OPTIONS

*options.txt*   For IdeaVIM version 0.12.0.  Last change: 2006 Dec 01


                  IdeaVIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Rick Maddy


Options                                                 *options*

1. Setting options                      |set-option|
2. Automatically setting options        |auto-setting|
3. Options summary                      |option-summary|

For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.

Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
achieve special effects.  These options come in three forms:
        boolean         can only be on or off           *boolean* *toggle*
        number          has a numeric value
        string          has a string value


1. Setting options                                      *set-option*

                                                        *:se* *:set*
:se[t]                  Show all options that differ from their default value.

:se[t] all              Show all but terminal options.

:se[t] {option}?        Show value of {option}.

:se[t] {option}         Toggle option: set, switch it on.
                        Number option: show value.
                        String option: show value.

:se[t] no{option}       Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.

:se[t] {option}!   or
:se[t] inv{option}      Toggle option: Invert value.

                                *:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
:se[t] {option}&        Reset option to its default value.  May depend on the
                        current value of 'compatible'.

:se[t] all&             Set all options, except terminal options, to their
                        default value.  The values of 'term', 'lines' and
                        'columns' are not changed.

                                                                *E487* *E521*
:se[t] {option}={value}         or
:se[t] {option}:{value}
                        Set string or number option to {value}.
                                                                *:set-args*
                        For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
                        hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
                        (hex and octal are only available for machines which
                        have the strtol() function).
                        White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
                        will be ignored.  White space between '=' and {value}
                        is not allowed.
                        See |option-backslash| for using white space and
                        backslashes in {value}.

:se[t] {option}+={value}                                *:set+=*
                        Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
                        {value} to a string option.  When the option is a
                        comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
                        value was empty.
                        If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
                        are removed.  Otherwise there is no check for doubled
                        values.  You can avoid this by removing a value first.
                        Example:
                                :set guioptions-=T guioptions+=T
                       Also see |:set-args| above.

:se[t] {option}^={value}                                *:set^=*
                        Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
                        the {value} to a string option.  When the option is a
                        comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
                        value was empty.
                        Also see |:set-args| above.

:se[t] {option}-={value}                                *:set-=*
                        Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
                        the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
                        If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
                        is no error or warning.  When the option is a comma
                        separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
                        becomes empty.
                        When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
                        exactly as they appear in the option.  Remove flags
                        one by one to avoid problems.
                        Also see |:set-args| above.

The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated.  For example:
        :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
and the following arguments will be ignored.

                                                        *option-backslash*
To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
backslash.  To include a backslash you have to use two.  Effectively this
means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
down).
A few examples:
   :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags        results in "tags /usr/tags"
   :set tags=tags\\,file            results in "tags\,file"
   :set tags=tags\\\ file           results in "tags\ file"



2. Automatically setting options                        *auto-setting*

Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
to set options automatically for one or more files:

1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places.  See
   |initialization|.  Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
   and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.


3. Options summary                                      *option-summary*

In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
an abbreviation if there is one.  Both forms may be used.

In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
is entered.  When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.


                                                        *E355*
A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.

                                     *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
'digraph' 'dg'          boolean (default off)
                        global
        Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
        {char2}.  See |digraphs|.

                                   *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
'gdefault' 'gd'         boolean (default off)
                        global
        When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on.  This means that
        all matches in a line are substituted instead of one.  When a 'g' flag
        is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
        of all or one match.  See |complex-change|.

                command         'gdefault' on   'gdefault' off  
                :s///             subst. all      subst. one
                :s///g            subst. one      subst. all
                :s///gg           subst. all      subst. one


                                 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
'hlsearch' 'hls'        boolean (default off)
                        global
        When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
        Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
        are not applied.
        When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
        off with |:nohlsearch|.  As soon as you use a search command, the
        highlighting comes back.
        When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
        highlight all of the matched text.  However, this depends on where the
        search starts.  This will be the first line in the window or the first
        line below a closed fold.  A match in a previous line which is not
        drawn may not continue in an newly drawn line.

