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<html><head>
<title>Elvis 2.1 Options</title>
</head><body>

<h1>6. OPTIONS</h1>

Options are a primary means of configuring the appearance and behavior of elvis.
They are set via the <a href="elvisex.html#set">:set</a> command, or the
<a href="elvisex.html#let">:let</a> command.
The options' values are examined directly by elvis internally, and can also
be displayed via <a href="elvisex.html#set">:set</a>, or in an expression.

The following tables list the names, type, group, and description of each
option.
One table lists <a href="#INDEX">all options alphabetically,</a> and the other
breaks list down into <a href="#GROUP">groups of related options.</a> 
I recommend the latter, since there are <em>a lot</em> of options.

<p>Most options have two <em>names</em> -- a short name that is easy to type in,
and a longer descriptive name.
You can type in either name; they work equivalently.
Elvis always outputs the longer name when it is listing values.

<p>Each option accepts a specific <em>type</em> of value.
The most common types are <strong>boolean, number, string,</strong> and
<strong>one-of,</strong> but some options have weird types.

<p><a name="GRP"></a>Each option serves as an attribute of something.
The <em>group</em> of an option designates what it is an attribute of.
For example, the "filename" option is an attribute of buffers; when you
switch to a different buffer, it will have a different value for the
"filename" option.
Other options are attributes of windows, or display modes, etc.
Here's a complete list:
<pre graphic>
.---------.-------------------------------------------------------.
|  GROUP  |  DESCRIPTION                                          |
|---------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| buf     | Attributes of buffers                                 |
| win     | Attributes of windows                                 |
| syntax  | Attributes of the "syntax" display mode               |
| x11     | Attributes of the "x11" user interface                |
| tcap    | Attributes of the "termcap" user interface            |
| windows | Attributes of the "windows" user interface            |
| win32   | User interface attributes for the Win32 port          |
| global  | Global options                                        |
| lp      | <a href="#LPR">Printing options</a>                                      |
| user    | User variables a - z (Global, useful in ex scripts)   |
^---------^-------------------------------------------------------^
</pre>
You don't need to know an option's group to set that option.
You can output the values of all options in a group
by passing the group name followed by a question mark to the
<a href="elvisex.html#set">:set</a> command.
The following example outputs all of the attributes of the current buffer:
<pre>
:set buf?
</pre>

<h2><a name="GROUP"></a>6.1 Options, grouped by function</h2>

<menu>
    <li><a href="#FILESAVE">6.1.1 Options that relate the buffer to a file</a>
    <li><a href="#BUFFER">6.1.2 Statistics about a buffer</a>
    <li><a href="#MOVE">6.1.3 Options that affect movement commands</a>
    <li><a href="#INPUT">6.1.4 Options that affect input mode</a>
    <li><a href="#EXOPTS">6.1.5 Ex options</a>
    <li><a href="#WINDOW">6.1.6 Window statistics</a>
    <li><a href="#VIEW">6.1.7 Options affecting the appearance of text</a>
    <li><a href="#MODE">6.1.8 Options for a particular display mode</a>
    <li><a href="#MSG">6.1.9 Messages</a>
    <li><a href="#WORDS">6.1.10 Words</a>
    <li><a href="#GUI">6.1.11 Options for a particular user interface</a>
    <li><a href="#REGEXP">6.1.12 Regular expression options</a>
    <li><a href="#TAG">6.1.13 Tag options</a>
    <li><a href="#DRAW">6.1.14 Window update parameters</a>
    <li><a href="#CACHE">6.1.15 Cache options</a>
    <li><a href="#SYSTEM">6.1.16 Options that describe the system</a>
    <li><a href="#EXTERNAL">6.1.17 External programs</a>
    <li><a href="#DIR">6.1.18 Directory names</a>
    <li><a href="#INIT">6.1.19 Initialization options</a>
    <li><a href="#MAP">6.1.20 Keyboard map options</a>
    <li><a href="#LPR">6.1.21 Printing options</a>
    <li><a href="#PREVIOUS">6.1.22 Previous arguments</a>
    <li><a href="#UNSUP">6.1.23 Unsupported options</a>
    <li><a href="#USER">6.1.24 User variables</a>
</menu>

<h3><a name="FILESAVE"></a>6.1.1 Options that relate the buffer to a file</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#filename">filename, file</a>      | String  | buf    | name of file in buffer      |
| <a href="#bufname">bufname, buffer</a>     | String  | buf    | name of buffer              |
| <a href="#bufid">bufid, bufferid</a>     | Number  | buf    | ID number of user buffer    |
| <a href="#retain">retain, ret</a>         | Boolean | buf    | keep buffer in session file |
| <a href="#modified">modified, mod</a>       | Boolean | buf    | buffer differs from file    |
| <a href="#edited">edited, samename</a>    | Boolean | buf    | buffer loaded from filename |
| <a href="#newfile">newfile, new</a>        | Boolean | buf    | filename doesn't exist yet  |
| <a href="#readonly">readonly, ro</a>        | Boolean | buf    | don't overwrite filename    |
| <a href="#defaultreadonly">defaultreadonly, dro</a>| Boolean | global | assume all files readonly   |
| <a href="#locked">locked, lock</a>        | Boolean | win    | prevent any alterations     |
| <a href="#autowrite">autowrite, aw</a>       | Boolean | global | save file before switching  |
| <a href="#writeany">writeany, wa</a>        | Boolean | global | don't warn of existing file |
| <a href="#backup">backup, bk</a>          | Boolean | global | make *.bak file before write|
| <a href="#undolevels">undolevels, ul</a>      | Number  | buf    | number of undoable commands |
| <a href="#beautify">beautify, bf</a>        | Boolean | global | strip ctrl chars from files |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="filename"></a>The <em>filename</em> option stores the name of the
text file whose text was initially loaded into the buffer.
If no file name is known (e.g., for an internal buffer or a new, untitled
buffer) then this will be an empty string.
The <a href="elvisex.html#file">:file</a> command can be used to change the filename.
Also, the filename is set automatically when you write the buffer out,
if it had no filename before.

<p><a name="bufname"></a>The <em>bufname</em> option stores the name of the buffer.
Usually this will be the same as the filename, but it can be different.
Every buffer has a bufname, even if it doesn't have a filename.
The name of a buffer can be changed via the <a href="elvisex.html#buffer">:buffer</a> command.

<p><a name="bufid"></a>For user buffers, the <em>bufid</em> option stores
a unique id number for each buffer.
Anyplace where you can use the <code>(</code><var>name</var><code>)</code> notation
to specify a buffer, you can also use <code>(</code><var>n</var><code>)</code>
as an abbreviation for the buffer whose bufid=<var>n</var>.
Also, for filenames you can use <code>#</code><var>n</var> for the filename of
the buffer whose bufid=<var>n</var>.

