Workbench Add-On/Workbench Add-On - Volume 1.iso/Text/Edit/Vim/doc/windows.doc

Text File | 1994-08-12 | 15KB | 435 lines

Editing with multiple windows and buffers.

Explained here are commands have been added to use multiple windows and
buffers. Additionally there are explanations for commands that work different
when used in combination with more than one window.


A window is a viewport onto a buffer. You can use multiple windows on one
buffer. Or several windows on different buffers.

A buffer is a file loaded into memory for editing. The original file remains
unchanged until you write the buffer to the file.

A buffer can be in one of three states:

active:   The buffer is displayed in a window. If there is a file for this
      buffer it has been read into the buffer. The buffer may have been
      modified.
hidden:   The buffer is not displayed. If there is a file for this buffer it
          has been read into the buffer. The buffer may have been modified.
inactive: The buffer is not displayed and does not contain anything. Options
          for the buffer are remembered if the file was once loaded.

In a table:

state        displayed    loaded        :buffers
        in window             shows
active          yes         yes          ' '
hidden          no         yes          'h'
inactive      no         no          '-'


Starting Vim
-----------

By default Vim starts with one window, just like vi.

The "-o" command line argument can be used to open a window for each file in
the argument list: "Vim -o file1 file2 file3" will open three windows.

"-oN", where N is a decimal number, opens N windows. If there are more file
names than windows, only N windows are opened, some files do not get a window.
If there are more windows than file names, the last few windows will be
editing empty buffers.

If there are many file names the windows will become very small. You might
want to set the 'winheight' option to create a workable situation.


Opening a new window
--------------------

CTRL-W s
CTRL-W S
CTRL-W CTRL-S
:[N]split
        Split current window in two. The result is two viewports on
        the same file. Make new window N high (default is to use half
        the height of the current window). Reduces the current window
        height to create room (and others, if the 'equalalways' option
        is set).

CTRL-W n
CTRL-W CTRL_N
:[N]new
        Create a new window and start editing an empty file in it.
        Make new window N high (default is to use half the existing
        height). Reduces the current window height to create room (and
        others, if the 'equalalways' option is set).

:[N]new [+command] fname
:[N]split [+command] fname
        Create a new window and start editing file fname in it. If
        [+command] is given, execute the command when the file has
        been loaded. Make new window N high (default is to use half
        the existing height). Reduces the current window height to
        create room (and others, if the 'equalalways' option is set).


Closing a window
----------------

CTRL-W q
CTRL-W CTRL-Q
:quit        Quit current window, unless the buffer was changed and there
        are no other windows for this buffer. When quitting the last
        window, exit Vim.

:quit!        Quit current window. If this was the last window for a buffer,
        any changes to that buffer are lost. When quitting the last
        window, exit Vim.

CTRL-W c
:close        Quit current window, unless it is the last window on the
        screen. The buffer becomes hidden (unless there is another
        window editing it). (Note: CTRL-W CTRL-C does not work).

CTRL-W o
CTRL-W CTRL-O
:only        Make the current window the only one on the screen. All other
        windows are closed. All buffers in the other windows become
        hidden.


Moving the cursor to other windows
----------------------------------

CTRL-W <CURSOR_DOWN>
CTRL-W CTRL-J
CTRL-W j    move cursor to Nth window below current one.

CTRL-W <CURSOR_UP>
CTRL-W CTRL-K
CTRL-W k    move cursor to Nth window above current one.

CTRL-W w
CTRL-W CTRL-W    Without count: move cursor to window below current one. If
        there is no window below, go to upper window.
        With count: go to Nth window.

CTRL-W p
CTRL-W CTRL-P    go to previous (last accessed) window.


Moving windows around
---------------------

CTRL-W r
CTRL-W CTRL-R    Rotate windows downwards. The first window becomes the second
        one, the second one the third one, etc. The last window
        becomes the first window. The cursor remains in the same
        window.

CTRL-W R    Rotate windows upwards. The second window becomes the first
        one, the third one the second one, etc. The first window
        becomes the last window. The cursor remains in the same
        window.

CTRL-W x
CTRL-W CTRL-X    Without count: Exchange current window with next one. If there
        is no next window, exchange with previous window. With count:
        Exchange current window with Nth window (first window is 1).
        The cursor is put in the other window.


Window resizing
---------------

CTRL-W =    make all windows (almost) equal high.

:resize -N
CTRL-W -    decrease current window height by N

:resize +N
CTRL-W +    increase current window height by N

:resize [N]
CTRL-W CTRL-_
CTRL-W _    set current window height to N (default: highest possible)

z<nr><CR>    set current window height to nr

The option 'winheight' ('wh') is used to set the minimal window height of the
current window. This option is used each time another window becomes the
current window. If the option is '0' it is disabled. Set 'winheight' to a very
large value, e.g. '9999', to make the current window always fill all available
space. Set it to a reasonable value, e.g. '10', to make editing in the current
window comfortable.

