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term.txt
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term.txt
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*term.txt* For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2024 Jan 15
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
Terminal information *terminal-info*
Vim uses information about the terminal you are using to fill the screen and
recognize what keys you hit. If this information is not correct, the screen
may be messed up or keys may not be recognized. The actions which have to be
performed on the screen are accomplished by outputting a string of
characters. Special keys produce a string of characters. These strings are
stored in the terminal options, see |terminal-options|.
NOTE: Most of this is not used when running the |GUI|.
1. Startup |startup-terminal|
2. Terminal options |terminal-options|
3. Window size |window-size|
4. Slow and fast terminals |slow-fast-terminal|
5. Using the mouse |mouse-using|
==============================================================================
1. Startup *startup-terminal*
When Vim is started a default terminal type is assumed. For the Amiga this is
a standard CLI window, for MS-Windows the pc terminal, for Unix an ansi
terminal. A few other terminal types are always available, see below
|builtin-terms|.
You can give the terminal name with the '-T' Vim argument. If it is not given
Vim will try to get the name from the TERM environment variable.
*termcap* *terminfo* *E557* *E558* *E559*
On Unix the terminfo database or termcap file is used. This is referred to as
"termcap" in all the documentation. At compile time, when running configure,
the choice whether to use terminfo or termcap is done automatically. When
running Vim the output of ":version" will show |+terminfo| if terminfo is
used. Also see |xterm-screens|.
On non-Unix systems a termcap is only available if Vim was compiled with
TERMCAP defined.
*builtin-terms* *builtin_terms*
A number of builtin terminals are available. Since patch 9.0.0280 there is no
difference between Vim versions. You can see a list of available builtin
terminals in the error message you get for `:set term=xxx` (when not running
the GUI). Also see |++builtin_terms|.
If the termcap code is included Vim will try to get the strings for the
terminal you are using from the termcap file and the builtin termcaps. Both
are always used, if an entry for the terminal you are using is present. Which
one is used first depends on the 'ttybuiltin' option:
'ttybuiltin' on 1: builtin termcap 2: external termcap
'ttybuiltin' off 1: external termcap 2: builtin termcap
If an option is missing in one of them, it will be obtained from the other
one. If an option is present in both, the one first encountered is used.
Which external termcap file is used varies from system to system and may
depend on the environment variables "TERMCAP" and "TERMPATH". See "man
tgetent".
Settings depending on terminal *term-dependent-settings*
If you want to set options or mappings, depending on the terminal name, you
can do this best in your .vimrc. Example: >
if &term == "xterm"
... xterm maps and settings ...
elseif &term =~ "vt10."
... vt100, vt102 maps and settings ...
endif
<
*raw-terminal-mode*
For normal editing the terminal will be put into "raw" mode. The strings
defined with 't_ti', 't_TI' and 't_ks' will be sent to the terminal. Normally
this puts the terminal in a state where the termcap codes are valid and
activates the cursor and function keys.
When Vim exits the terminal will be put back into the mode it was before Vim
started. The strings defined with 't_te', 't_TE' and 't_ke' will be sent to
the terminal. On the Amiga, with commands that execute an external command
(e.g., "!!"), the terminal will be put into Normal mode for a moment. This
means that you can stop the output to the screen by hitting a printing key.
Output resumes when you hit <BS>.
Note: When 't_ti' is not empty, Vim assumes that it causes switching to the
alternate screen. This may slightly change what happens when executing a
shell command or exiting Vim. To avoid this use 't_TI' and 't_TE' (but make
sure to add to them, not overwrite).
Vim will try to detect what keyboard protocol the terminal is using with the
't_RK' termcap entry. This is sent after 't_TI', but only when there is no
work to do (no typeahead and no pending commands). That is to avoid the
response to end up in a shell command or arrive after Vim exits.
*xterm-bracketed-paste*
When the 't_BE' option is set then 't_BE' will be sent to the
terminal when entering "raw" mode and 't_BD' when leaving "raw" mode. The
terminal is then expected to put 't_PS' before pasted text and 't_PE' after
pasted text. This way Vim can separate text that is pasted from characters
that are typed. The pasted text is handled like when the middle mouse button
is used, it is inserted literally and not interpreted as commands.
Please note: while bracketed paste is trying to prevent nasty side-effects
from pasting (like the CTRL-C or <ESC> key), it's not a guaranteed security
measure because different terminals may implement this mode slightly
differently. You should still be careful with what you paste into Vim.
When the cursor is in the first column, the pasted text will be inserted
before it. Otherwise the pasted text is appended after the cursor position.
This means one cannot paste after the first column. Unfortunately Vim does
not have a way to tell where the mouse pointer was.
Note that in some situations Vim will not recognize the bracketed paste and
you will get the raw text. In other situations Vim will only get the first
pasted character and drop the rest, e.g. when using the "r" command. If you
have a problem with this, disable bracketed paste by putting this in your
.vimrc: >
set t_BE=
If this is done while Vim is running the 't_BD' will be sent to the terminal
to disable bracketed paste.
If |t_PS| or |t_PE| is not set, then |t_BE| will not be used. This is to make
sure that bracketed paste is not enabled when the escape codes surrounding
pasted text cannot be recognized.
Note: bracketed paste mode will be disabled, when the 'esckeys' option is not
set (also when the 'compatible' option is set).
If your terminal supports bracketed paste, but the options are not set
automatically, you can try using something like this: >
if &term =~ "screen"
let &t_BE = "\e[?2004h"
let &t_BD = "\e[?2004l"
exec "set t_PS=\e[200~"
exec "set t_PE=\e[201~"
endif
The terminfo entries "BE", "BD", "PS" and "PE" were added in ncurses version
6.4, early 2023, for some terminals. If you have this version then you may
not have to manually configure your terminal.
*tmux-integration*
If you experience issues when running Vim inside tmux, here are a few hints.