<p><a name="retain"></a>The <em>retain</em> option indicates whether the buffer
is intended to survive past the end of this elvis process.
If this option is true and the <a href="#tempsession">tempsession</a> option is
false (":set retain notempsession") then elvis will allow you to exit even if
this buffer hasn't been saved since its last change.
When you restart the session, the buffer will still exist with all its changed
text intact.  By default, the retain option is false (":set noretain") because
that mimics traditional vi behavior.
 
<p><a name="modified"></a>The <em>modified</em> option indicates whether the
buffer has been modified since the last time it was written out completely.

<p><a name="edited"></a>The <em>edited</em> option indicates whether the
filename option has been modified since the last time it was written out.
If this option is false, elvis will be more cautious about writing the file
out.

<p><a name="newfile"></a>The <em>newfile</em> option indicates that when the buffer was created
it tried to load the file identified by the filename option, but that file
did not exist at that time.

<p><a name="readonly"></a><a name="defaultreadonly"></a>
The <em>readonly</em> option indicates that when the buffer was loaded,
the original file was marked as being unwritable.  Either that, or the
<em>defaultreadonly</em> option was set to true
(probably via the <kbd>-R</kbd> command line flag).
This option has two purposes:
it gives you a way to detect that you can't write the file out,
and it protects you from writing out a file that you meant to just look at
without modifying.

<p><a name="locked"></a>
The <em>locked</em> option prevents you from modifying the buffer.
Nearly any command which would modify the buffer will fail.
The only exceptions are "undo" commands, and commands such as
<a href="elvisex.html#edit">:e</a> which merely reload the buffer from
its original file.

<p><a name="autowrite"></a>Setting the <em>autowrite</em> option allows elvis to
automatically write the current buffer out to a file if it has been modified,
before switching to another buffer.  By default this option is off, so if you try to switch away
from a modified buffer, elvis will just give an error message and refuse to
switch until you manually write the file out.

<p><a name="writeany"></a>Elvis tries to save you from accidentally
clobbering existing files.  Setting the <em>writeany</em> option disables this
protection; elvis will allow you to overwrite any file that the operating
system will allow, without giving any warnings.

<p><a name="backup"></a>The <em>backup</em> option isn't used internally
by elvis, but the default <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.bwf">elvis.bwf</a> file
checks this flag to determine whether it should attempt to make a backup
of a file it is about to overwrite.
By default, this option is false, so backups will not be made.

<p><a name="undolevels"></a>For each buffer, the <em>undolevels</em> option
indicates the number of "undo" versions elvis will maintain.
Each undo level requires at least three blocks of the session file (typically
2K bytes each, 6K total) so you probably don't want to set this higher than
100 or so, and you probably want to keep it much lower.
The default is 0, which is a special case that mimics vi's traditional behavior.

<p><a name="beautify"></a>If the <em>beautify</em> option is true,
then whenever elvis reads text from a file or external program,
it will strip any control characters other than tab, linefeed or formfeed.
This is false by default.


<h3><a name="BUFFER"></a>6.1.2 Statistics about a buffer</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#readeol">readeol, reol</a>       | One of  | buf    | newline mode when reading   |
| <a href="#writeeol">writeeol, weol</a>      | One of  | global | newline mode when writing   |
| <a href="#bufchars">bufchars, bc</a>        | Number  | buf    | number of characters        |
| <a href="#buflines">buflines, bl</a>        | Number  | buf    | number of lines             |
| <a href="#errlines">errlines</a>            | Number  | buf    | buflines when :make was run |
| <a href="#internal">internal</a>            | Boolean | buf    | elvis requires this buffer  |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="readeol"></a>
The <em>readeol</em> option determines how elvis reads the file into a buffer.
It can be one of the following:
<ul>
<li><strong>"unix"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and any Line Feed characters in the
file are converted to newline characters in the buffer.
<li><strong>"dos"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode,  and any Carriage Return/Line Feed pairs
from the file are converted to newline characters in the buffer.
<li><strong>"mac"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and any Carriage Return characters from
the file are converted to newline characters in the buffer.
<li><strong>"text"</strong>
The file is opened in text mode, and no other conversion takes place.
<li><strong>"binary"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and no conversion takes place.
</ul>
The compiled-in default is "text", but the standard
<a href="elvisses.html#elvis.brf"> elvis.brf</a> file sets it to a
file-dependent value via the <a href="elvisexp.html#13.3">fileeol()</a>
function.

<p><a name="writeeol"></a>
The <em>writeeol</em> option influences how elvis writes buffers out to a
file.
If a buffer's <code>readeol</code> option is set to "binary", then the value of
<code>writeeol</code> is ignored for that buffer; the file will be written in binary.
Otherwise it can be one of the following to determine the output format:
<ul>
<li><strong>"unix"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and newlines are written out as Line Feed
characters.
<li><strong>"dos"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and newlines are written out as Carriage
Return-Line Feed pairs.
<li><strong>"mac"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and newlines are written out as
Carriage Return characters.
<li><strong>"text"</strong>
The file is opened in text mode, and no conversion takes place.
<li><strong>"binary"</strong>
The file is opened in binary mode, and no conversion takes place.
<li><strong>"same"</strong>
The value of the <code>readeol</code> option is used to control the output format.
</ul>
The default value is "same".
You might want to change that to some other mode to force the file to be
written in a specific format; for example, setting it to "text" will cause
a non-binary file to be written in the local text format.

<p><a name="bufchars"></a><a name="buflines"></a>
The <em>bufchars</em> and <em>buflines</em> options indicate the number of
characters and lines in the buffer, respectively. 
The buflines option works by counting newline characters; it is unaffected
by vagaries of the display mode.
These options can't be set.

<p><a name="errlines"></a>The <em>errlines</em> option is used to store the
number of lines that were in the buffer when the last
<a href="elvisex.html#make">:make</a> or <a href="elvisex.html#cc">:cc</a>
command was run.
Any difference between buflines and errlines is used to adjust the line
numbers reported in any error messages, to compensate for lines which
have been inserted or deleted since then.

<p><a name="internal"></a>The <em>internal</em> option indicates that elvis
uses the buffer internally.  Such buffers can't be deleted.

