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diff --git a/runtime/doc/usr_25.txt b/runtime/doc/usr_25.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2f25a9f --- /dev/null +++ b/runtime/doc/usr_25.txt @@ -0,0 +1,583 @@ +*usr_25.txt* For Vim version 9.0. Last change: 2016 Mar 28 + + VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar + + Editing formatted text + + +Text hardly ever comes in one sentence per line. This chapter is about +breaking sentences to make them fit on a page and other formatting. +Vim also has useful features for editing single-line paragraphs and tables. + +|25.1| Breaking lines +|25.2| Aligning text +|25.3| Indents and tabs +|25.4| Dealing with long lines +|25.5| Editing tables + + Next chapter: |usr_26.txt| Repeating + Previous chapter: |usr_24.txt| Inserting quickly +Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt| + +============================================================================== +*25.1* Breaking lines + +Vim has a number of functions that make dealing with text easier. By default, +the editor does not perform automatic line breaks. In other words, you have +to press <Enter> yourself. This is useful when you are writing programs where +you want to decide where the line ends. It is not so good when you are +creating documentation and want the text to be at most 70 character wide. + If you set the 'textwidth' option, Vim automatically inserts line breaks. +Suppose, for example, that you want a very narrow column of only 30 +characters. You need to execute the following command: > + + :set textwidth=30 + +Now you start typing (ruler added): + + 1 2 3 + 12345678901234567890123456789012345 + I taught programming for a whi ~ + +If you type "l" next, this makes the line longer than the 30-character limit. +When Vim sees this, it inserts a line break and you get the following: + + 1 2 3 + 12345678901234567890123456789012345 + I taught programming for a ~ + whil ~ + +Continuing on, you can type in the rest of the paragraph: + + 1 2 3 + 12345678901234567890123456789012345 + I taught programming for a ~ + while. One time, I was stopped ~ + by the Fort Worth police, ~ + because my homework was too ~ + hard. True story. ~ + +You do not have to type newlines; Vim puts them in automatically. + + Note: + The 'wrap' option makes Vim display lines with a line break, but this + doesn't insert a line break in the file. + + +REFORMATTING + +The Vim editor is not a word processor. In a word processor, if you delete +something at the beginning of the paragraph, the line breaks are reworked. In +Vim they are not; so if you delete the word "programming" from the first line, +all you get is a short line: + + 1 2 3 + 12345678901234567890123456789012345 + I taught for a ~ + while. One time, I was stopped ~ + by the Fort Worth police, ~ + because my homework was too ~ + hard. True story. ~ + +This does not look good. To get the paragraph into shape you use the "gq" +operator. + Let's first use this with a Visual selection. Starting from the first +line, type: > + + v4jgq + +"v" to start Visual mode, "4j" to move to the end of the paragraph and then +the "gq" operator. The result is: + + 1 2 3 + 12345678901234567890123456789012345 + I taught for a while. One ~ + time, I was stopped by the ~ + Fort Worth police, because my ~ + homework was too hard. True ~ + story. ~ + +Note: there is a way to do automatic formatting for specific types of text +layouts, see |auto-format|. + +Since "gq" is an operator, you can use one of the three ways to select the +text it works on: With Visual mode, with a movement and with a text object. + The example above could also be done with "gq4j". That's less typing, but +you have to know the line count. A more useful motion command is "}". This +moves to the end of a paragraph. Thus "gq}" formats from the cursor to the +end of the current paragraph. + A very useful text object to use with "gq" is the paragraph. Try this: > + + gqap + +"ap" stands for "a-paragraph". This formats the text of one paragraph +(separated by empty lines). Also the part before the cursor. + If you have your paragraphs separated by empty lines, you can format the +whole file by typing this: > + + gggqG + +"gg" to move to the first line, "gqG" to format until the last line. + Warning: If your paragraphs are not properly separated, they will be joined +together. A common mistake is to have a line with a space or tab. That's a +blank line, but not an empty line. + +Vim is able to format more than just plain text. See |fo-table| for how to +change this. See the 'joinspaces' option to change the number of spaces used +after a full stop. + It is possible to use an external program for formatting. This is useful +if your text can't be properly formatted with Vim's builtin command. See the +'formatprg' option. + +============================================================================== +*25.2* Aligning text + +To center a range of lines, use the following command: > + + :{range}center [width] + +{range} is the usual command-line range. [width] is an optional line width to +use for centering. If [width] is not specified, it defaults to the value of +'textwidth'. (If 'textwidth' is 0, the default is 80.) + For example: > + + :1,5center 40 + +results in the following: + + I taught for a while. One ~ + time, I was stopped by the ~ + Fort Worth police, because my ~ + homework was too hard. True ~ + story. ~ + + +RIGHT ALIGNMENT + +Similarly, the ":right" command right-justifies the text: > + + :1,5right 37 + +gives this result: + + I taught for a while. One ~ + time, I was stopped by the ~ + Fort Worth police, because my ~ + homework was too hard. True ~ + story. ~ + +LEFT ALIGNMENT + +Finally there is this command: > + + :{range}left [margin] + +Unlike ":center" and ":right", however, the argument to ":left" is not the +length of the line. Instead it is the left margin. If it is omitted, the +text will be put against the left side of the screen (using a zero margin +would do the same). If it is 5, the text will be indented 5 spaces. For +example, use these commands: > + + :1left 5 + :2,5left + +This results in the following: + + I taught for a while. One ~ + time, I was stopped by the ~ + Fort Worth police, because my ~ + homework was too hard. True ~ + story. ~ + + +JUSTIFYING TEXT + +Vim has no built-in way of justifying text. However, there is a neat macro +package that does the job. To use this package, execute the following +command: > + + :packadd justify + +Or put this line in your |vimrc|: > + + packadd! justify + +This Vim script file defines a new visual command "_j". To justify a block of +text, highlight the text in Visual mode and then execute "_j". + Look in the file for more explanations. To go there, do "gf" on this name: +$VIMRUNTIME/pack/dist/opt/justify/plugin/justify.vim. + +An alternative is to filter the text through an external program. Example: > + + :%!fmt + +============================================================================== +*25.3* Indents and tabs + +Indents can be used to make text stand out from the rest. The example texts +in this manual, for example, are indented by eight spaces or a tab. You would +normally enter this by typing a tab at the start of each line. Take this +text: + the first line ~ + the second line ~ + +This is entered by typing a tab, some text, <Enter>, tab and more text. + The 'autoindent' option inserts indents automatically: > + + :set autoindent + +When a new line is started it gets the same indent as the previous line. In +the above example, the tab after the <Enter> is not needed anymore. + + +INCREASING INDENT + +To increase the amount of indent in a line, use the ">" operator. Often this +is used as ">>", which adds indent to the current line. + The amount of indent added is specified with the 'shiftwidth' option. The +default value is 8. To make ">>" insert four spaces worth of indent, for +example, type this: > + + :set shiftwidth=4 + +When used on the second line of the example text, this is what you get: + + the first line ~ + the second line ~ + +"4>>" will increase the indent of four lines. + + +TABSTOP + +If you want to make indents a multiple of 4, you set 'shiftwidth' to 4. But +when pressing a <Tab> you still get 8 spaces worth of indent. To change this, +set the 'softtabstop' option: > + + :set softtabstop=4 + +This will make the <Tab> key insert 4 spaces worth of indent. If there are +already four spaces, a <Tab> character is used (saving seven characters in the +file). (If you always want spaces and no tab characters, set the 'expandtab' +option.) + + Note: + You could set the 'tabstop' option to 4. However, if you edit the + file another time, with 'tabstop' set to the default value of 8, it + will look wrong. In other programs and when printing the indent will + also be wrong. Therefore it is recommended to keep 'tabstop' at eight + all the time. That's the standard value everywhere. + + +CHANGING TABS + +You edit a file which was written with a tabstop of 3. In Vim it looks ugly, +because it uses the normal tabstop value of 8. You can fix this by setting +'tabstop' to 3. But you have to do this every time you edit this file. + Vim can change the use of tabstops in your file. First, set 'tabstop' to +make the indents look good, then use the ":retab" command: > + + :set tabstop=3 + :retab 8 + +The ":retab" command will change 'tabstop' to 8, while changing the text such +that it looks the same. It changes spans of white space into tabs and spaces +for this. You can now write the file. Next time you edit it the indents will +be right without setting an option. + Warning: When using ":retab" on a program, it may change white space inside +a