You can comment-out parts if something doesn't work (it may depend on the
terminal that tmux is running in): >
if !has('gui_running') && &term =~ '^\%(screen\|tmux\)'
" Better mouse support, see :help 'ttymouse'
set ttymouse=sgr
" Enable true colors, see :help xterm-true-color
let &termguicolors = v:true
let &t_8f = "\<Esc>[38;2;%lu;%lu;%lum"
let &t_8b = "\<Esc>[48;2;%lu;%lu;%lum"
" Enable bracketed paste mode, see :help xterm-bracketed-paste
let &t_BE = "\<Esc>[?2004h"
let &t_BD = "\<Esc>[?2004l"
let &t_PS = "\<Esc>[200~"
let &t_PE = "\<Esc>[201~"
" Enable focus event tracking, see :help xterm-focus-event
let &t_fe = "\<Esc>[?1004h"
let &t_fd = "\<Esc>[?1004l"
execute "set <FocusGained>=\<Esc>[I"
execute "set <FocusLost>=\<Esc>[O"
" Enable modified arrow keys, see :help arrow_modifiers
execute "silent! set <xUp>=\<Esc>[@;*A"
execute "silent! set <xDown>=\<Esc>[@;*B"
execute "silent! set <xRight>=\<Esc>[@;*C"
execute "silent! set <xLeft>=\<Esc>[@;*D"
endif
<
*cs7-problem*
Note: If the terminal settings are changed after running Vim, you might have
an illegal combination of settings. This has been reported on Solaris 2.5
with "stty cs8 parenb", which is restored as "stty cs7 parenb". Use
"stty cs8 -parenb -istrip" instead, this is restored correctly.
Some termcap entries are wrong in the sense that after sending 't_ks' the
cursor keys send codes different from the codes defined in the termcap. To
avoid this you can set 't_ks' (and 't_ke') to empty strings. This must be
done during initialization (see |initialization|), otherwise it's too late.
Some termcap entries assume that the highest bit is always reset. For
example: The cursor-up entry for the Amiga could be ":ku=\E[A:". But the
Amiga really sends "\233A". This works fine if the highest bit is reset,
e.g., when using an Amiga over a serial line. If the cursor keys don't work,
try the entry ":ku=\233A:".
Some termcap entries have the entry ":ku=\E[A:". But the Amiga really sends
"\233A". On output "\E[" and "\233" are often equivalent, on input they
aren't. You will have to change the termcap entry, or change the key code with
the :set command to fix this.
Many cursor key codes start with an <Esc>. Vim must find out if this is a
single hit of the <Esc> key or the start of a cursor key sequence. It waits
for a next character to arrive. If it does not arrive within one second a
single <Esc> is assumed. On very slow systems this may fail, causing cursor
keys not to work sometimes. If you discover this problem reset the 'timeout'
option. Vim will wait for the next character to arrive after an <Esc>. If
you want to enter a single <Esc> you must type it twice. Resetting the
'esckeys' option avoids this problem in Insert mode, but you lose the
possibility to use cursor and function keys in Insert mode.
On the Amiga the recognition of window resizing is activated only when the
terminal name is "amiga" or "builtin_amiga".
Some terminals have confusing codes for the cursor keys. The televideo 925 is
such a terminal. It sends a CTRL-H for cursor-left. This would make it
impossible to distinguish a backspace and cursor-left. To avoid this problem
CTRL-H is never recognized as cursor-left.
*vt100-cursor-keys* *xterm-cursor-keys*
Other terminals (e.g., vt100 and xterm) have cursor keys that send <Esc>OA,
<Esc>OB, etc. Unfortunately these are valid commands in insert mode: Stop
insert, Open a new line above the new one, start inserting 'A', 'B', etc.
Instead of performing these commands Vim will erroneously recognize this typed
key sequence as a cursor key movement. To avoid this and make Vim do what you
want in either case you could use these settings: >
:set notimeout " don't timeout on mappings
:set ttimeout " do timeout on terminal key codes
:set timeoutlen=100 " timeout after 100 msec
This requires the key-codes to be sent within 100 msec in order to recognize
them as a cursor key. When you type you normally are not that fast, so they
are recognized as individual typed commands, even though Vim receives the same
sequence of bytes.
*vt100-function-keys* *xterm-function-keys*
An xterm can send function keys F1 to F4 in two modes: vt100 compatible or
not. Because Vim may not know what the xterm is sending, both types of keys
are recognized. The same happens for the <Home> and <End> keys.
normal vt100 ~
<F1> t_k1 <Esc>[11~ <xF1> <Esc>OP *<xF1>-xterm*
<F2> t_k2 <Esc>[12~ <xF2> <Esc>OQ *<xF2>-xterm*
<F3> t_k3 <Esc>[13~ <xF3> <Esc>OR *<xF3>-xterm*
<F4> t_k4 <Esc>[14~ <xF4> <Esc>OS *<xF4>-xterm*
<Home> t_kh <Esc>[7~ <xHome> <Esc>OH *<xHome>-xterm*
<End> t_@7 <Esc>[4~ <xEnd> <Esc>OF *<xEnd>-xterm*
When Vim starts, <xF1> is mapped to <F1>, <xF2> to <F2> etc. This means that
by default both codes do the same thing. If you make a mapping for <xF2>,
because your terminal does have two keys, the default mapping is overwritten,
thus you can use the <F2> and <xF2> keys for something different.
*xterm-shifted-keys*
Newer versions of xterm support shifted function keys and special keys. Vim
recognizes most of them. Use ":set termcap" to check which are supported and
what the codes are. Mostly these are not in a termcap, they are only
supported by the builtin_xterm termcap.
*xterm-modifier-keys*
Newer versions of xterm support Alt and Ctrl for most function keys. To avoid
having to add all combinations of Alt, Ctrl and Shift for every key a special
sequence is recognized at the end of a termcap entry: ";*X". The "X" can be
any character, often '~' is used. The ";*" stands for an optional modifier
argument. ";2" is Shift, ";3" is Alt, ";5" is Ctrl and ";9" is Meta (when
it's different from Alt). They can be combined. Examples: >
:set <F8>=^[[19;*~
:set <Home>=^[[1;*H
Another speciality about these codes is that they are not overwritten by
another code. That is to avoid that the codes obtained from xterm directly
|t_RV| overwrite them.