When the option 'equalalways' ('ea') is set all the windows are automatically
made the same size after splitting or closing a window. If you don't set this
option, splitting a window will reduce the size of the current window and
leave the other windows the same. When closing a window the extra lines are
given the the window above it.

The option 'commandheight' ('ch') is used to set the height of the command
line. If you are annoyed by the "hit return to continue" questions for long
messages, set this option to 2 or 3.

If there is only one window, resizing that window will also change the command
line height. If there are several windows, resizing the current window will
also change the height of the window below it (and sometimes the window above
it).


Exiting Vim with multiple windows or buffers
--------------------------------------------

:qall        Exit Vim, unless there are some buffers which have been
        changed. (Use :bmod to go to the next modified buffer).

:qall!        Exit Vim. Any changes to buffers are lost.

:wqall
:xall        Write all changed buffers and exit Vim. If there are buffers
        without a file name, which are readonly or cannot be written
        for another reason, Vim is not quit.

:wqall!
:xall!        Write all changed buffers, also the ones that are readonly,
        and exit Vim. If there are buffers without a file name or
        cannot be written for another reason, Vim is not quit.


Writing with multiple buffers
-----------------------------

:wall        Write all changed buffers. Buffers without a file name or
        which are readonly are not written.

:wall!        Write all changed buffers, also the ones that are readonly.
        Buffers without a file name are not written.


Overview of argument and buffer list commands
---------------------------------------------

   args list            buffer list        meaning
1. :[N]argument [N]    11. :[N]buffer [N]    to arg/buf N
2. :[N]next [file ..]    12. :[N]bnext [N]    to Nth next arg/buf
3. :[N]Next [N]        13. :[N]bNext [N]    to Nth previous arg/buf
4. :[N]previous    [N]    14. :[N]bprevious [N]    to Nth previous arg/buf
5. :rewind        15. :brewind        to first arg/buf
6. :last        16. :blast        to last arg/buf
7. :all            17. :ball        edit all args/buffers
            18. :unhide        edit all loaded buffers
            19. :[N]bmod [N]    to Nth modified buf

 split & args list      split & buffer list     meaning
21. :[N]sargument [N]   31. :[N]sbuffer [N]    split + to arg/buf N
22. :[N]snext [file ..] 32. :[N]sbnext [N]      split + to Nth next arg/buf
23. :[N]sNext [N]       33. :[N]sbNext [N]      split + to Nth previous arg/buf
24. :[N]sprevious [N]   34. :[N]sbprevious [N]  split + to Nth previous arg/buf
25. :srewind            35. :sbrewind           split + to first arg/buf
26. :slast              36. :sblast             split + to last arg/buf
27. :sall        37: :sball        edit all args/buffers
            38. :sunhide        edit all loaded buffers
                        39. :[N]sbmod [N]       split + to Nth modified buf

40.    :args            list of arguments
41.    :buffers        list of buffers

The meaning of [N] depends on the command:
[N] is number of buffers to go forward/backward on ?2, ?3, ?4
[N] is an argument number, defaulting to current argument, for 1, 21
[N] is a buffer number, defaulting to current buffer, for 11, 31
[N] is a count for 17, 39

Note: ":next" is an exception, because it must accept a list of file names
for compatibility with vi.


The argument list and multiple windows
--------------------------------------

The current position in the argument list can be different for each window.
Remember that when doing ":e file" the position in the argument list stays
the same, but you are not editing the file at that position. Thus the
message (file N of M) may be misleading (this is inherited from vi).

All the entries in the argument list are added to the buffer list. Thus you
can also get to them with the buffer list commands, like ":bnext".

:all
:sall        Rearrange the screen to open one window for each argument.
        All other windows are closed (buffers become hidden).

:[N]sargument[!] [N]
        Short for ":split | argument [N]": split window and go to
        Nth argument. But when there is no such argument, of the
        current file cannot be abandoned, the window is not split.

:[N]snext[!] [file ..]
        Short for ":split | [N]next": split window and go to Nth
        next argument. But when there is no next file, or the
        current file cannot be abandoned, the window is not split.

:[N]sprevious[!] [N]
:[N]sNext[!] [N]
        Short for ":split | Next": split window and go to Nth
        previous argument. But when there is no previous file, or
        the current file cannot be abandoned, the window is not
        split.

:srewind[!]    Short for ":split | rewind": split window and go to first
        argument. But when the current file cannot be abandoned the
        window is not split.

:slast[!]    Short for ":split | last": split window and go to last
        argument. But when the current file cannot be abandoned the
        window is not split.