                                                *'history'* *'hi'*
'history' 'hi'          number  (default: 20)
                        global

        A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
        are remembered.  This option decides how many entries may be stored in
        each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).

                        *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
'ignorecase' 'ic'       boolean (default off)
                        global
        Ignore case in search patterns.  Also used when searching in the tags
        file.
        Also see 'smartcase'.
        Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
        |/ignorecase|.


                                                *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
'matchpairs' 'mps'      string  (default "(:),{:},[:]")
                        local to buffer
        Characters that form pairs.  The |%| command jumps from one to the
        other.  Currently only single character pairs are allowed, and they
        must be different.  The characters must be separated by a colon.  The
        pairs must be separated by a comma.  Example for including '<' and '>'
        (HTML):
                :set mps+=<:>



                                                *'more'* *'nomore'*
'more'                  boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
                        global
        When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled.  You will get
        the |more-prompt|.  When this option is off there are no pauses, the
        listing continues until finished.


                                                        *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
'nrformats' 'nf'        string  (default "octal,hex")
                        local to buffer

        This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
        CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
        respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
        alpha   if included, single alphabetical characters will be
                incremented or decremented.  This is useful for a list with a
                letter index a), b), etc.
        octal   if included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
                to be octal.  Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
        hex     if included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
                considered to be hexadecimal.  Example: Using CTRL-X on
                "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
        Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
        considered decimal.  This also happens for numbers that are not
        recognized as octal or hex.

                                                *'scroll'* *'scr'*
'scroll' 'scr'          number  (default: half the window height)
                        local to window
        Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands.  Will be
        set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
        changes.  If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
        be used as the new value for 'scroll'.  Reset to half the window
        height with ":set scroll=0".


                                                *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
'scrolljump' 'sj'       number  (default 1)
                        global
        Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
        screen (e.g., with "j").  Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
        CTRL-D).  Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.

                                                *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
'scrolloff' 'so'        number  (default 0)
                        global
        Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
        This will make some context visible around where you are working.  If
        you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
        in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
        when long lines wrap).
        For scrolling horizontallly see 'sidescrolloff'.


                                                *'selection'* *'sel'*
'selection' 'sel'       string  (default "inclusive")
                        global
        This option defines the behavior of the selection.  It is only used
        in Visual and Select mode.
        Possible values:
           value        past line     inclusive 
           old             no           yes
           inclusive       yes          yes
           exclusive       yes          no
        "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
        character past the line.
        "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
        in an operation.  For example, when "x" is used to delete the
        selection.


                                 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
'showmode' 'smd'        boolean (default: on)
                        global
        If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
        Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
        this message.

                                                *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
'sidescroll' 'ss'       number  (default 0)
                        global
        The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally.  Used only when
        the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
        When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
        Not used for "zh" and "zl" commands.

                                                *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
'sidescrolloff' 'siso'  number (default 0)
                        global
        The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
        right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a value
        greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero value
        makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
        horizontally (except at the end and beginning of the line).  Setting
        this option to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the
        cursor horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not
        come too close to the beginning or end of the line.


                        *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
'smartcase' 'scs'       boolean (default off)
                        global
        Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
        case characters.  Only used when the search pattern is typed and
        'ignorecase' option is on.  Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
        ":g" and ":s".  Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc..  After
        "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
        recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.


                                                *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
'undolevels' 'ul'       number  (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
                                                Win32 and OS/2)
                        global
        Maximum number of changes that can be undone.  Since undo information
        is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
        (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
        Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
        itself:
                set ul=0


                        *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
'visualbell' 'vb'       boolean (default off)
                        global
        Use visual bell instead of beeping.


                                   *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
'wrapscan' 'ws'         boolean (default on)                    *E384* *E385*
                        global
        Searches wrap around the end of the file.