Another special value is a termcap entry ending in "@;*X". This is for cursor
keys, which either use "CSI X" or "CSI 1 ; modifier X". Thus the "@"
stands for either "1" if a modifier follows, or nothing.
*arrow_modifiers*
Several terminal emulators (alacritty, gnome, konsole, etc.) send special
codes for keys with modifiers, but these do not have an entry in the
termcap/terminfo database. You can make them work by adding a few lines in
your vimrc. For example, to make the Control modifier work with arrow keys
for the gnome terminal: >
if &term =~ 'gnome'
execute "set <xUp>=\<Esc>[@;*A"
execute "set <xDown>=\<Esc>[@;*B"
execute "set <xRight>=\<Esc>[@;*C"
execute "set <xLeft>=\<Esc>[@;*D"
endif
< *xterm-scroll-region*
The default termcap entry for xterm on Sun and other platforms does not
contain the entry for scroll regions. Add ":cs=\E[%i%d;%dr:" to the xterm
entry in /etc/termcap and everything should work.
*xterm-end-home-keys*
On some systems (at least on FreeBSD with XFree86 3.1.2) the codes that the
<End> and <Home> keys send contain a <Nul> character. To make these keys send
the proper key code, add these lines to your ~/.Xdefaults file:
*VT100.Translations: #override \n\
<Key>Home: string("0x1b") string("[7~") \n\
<Key>End: string("0x1b") string("[8~")
*xterm-8bit* *xterm-8-bit*
Xterm can be run in a mode where it uses 8-bit escape sequences. The CSI code
is used instead of <Esc>[. The advantage is that an <Esc> can quickly be
recognized in Insert mode, because it can't be confused with the start of a
special key.
For the builtin termcap entries, Vim checks if the 'term' option contains
"8bit" anywhere. It then uses 8-bit characters for the termcap entries, the
mouse and a few other things. You would normally set $TERM in your shell to
"xterm-8bit" and Vim picks this up and adjusts to the 8-bit setting
automatically.
When Vim receives a response to the |t_RV| (request version) sequence and it
starts with CSI, it assumes that the terminal is in 8-bit mode and will
convert all key sequences to their 8-bit variants.
*xterm-terminfo-entries*
For some time the terminfo entries were insufficient to describe all the
features that Vim can use. The builtin xterm termcap entries did have these,
with the result that several terminals that were similar enough to xterm took
advantage of these by prefixing "xterm-" to the terminal name in $TERM.
This leads to problems, because quite often these terminals are not 100%
compatible with xterm. At the start of 2023 several entries have been added
to the terminfo database to make it possible to use these features without
using the "xterm" workaround. These are the relevant entries (so far):
name xterm value description ~
RV "\033[>c" Request version |t_RV|
BE "\033[?2004h" enable bracketed paste mode |t_BE|
BD "\033[?2004l" disable bracketed paste mode |t_BD|
PS "\033[200~" pasted text start |t_PS|
PE "\033[201~" pasted text end |t_PE|
XM "\033[?1006;1004;1000%?%p1%{1}%=%th%el%;"
mouse enable / disable |t_XM|
FE "\033[?1004h" enable focus event tracking |t_fe|
FD "\033[?1004l" disable focus event tracking |t_fd|
The "XM" entry includes "1006" to enable SGR style mouse reporting. This
supports columns above 223. It also includes "1004" which enables focus
reporting.
Note: As of 2023, the "1004" is currently not used by Vim itself, instead
it is recommended to set focus reporting independently of mouse tracking by
the |t_fe| and |t_fd| entries, as ncurses also starts to use with the latest
versions (and will then also end up in terminfo/termcap).
*xterm-kitty* *kitty-terminal*
The Kitty terminal is a special case. Mainly because it works differently
from most other terminals, but also because, instead of trying the fit in and
make it behave like other terminals by default, it dictates how applications
need to work when using Kitty. This makes it very difficult for Vim to work
in a Kitty terminal. Some exceptions have been hard coded, but it is not at
all nice to have to make exceptions for one specific terminal.
One of the problems is that the value for $TERM is set to "xterm-kitty". For
Vim this is an indication that the terminal is xterm-compatible and the
builtin xterm termcap entries should be used. Many other terminals depend on
this. However, Kitty is not fully xterm compatible. The author suggested to
ignore the "xterm-" prefix and use the terminfo entry anyway, so that is what
happens now, the builtin xterm termcap entries are not used. However, the
t_RV is set, otherwise other things would not work, such as automatically
setting 'ttymouse' to "sgr" (at least until |t_XM| is being used for this).
It is not clear why kitty sets $TERM to "xterm-kitty", the terminal isn't
really xterm compatible. "kitty" would be more appropriate, but a terminfo
entry with that name is not widespread.
Note that using the kitty keyboard protocol is a separate feature, see
|kitty-keyboard-protocol|.
==============================================================================
2. Terminal options *terminal-options* *termcap-options* *E436*
The terminal options can be set just like normal options. But they are not
shown with the ":set all" command. Instead use ":set termcap".
It is always possible to change individual strings by setting the
appropriate option. For example: >
:set t_ce=^V^[[K (CTRL-V, <Esc>, [, K)
The options are listed below. The associated termcap code is always equal to
the last two characters of the option name. Only one termcap code is
required: Cursor motion, 't_cm'.
The options 't_da', 't_db', 't_ms', 't_xs', 't_xn' represent flags in the
termcap. When the termcap flag is present, the option will be set to "y".
But any non-empty string means that the flag is set. An empty string means
that the flag is not set. 't_CS' works like this too, but it isn't a termcap
flag.