string constant. Therefore it's a good habit to use "\t" instead of a +real tab. + +============================================================================== +*25.4* Dealing with long lines + +Sometimes you will be editing a file that is wider than the number of columns +in the window. When that occurs, Vim wraps the lines so that everything fits +on the screen. + If you switch the 'wrap' option off, each line in the file shows up as one +line on the screen. Then the ends of the long lines disappear off the screen +to the right. + When you move the cursor to a character that can't be seen, Vim will scroll +the text to show it. This is like moving a viewport over the text in the +horizontal direction. + By default, Vim does not display a horizontal scrollbar in the GUI. If you +want to enable one, use the following command: > + + :set guioptions+=b + +One horizontal scrollbar will appear at the bottom of the Vim window. + +If you don't have a scrollbar or don't want to use it, use these commands to +scroll the text. The cursor will stay in the same place, but it's moved back +into the visible text if necessary. + + zh scroll right + 4zh scroll four characters right + zH scroll half a window width right + ze scroll right to put the cursor at the end + zl scroll left + 4zl scroll four characters left + zL scroll half a window width left + zs scroll left to put the cursor at the start + +Let's attempt to show this with one line of text. The cursor is on the "w" of +"which". The "current window" above the line indicates the text that is +currently visible. The "window"s below the text indicate the text that is +visible after the command left of it. + + |<-- current window -->| + some long text, part of which is visible in the window ~ + ze |<-- window -->| + zH |<-- window -->| + 4zh |<-- window -->| + zh |<-- window -->| + zl |<-- window -->| + 4zl |<-- window -->| + zL |<-- window -->| + zs |<-- window -->| + + +MOVING WITH WRAP OFF + +When 'wrap' is off and the text has scrolled horizontally, you can use the +following commands to move the cursor to a character you can see. Thus text +left and right of the window is ignored. These never cause the text to +scroll: + + g0 to first visible character in this line + g^ to first non-blank visible character in this line + gm to middle of screen line + gM to middle of the text in this line + g$ to last visible character in this line + + |<-- window -->| + some long text, part of which is visible in one line ~ + g0 g^ gm gM g$ + + +BREAKING AT WORDS *edit-no-break* + +When preparing text for use by another program, you might have to make +paragraphs without a line break. A disadvantage of using 'nowrap' is that you +can't see the whole sentence you are working on. When 'wrap' is on, words are +broken halfway, which makes them hard to read. + A good solution for editing this kind of paragraph is setting the +'linebreak' option. Vim then breaks lines at an appropriate place when +displaying the line. The text in the file remains unchanged. + Without 'linebreak' text might look like this: + + +---------------------------------+ + |letter generation program for a b| + |ank. They wanted to send out a s| + |pecial, personalized letter to th| + |eir richest 1000 customers. Unfo| + |rtunately for the programmer, he | + +---------------------------------+ +After: > + + :set linebreak + +it looks like this: + + +---------------------------------+ + |letter generation program for a | + |bank. They wanted to send out a | + |special, personalized letter to | + |their richest 1000 customers. | + |Unfortunately for the programmer,| + +---------------------------------+ + +Related options: +'breakat' specifies the characters where a break can be inserted. +'showbreak' specifies a string to show at the start of broken line. +Set 'textwidth' to zero to avoid a paragraph to be split. + + +MOVING BY VISIBLE LINES + +The "j" and "k" commands move to the next and previous lines. When used on +a long line, this means moving a lot of screen lines at once. + To move only one screen line, use the "gj" and "gk" commands. When a line +doesn't wrap they do the same as "j" and "k". When the line does wrap, they +move to a character displayed one line below or above. + You might like to use these mappings, which bind these movement commands to +the cursor keys: > + + :map <Up> gk + :map <Down> gj + + +TURNING A PARAGRAPH INTO ONE LINE *edit-paragraph-join* + +If you want to import text into a program like MS-Word, each paragraph should +be a single line. If your paragraphs are currently separated with empty +lines, this is how you turn each paragraph into a single line: > + + :g/./,/^$/join + +That looks complicated. Let's break it up in pieces: + + :g/./ A ":global" command that finds all lines that contain + at least one character. + ,/^$/ A range, starting from the