<h3><a name="MOVE"></a>6.1.3 Options that affect movement commands</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#matchchar">matchchar, mc</a>       | String  | global | characters matched by %     |
| <a href="#paragraphs">paragraphs, para</a>    | String  | buf    | nroff paragraph commands    |
| <a href="#sections">sections, sect</a>      | String  | buf    | nroff section commands      |
| <a href="#sentenceend">sentenceend, se</a>     | String  | global | punct at end of sentence    |
| <a href="#sentencequote">sentencequote, sq</a>   | String  | global | punct allowed after se      |
| <a href="#sentencegap">sentencegap, sg</a>     | Number  | global | spaces required after sq    |
| <a href="#scroll">scroll, scr</a>         | Number  | win    | scroll amount for ^D/^U     |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>
<a name="matchchar"></a>
The <em>matchchar</em> option stores a list of matching character pairs,
for use by the <a href="elvisvi.html#pct">%</a> visual command.
In each pair, the first character should be an opening parenthesis (or whatever)
and the second character should be the corresponding closing parenthesis.
If both characters are identical, then the <a href="elvisvi.html#pct">%</a>
command will try to guess whether it should search forward or backward.
The default value is <code>mc=[]{}()</code>, but you may wish to add
<code>:set mc=[]{}()&lt;&gt;\"\"</code> to your ~/.exrc (or ~/elvis.rc) file.

<p><a name="paragraphs"></a><a name="sections"></a>
The <em>paragraphs</em> option stores a list of
two-letter nroff paragraph commands.  This list is used by the
<a href="elvisvi.html#ocur">{</a>
and <a href="elvisvi.html#ccur">}</a> movement commands.
Similarly, the <em>sections</em> option stores a list
of section commands, affecting the <a href="elvisvi.html#obra">[[</a> and
<a href="elvisvi.html#cbra">]]</a> commands.
Their defaults are <code>paragraphs="PPppIPLPQP"</code> and
<code>sections="NHSHSSSEse".</code>

<p><a name="sentenceend"></a><a name="sentencequote"></a><a name="sentencegap"></a>
The <em>sentenceend, sentencequote,</em> and <em>sentencegap</em> options
all affect the <a href="elvisvi.html#open">(</a> and
<a href="elvisvi.html#close">)</a> sentence motion commands.
The sentenceend option is a list of punctuation characters which can appear
at the end of a sentence.  The sentencegap option is the number spaces that
must follow a sentenceend character in order for it to count as the end of a
sentence.  The sentencequote option is a list of punctuation characters that
can appear between the sentenceend character and the spaces.
Their defaults are <code>sentenceend="?!.", sentencequote=")\"",</code>
and <code>sentencegap=2,</code> which meets the proposed POSIX specifications.

<p><a name="scroll"></a>The <em>scroll</em> option indicates the number of
lines that the <a href="elvisvi.html#^U">^U</a> and
<a href="elvisvi.html#^D">^D</a> commands should scroll the screen by.
Its default value is 12.

<h3><a name="INPUT"></a>6.1.4 Options that affect input mode</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#autoindent">autoindent, ai</a>      | Boolean | buf    | auto-indent new text        |
| <a href="#inputtab">inputtab, itab</a>      | One-Of  | buf    | input mode's (Tab) key      |
| <a href="#autotab">autotab, at</a>         | Boolean | buf    | allow autoindent to use '\t'|
| <a href="#tabstop">tabstop, ts</a>         | Number  | buf    | width of tabstop columns    |
| <a href="#shiftwidth">shiftwidth, sw</a>      | Number  | buf    | width used by &lt; and &gt;       |
| <a href="#textwidth">textwidth, tw</a>       | Number  | buf    | width for word-wrap, or 0   |
| <a href="#wrapmargin">wrapmargin, wm</a>      | (weird) | win    | set textwidth from right    |
| <a href="#digraph">digraph, dig</a>        | Boolean | global | allow X-backspace-Y entry   |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="autoindent"></a>Setting the <em>autoindent</em> option causes elvis
to automatically insert whitespace at the start of each line, to make it line
up with the preceding line.
This is convenient when you're editing C source code.
It is off by default.

<p><a name="inputtab"></a>The <em>inputtab</em> option controls the behavior
of the <kbd>Tab</kbd> key.  It can be set to one of the following values:
<ul>
<li><strong>tab</strong> - insert an actual tab character.  This is the
    traditional vi behavior, and the default for user buffers.
<li><strong>spaces</strong> - insert enough space characters to look like a
    tab character.
<li><strong>filename</strong> - attempt filename completion on the preceding
    word.  This is the default when entering ex commands.
</ul>

<p><a name="autotab"></a>The <em>autotab</em> option affects the behavior of
the <a href="elvisvi.html#lt">&lt;</a> and <a href="elvisvi.html#gt">&gt;</a>
operator commands, and the <kbd>^D</kbd> and <kbd>^T</kbd> input mode
keystrokes.
If autotab is true then elvis will include tab characters in the indentation
whitespace;
if it is false then the indentation whitespace will consist entirely of space
characters.
By default, it is true.

<p>Note that if you start with a buffer which contains no tabs, and do a
"<code>:set inputtab=spaces noautotab</code>" then no amount of editing will
result in the buffer containing tabs... unless you get tricky with
<kbd>^V</kbd> or something.

<p><a name="tabstop"></a>The <em>tabstop</em> option affects the way tab
characters are displayed, by specifying how far apart the tab stops should
be located.
When elvis displays a file with tabs,
it displays the tabs as a variable number of spaces.
You should probably leave this option at its default value (8) since
changing this will make your file look strange in any other context.
If you want to use indentation levels of less than 8 characters,
you're better off changing shiftwidth.

<p><a name="shiftwidth"></a>The <em>shiftwidth</em> option indicates how far
left or right the <a href="elvisvi.html#lt">&lt;</a> and
<a href="elvisvi.html#gt">&gt;</a> operator commands
(and the <kbd>^D</kbd> and <kbd>^T</kbd> input mode keystrokes)
should shift the line of text.
This is used for adjusting the indentation of lines.

<p><a name="textwidth"></a>When editing a text file in "normal" display mode,
the <em>textwidth</em> option can be used to cause word-wrap to occur when a
line gets too long.
The default value of textwidth is 0, which disables automatic word-wrap.
Setting it to any larger value causes word-wrap to occur when text is inserted
into a line, causing that line to become wider than textwidth columns.
(Note that this has nothing to do with the display formatting of the "html"
and "man" display modes.)

<p><a name="wrapmargin"></a>The <em>wrapmargin</em> option is provided for
backwards compatibility.
It allows you to set the textwidth relative to the right edge of the window,
instead of the left edge.
This option's value is actually derived from the textwidth option's value
and the window's width,
so if you resize a window this option's value will appear to change to
correspond to the new width; textwidth will not change.

<p><a name="digraph"></a>Digraphs allow you to enter non-ASCII characters as
a combination of two ASCII characters.
There are two ways to enter digraphs:
<kbd>^K&nbsp;X&nbsp;Y</kbd> and <kbd>X&nbsp;backspace&nbsp;Y</kbd>.
The second form can cause some confusion if you're not expecting it, so the
<em>digraph</em> option was created as a way to disable that second form.
The first form of digraphs is always available.
This option is false by default, to avoid the confusion.

