# Vim documentation: os_dos

main help file

    *os_dos.txt*    For Vim version 7.0.  Last change: 2006 Mar 30

    		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Bram Moolenaar

    							*dos* *DOS*
    This file documents the common particularities of the MS-DOS and Win32
    versions of Vim.  Also see |os_win32.txt| and |os_msdos.txt|.

    1. File locations		|dos-locations|
    2. Using backslashes		|dos-backslash|
    3. Standard mappings		|dos-standard-mappings|
    4. Screen output and colors	|dos-colors|
    5. File formats			|dos-file-formats|
    6. :cd command			|dos-:cd|
    7. Interrupting			|dos-CTRL-Break|
    8. Temp files			|dos-temp-files|
    9. Shell option default		|dos-shell|

    ==============================================================================

    1. File locations					*dos-locations*

    If you keep the Vim executable in the directory that contains the help and
    syntax subdirectories, there is no need to do anything special for Vim to
    work.  No registry entries or environment variables need to be set.  Just make
    sure that the directory is in your search path, or use a shortcut on the
    desktop.

    Your vimrc files ("_vimrc" and "_gvimrc") are normally located one directory
    up from the runtime files.  If you want to put them somewhere else, set the
    environment variable $VIM to the directory where you keep them.  Example:
    	set VIM=C:\user\piet
    Will find "c:\user\piet\_vimrc".
    Note: This would only be needed when the computer is used by several people.
    Otherwise it's simpler to keep your _vimrc file in the default place.

    If you move the executable to another location, you also need to set the $VIM
    environment variable.  The runtime files will be found in "$VIM/vim{version}".
    Example:
    	set VIM=E:\vim
    Will find the version 5.4 runtime files in "e:\vim\vim54".
    Note: This is _not_ recommended.  The preferred way is to keep the executable
    in the runtime directory.

    If you move your executable AND want to put your "_vimrc" and "_gvimrc" files
    somewhere else, you must set $VIM to where you vimrc files are, and set
    $VIMRUNTIME to the runtime files.  Example:
    	set VIM=C:\usr\piet
    	set VIMRUNTIME=E:\vim\vim54
    Will find "c:\user\piet\_vimrc" and the runtime files in "e:\vim\vim54".

    See |$VIM| and |$VIMRUNTIME| for more information.

    Under Windows 95, you can set $VIM in your C:\autoexec.bat file.  For
    example:
      set VIM=D:\vim
    Under Windows NT, you can set environment variables for each user separately
    under "Start/Settings/Control Panel->System", or through the properties in the
    menu of "My Computer", under the Environment Tab.

    ==============================================================================

    2. Using backslashes					*dos-backslash*

    Using backslashes in file names can be a problem.  Vi halves the number of
    backslashes for some commands.  Vim is a bit more tolerant and does not remove
    backslashes from a file name, so ":e c:\foo\bar" works as expected.  But when
    a backslash occurs before a special character (space, comma, backslash, etc.),
    Vim removes the backslash.  Use slashes to avoid problems: ":e c:/foo/bar"
    works fine.  Vim replaces the slashes with backslashes internally to avoid
    problems with some MS-DOS programs and Win32 programs.

    When you prefer to use forward slashes, set the 'shellslash' option.  Vim will
    then replace backslashes with forward slashes when expanding file names.  This
    is especially useful when using a Unix-like 'shell'.

    ==============================================================================

    3. Standard mappings				*dos-standard-mappings*

    The mappings for CTRL-PageUp and CTRL-PageDown have been removed, they now
    jump to the next or previous tab page |<C-PageUp>| |<C-PageDown>|

    If you want them to move to the first and last screen line you can use these
    mappings:

    key		key code     Normal/Visual mode	    Insert mode
    CTRL-PageUp	<M-N><M-C-D>	    H		    <C-O>H
    CTRL-PageDown	<M-N>v		    L$		    <C-O>L<C-O>$

    Additionally, these keys are available for copy/cut/paste.  In the Win32
    and DJGPP versions, they also use the clipboard.