current line (the non-empty + line) until an empty line. + join The ":join" command joins the range of lines together + into one line. + +Starting with this text, containing eight lines broken at column 30: + + +----------------------------------+ + |A letter generation program | + |for a bank. They wanted to | + |send out a special, | + |personalized letter. | + | | + |To their richest 1000 | + |customers. Unfortunately for | + |the programmer, | + +----------------------------------+ + +You end up with two lines: + + +----------------------------------+ + |A letter generation program for a | + |bank. They wanted to send out a s| + |pecial, personalized letter. | + |To their richest 1000 customers. | + |Unfortunately for the programmer, | + +----------------------------------+ + +Note that this doesn't work when the separating line is blank but not empty; +when it contains spaces and/or tabs. This command does work with blank lines: +> + :g/\S/,/^\s*$/join + +This still requires a blank or empty line at the end of the file for the last +paragraph to be joined. + +============================================================================== +*25.5* Editing tables + +Suppose you are editing a table with four columns: + + nice table test 1 test 2 test 3 ~ + input A 0.534 ~ + input B 0.913 ~ + +You need to enter numbers in the third column. You could move to the second +line, use "A", enter a lot of spaces and type the text. + For this kind of editing there is a special option: > + + set virtualedit=all + +Now you can move the cursor to positions where there isn't any text. This is +called "virtual space". Editing a table is a lot easier this way. + Move the cursor by searching for the header of the last column: > + + /test 3 + +Now press "j" and you are right where you can enter the value for "input A". +Typing "0.693" results in: + + nice table test 1 test 2 test 3 ~ + input A 0.534 0.693 ~ + input B 0.913 ~ + +Vim has automatically filled the gap in front of the new text for you. Now, +to enter the next field in this column use "Bj". "B" moves back to the start +of a white space separated word. Then "j" moves to the place where the next +field can be entered. + + Note: + You can move the cursor anywhere in the display, also beyond the end + of a line. But Vim will not insert spaces there, until you insert a + character in that position. + + +COPYING A COLUMN + +You want to add a column, which should be a copy of the third column and +placed before the "test 1" column. Do this in seven steps: +1. Move the cursor to the left upper corner of this column, e.g., with + "/test 3". +2. Press CTRL-V to start blockwise Visual mode. +3. Move the cursor down two lines with "2j". You are now in "virtual space": + the "input B" line of the "test 3" column. +4. Move the cursor right, to include the whole column in the selection, plus + the space that you want between the columns. "9l" should do it. +5. Yank the selected rectangle with "y". +6. Move the cursor to "test 1", where the new column must be placed. +7. Press "P". + +The result should be: + + nice table test 3 test 1 test 2 test 3 ~ + input A 0.693 0.534 0.693 ~ + input B 0.913 ~ + +Notice that the whole "test 1" column was shifted right, also the line where +the "test 3" column didn't have text. + +Go back to non-virtual cursor movements with: > + + :set virtualedit= + + +VIRTUAL REPLACE MODE + +The disadvantage of using 'virtualedit' is that it "feels" different. You +can't recognize tabs or spaces beyond the end of line when moving the cursor +around. Another method can be used: Virtual Replace mode. + Suppose you have a line in a table that contains both tabs and other +characters. Use "rx" on the first tab: + + inp 0.693 0.534 0.693 ~ + + | + rx | + V + + inpx0.693 0.534 0.693 ~ + +The layout is messed up. To avoid that, use the "gr" command: + + inp 0.693 0.534 0.693 ~ + + | + grx | + V + + inpx 0.693 0.534 0.693 ~ + +What happens is that the "gr" command makes sure the new character takes the +right amount of screen space. Extra spaces or tabs are inserted to fill the +gap. Thus what actually happens is that a tab is replaced by "x" and then +blanks added to make the text after it keep its place. In this case a +tab is inserted. + When you need to replace more than one character, you use the "R" command +to go to Replace mode (see |04.9|). This messes up the layout and replaces +the wrong characters: + + inp 0 0.534 0.693 ~ + + | + R0.786 | + V + + inp 0.78634 0.693 ~ + +The "gR" command uses Virtual Replace mode. This preserves the layout: + + inp 0 0.534 0.693 ~ + + | + gR0.786 | + V + + inp 0.786 0.534 0.693 ~ + +============================================================================== + +Next chapter: |usr_26.txt| Repeating + +Copyright: see |manual-copyright| vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: |