<h3><a name="EXOPTS"></a>6.1.5 Ex options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#prompt">prompt</a>              | Boolean | global | issue ":" prompt in ex mode |
| <a href="#autoprint">autoprint, ap</a>       | Boolean | global | print current line in ex    |
| <a href="#report">report</a>              | Number  | global | minimum # lines to report   |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="prompt"></a>The <em>prompt</em> option controls whether a ":" prompt
is issued before reading each command line in EX mode.
It is true by default, and should usually be left that way.

<p><a name="autoprint"></a>The <em>autoprint</em> option causes elvis to
display the current line of the edit buffer in certain circumstances,
while you're in EX mode.
It is true by default.

<p><a name="report"></a>The <em>report</em> option determines the minimum
number of lines that must change in a file, before elvis will bother to
display a count of the changed lines.
As a special case, if <code>report=0</code> then it won't report any changes,
or failed <a href="elvisex.html#:substitute">:s/old/new/</a> commands.
Its default value is 5, so small changes won't be reported but big ones will.

<h3><a name="WINDOW"></a>6.1.6 Window statistics</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#windowid">windowid, id</a>        | Number  | win    | ID number of current window |
| <a href="#columns">columns, cols</a>       | Number  | win    | width of window             |
| <a href="#lines">lines, rows</a>         | Number  | win    | height of window            |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="windowid"></a>The <em>windowid</em> option stores the ID number of
the current window.
These window IDs are listed by the <a href="elvisex.html#buffer">:buffer</a>
command.
Some GUIs may also display the window ID as part of the window's title.
This value is set to a unique value automatically when the window is
created.
You can't change it.

<p><a name="columns"></a><a name="lines"></a>The <em>columns</em> and
<em>lines</em> options indicate the size of the window.

<h3><a name="VIEW"></a>6.1.7 Options affecting the appearance of text</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#list">list, li</a>            | Boolean | win    | show markups, newlines, etc.|
| <a href="#showmarkups">showmarkups, smu</a>    | Boolean | global | show markup at cursor       |
| <a href="#bufdisplay">bufdisplay, bd</a>      | String  | buf    | default display mode        |
| <a href="#display">display, mode</a>       | String  | win    | name of current display mode|
| <a href="#number">number, nu</a>          | Boolean | win    | display line numbers        |
| <a href="#ruler">ruler, ru</a>           | Boolean | win    | display cursor's line/column|
| <a href="#showcmd">showcmd, sc</a>         | Boolean | win    | display command characters  |
| <a href="#showmatch">showmatch, sm</a>       | Boolean | win    | highlight matching parens   |
| <a href="#showmode">showmode, smd</a>       | Boolean | win    | display the command state   |
| <a href="#showname">showname, snm</a>       | Boolean | global | display the buffer name     |
| <a href="#showtag">showtag, st</a>         | Boolean | global | display tag on status line  |
| <a href="#nonascii">nonascii, asc</a>       | One-Of  | global | how to display non-ascii    |
| <a href="#showstack">showstack, sstk</a>     | Boolean | win    | display some debugging info |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="list"></a>In the "normal" or "c" display modes, the <em>list</em>
option causes tab characters to be shown as ^I instead of being expanded to
the appropriate amount of whitespace, and it causes the end of each line to
be marked with a $ character.
In "html" or "man" mode, it causes all of the markups to be displayed.

<p><a name="showmarkups"></a>In "html" or "man" mode, the <em>showmarkups</em>
option causes the markup at the cursor to be displayed, but leaves other markups
hidden.
It has no effect in other display modes.
This option is off by default, so markups won't suddenly become visible as
you move the cursor around.

<p><a name="bufdisplay"></a>Each buffer has a <em>bufdisplay</em> option,
which indicates that buffer's preferred display mode.
Whenever a window starts to show a buffer, it switches its display mode
to that buffer's bufdisplay mode.
You should set bufdisplay to the name of a supported display mode:
<b>normal, syntax, html, man, tex,</b> or <b>hex.</b>
The compiled-in default is <b>normal</b> but the standard
<a href="elvisses.html#elvis.arf">elvis.arf</a> file tries to choose a
more clever default, based on the extension of the buffer's filename.

<p><a name="display"></a>The <em>display</em> option indicates which display
mode the window is currently in.
You can't set this option directly;
you must use the <a href="elvisex.html#display">:display</a> command instead.

<p><a name="number"></a>The <em>number</em> option causes a line number to
be prepended to the start of each line.  The line numbers are defined as
"one plus the number of newlines preceding the start of the line," which is
not necessarily how the current display mode defines lines.
Consequently, the line numbers may not increment by 1 every time.
These line numbers <em>do</em> correspond to the ruler and the visual
<a href="elvisvi.html#G">G</a> command, though.
This option is false by default.

<p><a name="ruler"></a>The <em>ruler</em> option causes the current line
number and column number to be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
This uses the same definition of "line number" as the number option, above.
This option is false by default.

<p><a name="showcmd"></a>
When entering multi-character commands, the <em>showcmd</em> option
causes the preceding characters of the command to be displayed at the
bottom of the window.

<p><a name="showmatch"></a>The <em>showmatch</em> option helps you locate
matching parentheses.
When you're in input mode, and you type a <kbd>), ],</kbd> or <kbd>}</kbd>
character, elvis will cause the matching <kbd>(, [,</kbd> or <kbd>{</kbd>
character to be highlighted on the screen.
This option is false by default.

<p><a name="showmode"></a>The <em>showmode</em> option causes elvis to
display a one-word label for its current parse state in the lower right-hand
corner of the window.
Usually, this will be either "Command" or "Input".
This option is false by default, but I suggest you make it true because it
really is handy.

<p><a name="showname"></a>
The <em>showname</em> option causes elvis to display the buffer name on the
bottom row of each window, unless it has something else to show there such
as an error message.

<p><a name="showtag"></a>
The <em>showtag</em> option causes elvis to display (on the bottom row of
each window) the name of the tag being defined at the cursor's position.
Usually, this means it tells you the name of the function you're editing.
When this option is true, each time you load a text file into an edit buffer
elvis will scan the "tags" file for any tags which are defined in the text file.
Elvis builds a table of those tags, and stores it in RAM for the sake of speed.
Then, each time the window is updated, elvis will compare the cursor position
to the definition lines of each tag, and display the name of the last tag it
found which is defined at or before the cursor position.
By default, this option is false because the tag loading is slow, and because
this code is still rather experimental.

<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> The MS-DOS version of elvis is normally configured to
omit the <code>showtag</code> option, because memory is tight in the lower 640K.