OUTPUT CODES *terminal-output-codes*
option meaning ~
t_AB set background color (ANSI) *t_AB* *'t_AB'*
t_AF set foreground color (ANSI) *t_AF* *'t_AF'*
t_AL add number of blank lines *t_AL* *'t_AL'*
t_al add new blank line *t_al* *'t_al'*
t_bc backspace character *t_bc* *'t_bc'*
t_cd clear to end of screen *t_cd* *'t_cd'*
t_ce clear to end of line *t_ce* *'t_ce'*
t_cl clear screen *t_cl* *'t_cl'*
t_cm cursor motion (required!) *E437* *t_cm* *'t_cm'*
t_Co number of colors *t_Co* *'t_Co'*
t_CS if non-empty, cursor relative to scroll region *t_CS* *'t_CS'*
t_cs define scrolling region *t_cs* *'t_cs'*
t_CV define vertical scrolling region *t_CV* *'t_CV'*
t_da if non-empty, lines from above scroll down *t_da* *'t_da'*
t_db if non-empty, lines from below scroll up *t_db* *'t_db'*
t_DL delete number of lines *t_DL* *'t_DL'*
t_dl delete line *t_dl* *'t_dl'*
t_fs set window title end (from status line) *t_fs* *'t_fs'*
t_ke exit "keypad transmit" mode *t_ke* *'t_ke'*
t_ks start "keypad transmit" mode *t_ks* *'t_ks'*
t_le move cursor one char left *t_le* *'t_le'*
t_mb blinking mode *t_mb* *'t_mb'*
t_md bold mode *t_md* *'t_md'*
t_me Normal mode (undoes t_mr, t_mb, t_md and color) *t_me* *'t_me'*
t_mr reverse (invert) mode *t_mr* *'t_mr'*
*t_ms* *'t_ms'*
t_ms if non-empty, cursor can be moved in standout/inverse mode
t_nd non destructive space character *t_nd* *'t_nd'*
t_op reset to original color pair *t_op* *'t_op'*
t_RI cursor number of chars right *t_RI* *'t_RI'*
t_Sb set background color *t_Sb* *'t_Sb'*
t_Sf set foreground color *t_Sf* *'t_Sf'*
t_se standout end *t_se* *'t_se'*
t_so standout mode *t_so* *'t_so'*
t_sr scroll reverse (backward) *t_sr* *'t_sr'*
t_te end of "termcap" mode *t_te* *'t_te'*
t_ti put terminal into "termcap" mode *t_ti* *'t_ti'*
t_ts set window title start (to status line) *t_ts* *'t_ts'*
t_ue underline end *t_ue* *'t_ue'*
t_us underline mode *t_us* *'t_us'*
t_ut clearing uses the current background color *t_ut* *'t_ut'*
t_vb visual bell *t_vb* *'t_vb'*
t_ve cursor visible *t_ve* *'t_ve'*
t_vi cursor invisible *t_vi* *'t_vi'*
t_vs cursor very visible (blink) *t_vs* *'t_vs'*
*t_xs* *'t_xs'*
t_xs if non-empty, standout not erased by overwriting (hpterm)
*t_xn* *'t_xn'*
t_xn if non-empty, writing a character at the last screen cell
does not cause scrolling
t_ZH italics mode *t_ZH* *'t_ZH'*
t_ZR italics end *t_ZR* *'t_ZR'*
Added by Vim (there are no standard codes for these):
t_AU set underline color (ANSI) *t_AU* *'t_AU'*
t_Ce undercurl and underline end *t_Ce* *'t_Ce'*
t_Cs undercurl (curly underline) mode *t_Cs* *'t_Cs'*
t_CF set alternate font (using index 0 - 10) *t_CF* *'t_CF'*
t_Us double underline mode *t_Us* *'t_Us'*
t_ds dotted underline mode *t_ds* *'t_ds'*
t_Ds dashed underline mode *t_Ds* *'t_Ds'*
t_Te strikethrough end *t_Te* *'t_Te'*
t_Ts strikethrough mode *t_Ts* *'t_Ts'*
t_IS set icon text start *t_IS* *'t_IS'*
t_IE set icon text end *t_IE* *'t_IE'*
t_WP set window position (Y, X) in pixels *t_WP* *'t_WP'*
t_GP get window position (Y, X) in pixels *t_GP* *'t_GP'*
t_WS set window size (height, width in cells) *t_WS* *'t_WS'*
t_VS cursor normally visible (no blink) *t_VS* *'t_VS'*
t_SI start insert mode (bar cursor shape) *t_SI* *'t_SI'*
t_SR start replace mode (underline cursor shape) *t_SR* *'t_SR'*
t_EI end insert or replace mode (block cursor shape) *t_EI* *'t_EI'*
|termcap-cursor-shape|
t_RV request terminal version string (works for *t_RV* *'t_RV'*
xterm and other terminal emulators) The
response is stored in |v:termresponse| |xterm-8bit|
|'ttymouse'| |xterm-codes|
t_XM enable/disable mouse reporting, *t_XM* *'t_XM'*
see |mouse-reporting| below
t_RK request terminal keyboard protocol state; *t_RK* *'t_RK'*
sent after |t_TI|
t_u7 request cursor position (for xterm) *t_u7* *'t_u7'*
see |'ambiwidth'|
The response is stored in |v:termu7resp|
t_RF request terminal foreground color *t_RF* *'t_RF'*
The response is stored in |v:termrfgresp|
t_RB request terminal background color *t_RB* *'t_RB'*
The response is stored in |v:termrbgresp|
t_8f set foreground color (R, G, B) *t_8f* *'t_8f'*
|xterm-true-color|
t_8b set background color (R, G, B) *t_8b* *'t_8b'*
|xterm-true-color|
t_8u set underline color (R, G, B) *t_8u* *'t_8u'*
t_BE enable bracketed paste mode *t_BE* *'t_BE'*
|xterm-bracketed-paste|
t_BD disable bracketed paste mode *t_BD* *'t_BD'*
|xterm-bracketed-paste|
t_SC set cursor color start *t_SC* *'t_SC'*
t_EC set cursor color end *t_EC* *'t_EC'*
t_SH set cursor shape *t_SH* *'t_SH'*
t_RC request terminal cursor blinking *t_RC* *'t_RC'*
The response is stored in |v:termblinkresp|
t_RS request terminal cursor style *t_RS* *'t_RS'*
The response is stored in |v:termstyleresp|
t_ST save window title to stack *t_ST* *'t_ST'*
t_RT restore window title from stack *t_RT* *'t_RT'*
t_Si save icon text to stack *t_Si* *'t_Si'*
t_Ri restore icon text from stack *t_Ri* *'t_Ri'*
t_TE end of "raw" mode *t_TE* *'t_TE'*
t_TI put terminal into "raw" mode *t_TI* *'t_TI'*
t_fe enable focus-event tracking *t_fe* *'t_fe'*
|xterm-focus-event|
t_fd disable focus-event tracking *t_fd* *'t_fd'*
|xterm-focus-event|
Some codes have a start, middle and end part. The start and end are defined
by the termcap option, the middle part is text.