    Shift-Insert	paste text (from clipboard)			*<S-Insert>*

    CTRL-Insert	copy Visual text (to clipboard)			*<C-Insert>*

    CTRL-Del	cut Visual text (to clipboard)			*<C-Del>*

    Shift-Del	cut Visual text (to clipboard)			*<S-Del>*

    These mappings accomplish this (Win32 and DJGPP versions of Vim):

    key		key code     Normal	Visual	    Insert
    Shift-Insert	<M-N><M-T>   "*P	"-d"*P      <C-R><C-O>*
    CTRL-Insert	<M-N><M-U>		"*y
    Shift-Del	<M-N><M-W>		"*d
    CTRL-Del	<M-N><M-X>		"*d

    Or these mappings (non-Win32 version of Vim):

    key		key code     Normal	Visual	    Insert
    Shift-Insert	<M-N><M-T>   P		"-dP	    <C-R><C-O>"
    CTRL-Insert	<M-N><M-U>		y
    Shift-Del	<M-N><M-W>		d
    CTRL-Del	<M-N><M-X>		d

    When the clipboard is supported, the "* register is used.

    ==============================================================================

    4. Screen output and colors				*dos-colors*

    The default output method for the screen is to use bios calls.  This works
    right away on most systems.  You do not need ansi.sys.  You can use ":mode" to
    set the current screen mode.  See |:mode|.

    To change the screen colors that Vim uses, you can use the |:highlight|
    command.  The Normal highlight group specifies the colors Vim uses for normal
    text.  For example, to get grey text on a blue background:
    	:hi Normal ctermbg=Blue ctermfg=grey
    See |highlight-groups| for other groups that are available.

    A DOS console does not support attributes like bold and underlining.  You can
    set the color used in five modes with nine terminal options.  Note that this
    is not necessary since you can set the color directly with the ":highlight"
    command; these options are for backward compatibility with older Vim versions.
    The |'highlight'| option specifies which of the five modes is used for which
    action.

    	:set t_mr=^V^[\|xxm		start of invert mode
    	:set t_md=^V^[\|xxm		start of bold mode
    	:set t_me=^V^[\|xxm		back to normal text

    	:set t_so=^V^[\|xxm		start of standout mode
    	:set t_se=^V^[\|xxm		back to normal text

    	:set t_us=^V^[\|xxm		start of underline mode
    	:set t_ue=^V^[\|xxm		back to normal text

    	:set t_ZH=^V^[\|xxm		start of italics mode
    	:set t_ZR=^V^[\|xxm		back to normal text

    ^V is CTRL-V
    ^[ is <Esc>
    You must replace xx with a decimal code, which is the foreground color number
    and background color number added together:

    COLOR			FOREGROUND	BACKGROUND
    Black			    0		    0
    DarkBlue		    1		   16
    DarkGreen		    2		   32
    DarkCyan		    3		   48
    DarkRed			    4		   64
    DarkMagenta		    5		   80
    Brown, DarkYellow	    6		   96
    LightGray		    7		  112
    DarkGray		    8		  128 *
    Blue, LightBlue		    9		  144 *
    Green, LightGreen	   10		  160 *
    Cyan, LightCyan		   11		  176 *
    Red, LightRed		   12		  192 *
    Magenta, LightMagenta	   13		  208 *
    Yellow, LightYellow	   14		  224 *
    White			   15		  240 *

    * Depending on the display mode, the color codes above 128 may not be
      available, and code 128 will make the text blink.

    When you use 0, the color is reset to the one used when you started Vim
    (usually 7, lightgray on black, but you can override this.  If you have
    overridden the default colors in a command prompt, you may need to adjust
    some of the highlight colors in your vimrc---see below).
    This is the default for t_me.

    The defaults for the various highlight modes are:
    	t_mr	112	 reverse mode: Black text (0) on LightGray (112)
    	t_md	 15	 bold mode: White text (15) on Black (0)
    	t_me	  0	 normal mode (revert to default)

    	t_so	 31	 standout mode: White (15) text on DarkBlue (16)
    	t_se	  0	 standout mode end (revert to default)

    	t_czh	225	 italic mode: DarkBlue text (1) on Yellow (224)
    	t_czr	  0	 italic mode end (revert to default)

    	t_us	 67	 underline mode: DarkCyan text (3) on DarkRed (64)
    	t_ue	  0	 underline mode end (revert to default)

    These colors were chosen because they also look good when using an inverted
    display, but you can change them to your liking.

