" is "<C-LeftMouse> (jump to tag under mouse click) "g<RightMouse>" is "<C-RightMouse> ("CTRL-T") mouse-mode-table mouse-overview A short overview of what the mouse buttons do, when 'mousemodel' is "extend": Normal Mode: event position selection change action cursor window <LeftMouse> yes end yes <C-LeftMouse> yes end yes "CTRL-]" (2) <S-LeftMouse> yes no change yes "*" (2) <S-LeftMouse> <LeftDrag> yes start or extend (1) no <LeftDrag> <LeftRelease> yes start or extend (1) no <MiddleMouse> yes if not active no put <MiddleMouse> yes if active no yank and put <RightMouse> yes start or extend yes <A-RightMouse> yes start or extend blockw. yes <A-RightMouse> <S-RightMouse> yes no change yes "#" (2) <S-RightMouse> <C-RightMouse> no no change no "CTRL-T" <RightDrag> yes extend no <RightDrag> <RightRelease> yes extend no <RightRelease> Insert or Replace Mode: event position selection change action cursor window <LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes <C-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O^]" (2) <S-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O*" (2) <LeftDrag> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1) <LeftRelease> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1) <MiddleMouse> no (cannot be active) no put register <RightMouse> yes start or extend yes like CTRL-O <A-RightMouse> yes start or extend blockw. yes <S-RightMouse> yes (cannot be active) yes "CTRL-O#" (2) <C-RightMouse> no (cannot be active) no "CTRL-O CTRL-T" In a help window: event position selection change action cursor window <2-LeftMouse> yes (cannot be active) no "^]" (jump to help tag) When 'mousemodel' is "popup", these are different: Normal Mode: event position selection change action cursor window <S-LeftMouse> yes start or extend (1) no <A-LeftMouse> yes start or extend blockw. no <A-LeftMouse> <RightMouse> no popup menu no Insert or Replace Mode: event position selection change action cursor window <S-LeftMouse> yes start or extend (1) no like CTRL-O (1) <A-LeftMouse> yes start or extend blockw. no <RightMouse> no popup menu no (1) only if mouse pointer moved since press (2) only if click is in same buffer Clicking the left mouse button causes the cursor to be positioned. If the click is in another window that window is made the active window. When editing the command-line the cursor can only be positioned on the command-line. When in Insert mode Vim remains in Insert mode. If 'scrolloff' is set, and the cursor is positioned within 'scrolloff' lines from the window border, the text is scrolled. A selection can be started by pressing the left mouse button on the first character, moving the mouse to the last character, then releasing the mouse button. You will not always see the selection until you release the button, only in some versions (GUI, MS-DOS, WIN32) will the dragging be shown immediately. Note that you can make the text scroll by moving the mouse at least one character in the first/last line in the window when 'scrolloff' is non-zero. In Normal, Visual and Select mode clicking the right mouse button causes the Visual area to be extended. When 'mousemodel' is "popup", the left button has to be used while keeping the shift key pressed. When clicking in a window which is editing another buffer, the Visual or Select mode is stopped. In Normal, Visual and Select mode clicking the right mouse button with the alt key pressed causes the Visual area to become blockwise. When 'mousemodel' is "popup" the left button has to be used with the alt key. Note that this won't work on systems where the window manager consumes the mouse events when the alt key is pressed (it may move the window). double-click Double, triple and quadruple clicks are supported when the GUI is active, for MS-DOS and Win32, and for an xterm (if the gettimeofday() function is available). For selecting text, extra clicks extend the selection: click select double word or % match <2-LeftMouse> triple line <3-LeftMouse> quadruple rectangular block <4-LeftMouse> Exception: In a Help window a double click jumps to help for the word that is clicked on. A double click on a word selects that word. 'iskeyword' is used to specify which characters are included in a word. A double click on a character that has a match selects until that match (like using "v%"). If the match is an #if/#else/#endif block, the selection becomes linewise. For MS-DOS and xterm the time for double clicking can be set with the 'mousetime' option. For the other systems this time is defined outside of Vim. An example, for using a double click to jump to the tag under the cursor: :map <2-LeftMouse> :exe "tag ". expand("<cword>")<CR> Dragging the mouse with a double click (button-down, button-up, button-down and then drag) will result in whole words to be selected. This continues until the button is released, at which point the selection is per character again. gpm-mouse The GPM mouse is only supported when the +mouse_gpm feature was enabled at compile time. The GPM mouse driver (Linux console) does not support quadruple clicks. In Insert mode, when a selection is started, Vim goes into Normal mode temporarily. When Visual or Select mode ends, it returns to Insert mode. This is like using CTRL-O in Insert mode. Select mode is used when the 'selectmode' option contains "mouse". sysmouse The sysmouse is only supported when the +mouse_sysmouse feature was enabled at compile time. The sysmouse driver (*BSD console) does not support keyboard modifiers. drag-status-line When working with several windows, the size of the windows can be changed by dragging the status line with the mouse. Point the mouse at a status line, press the left button, move the mouse to the new position of the status line, release the button. Just clicking the mouse in a status line makes that window the current window, without moving the cursor. If by selecting a window it will change position or size, the dragging of the status line will look confusing, but it will work (just try it). <MiddleRelease> <MiddleDrag> Mouse clicks can be mapped. The codes for mouse clicks are: code mouse button normal action <LeftMouse> left pressed set cursor position <LeftDrag> left moved while pressed extend selection <LeftRelease> left released set selection end <MiddleMouse> middle pressed paste text at cursor position <MiddleDrag> middle moved while pressed - <MiddleRelease> middle released - <RightMouse> right pressed extend selection <RightDrag> right moved while pressed extend selection <RightRelease> right released set selection end <X1Mouse> X1 button pressed - X1Mouse <X1Drag> X1 moved while pressed - X1Drag <X1Release> X1 button release - X1Release <X2Mouse> X2 button pressed - X2Mouse <X2Drag> X2 moved while pressed - X2Drag <X2Release> X2 button release - X2Release The X1 and X2 buttons refer to the extra buttons found on some mice. The 'Microsoft Explorer' mouse has these buttons available to the right thumb. Currently X1 and X2 only work on Win32 and X11 environments. Examples: :noremap <MiddleMouse> <LeftMouse><MiddleMouse> Paste at the position of the middle mouse button click (otherwise the paste would be done at the cursor position). :noremap <LeftRelease> <LeftRelease>y Immediately yank the selection, when using Visual mode. Note the use of ":noremap" instead of "map" to avoid a recursive mapping. :map <X1Mouse> <C-O> :map <X2Mouse> <C-I> Map the X1 and X2 buttons to go forwards and backwards in the jump list, see CTRL-O and CTRL-I. mouse-swap-buttons To swap the meaning of the left and right mouse buttons: :noremap <LeftMouse> <RightMouse> :noremap <LeftDrag> <RightDrag> :noremap <LeftRelease> <RightRelease> :noremap <RightMouse> <LeftMouse> :noremap <RightDrag> <LeftDrag> :noremap <RightRelease> <LeftRelease> :noremap g<LeftMouse> <C-RightMouse> :noremap g<RightMouse> <C-LeftMouse> :noremap! <LeftMouse> <RightMouse> :noremap! <LeftDrag> <RightDrag> :noremap! <LeftRelease> <RightRelease> :noremap! <RightMouse> <LeftMouse> :noremap! <RightDrag> <LeftDrag> :noremap! <RightRelease> <LeftRelease> vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
Quick links: help overview · quick reference · user manual toc · reference manual toc · faq