set title text: t_ts {title text} t_fs
set icon text: t_IS {icon text} t_IE
set cursor color: t_SC {color name} t_EC
t_SH must take one argument:
0, 1 or none blinking block cursor
2 block cursor
3 blinking underline cursor
4 underline cursor
5 blinking vertical bar cursor
6 vertical bar cursor
t_RS is sent only if the response to t_RV has been received. It is not used
on Mac OS when Terminal.app could be recognized from the termresponse.
*mouse-reporting*
Many terminals can report mouse clicks and some can report mouse movement and
dragging. Vim needs to know what codes are being used for this.
The "XM" terminfo/termcap entry is used for this. Vim also has the 'ttymouse'
option to specify the mouse protocol being used. See the option for the
possible values.
If Vim can read the "XM" terminfo/termcap entry then it will be used for
enabling and disabling the mouse reporting. If it is missing, then the value
from 'ttymouse' is used to decide how to do this.
If the "XM" entry exists and the first number is "1006" then 'ttymouse' will
be set to "sgr", unless it was already set earlier.
KEY CODES *terminal-key-codes*
Note: Use the <> form if possible
option name meaning ~
t_ku <Up> arrow up *t_ku* *'t_ku'*
t_kd <Down> arrow down *t_kd* *'t_kd'*
t_kr <Right> arrow right *t_kr* *'t_kr'*
t_kl <Left> arrow left *t_kl* *'t_kl'*
<xUp> alternate arrow up *<xUp>*
<xDown> alternate arrow down *<xDown>*
<xRight> alternate arrow right *<xRight>*
<xLeft> alternate arrow left *<xLeft>*
<S-Up> shift arrow up
<S-Down> shift arrow down
t_%i <S-Right> shift arrow right *t_%i* *'t_%i'*
t_#4 <S-Left> shift arrow left *t_#4* *'t_#4'*
t_k1 <F1> function key 1 *t_k1* *'t_k1'*
<xF1> alternate F1 *<xF1>*
t_k2 <F2> function key 2 *<F2>* *t_k2* *'t_k2'*
<xF2> alternate F2 *<xF2>*
t_k3 <F3> function key 3 *<F3>* *t_k3* *'t_k3'*
<xF3> alternate F3 *<xF3>*
t_k4 <F4> function key 4 *<F4>* *t_k4* *'t_k4'*
<xF4> alternate F4 *<xF4>*
t_k5 <F5> function key 5 *<F5>* *t_k5* *'t_k5'*
t_k6 <F6> function key 6 *<F6>* *t_k6* *'t_k6'*
t_k7 <F7> function key 7 *<F7>* *t_k7* *'t_k7'*
t_k8 <F8> function key 8 *<F8>* *t_k8* *'t_k8'*
t_k9 <F9> function key 9 *<F9>* *t_k9* *'t_k9'*
t_k; <F10> function key 10 *<F10>* *t_k;* *'t_k;'*
t_F1 <F11> function key 11 *<F11>* *t_F1* *'t_F1'*
t_F2 <F12> function key 12 *<F12>* *t_F2* *'t_F2'*
t_F3 <F13> function key 13 *<F13>* *t_F3* *'t_F3'*
t_F4 <F14> function key 14 *<F14>* *t_F4* *'t_F4'*
t_F5 <F15> function key 15 *<F15>* *t_F5* *'t_F5'*
t_F6 <F16> function key 16 *<F16>* *t_F6* *'t_F6'*
t_F7 <F17> function key 17 *<F17>* *t_F7* *'t_F7'*
t_F8 <F18> function key 18 *<F18>* *t_F8* *'t_F8'*
t_F9 <F19> function key 19 *<F19>* *t_F9* *'t_F9'*
<S-F1> shifted function key 1
<S-xF1> alternate <S-F1> *<S-xF1>*
<S-F2> shifted function key 2 *<S-F2>*
<S-xF2> alternate <S-F2> *<S-xF2>*
<S-F3> shifted function key 3 *<S-F3>*
<S-xF3> alternate <S-F3> *<S-xF3>*
<S-F4> shifted function key 4 *<S-F4>*
<S-xF4> alternate <S-F4> *<S-xF4>*
<S-F5> shifted function key 5 *<S-F5>*
<S-F6> shifted function key 6 *<S-F6>*
<S-F7> shifted function key 7 *<S-F7>*
<S-F8> shifted function key 8 *<S-F8>*
<S-F9> shifted function key 9 *<S-F9>*
<S-F10> shifted function key 10 *<S-F10>*
<S-F11> shifted function key 11 *<S-F11>*
<S-F12> shifted function key 12 *<S-F12>*
t_%1 <Help> help key *t_%1* *'t_%1'*
t_&8 <Undo> undo key *t_&8* *'t_&8'*
t_kI <Insert> insert key *t_kI* *'t_kI'*
<kInsert> keypad insert key
t_kD <Del> delete key *t_kD* *'t_kD'*
t_kb <BS> backspace key *t_kb* *'t_kb'*
t_kB <S-Tab> back-tab (shift-tab) *<S-Tab>* *t_kB* *'t_kB'*
t_kh <Home> home key *t_kh* *'t_kh'*
t_#2 <S-Home> shifted home key *<S-Home>* *t_#2* *'t_#2'*
<xHome> alternate home key *<xHome>*
t_@7 <End> end key *t_@7* *'t_@7'*
t_*7 <S-End> shifted end key *<S-End>* *t_star7* *'t_star7'*
<xEnd> alternate end key *<xEnd>*
t_kP <PageUp> page-up key *t_kP* *'t_kP'*
t_kN <PageDown> page-down key *t_kN* *'t_kN'*
t_K1 <kHome> keypad home key *t_K1* *'t_K1'*
t_K4 <kEnd> keypad end key *t_K4* *'t_K4'*
t_K3 <kPageUp> keypad page-up key *t_K3* *'t_K3'*
t_K5 <kPageDown> keypad page-down key *t_K5* *'t_K5'*
t_K6 <kPlus> keypad plus key *<kPlus>* *t_K6* *'t_K6'*
t_K7 <kMinus> keypad minus key *<kMinus>* *t_K7* *'t_K7'*
t_K8 <kDivide> keypad divide *<kDivide>* *t_K8* *'t_K8'*
t_K9 <kMultiply> keypad multiply *<kMultiply>* *t_K9* *'t_K9'*
