(Undo revision 29434 by Xonqnopp : thanks, but not helpful for a beginner tip and already contained in Best_Vim_Tips#Easter_eggs) |
mNo edit summary Tag: sourceedit |
||
(4 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
==Getting started== |
==Getting started== |
||
Try these examples: |
Try these examples: |
||
− | *Enter < |
+ | *Enter <code>:help</code> to browse help. Scroll down the help page to see the quickref and tutor links, and the table of contents. |
*Enter {{help|pattern}} for help on the topic ''pattern'' (for example). |
*Enter {{help|pattern}} for help on the topic ''pattern'' (for example). |
||
− | *< |
+ | *<code>:h pattern</code> is the same (the <code>:help</code> command can be abbreviated). |
Command completion can be used when entering a help topic: |
Command completion can be used when entering a help topic: |
||
− | *Type < |
+ | *Type <code>:h patt</code> then press Ctrl-D to list all topics that contain "<code>patt</code>". |
− | *Type < |
+ | *Type <code>:h patt</code> then press Tab to scroll through the topics that start with "<code>patt</code>". |
− | *If you have set the < |
+ | *If you have set the <code>{{help|'wildmenu'|prefix=no}}</code> option (e.g. by using <code>:set wildmenu</code>), then <code>:h patt</code> followed by <code><Tab></code> opens a menu on the statusline, with all help topics containing "<code>patt</code>". You can select any item in the menu with the arrow keys or more presses of the <code><Tab></code> key to fill in the rest of your command line. |
Links: |
Links: |
||
− | *Enter < |
+ | *Enter <code>:h</code> to open the main help page. |
− | *Type < |
+ | *Type <code>/quick</code> to search for "quick" (should find the <code>quickref</code> link). |
*Press Ctrl-] to follow the link (jump to the quickref topic). |
*Press Ctrl-] to follow the link (jump to the quickref topic). |
||
*After browsing the quickref topic, press Ctrl-T to go back to the previous topic. |
*After browsing the quickref topic, press Ctrl-T to go back to the previous topic. |
||
Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
Searching: |
Searching: |
||
− | *Search within a help file using < |
+ | *Search within a help file using <code>/</code> like you would when searching any file. |
− | *Search all the help files with the < |
+ | *Search all the help files with the <code>:helpgrep</code> command, for example: |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:helpgrep \csearch.\{,12}file</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>\c</code> means the pattern is case insensitive. |
::The pattern finds "search" then up to 12 characters followed by "file". |
::The pattern finds "search" then up to 12 characters followed by "file". |
||
:You will then see the first match. To see other matches for the same pattern, use: |
:You will then see the first match. To see other matches for the same pattern, use: |
||
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cnext</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cprev</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cnfile</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cpfile</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cfirst</code> |
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:clast</code> |
:and even |
:and even |
||
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:cc</code> |
:which brings you back to the current match after you scrolled the helpfile, or |
:which brings you back to the current match after you scrolled the helpfile, or |
||
− | ::< |
+ | ::<code>:copen</code> |
− | :which will list out all the matches in a separate window. Read up on these commands with the < |
+ | :which will list out all the matches in a separate window. Read up on these commands with the <code>:help</code> entry for each of them! |
− | Each week (or more often if you prefer), read a new section from the < |
+ | Each week (or more often if you prefer), read a new section from the <code>:help</code> page to learn something new! |
==Context== |
==Context== |
||
Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
! style="width:4em" | Prefix !! style="width:8em" | Example !! Context |
! style="width:4em" | Prefix !! style="width:8em" | Example !! Context |
||
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>:</code> || <code>:h :r</code> || ex command (command starting with a colon) |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |''none'' || < |
+ | |''none'' || <code>:h r</code> || normal mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>v_</code> || <code>:h v_r</code> || visual mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>i_</code> || <code>:h i_CTRL-W</code> || insert mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>c_</code> || <code>:h c_CTRL-R</code> || ex command line |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>/</code> || <code>:h /\r</code> || search pattern (in this case, <code>:h \r</code> also works) |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>'</code> || <code>:h 'ro'</code> || option |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>-</code> || <code>:h -r</code> || Vim argument (starting Vim) |
|} |
|} |
||
− | Sometimes you want to know what a particular control key means to Vim. For example, to see all help topics containing "ctrl-r", type < |
+ | Sometimes you want to know what a particular control key means to Vim. For example, to see all help topics containing "ctrl-r", type <code>:h ctrl-r</code> then press Ctrl-D. The following examples show the help for pressing various keys in different contexts. |
{| class="cleartable" |
{| class="cleartable" |
||
! style="width:8em" | Example !! Help for key |
! style="width:8em" | Example !! Help for key |
||
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>:h CTRL-R</code> || Ctrl-R in normal mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>:h i_CTRL-R</code> || Ctrl-R in insert mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>:h c_CTRL-R</code> || Ctrl-R in command mode |
|- |
|- |
||
− | |< |
+ | |<code>:h v_CTRL-V</code> || Ctrl-V in visual mode |
|} |
|} |
||
Line 91: | Line 91: | ||
*Press Enter to jump to the subject (topic) under the cursor. |
*Press Enter to jump to the subject (topic) under the cursor. |
||
*Press Backspace to return from the last jump. |
*Press Backspace to return from the last jump. |
||
− | *Press < |
+ | *Press <code>s</code> to find the next subject, or <code>S</code> to find the previous subject. |
− | *Press < |
+ | *Press <code>o</code> to find the next option, or <code>O</code> to find the previous option. |
− | Create file < |
+ | Create file <code>~/.vim/ftplugin/help.vim</code> (Unix) or <code>$HOME/vimfiles/ftplugin/help.vim</code> (Windows) containing: |
<pre> |
<pre> |
||
nnoremap <buffer> <CR> <C-]> |
nnoremap <buffer> <CR> <C-]> |
||
Line 103: | Line 103: | ||
nnoremap <buffer> S ?\|\zs\S\+\ze\|<CR> |
nnoremap <buffer> S ?\|\zs\S\+\ze\|<CR> |
||
</pre> |
</pre> |
||
− | The following mappings (which can go in your vimrc) simplify navigating the results of {{help|quickfix|prefix=no}} commands such as (among others) < |
+ | The following mappings (which can go in your vimrc) simplify navigating the results of {{help|quickfix|prefix=no}} commands such as (among others) <code>:helpgrep</code> |
<pre> |
<pre> |
||
:nnoremap <S-F1> :cc<CR> |
:nnoremap <S-F1> :cc<CR> |
||
Line 115: | Line 115: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
+ | *{{help|id=help.txt|label=''}} |
||
*{{help|:help}} |
*{{help|:help}} |
||
*{{help|:helpgrep}} |
*{{help|:helpgrep}} |
||
− | *{{help| |
+ | *{{help|helphelp.txt}} |
+ | *{{help|quickref.txt}} |
||
==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 22:25, 17 April 2016
created 2005 · complexity basic · author David S · version 6.0
Vim's help is remarkably helpful, but in order to use it effectively you need to spend a few minutes learning how it is organised.
