{only available when compiled with the |+farsi| feature} This option was for using Farsi, which has been removed. See |farsi.txt|.

{only available when compiled with GUI enabled on macOS} This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on macOS v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts, which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays. Setting this option can sometimes cause problems if 'guifont' is set to its default (empty string). NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.

When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you change the directory of the shell running in a terminal window. You need proper setting-up, so whenever the shell's pwd changes an OSC 7 escape sequence will be emitted. For example, on Linux, you can source /etc/profile.d/vte.sh in your shell profile if you use bash or zsh. For bash this should work (put it in a bash init file): > if [[ -n "$VIM_TERMINAL" ]]; then PROMPT_COMMAND='_vim_sync_PWD' function _vim_sync_PWD() { printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\' "$PWD" } fi < Or, in a zsh init file: > if [[ -n "$VIM_TERMINAL" ]]; then autoload -Uz add-zsh-hook add-zsh-hook -Uz chpwd _vim_sync_PWD function _vim_sync_PWD() { printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\' "$PWD" } fi < In a fish init file: > if test -n "$VIM_TERMINAL" function _vim_sync_PWD --on-variable=PWD printf '\033]7;file://%s\033\' "$PWD" end end < You can find an alternative method at |terminal-autoshelldir|. When the parsing of the OSC sequence fails you get .

{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval| feature} Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.

{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval| feature} Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality for the GUI.

{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval_term| feature} Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality for the terminal.

{only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval| feature} Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used when 'ballooneval' or 'balloonevalterm' is on. These variables can be used:

{only for MS-DOS} This was for MS-DOS and is no longer supported.

This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or make Vim behave in a more useful way.

{not available when compiled without the |+textprop| or |+quickfix| feature} When 'completeopt' contains "popup" then this option is used for the properties of the info popup when it is created. If an info popup window already exists it is closed, so that the option value is applied when it is created again. You can also use |popup_findinfo()| and then set properties for an existing info popup with |popup_setoptions()|. See |complete-popup|.

This was for MS-DOS and is no longer supported.

Method used for encryption when the buffer is written to a file:

{not available when compiled without the |+cscope| feature} Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|. NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.

Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See also 'gdefault' option. Switching this option on may break plugins! This option is not used in |Vim9| script.

Function keys that start with an are recognized in Insert mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be used in Insert mode if they start with an . The advantage of this is that the single is recognized immediately, instead of after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys won't work by default. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset. NOTE: when this option is off then the |modifyOtherKeys| functionality is disabled while in Insert mode to avoid ending Insert mode with any key that has a modifier.

Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current directory.

{only available when compiled with the |+rightleft| feature} This option was for using Farsi, which has been removed. See |farsi.txt|.

{only available when compiled with GUI enabled and with the |+xfontset| feature} {not available in the GTK+ GUI} When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See |xfontset|.

{only for GTK and X11 GUI} The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started, e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the screen.

{only for GTK GUI} List of ASCII characters that, when combined together, can create more complex shapes. Each character must be a printable ASCII character with a value in the 32-127 range. Example: > :set guiligatures=!"#$%&()*+-./:<=>?@[]^_{|~ < Changing this option updates screen output immediately. Set it to an empty string to disable ligatures.

{only available when compiled with GUI enabled} Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.

This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various occasions. It is a comma-separated list of character pairs. The first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to use for that occasion. The occasions are: |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map" |hl-EndOfBuffer| ~ lines after the last line in the buffer |hl-NonText| @ '@' at the end of the window and characters from 'showbreak' |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special things in listings |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages h (obsolete, ignored) |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting |hl-CurSearch| y current instance of last search pattern |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch') |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt| |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --") |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands, and when 'number' or 'relativenumber' option is set. |hl-LineNrAbove| a line number above the cursor for when the 'relativenumber' option is set. |hl-LineNrBelow| b line number below the cursor for when the 'relativenumber' option is set. |hl-CursorLineNr| N like n for when 'cursorline' or 'relativenumber' is set. |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line| |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc. |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows |hl-Visual| v Visual mode |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and |xterm-clipboard|. |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu' |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn' |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs| |hl-Conceal| - the placeholders used for concealed characters (see 'conceallevel') |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell| |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital |spell| |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell| |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell| |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu selected line |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb

This option specifies a function that will be called to activate or deactivate the Input Method. The value can be the name of a function, a |lambda| or a |Funcref|. See |option-value-function| for more information. It is not used in the MS-Windows GUI version. The expression will be evaluated in the |sandbox| when set from a modeline, see |sandbox-option|.