t_KA <kEnter> keypad enter key *<kEnter>* *t_KA* *'t_KA'*
t_KB <kPoint> keypad decimal point *<kPoint>* *t_KB* *'t_KB'*
t_KC <k0> keypad 0 *<k0>* *t_KC* *'t_KC'*
t_KD <k1> keypad 1 *<k1>* *t_KD* *'t_KD'*
t_KE <k2> keypad 2 *<k2>* *t_KE* *'t_KE'*
t_KF <k3> keypad 3 *<k3>* *t_KF* *'t_KF'*
t_KG <k4> keypad 4 *<k4>* *t_KG* *'t_KG'*
t_KH <k5> keypad 5 *<k5>* *t_KH* *'t_KH'*
t_KI <k6> keypad 6 *<k6>* *t_KI* *'t_KI'*
t_KJ <k7> keypad 7 *<k7>* *t_KJ* *'t_KJ'*
t_KK <k8> keypad 8 *<k8>* *t_KK* *'t_KK'*
t_KL <k9> keypad 9 *<k9>* *t_KL* *'t_KL'*
<Mouse> leader of mouse code *<Mouse>*
t_PS <PasteStart> start of bracketed paste *t_PS* *'t_PS'*
|xterm-bracketed-paste|
t_PE <PasteEnd> end of bracketed paste *t_PE* *'t_PE'*
|xterm-bracketed-paste|
<FocusGained> Vim window got focus (internal only)
<FocusLost> Vim window lost focus (internal only)
Note about t_so and t_mr: When the termcap entry "so" is not present the
entry for "mr" is used. And vice versa. The same is done for "se" and "me".
If your terminal supports both inversion and standout mode, you can see two
different modes. If your terminal supports only one of the modes, both will
look the same.
*keypad-comma*
The keypad keys, when they are not mapped, behave like the equivalent normal
key. There is one exception: if you have a comma on the keypad instead of a
decimal point, Vim will use a dot anyway. Use these mappings to fix that: >
:noremap <kPoint> ,
:noremap! <kPoint> ,
< *xterm-codes*
There is a special trick to obtain the key codes which currently only works
for xterm. When |t_RV| is defined and a response is received which indicates
an xterm with patchlevel 141 or higher, Vim uses special escape sequences to
request the key codes directly from the xterm. The responses are used to
adjust the various t_ codes. This avoids the problem that the xterm can
produce different codes, depending on the mode it is in (8-bit, VT102,
VT220, etc.). The result is that codes like <xF1> are no longer needed.
One of the codes that can change is 't_Co', the number of colors. This will
trigger a redraw. If this is a problem, reset the 'xtermcodes' option as
early as possible: >
set noxtermcodes
Note: Requesting the key codes is only done on startup. If the xterm options
are changed after Vim has started, the escape sequences may not be recognized
anymore.
*xterm-true-color*
Vim supports using true colors in the terminal (taken from |highlight-guifg|
and |highlight-guibg|), given that the terminal supports this. To make this
work the 'termguicolors' option needs to be set.
See https://github.com/termstandard/colors for a list of terminals that
support true colors.
For telling the terminal what RGB color to use the |t_8f| and |t_8b| termcap
entries are used. These are set by default to values that work for most
terminals. If that does not work for your terminal you can set them manually.
The default values are set like this: >
let &t_8f = "\<Esc>[38;2;%lu;%lu;%lum"
let &t_8b = "\<Esc>[48;2;%lu;%lu;%lum"
Some terminals accept the same sequences, but with all semicolons replaced by
colons (this is actually more compatible, but less widely supported): >
let &t_8f = "\<Esc>[38:2:%lu:%lu:%lum"
let &t_8b = "\<Esc>[48:2:%lu:%lu:%lum"
These options contain printf strings, with |printf()| (actually, its C
equivalent hence `l` modifier) invoked with the t_ option value and three
unsigned long integers that may have any value between 0 and 255 (inclusive)
representing red, green and blue colors respectively.
*xterm-resize*
Window resizing with xterm only works if the allowWindowOps resource is
enabled. On some systems and versions of xterm it's disabled by default
because someone thought it would be a security issue. It's not clear if this
is actually the case.
To overrule the default, put this line in your ~/.Xdefaults or
~/.Xresources:
>
XTerm*allowWindowOps: true
And run "xrdb -merge .Xresources" to make it effective. You can check the
value with the context menu (right mouse button while CTRL key is pressed),
there should be a tick at allow-window-ops.
*xterm-focus-event*
Some terminals including xterm support the focus event tracking feature.
If this feature is enabled by the 't_fe' sequence, special key sequences are
sent from the terminal to Vim every time the terminal gains or loses focus.