Getting started
Try these examples:
- Enter
:help
to browse help. Scroll down the help page to see the quickref and tutor links, and the table of contents. - Enter :help pattern for help on the topic pattern (for example).
:h pattern
is the same (the:help
command can be abbreviated).
Command completion can be used when entering a help topic:
- Type
:h patt
then press Ctrl-D to list all topics that contain "patt
". - Type
:h patt
then press Tab to scroll through the topics that start with "patt
". - If you have set the
'wildmenu'
option (e.g. by using:set wildmenu
), then:h patt
followed by<Tab>
opens a menu on the statusline, with all help topics containing "patt
". You can select any item in the menu with the arrow keys or more presses of the<Tab>
key to fill in the rest of your command line.
Links:
- Enter
:h
to open the main help page. - Type
/quick
to search for "quick" (should find thequickref
link). - Press Ctrl-] to follow the link (jump to the quickref topic).
- After browsing the quickref topic, press Ctrl-T to go back to the previous topic.
- You can also press Ctrl-O to jump to older locations, or Ctrl-I to jump to newer locations.
Searching:
- Search within a help file using
/
like you would when searching any file. - Search all the help files with the
:helpgrep
command, for example:
:helpgrep \csearch.\{,12}file
\c
means the pattern is case insensitive.- The pattern finds "search" then up to 12 characters followed by "file".
- You will then see the first match. To see other matches for the same pattern, use:
:cnext
:cprev
:cnfile
:cpfile
:cfirst
:clast
- and even
:cc
- which brings you back to the current match after you scrolled the helpfile, or
:copen
- which will list out all the matches in a separate window. Read up on these commands with the
:help
entry for each of them!
Each week (or more often if you prefer), read a new section from the :help
page to learn something new!
Context
Each help topic has a context:
Prefix | Example | Context |
---|---|---|
: |
:h :r |
ex command (command starting with a colon) |
none | :h r |
normal mode |
v_ |
:h v_r |
visual mode |
i_ |
:h i_CTRL-W |
insert mode |
c_ |
:h c_CTRL-R |
ex command line |
/ |
:h /\r |
search pattern (in this case, :h \r also works)
|
' |
:h 'ro' |
option |
- |
:h -r |
Vim argument (starting Vim) |
Sometimes you want to know what a particular control key means to Vim. For example, to see all help topics containing "ctrl-r", type :h ctrl-r
then press Ctrl-D. The following examples show the help for pressing various keys in different contexts.
Example | Help for key |
---|---|
:h CTRL-R |
Ctrl-R in normal mode |
:h i_CTRL-R |
Ctrl-R in insert mode |
:h c_CTRL-R |
Ctrl-R in command mode |
:h v_CTRL-V |
Ctrl-V in visual mode |
The following mappings simplify navigation when viewing help:
- Press Enter to jump to the subject (topic) under the cursor.
- Press Backspace to return from the last jump.
- Press
s
to find the next subject, orS
to find the previous subject. - Press
o
to find the next option, orO
to find the previous option.
Create file ~/.vim/ftplugin/help.vim
(Unix) or $HOME/vimfiles/ftplugin/help.vim
(Windows) containing:
nnoremap <buffer> <CR> <C-]> nnoremap <buffer> <BS> <C-T> nnoremap <buffer> o /'\l\{2,\}'<CR> nnoremap <buffer> O ?'\l\{2,\}'<CR> nnoremap <buffer> s /\|\zs\S\+\ze\|<CR> nnoremap <buffer> S ?\|\zs\S\+\ze\|<CR>
The following mappings (which can go in your vimrc) simplify navigating the results of quickfix commands such as (among others) :helpgrep
:nnoremap <S-F1> :cc<CR> :nnoremap <F2> :cnext<CR> :nnoremap <S-F2> :cprev<CR> :nnoremap <F3> :cnfile<CR> :nnoremap <S-F3> :cpfile<CR> :nnoremap <F4> :cfirst<CR> :nnoremap <S-F4> :clast<CR>
References
See also
- Remember to search this wiki (see 'search' in the sidebar)!
- Search the FAQ and other guides on our documentation page
- Search the archives of the Vim mailing lists
Comments
Also see the wildmenu. My settings:
set wildmenu wildmode=longest:full,full
What it does:
- First tab: longest match, list in the statusbar.
- Following tabs: cycle through matches.