<p><a name="nonascii"></a>The <em>nonascii</em> option tells elvis how to
display characters 0x80 through 0xff.
It can have one of the following values:
<pre graphic>
	.-------.------------------------------------------------.
	| VALUE | MEANING                                        |
	|-------|------------------------------------------------|
	| all   | All characters 0x80-0xff are visible           |
	| most  | Chars 0xa0-0xff are visible, but not 0x80-0x9f |
	| none  | Chars 0x80-0xff are not visible                |
	| strip | Convert 0xa0-0xfe to ASCII; others not visible |
	^-------^------------------------------------------------^
</pre>
Any characters which aren't visible will be displayed as '.' characters.
Note that this only affects the way the characters are displayed;
they are actually stored with their true 8-bit value.
The default value of <code>nonascii</code> is "most", because that is the correct
value for the Latin-1 symbol set.

<p><a name="showstack"></a>The <em>showstack</em> option causes some
debugging output to appear on the bottom row of the window.
It is false by default, and you should leave it that way.

<h3><a name="MODE"></a>6.1.8 Options for a particular display mode</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#commentfont">commentfont, cfont</a>  | One-Of  | syntax | font used for comments      |
| <a href="#stringfont">stringfont, sfont</a>   | One-Of  | syntax | font used for strings       |
| <a href="#keywordfont">keywordfont, kfont</a>  | One-Of  | syntax | font used for reserved words|
| <a href="#functionfont">functionfont, ffont</a> | One-Of  | syntax | font used for function names|
| <a href="#variablefont">variablefont, vfont</a> | One-Of  | syntax | font used for variables     |
| <a href="#prepfont">prepfont, pfont</a>     | One-Of  | syntax | font used for preprocessor  |
| <a href="#otherfont">otherfont, ofont</a>    | One-Of  | syntax | font used for other symbols |
| <a href="#includepath">includepath, inc</a>    | String  | syntax | where to find #include files|
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="commentfont"></a>
<a name="stringfont"></a>
<a name="keywordfont"></a>
<a name="functionfont"></a>
<a name="variablefont"></a>
<a name="prepfont"></a>
<a name="otherfont"></a>
In the <a href="elvisdm.html#syntax">syntax</a> display mode, the
<em>commentfont, stringfont, keywordfont, functionfont, variablefont,
prepfont</em> and <em>otherfont</em> options specify which font is to be
used for different parts of the source code.
Each option can be set to <strong>normal, bold, emphasized, italic,
underlined,</strong> or <strong>fixed.</strong>
The prepfont is used for preprocessor directives.
The keywordfont is used for reserved words such as "int" and "return".
The functionfont is used for any other word which is followed by an
opening parenthesis character.
The otherfont is used for any other word which matches some language-dependent
criteria; for C, the word must either contain no lowercase letters
or end with a "_t" (probably a constant or a user-defined type).
The variablefont is used for all other words.
Punctuation is always in the normal font; you can't control that.

<p>You can set these variables during initialization, in the .exrc or elvis.rc
file.
After that, your window must actually be in the "syntax" mode for these to
be accessible.

<p>As a separate step, some user interfaces allow you to specify a color to be
used for each font, via the <a href="elvisex.html#color">:color</a> command.

<p><a name="includepath"></a>
The <em>includepath</em> option contains a list of directory names where
elvis should look for #include files.
When you look up a tag whose name begins with a quote character, elvis searches
through those directories for a file with the same name as the tag (with the
quotes stripped off).
This means that you can move the cursor onto a #include file name,
hit <a href="elvisvi.html#^cbra">^]</a>, and have elvis load the indicated
header file.

<h3><a name="MSG"></a>6.1.9 Messages</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#terse">terse, te</a>           | Boolean | global | don't translate messages    |
| <a href="#verbose">verbose</a>             | Numeric | global | give more status messages   |
| <a href="#errorbells">errorbells, eb</a>      | Boolean | global | ring bell for error message |
| <a href="#warningbells">warningbells, wb</a>    | Boolean | global | ring bell for warning msg   |
| <a href="#flash">flash, vbell</a>        | Boolean | global | substitute flash for bell   |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="terse"></a>The <em>terse</em> option indicates whether elvis should
attempt to translate messages via the
<a href="elvismsg.html#elvis.msg">elvis.msg</a> file.
If terse is true, then no such translation takes place; the built-in messages
are used.
If terse is false, then elvis will search through the file (actually the
"Elvis messages" buffer) for a line which looks like
"<var>terse</var>:<var>verbose</var>" and if found it'll use the verbose
version instead.  
By default, terse is false.

<p><a name="verbose"></a>The <em>verbose</em> option has nothing to do with
the terse option.
Instead, it indicates the number of <strong>-V</strong> flags given when elvis
was invoked.
Larger values indicate that the user wants more status messages to be generated.
This is handy when elvis isn't initializing itself the way you expected it to;
elvis' initialization code frequently tests the value of <code>verbose</code>
and automatically writes status messages when <code>verbose</code> is set to
a high enough level.

<p><a name="errorbells"></a><a name="warningbells"></a>
The <em>errorbells</em> and <em>warningbells</em> options cause the
terminal's bell to ring when an error message or warning message is generated,
respectively.
By default the errorbells option is true, and the warningbells option is
false.

<p><a name="flash"></a>Setting the <em>flash</em> option causes elvis to use a
visible alternative to the bell, if one exists.
This is nice in a crowded terminal room.
By default this option is false.

<h3><a name="WORDS"></a>6.1.10 Words</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#true">true, True</a>          | String  | global | locale's True value         |
| <a href="#false">false, False</a>        | String  | global | locale's False value        |
| <a href="#submit">submit, Submit</a>      | String  | x11    | locale's Submit label       |
| <a href="#cancel">cancel, Cancel</a>      | String  | x11    | locale's Cancel label       |
| <a href="#help">help, Help</a>          | String  | x11    | locale's Help label         |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

These options store words, which are translated via the
<a href="elvismsg.html#elvis.msg">elvis.msg</a> file when elvis starts up.
The default versions of all of them are their capitalized English names.

<p><a name="true"></a><a name="false"></a>
The <em>true</em> and <em>false</em> options exist primarily to allow the
english words <strong>true</strong> and <strong>false</strong> to be used
in expressions to represent Boolean literals.  Also, the value of
<code>false</code> is used as an alternative false string, in addition
to "", "0", or "false".  (In a Boolean context, any string that isn't false
is considered to be true, so elvis never compares a string to the
<code>true</code> option's value.)  A Boolean option will return the value
of either the <code>true</code> or <code>false</code> option, as appropriate.

<p><a name="submit"></a><a name="cancel"></a>
If you're using the "x11" user interface, then values of the <em>submit</em>
and <em>cancel</em> options are used as the labels for the [Submit] and [Cancel]
buttons in a dialog.  Also, if the dialog contains any Boolean options, the
value will be displayed using values of the <code>true</code> and
<code>false</code> options.