Vim fires focus events (|FocusGained|/|FocusLost|) by handling them accordingly.
Focus event tracking is disabled by a 't_fd' sequence when exiting "raw" mode.
If you would like to disable this feature, add the following to your .vimrc:
`set t_fd=`
`set t_fe=`
If your terminal does support this but Vim does not recognize the terminal,
you may have to set the options yourself: >
let &t_fe = "\<Esc>[?1004h"
let &t_fd = "\<Esc>[?1004l"
execute "set <FocusGained>=\<Esc>[I"
execute "set <FocusLost>=\<Esc>[O"
If this causes garbage to show when Vim starts up then it doesn't work.
*termcap-colors*
Note about colors: The 't_Co' option tells Vim the number of colors available.
When it is non-zero, the 't_AB' and 't_AF' options are used to set the color.
If one of these is not available, 't_Sb' and 't_Sf' are used. 't_me' is used
to reset to the default colors. Also see 'termguicolors'.
When the GUI is running 't_Co' is set to 16777216.
*termcap-cursor-shape* *termcap-cursor-color*
When Vim enters Insert mode the 't_SI' escape sequence is sent. When Vim
enters Replace mode the 't_SR' escape sequence is sent if it is set, otherwise
't_SI' is sent. When leaving Insert mode or Replace mode 't_EI' is used.
Note: When 't_EI' is not set then 't_SI' and 't_SR' will not be sent. And
when 't_SI' or 't_SR' is not set then 't_EI' is sent only once.
This can be used to change the shape or color of the cursor in Insert or
Replace mode. These are not standard termcap/terminfo entries, you need to set
them yourself.
Example for an xterm, this changes the color of the cursor: >
if &term =~ "xterm"
let &t_SI = "\<Esc>]12;purple\x7"
let &t_SR = "\<Esc>]12;red\x7"
let &t_EI = "\<Esc>]12;blue\x7"
endif
NOTE: When Vim exits the shape for Normal mode will remain. The shape from
before Vim started will not be restored.
For Windows Terminal you can use something like this: >
" Note: This should be set after `set termguicolors` or `set t_Co=256`.
if &term =~ 'xterm' || &term == 'win32'
" Use DECSCUSR escape sequences
let &t_SI = "\e[5 q" " blink bar
let &t_SR = "\e[3 q" " blink underline
let &t_EI = "\e[1 q" " blink block
let &t_ti ..= "\e[1 q" " blink block
let &t_te ..= "\e[0 q" " default (depends on terminal, normally blink
" block)
endif
{not available when compiled without the |+cursorshape| feature}
*termcap-title*
The 't_ts' and 't_fs' options are used to set the window title if the terminal
allows title setting via sending strings. They are sent before and after the
title string, respectively. Similar 't_IS' and 't_IE' are used to set the
icon text. These are Vim-internal extensions of the Unix termcap, so they
cannot be obtained from an external termcap. However, the builtin termcap
contains suitable entries for xterm and iris-ansi, so you don't need to set
them here.
*hpterm*
If inversion or other highlighting does not work correctly, try setting the
't_xs' option to a non-empty string. This makes the 't_ce' code be used to
remove highlighting from a line. This is required for "hpterm". Setting the
'weirdinvert' option has the same effect as making 't_xs' non-empty, and vice
versa.
*scroll-region*
Some termcaps do not include an entry for "cs" (scroll region), although the
terminal does support it. For example: xterm on a Sun. You can use the
builtin_xterm or define t_cs yourself. For example: >
:set t_cs=^V^[[%i%d;%dr
Where ^V is CTRL-V and ^[ is <Esc>.
The vertical scroll region t_CV is not a standard termcap code. Vim uses it
internally in the GUI. But it can also be defined for a terminal, if you can
find one that supports it. The two arguments are the left and right column of
the region which to restrict the scrolling to. Just like t_cs defines the top
and bottom lines. Defining t_CV will make scrolling in vertically split
windows a lot faster. Don't set t_CV when t_da or t_db is set (text isn't
cleared when scrolling).
Unfortunately it is not possible to deduce from the termcap how cursor
positioning should be done when using a scrolling region: Relative to the
beginning of the screen or relative to the beginning of the scrolling region.
Most terminals use the first method. The 't_CS' option should be set to any
string when cursor positioning is relative to the start of the scrolling
region. It should be set to an empty string otherwise.
Note for xterm users: The shifted cursor keys normally don't work. You can
make them work with the xmodmap command and some mappings in Vim.
Give these commands in the xterm:
xmodmap -e "keysym Up = Up F13"
xmodmap -e "keysym Down = Down F16"
xmodmap -e "keysym Left = Left F18"
xmodmap -e "keysym Right = Right F19"
And use these mappings in Vim:
:map <t_F3> <S-Up>
:map! <t_F3> <S-Up>
:map <t_F6> <S-Down>
:map! <t_F6> <S-Down>
:map <t_F8> <S-Left>
:map! <t_F8> <S-Left>
:map <t_F9> <S-Right>
:map! <t_F9> <S-Right>
Instead of, say, <S-Up> you can use any other command that you want to use the
shift-cursor-up key for. (Note: To help people that have a Sun keyboard with
left side keys F14 is not used because it is confused with the undo key; F15
is not used, because it does a window-to-front; F17 is not used, because it
closes the window. On other systems you can probably use them.)
==============================================================================
3. Window size *window-size*
[This is about the size of the whole window Vim is using, not a window that is
created with the ":split" command.]
If you are running Vim on an Amiga and the terminal name is "amiga" or
"builtin_amiga", the amiga-specific window resizing will be enabled. On Unix
systems three methods are tried to get the window size:
- an ioctl call (TIOCGSIZE or TIOCGWINSZ, depends on your system)
- the environment variables "LINES" and "COLUMNS"
- from the termcap entries "li" and "co"
If everything fails a default size of 24 lines and 80 columns is assumed. If
a window-resize signal is received the size will be set again. If the window
size is wrong you can use the 'lines' and 'columns' options to set the
correct values.
