MPE/iX Shell and Utilities Reference Manual, Vol 2

vi(1) MPE/iX Shell and Utilities vi(1)
When an Ex command contains the hash mark (#), the character is replaced by the name of
the alternate file. The name of the alternate file may be set with the read command as de-
scribed previously. Thus a command like
e#
tells Ex to edit the alternate file. Using an alternate file can be particularly convenient when
you have two files that you want to edit simultaneously. The command just given lets you flip
back and forth between the two files.
Set Option Variables
Option variables are set with the set command. For example,
set autowrite
sets the autowrite option. Options are turned off by putting no in front of the name in the
set command, as in
set noautowrite
In the descriptions that follow, the minimal abbreviation of each option variable is shown after
the comma.
autoindent, ai
When autoindent is on and you are entering text, the indentation of the current
line is used for the new line. In Vi mode, you can change this default indentation by
using the control keys
CTRL-
D (to shift left) and CTRL-T (to shift right). In Ex mode,
a tab or spaces may be typed at the start of a line to increase the indent, or a
CTRL-D
may be typed at the start of the line to remove a level. CTRL-D places the current line
at a zero indent level, restoring the indent level for the next line. 0
CTRL-D places the
current line at a zero indent level, and the next line has this indent level as well.
The size of indent levels is defined by the variable shiftwidth. Based on this val-
ue and the value of tabstop, the editor generates the number of tabs and spaces
needed to produce the required indent level.
The default is noautoindent.
autoprint, ap
When this option is set in Ex mode, the current line is displayed after the following
commands: copy, delete, join, move, substitute, undo, &, ˜ , <, and >. Automatic
displaying of lines does not take place inside global commands.
The default is autoprint.
1-672 Commands and Utilities