<p><a name="help"></a>
Currently the <em>help</em> option does nothing.  Eventually I expect to add
pull-down menus to the "x11" interface, though, and in Motif menu bars
the "Help" menu traditionally appears on the far right edge.  The value of
the <code>help</code> option will allow elvis to recognize the "Help" menu.

<h3><a name="GUI"></a>6.1.10 Options for a particular user interface</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#term">term, ttytype</a>       | String  | tcap   | terminal's termcap entry    |
| <a href="#ttyrows">ttyrows, ttylines</a>   | Number  | tcap   | height of screen            |
| <a href="#ttycolumns">ttycolumns, ttycols</a> | Number  | tcap   | width of screen             |
| <a href="#ttyunderline">ttyunderline, ttyu</a>  | Boolean | tcap   | okay to mix color &amp; underln |
| <a href="#codepage">codepage, cp</a>        | Number  | win32  | console character set       |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#scrollbar">scrollbar, sb</a>       | Boolean | windows| enable the scrollbar        |
| <a href="#toolbar">toolbar, tb</a>         | Boolean | windows| enable the toolbar          |
| <a href="#font">font, fnt</a>           | String  | windows| base font                   |
| <a href="#normalstyle">normalstyle, nfn</a>    | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#boldstyle">boldstyle, bfn</a>      | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#italicstyle">italicstyle, ifn</a>    | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#fixedstyle">fixedstyle, ffn</a>     | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#emphasizedstyle">emphasizedstyle, efn</a>| String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#underlinedstyle">underlinedstyle, nfn</a>| String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#normalfont">normalfont, xfn</a>     | String  | x11    | name of normal font         |
| <a href="#boldfont">boldfont, xfb</a>       | String  | x11    | name of bold font           |
| <a href="#italicfont">italicfont, xfi</a>     | String  | x11    | name of italic font         |
| <a href="#controlfont">controlfont, xfc</a>    | String  | x11    | name of toolbar font        |
| <a href="#underline">underline, uln</a>      | Boolean | x11    | enables underlining         |
| <a href="#toolbar">toolbar, xtb</a>        | Boolean | x11    | enables the toolbar         |
| <a href="#statusbar">statusbar, xstat</a>    | Boolean | x11    | enables the statusbar       |
| <a href="#xscrollbar">xscrollbar, xsb</a>     | One of  | x11    | enable scrollbar on side    |
| <a href="#scrollbarwidth">scrollbarwidth, xsw</a> | Number  | x11    | size of scrollbar, in pixels|
| <a href="#scrollbartime">scrollbartime, xst</a>  | Number  | x11    | delay for scrollbar repeat  |
| <a href="#dblclicktime">dblclicktime, xdct</a>  | Number  | x11    | double-click speed, 1/10 Sec|
| <a href="#blinktime">blinktime, xbt</a>      | Number  | x11    | cursor blink rate, 1/10 Sec |
| <a href="#textcursor">textcursor, tc</a>      | Number  | x11    | one of hollow, opaque, xor  |
| <a href="#xrows">xrows, xlines</a>       | Number  | x11    | height of new windows       |
| <a href="#xcolumns">xcolumns, xcols</a>     | Number  | x11    | width of new windows        |
| <a href="#firstx">firstx, xpos</a>        | Number  | x11    | horiz. position of first win|
| <a href="#firsty">firsty, ypos</a>        | Number  | x11    | vert. position of first win |
| <a href="#stagger">stagger</a>             | Number  | x11    | offset for next new window  |
| <a href="#icon">icon</a>                | Boolean | x11    | use the built-in icon?      |
| <a href="#stopshell">stopshell, ssh</a>      | String  | x11    | interactive shell command   |
| <a href="#autoiconify">autoiconify, aic</a>    | Boolean | x11    | iconify old window          |
| <a href="#altkey">altkey, metakey</a>     | One of  | x11    | effect of the Alt key       |
| <a href="#focusnew">focusnew, fn</a>        | Boolean | x11    | force focus into new window |
| <a href="#warpto">warpto, wt</a>          | One of  | x11    | ^W^W forces pointer movement|
| <a href="#warpback">warpback, xwb</a>       | Boolean | x11    | upon exit, point to xterm   |
| <a href="#outlinemono">outlinemono, om</a>     | Number  | x11    | char outlining for X11-mono |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<h4>6.1.10.1 Termcap options</h4>
<p><a name="term"></a><a name="ttyrows"></a><a name="ttycolumns"></a>
<a name="ttyunderline"></a>
The <em>term, ttyrows, ttycolumns,</em> and <em>ttyunderline</em> options
are only present if you're using the <b>termcap</b> user interface.
They indicate the name of the termcap entry being used (normally taken
from the TERM environment variable), the size of the screen, and whether
it is safe to try underlining text when colors have been assigned to fonts.
The ttyunderline option is true by default, but it should be made false
on the Linux console, because the console driver has a bug which prevents
underlined text from being shown in color.

<p><a name="codepage"></a>
The <em>codepage</em> option only exists in the Win32  version with the
termcap interface
(WindowsNT or Windows95, in console mode).
It indicates which code page (character map) the console is using.
Its value is persistent; if you change it in elvis, the console will
remain changed even after you exit elvis.
Changing the code page has no effect on the
<a href="elvisinp.html#DIG">digraph table,</a>
or elvis' idea of which <a href="#nonascii">non-ASCII</a> characters are
printable or should be treated as letters;
it only reconfigures the console driver.
Typical values are 437 for the standard IBM PC character set,
and 850 for extra European characters.

<h4>6.1.10.2 Windows options</h4>
<p><a name="scrollbar"></a>
<a name="toolbar"></a>
The <em>scrollbar</em> and <em>toolbar</em> options indicate whether the
scrollbar and toolbar should be visible, respectively.  By default, both
are visible.

<p><a name="font"></a>
The <em>font</em> option stores the name of the base font.
The easiest way to set it is via the "Options-&gt;Font" menu item.

<p><a name="normalstyle"></a>
<a name="boldstyle"></a>
<a name="italicstyle"></a>
<a name="fixedstyle"></a>
<a name="emphasizedstyle"></a>
<a name="underlinedstyle"></a>
The <em>normalstyle</em>, <em>boldstyle</em>, <em>italicstyle</em>,
<em>fixedstyle</em>, <em>emphasizedstyle</em>, and <em>underlinedstyle</em>
options determine how elvis will derive each of its fonts from the base font.
The values of these options are strings.  If the string is "n" then the
base font is used unmodified.  Other possibilities are any combination of
"b" for bold, "i" for italic (slanted), and "u" for underlined.  For example,
"<code>:set ufn=bu</code>" causes elvis' underlined font to be drawn
in bold with an underline.