    Example:
      :set t_mr=^V^[\|97m	" start of invert mode: DarkBlue (1) on Brown (96)
      :set t_md=^V^[\|67m	" start of bold mode: DarkCyan (3) on DarkRed (64)
      :set t_me=^V^[\|112m	" back to normal mode: Black (0) on LightGray (112)

      :set t_so=^V^[\|37m	" start of standout mode: DarkMagenta (5) on DarkGreen
    									(32)
      :set t_se=^V^[\|112m	" back to normal mode: Black (0) on LightGray (112)

    ==============================================================================

    5. File formats						*dos-file-formats*

    If the 'fileformat' option is set to "dos" (which is the default), Vim accepts
    a single <NL> or a <CR><NL> pair for end-of-line (<EOL>).  When writing a
    file, Vim uses <CR><NL>.  Thus, if you edit a file and write it, Vim replaces
    <NL> with <CR><NL>.

    If the 'fileformat' option is set to "unix", Vim uses a single <NL> for <EOL>
    and shows <CR> as ^M.

    You can use Vim to replace <NL> with <CR><NL> by reading in any mode and
    writing in Dos mode (":se ff=dos").
    You can use Vim to replace <CR><NL> with <NL> by reading in Dos mode and
    writing in Unix mode (":se ff=unix").

    Vim sets 'fileformat' automatically when 'fileformats' is not empty (which is
    the default), so you don't really have to worry about what you are doing.
    					|'fileformat'| |'fileformats'|

    If you want to edit a script file or a binary file, you should set the
    'binary' option before loading the file.  Script files and binary files may
    contain single <NL> characters which Vim would replace with <CR><NL>.  You can
    set 'binary' automatically by starting Vim with the "-b" (binary) option.

    ==============================================================================

    6. :cd command						*dos-:cd*

    The ":cd" command recognizes the drive specifier and changes the current
    drive.  Use ":cd c:" to make drive C the active drive.  Use ":cd d:\foo" to go
    to the directory "foo" in the root of drive D.  Vim also recognizes UNC names
    if the system supports them; e.g., ":cd \\server\share\dir".  |:cd|

    ==============================================================================

    7. Interrupting						*dos-CTRL-Break*

    Use CTRL-Break instead of CTRL-C to interrupt searches.  Vim does not detect
    the CTRL-C until it tries to read a key.

    ==============================================================================

    8. Temp files						*dos-temp-files*

    Only for the 16 bit and 32 bit DOS version:
    Vim puts temporary files (for filtering) in the first of these directories
    that exists and in which Vim can create a file:
    	$TMP
    	$TEMP
    	C:\TMP
    	C:\TEMP
    	current directory

    For the Win32 version (both console and GUI):
    Vim uses standard Windows functions to obtain a temporary file name (for
    filtering).  The first of these directories that exists and in which Vim can
    create a file is used:
    	$TMP
    	$TEMP
    	current directory

    ==============================================================================

    9. Shell option default					*dos-shell*

    The default for the 'sh' ('shell') option is "command.com" on Windows 95 and
    "cmd.exe" on Windows NT.  If SHELL is defined, Vim uses SHELL instead, and if
    SHELL is not defined but COMSPEC is, Vim uses COMSPEC.  Vim starts external
    commands with "<shell> /c <command_name>".  Typing CTRL-Z starts a new command
    subshell.  Return to Vim with "exit".	|'shell'| |CTRL-Z|

    If you are running a third-party shell, you may need to set the
    |'shellcmdflag'| ('shcf') and |'shellquote'| ('shq') or |'shellxquote'|
    ('sxq') options.  Unfortunately, this also depends on the version of Vim used.
    For example, with the MKS Korn shell or with bash, the values of the options
    should be:

    		DOS 16 bit	    DOS 32 bit		Win32
    'shellcmdflag'	   -c			-c		 -c
    'shellquote'	   "
    'shellxquote'						 "

    For Dos 16 bit this starts the shell as:
    	<shell> -c "command name" >file
    For Win32 as:
    	<shell> -c "command name >file"
    For DOS 32 bit, DJGPP does this internally somehow.

    When starting up, Vim checks for the presence of "sh" anywhere in the 'shell'
    option.  If it is present, Vim sets the 'shellcmdflag' and 'shellquote' or
    'shellxquote' options will be set as described above.

    top - main help file