One command can be used to set the screen size:
*:mod* *:mode* *E359*
:mod[e] [mode]
Without argument this only detects the screen size and redraws the screen.
[mode] was used on MS-DOS, but it doesn't work anymore. In |Vim9| this
command is not supported.
==============================================================================
4. Slow and fast terminals *slow-fast-terminal*
*slow-terminal*
If you have a fast terminal you may like to set the 'ruler' option. The
cursor position is shown in the status line. If you are using horizontal
scrolling ('wrap' option off) consider setting 'sidescroll' to a small
number.
If you have a slow terminal you may want to reset the 'showcmd' option.
The command characters will not be shown in the status line. If the terminal
scrolls very slowly, set the 'scrolljump' to 5 or so. If the cursor is moved
off the screen (e.g., with "j") Vim will scroll 5 lines at a time. Another
possibility is to reduce the number of lines that Vim uses with the command
"z{height}<CR>".
If the characters from the terminal are arriving with more than 1 second
between them you might want to set the 'timeout' and/or 'ttimeout' option.
See the "Options" chapter |options|.
If your terminal does not support a scrolling region, but it does support
insert/delete line commands, scrolling with multiple windows may make the
lines jump up and down. This would happen if the 'ttyfast' option has been
reset. Check that with: >
verbose set ttyfast?
If your terminal scrolls very slowly, but redrawing is not slow, set the
'ttyscroll' option to a small number, e.g., 3. This will make Vim redraw the
screen instead of scrolling, when there are more than 3 lines to be scrolled.
If you are using a color terminal that is slow, use this command: >
hi NonText cterm=NONE ctermfg=NONE
This avoids that spaces are sent when they have different attributes. On most
terminals you can't see this anyway.
If you are using Vim over a slow serial line, you might want to try running
Vim inside the "screen" program. Screen will optimize the terminal I/O quite
a bit.
If you are testing termcap options, but you cannot see what is happening, you
might want to set the 'writedelay' option. When non-zero, one character is
sent to the terminal at a time. This makes the screen updating a lot slower,
making it possible to see what is happening.
==============================================================================
5. Using the mouse *mouse-using*
This section is about using the mouse on a terminal or a terminal window. How
to use the mouse in a GUI window is explained in |gui-mouse|. For scrolling
with a mouse wheel see |scroll-mouse-wheel|.
Don't forget to enable the mouse with this command: >
:set mouse=a
Otherwise Vim won't recognize the mouse in all modes (See 'mouse').
Currently the mouse is supported for Unix in an xterm window, in a *BSD
console with |sysmouse|, in a Linux console (with GPM |gpm-mouse|), and
in a Windows console.
Mouse clicks can be used to position the cursor, select an area and paste.
These characters in the 'mouse' option tell in which situations the mouse will
be used by Vim:
n Normal mode
v Visual mode
i Insert mode
c Command-line mode
h all previous modes when in a help file
a all previous modes
r for |hit-enter| prompt
The default for 'mouse' is empty, the mouse is not used. Normally you would
do: >
:set mouse=a
to start using the mouse (this is equivalent to setting 'mouse' to "nvich").
If you only want to use the mouse in a few modes or also want to use it for
the two questions you will have to concatenate the letters for those modes.
For example: >
:set mouse=nv
Will make the mouse work in Normal mode and Visual mode. >
:set mouse=h
Will make the mouse work in help files only (so you can use "g<LeftMouse>" to
jump to tags).
Whether the selection that is started with the mouse is in Visual mode or
Select mode depends on whether "mouse" is included in the 'selectmode'
option.
*terminal-mouse*
In an xterm, with the currently active mode included in the 'mouse' option,
normal mouse clicks are used by Vim, mouse clicks with the shift or ctrl key
pressed go to the xterm. With the currently active mode not included in
'mouse' all mouse clicks go to the xterm.
For terminals where it is not possible to have the mouse events be used by the
terminal itself by using a modifier, a workaround is to not use mouse events
for Vim in command-line mode: >
:set mouse=nvi
Then to select text with the terminal, use ":" to go to command-line mode,
select and copy the text to the system, then press Esc.
Another way is to temporarily use ":sh" to run a shell, copy the text, then
exit the shell. 'mouse' can remain set to "a" then.
*xterm-clipboard*
In the Motif GUI version, when running in a terminal and there is
access to the X-server (DISPLAY is set), the copy and paste will behave like
in the GUI. If not, the middle mouse button will insert the unnamed register.
In that case, here is how you copy and paste a piece of text:
Copy/paste with the mouse and Visual mode ('mouse' option must be set, see
above):
1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last
letter of the text and release the button. This will start Visual mode and
highlight the selected area.
2. Press "y" to yank the Visual text in the unnamed register.
3. Click the left mouse button at the insert position.
4. Click the middle mouse button.
Shortcut: If the insert position is on the screen at the same time as the
Visual text, you can do 2, 3 and 4 all in one: Click the middle mouse button
at the insert position.
Note: When the |-X| command line argument is used, Vim will not connect to the
X server and copy/paste to the X clipboard (selection) will not work. Use the
shift key with the mouse buttons to let the xterm do the selection.
*xterm-command-server*
When the X-server clipboard is available, the command server described in
|x11-clientserver| can be enabled with the --servername command line argument.
*xterm-copy-paste*
NOTE: In some (older) xterms, it's not possible to move the cursor past column
95 or 223. This is an xterm problem, not Vim's. Get a newer xterm
|color-xterm|. Also see |'ttymouse'|.
Copy/paste in xterm with (current mode NOT included in 'mouse'):
1. Press left mouse button on first letter of text, move mouse pointer to last
letter of the text and release the button.
2. Use normal Vim commands to put the cursor at the insert position.
3. Press "a" to start Insert mode.
4. Click the middle mouse button.
5. Press ESC to end Insert mode.
(The same can be done with anything in 'mouse' if you keep the shift key
pressed while using the mouse.)
Note: if you lose the 8th bit when pasting (special characters are translated