<h4>6.1.10.3 X11 options</h4>
<p><a name="normalfont"></a><a name="boldfont"></a><a name="italicfont"></a>
The other options all apply to the <b>x11</b> interface.
The <em>normalfont, boldfont,</em> and <em>italicfont</em> options
control the X fonts used for displaying text.
Typically, the <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a>
or ".exrc" file will set these.
If you do choose to set them in one of these files, be sure to have your
initialization script check which interface is being used because
if elvis is using the termcap interface then these x11 options won't exist.
These options all default to an empty string;
this is a special case which causes elvis to use the "fixed" font for normal
text, and to derive the bold and italic fonts from the normal font.

<p><a name="controlfont"></a>
The <em>controlfont</em> option determines which font is used for displaying
the labels of toolbar buttons, and also the statusbar.
Unlike the other fonts, this one is permitted to have a variable pitch.
If it is unset, then elvis will use the font named "variable" by default.

<p><a name="underline"></a>
The <em>underline</em> option determines whether characters in the "underlined"
font should be displayed as underlined.  Normally, underline is true, so they
are underlined.  Setting nounderline will cause them to be displayed as normal
characters, but in the color of underlined text.

<p><a name="toolbar"></a>
The <em>toolbar</em> option controls whether the toolbar is visible or not.
It is normally true, which makes the toolbar visible.
The toolbar can be configured via the <a href="elvisex.html#gui">:gui</a>
command.

<p><a name="statusbar"></a>
The <em>statusbar</em> option controls the visibility of the statusbar.
It is true by default, which makes the statusbar is visible.
The statusbar always displays the information which would otherwise be shown
on the bottom row of the text area only when the <a href="#ruler">ruler</a> and
<a href="#showmode">showmode</a> options were true.
When you press a toolbar button, the button's one-line description is shown
on the statusbar.

<p><a name="xscrollbar"></a>
The <em>xscrollbar</em> option can be set to <strong>left</strong> or
<strong>right</strong> to enable the scrollbar on one side or the other of
the window, or to <strong>none</strong> to disable the scrollbar.
The default is <strong>right</strong>.

<p><a name="scrollbarwidth"></a>
The <em>scrollbarwidth</em> option controls the size of the x11 scrollbar.
The default value is 14 pixels, and the allowed range is 5 to 40 pixels.

<p><a name="scrollbartime"></a>
The scrollbar buttons automatically repeat if you hold a mouse button down
<em>scrollbartime</em> tenths of a second.
The default is 4 tenths of a second.

<p><a name="dblclicktime"></a>
The <em>dblclicktime</em> option allows you to adjust the speed of mouse
double-clicks to match your own clicking habits.
The default is 3 tenths of a second.

<p><a name="blinktime"></a>
The <em>blinktime</em> option controls the cursor blink rate.
If set to 0, the cursor will not blink.
If set to a value from 1 to 10, then the cursor will first be visible for
that many tenths of a second, and then invisible for the same amount of time.
The cursor will only blink in the window which currently has keyboard focus.

<p><a name="textcursor"></a>
The <em>textcursor</em> option controls the way the block text cursor is drawn.
It can be <strong>xor, hollow,</strong> or <strong>opaque.</strong>
The default is <strong>xor</strong>, which causes the cursor to be drawn as
a filled rectangle with the XOR bitblt function.
This converts the background color to the cursor color, and the foreground
color to an unpredictable color; hopefully the foreground color will contrast
with the cursor color well enough to allow you to discern what the underlying
character is.
The <strong>hollow</strong> cursor style causes the cursor to be drawn as
an unfilled rectangle.
This allows you to easily see the underlying character, and detect whether it
is highlighted or not.
The <strong>opaque</strong> cursor style draws a filled rectangle, which is
easier to locate but you can only see the underlying character between blinks.

<p><a name="xrows"></a><a name="xcolumns"></a>
The <em>xrows</em> and <em>xcolumns</em> options control the
initial size of windows.
They default to 34 and 80, respectively, and can also be set via the
<b>-geometry</b> command-line flag.
After a window has been created, you can use your window manager to
resize the window.

<p><a name="firstx"></a><a name="firsty"></a><a name="stagger"></a>
The <em>firstx</em> and <em>firsty</em> options, if set, control the position
of the first window that elvis creates.
If they are unset, then elvis doesn't specify a position for the window.
The <b>-geometry</b> command-line flag can be used to set these options.
After the first window has been created, if the <em>stagger</em> option is
set to a non-zero value then any new windows are created that many pixels
down and to the right of the current window.  If <em>stagger</em> is zero,
then elvis won't specify a position for the new windows, so the window manager
can choose the location itself.

<p><a name="icon"></a>
The <em>icon</em> option can only be set in an initialization file
such as <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a> or ".exrc";
once the first window has been created it is too late to change it.
This option controls whether the window will be given the default, built-in
icon.
It is true by default, so windows will get the icon.
This is usually a good thing.
Some window managers don't allow you to override built-in icons, though,
so if you want your window manager to use a different icon for elvis then
you'll need to have a "set noicon" in your
<a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a> file.

<p><a name="stopshell"></a>
The <em>stopshell</em> option stores a command which runs an interactive
shell.
It is used for the <a href="elvisex.html#shell">:shell</a> and
<a href="elvisex.html#stop">:stop</a> ex commands, and the
<a href="elvisvi.html#^Z">^Z</a> visual command.
Normally, this is set to "xterm &amp;" so you get a shell in a window.
The "&amp;" at the end of the command allows elvis to continue responding to
user input while the shell is running.

<p><a name="autoiconify"></a>
When the <a href="elvisvi.html#^W">^W^W</a> visual command switches keyboard
control to an X11 window which as been iconified, elvis automatically
deiconifies it.
When it does this, if the <em>autoiconify</em> option is set then elvis
will iconify the previous window, so the number of iconified elvis windows
remains constant.
By default, this option is false.
Regardless of whether autoiconify is set, you can always use your window
manager to iconify or deiconify windows manually.

