Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys: char key mode ~ b Normal and Visual s Normal and Visual h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended) l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended) < Normal and Visual > Normal and Visual ~ "~" Normal [ Insert and Replace ] Insert and Replace For example: > :set ww=<,>,[,] < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used. When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change operator, the also counts for a character. This makes "3h" different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping ":map X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the cursor. When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a line (not an empty line) then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl", "yl" etc. work normally. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.