{only available when compiled with |+xim| and |+GUI_GTK|} Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'. You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option tells Vim what the key is. Format: [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING

This option specifies a function that is called to obtain the status of Input Method. It must return a positive number when IME is active. The value can be the name of a function, a |lambda| or a |Funcref|. See |option-value-function| for more information. It is not used in the MS-Windows GUI version.

{only available when compiled with |+xim| and |+GUI_GTK|} This option specifies the input style of Input Method: 0 use on-the-spot style 1 over-the-spot style See: |xim-input-style|

Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|. These Insert mode commands will be useful:

• Use the cursor keys to move around.
• Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|. When this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off. Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
• Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor left, like does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|

{only available when compiled with the |+cryptv| feature} The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer. See |encryption| and 'cryptmethod'. Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: > :set key= < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it, be careful not to make a typing error! You can use "&key" in an expression to detect whether encryption is enabled. When 'key' is set it returns "**" (five stars).

{only available when compiled with the |+langmap| feature} This is just like 'langremap' but with the value inverted. It only exists for backwards compatibility. When setting 'langremap' then 'langnoremap' is set to the inverted value, and the other way around.

{only available when compiled with the |+lua/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Lua shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_LUA_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{not supported} No longer supported, as the Mac OS X GUI code was removed.

The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying. Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8". The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4. Maximum value is 6. Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|. See |mbyte-combining|.

Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause other memory to be freed. The maximum usable value is about 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. The value is ignored when 'swapfile' is off. Also see 'maxmemtot'.

Maximum amount of memory in Kbyte to use for all buffers together. The maximum usable value is about 2000000 (2 Gbyte). Use this to work without a limit. On 64 bit machines higher values might work. But hey, do you really need more than 2 Gbyte for text editing? Keep in mind that text is stored in the swap file, one can edit files > 2 Gbyte anyway. We do need the memory to store undo info. Buffers with 'swapfile' off still count to the total amount of memory used. Also see 'maxmem'.

{not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme| feature} The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads. Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling. NOTE: This option is set to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.

{only available when compiled with the |+mzscheme/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the MzScheme shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_MZSCH_DLL which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. The value must be set in the |vimrc| script or earlier. In the startup, before the |load-plugins| step. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{only available when compiled with the |+mzscheme/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the MzScheme GC shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_MZGC_DLL which was specified at compile time. The value can be equal to 'mzschemedll' if it includes the GC code. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

This option was supported on RISC OS, which has been removed.

{only available when compiled with the |+perl/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Perl shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_PERL_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{not available when compiled without the |+textprop| or |+quickfix| feature} When not empty a popup window is used for commands that would open a preview window. See |preview-popup|. Not used for the insert completion info, add "popup" to 'completeopt' for that.

When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.

{only available when compiled with the |+python/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Python 2.x shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_PYTHON_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{only available when compiled with the |+python/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Python 2.x home directory. When 'pythonhome' and the PYTHONHOME environment variable are not set, PYTHON_HOME, which was specified at compile time, will be used for the Python 2.x home directory. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{only available when compiled with the |+python3/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Python 3 shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_PYTHON3_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{only available when compiled with the |+python3/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Python 3 home directory. When 'pythonthreehome' and the PYTHONHOME environment variable are not set, PYTHON3_HOME, which was specified at compile time, will be used for the Python 3 home directory. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command. NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with old Vi scripts.

{only available when compiled with GUI and DIRECTX on MS-Windows} Select a text renderer and set its options. The options depend on the renderer.

{only in MS-Windows console version} When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also happens when executing external commands.

{only available when compiled with the |+ruby/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Ruby shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_RUBY_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

{only for MS-Windows GUI} When using the scroll wheel and this option is set, the window under the mouse pointer is scrolled. With this option off the current window is scrolled. Systems other than MS-Windows always behave like this option is on.

{only for the Amiga} On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work which use a shell. 0 and 1: always use the shell 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.

Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is useful when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos or crossdos.

The value of this option determines the scroll behavior when opening, closing or resizing horizontal splits. When "on", splitting a window horizontally will keep the same relative cursor position in the old and new window, as well windows that are resized. When "off", scrolling will be avoided to stabilize the window content. Instead, the cursor position will be changed when necessary. In this case, the jumplist will be populated with the previous cursor position. Scrolling cannot be guaranteed to be avoided when 'wrap' is enabled.

When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems. When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work. On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it, so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default fsync(), which may work better on some systems. The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.

{only available when compiled with the |+tcl/dyn| feature} Specifies the name of the Tcl shared library. The default is DYNAMIC_TCL_DLL, which was specified at compile time. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example: > :set term=$TERM < See |termcap|.

Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the display).

The key that starts a CTRL-W command in a terminal window. Other keys are sent to the job running in the window. The <> notation can be used, e.g.: > :set termwinkey= < The string must be one key stroke but can be multiple bytes. When not set CTRL-W is used, so that CTRL-W : gets you to the command line. If 'termwinkey' is set to CTRL-L then CTRL-L : gets you to the command line.

{not available when compiled without the |+terminal| feature} Number of scrollback lines to keep. When going over this limit the first 10% of the scrollback lines are deleted. This is just to reduce the memory usage. See |Terminal-Normal|. Also used as a limit for text sent to the terminal in one write, multiplied by the number of columns times 3 (average number of bytes per cell).

Size used when opening the |terminal| window. Format: {rows}x{columns} or {rows}*{columns}.

• When empty the terminal gets the size from the window.
• When set with a "x" (e.g., "24x80") the terminal size is not adjusted to the window size. If the window is smaller only the top-left part is displayed.
• When set with a "" (e.g., "1050") the terminal size follows the window size, but will not be smaller than the specified rows and/or columns.
• When rows is zero then use the height of the window.
• When columns is zero then use the width of the window.
• Using "0x0" or "0*0" is the same as empty.
• Can be overruled in the |term_start()| options with "term_rows" and "term_cols".

{only available when compiled with the |terminal| feature on MS-Windows} Specify the virtual console (pty) used when opening the terminal window.

When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi shortens a lot of messages}

This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'. For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is reset, 'fileformats' is made empty. NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.

This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'. For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to "unix".

{only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Motif| and |+GUI_Photon|} The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The possible values are: icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons. text Toolbar buttons shown with text. horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI} tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons. Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.

{only in the GTK+ GUI} Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are: tiny Use tiny icons. small Use small icons (default). medium Use medium-sized icons. large Use large icons. huge Use even larger icons. giant Use very big icons. The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on the current theme. Common dimensions are giant=48x48, huge=32x32, large=24x24, medium=24x24, small=20x20 and tiny=16x16.

When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones. When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones. When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for the change to take effect, for example: > :set notbi term=$TERM < See also |termcap|. Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty xterm entries...).

Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region. Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the mouse in an xterm and other terminals.

{only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not available when compiled without |+mouse|} Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized. Currently these strings are valid:

Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number, e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.

Alias for 'term', see above.

{not available when compiled without the |+viminfo| feature} When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). Except when 'viminfofile' is "NONE". The string should be a comma-separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular character is left out, then the default value is used for that parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and the effect of their value. CHAR VALUE ~

{not available when compiled without the |+viminfo| feature} When non-empty, overrides the file name used for viminfo. When equal to "NONE" no viminfo file will be read or written. This option can be set with the |-i| command line flag. The |--clean| command line flag sets it to "NONE". This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option. It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x. Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.

Highlight group name to use for this window instead of the Normal color |hl-Normal|.

{only available when compiled with the |terminal| feature on MS-Windows} Specifies the name of the winpty shared library, used for the |:terminal| command. The default depends on whether Vim was built as a 32-bit or 64-bit executable. If not found, "winpty.dll" is tried as a fallback. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for security reasons.

When detecting xterm patchlevel 141 or higher with the termresponse mechanism and this option is set, Vim will request the actual terminal key codes and number of colors from the terminal. This takes care of various configuration options of the terminal that cannot be obtained from the termlib/terminfo entry, see |xterm-codes|. A side effect may be that t_Co changes and Vim will redraw the display.