VI(1)                                                       VI(1)


NAME
       ex, vi, view - the Elvis editor

SYNOPSIS
       vi [flags] [+cmd] [files...]

DESCRIPTION
       Elvis is a text editor which emulates vi/ex.

       When  elvis  is  invoked  as  vi, it starts up in `visual'
       mode.  If you invoke elvis  as  view,  then  the  readonly
       option  is set as though you had given it the -R flag.  If
       you invoke elvis as ex, then elvis will start  up  in  the
       colon  command mode instead of the visual command mode, as
       though you had given it the "-e" flag.

OPTIONS
       -r     To the real vi, this flag  means  that  a  previous
              edit  should  be  recovered.   Elvis, though, has a
              separate program, called exrecover(1), for recover-
              ing  files.   When  you invoke elvis with -r, elvis
              will tell you to run exrecover.

       -R     This sets the `readonly' option, so you won't acci-
              dentally overwrite a file.

       -t tag This  causes  elvis  to  start editing at the given
              tag.

       -m [file]
              Elvis will search through file for  something  that
              looks  like  an  error message from a compiler.  It
              will then begin editing the source file that caused
              the  error,  with  the  cursor  sitting on the line
              where the error was detected.  If you don't explic-
              itly name a file, then "errlist" is assumed.

       -e     Elvis will start up in colon command mode.

       -v     Elvis will start up in visual command mode.

       -i     Elvis will start up in input mode.

       -w winsize
              Sets the `window' option's value to winsize.

       +command or -c command
              If  you  use the +command parameter, then after the
              first file is loaded command is executed as  an  ex
              command.   A  typical  example  would  be ``vi +237
              foo'', which would cause elvis to start editing foo
              and then move directly to line 237.





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VI(1)                                                       VI(1)


FILES
       /var/tmp/elv*
              During  editing,  elvis  stores text in a temporary
              file.

       tags   This is the database used by the :tags command  and
              the  -t  option.   It  is  usually  created  by the
              ctags(1) program.

       .exrc or elvis.rc
              A file called ".exrc" in  your  home  directory  is
              executed as a series of ex commands.  A file by the
              same name may be executed in the current directory,
              too.

SEE ALSO
       ctags(1), expreserve(1), exrecover(1)

       Elvis  -  A  Clone of Vi/Ex, the complete elvis documenta-
       tion.

BUGS
       There is no LISP  support.   Certain  other  features  are
       missing, too.

       Auto-indent mode is not quite compatible with the real vi.
       Among other things, 0^D and ^^D don't do  what  you  might
       expect.

       Long  lines  are displayed differently.  The real vi wraps
       long lines onto multiple rows of  the  screen,  but  elvis
       scrolls sideways.

AUTHOR
       Steve Kirkendall
       kirkenda@cs.pdx.edu

       Many  other  people  have  worked to port elvis to various
       operating systems.  To see who deserves  credit,  run  the
       :version command from within elvis, or look in the system-
       specific section of the complete documentation.
















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