02_displaying_line_numbers.html

<h3 id="displaying-line-numbers">Displaying Line Numbers</h3>

<h4>Problem</h4>

<p>You want to see each line's number alongside it. For example, if you’re
writing a program, error messages frequently reference line numbers.</p>

<h4>Solution</h4>

<p>Use <tt>:set number</tt> to enable line numbering. If you're using a small
monitor, you may want to disable them: <tt>:set nonumber</tt>.</p>

<h4>Discussion</h4>

<p>Even if you're not programming, line numbers can still be useful. For
example, if you’re collaborating on a file with other people, they may mention
specific lines, which you can then jump to with <tt>:<var>number</var></tt>.
If you’re <a href="#working-with-long-lines">wrapping long lines</a>, the line
number can be used to differentiate the beginning of the line from the point
at which it has been wrapped.</p>

<p>By default the number column is at least 4 characters wide, regardless of
how many lines the file has. To change this minimum width use <tt>:set
  numberwidth=<var>width</var></tt>.</p>

<p>The line numbers are only displayed when you’re viewing the file with Vim;
the actual file isn't modified. If you'd like it to be, and you have the
<tt>cat</tt> command on your system, you can execute <tt>:%!cat -n %</tt>.
This filters the entire file through <tt>cat</tt> and prepends the number to
each line.</p>

<p>Lastly, if you'd like to see the line numbers when you print the file
without permanently changing its contents: <tt>:set
  printoptions=number:y</tt>.</p>