Tag or file name under the cursor
---------------------------------

CTRL-W ]
CTRL-W CTRL-]    split current window in two. Use identifier under cursor as a
        tag and jump to it in the new upper window. Make new window N
        high.

CTRL-W f
CTRL-W CTRL-F    split current window in two. Edit file name under cursor. Like
        ":split ]f", but window isn't split if the file does not exist.


Using hidden buffers
--------------------

A hidden buffer is not displayed in a window, but is still loaded into memory.
This makes it possible to jump from file to file, without the need to read or
write the file every time, and having to keep the file in a window.

If the option 'hidden' ('hid') is set, abandoned buffers are kept for all
commands that start editing another file: ":edit", ":next", ":tag", etc. The
commands that move through the buffer list make the current buffer hidden
although the 'hidden' option is not set (see below).

You can make a hidden buffer not hidden, by starting to edit it with any
command. Or by deleting it with the ":bdelete" command.

:files
:buffers    Show all buffers. Example:

            1 #h  "/test/text" line 1
            2  -  "asdf" line 0
            3 % + "version.c" line 1

        Each buffer has a unique number. That number will not change,
        so you can always go to a specific buffer with ":buffer N" or
        "N CTRL-^", where N is the buffer number.

         '-' indicates a buffer that is not loaded. 'h' indicates a
        hidden buffer: It is loaded, but currently not displayed in a
        window. '%' indicates the buffer in the current window. '#'
        indicates the alternate buffer for ":e #" or CTRL-^. '+'
        indicates a modified buffer.

:[N]bdelete
:bdelete [N]
        Unload buffer [N] (default: current buffer) and delete it from
        the buffer list. If the buffer was changed this fails. The
        file remains unaffected. If buffer [N] is the current buffer,
        the next buffer becomes the current buffer.

:[N]bdelete!
:bdelete! [N]
        Unload buffer [N] (default: current buffer) and delete it from
        the buffer list. If the buffer was changed the changes are
        lost. The file remains unaffected. If buffer [N] is the
        current buffer, the next buffer becomes the current buffer.

:N,Mbdelete[!]    do :bdelete[!] for all buffers in the range N to M (inclusive).

:bdelete[!] N1 N2 ..
        do :bdelete[!] for buffer N1, N2, etc.

:[N]bunload
:bunload [N]
        Unload buffer [N] (default: current buffer). The memory
        allocated for this buffer will be freed. The buffer remains in
        the buffer list. If the buffer was changed this fails. If
        buffer [N] is the current buffer, the next buffer becomes the
        current buffer.

:[N]bunload!
:bunload! [N]
        Unload buffer [N] (default: current buffer). The memory
        allocated for this buffer will be freed. The buffer remains in
        the buffer list. If the buffer was changed the changes are
        lost. If buffer [N] is the current buffer, the next buffer
        becomes the current buffer.

:N,Mbunload[!]    do :bunload[!] for all buffers in the range N to M (inclusive).

:bunload[!] N1 N2 ..
        do :bunload[!] for buffer N1, N2, etc.

:[N]buffer [N]
        Edit buffer [N] from the buffer list. If [N] is not given, the
        current buffer remains being edited.

:[N]bnext [N]    Go to [N]th next buffer in buffer list. [N] defaults to one.

:[N]bNext [N]
:[N]bprev [N]    Go to [N]th previous buffer in buffer list. [N] defaults to
        one.

:brewind    Go to first buffer in buffer list

:blast        Go to last buffer in buffer list

:[N]bmodified [N]
        Go to [N]th next modified buffer in buffer list

:[N]sbuffer [N]
        split window and Edit buffer [N] from the buffer list. If [N]
        is not given, the current buffer is edited.

:[N]sbnext [N]    split window and go to [N]th next buffer in buffer list

:[N]sbNext [N]
:[N]sbprev [N]    split window and go to [N]th previous buffer in buffer list

:sbrewind    split window and go to first buffer in buffer list

:sblast        split window and go to last buffer in buffer list

:[N]sbmodified [N]
        split window and go to [N]th next modified buffer in buffer list

:unhide
:sunhide    Rearrange the screen to open one window for each loaded
        buffer in the buffer list.

:ball
:sball        Rearrange the screen to open one window for each buffer in
        the buffer list.


Memory usage limits
-------------------

The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximal memory used for one
buffer (in Kbyte). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximal memory used for all
buffers (in Kbyte). The defaults depend on the system used. For the Amiga and
MSDOS 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory available. If you
don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a very large
value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you don't want a
swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n" argument when
starting Vim. Note that the 'maxmem' option is only used when a buffer is
created. Changing this option does not affect buffers that have already been
loaded. Thus you can set it to different values for different files.
'maxmemtot' works always.