<p><a name="altkey"></a>
The <em>altkey</em> option controls the effect of the <kbd>Alt</kbd> or
<kbd>Meta</kbd> keys.
It can be set to either <b>control-O, setbit,</b> or <b>ignore.</b>
The <strong>ignore</strong> value is self explanatory.
If the option is set to <strong>control-O</strong> then the x11 interface will
simulate a <kbd>^O</kbd> keystroke before each actual keystroke.
This is handy because if you're in input mode you can just hold down
<kbd>Alt</kbd>/<kbd>Meta</kbd> to perform a series of visual commands.
If the option is set to <strong>setbit</strong> then the x11 interface will
set the most significant bit of each ASCII character while the
<kbd>Alt</kbd>/<kbd>Meta</kbd> key is held down.
Some other programs use this trick as a means of entering non-ASCII
characters.
(Elvis has a better way though;
check out the <a href="elvisex.html#digraph">:digraph</a> command.)
The default is <strong>setbit.</strong>

<p><a name="focusnew"></a>
The <em>focusnew</em> option causes elvis to force input focus to switch to
any newly created window, or to one which has been deiconified.
It is true by default; making it false ("<code>:set nofocusnew</code>") prevents
elvis from forcing a change of input focus in those two situations.
Note that elvis always forces a change of input focus when you give a command
which switches windows, such as <a href="elvisvi.html#^W^W">^W^W</a>.

<p><a name="warpto"></a>
The <em>warpto</em> option can cause elvis to force the mouse pointer
to move whenever you use keyboard commands such as <a href="elvisvi.html#^W^W">^W^W</a>
to switch from one elvis window to another.
There are two reasons you may wish to do this:
either your window manager requires the pointer to be in a window for that
window to receive keystrokes,
or you want to have your X server automatically pan the screen to
bring the next window into view.

<p>You can set the warpto option to any one of the following values:
<strong>don't, scrollbar, origin,</strong> or <strong>corners.</strong>
The default is <strong>don't</strong> which prevents any automatic pointer
movement.
The <strong>scrollbar</strong> value causes the pointer to move to the
scrollbar, and <strong>origin</strong> moves it to the upper-left corner.
The <strong>corners</strong> value causes the pointer to move first to the
corner furthest from the window's text cursor, and then to the nearest corner;
this will cause the X server to pan (if necessary) to bring the entire window
into view.

<p><a name="warpback"></a>
The <em>warpback</em> option, if set, causes the X terminal's graphic cursor
to be moved back to the window which held keyboard focus at the time when elvis
was started.
Usually this will be the xterm where you typed in the "elvis files..." command
line.
Just as the <code>firstx, firsty,</code> and <code>stagger</code> options are intended
to allow mouseless positioning of elvis windows, the <code>warpback</code> option
is intended to serve as a mouseless way to switch keyboard focus back to the
original xterm, so that mouse haters will find elvis' x11 interface as
convenient to use as the termcap interface.
By default, <code>warpback</code> is false.

<p><a name="outlinemono"></a>
The <em>outlinemono</em> option affects the way that text is drawn against
a stippled background when elvis is run on monochrome X terminals
(or with the -mono command-line flag).  It has no effect on color systems.
Because characters drawn on a stippled background can be hard to read,
elvis can draw a white outline around the black characters.  The value of
<code>outlinemono</code> is a number that indicates how thick the outline
should be.  3 is the thickest supported outline, and 0 is no outline at all.
The default is 2.

<h3><a name="REGEXP"></a>6.1.11 Regular expression options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#ignorecase">ignorecase, ic</a>      | Boolean | global | regexp uppercase=lowercase  |
| <a href="#magic">magic, ma</a>           | Boolean | global | use normal regexp syntax    |
| <a href="#autoselect">autoselect, as</a>      | Boolean | global | visibly mark searched text  |
| <a href="#wrapscan">wrapscan, ws</a>        | Boolean | global | searching wraps at EOF&lt;-&gt;BOF|
| <a href="#gdefault">gdefault, gd</a>        | Boolean | global | default change all instances|
| <a href="#edcompatible">edcompatible, ed</a>    | Boolean | global | remember regsub flags       |
| <a href="#saveregexp">saveregexp, sre</a>     | Boolean | global | remember regexp to use as //|
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="ignorecase"></a>Setting the <em>ignorecase</em> option to true will
cause elvis to treat uppercase and lowercase letters as being equal, except
in <a href="elvisre.html#charlist">character list</a> metacharacters.
When ignorecase is false (the default), they are treated as different.

<p><a name="magic"></a>The <em>magic</em> option selects one of two different
syntaxes for regular expressions.
When magic is true, it uses the normal
syntax in which * and . are special characters. 
When magic is false, it uses a simplified syntax.

<p><a name="autoselect"></a>The <em>autoselect</em> option, when true, causes
a successful visual search command such as <a href="elvisvi.html#slash">/regexp</a>
to visibly mark the matching text just like the <a href="elvisvi.html#v">v</a>
command does.
This is intended to compensate for elvis 2.1's lack of a "c" option in the
<a href="elvisex.html#substitute">:s/old/new/</a> command.
By default, autoselect is false.

<p><a name="wrapscan"></a>The <em>wrapscan</em> option determines what
happens when a search command bumps into the top or bottom of a buffer.
If wrapscan is true, then the search will wrap around to the other end of the
buffer, so if there's a match anywhere in the buffer, the search will find it.
If wrapscan is false, then searches fail when they hit the end of the buffer.
By default, wrapscan is true.

<p><a name="gdefault"></a>
The <em>gdefault</em> option affects the default behavior of the
<a href="elvisex.html#substitute">:s/old/new/</a> command.
It is false by default, which causes <code>:s/old/new/</code> to assume a count of 1 so only
the first instance in each line is changed.
Making gdefault true will cause it change all instances in each line,
as though the &quot;g&quot flag had been given.
If you give an explicit count or &quot;g&quot; flag, then the value of
gdefault is ignored.
<p><a name="edcompatible"></a>The <em>edcompatible</em> option causes
elvis to remember any flags that are passed into the <a href="elvisex.html#substitute">:s/old/new/flags</a> command, and use them as the default for the next
such command.
Explicitly naming a flag will toggle that flag's value.
This is <em>not</em> the way the old <code>ed</code> editor worked,
but this option's name and behavior are traditional in vi.
This option is false by default.

<p><a name="saveregexp"></a>
The <em>saveregexp</em> option is normally true, which causes elvis to remember
each regular expression.  If, in a latter command, you give an empty regular
expression, then elvis will recall the saved regular expression instead.  This
also affects the <a href="elvisvi.html#n">n</a> and
<a href="elvisvi.html#N">N</a> commands.  You may wish to turn this option off
temporarily in a the <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.arf">lib/elvis.arf</a> file
if you're using any regular expressions there, so that loading a file doesn't
interfere with <code>n</code> and <code>N</code>.

<h3><a name="TAG"></a>6.1.12 Tag options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#taglength">taglength, tl</a>       | Number  | global | significant length of tags  |
| <a href="#tags">tags, tagpath</a>       | String  | global | list of possible tag files  |
| <a href="#tagstack">tagstack, tsk</a>       | Boolean | global | remember origin of tag srch |
| <a href="#tagprg">tagprg, tp</a>          | String  | global | external tag search program |
| <a href="#tagprgonce">tagprgonce, tpo</a>     | String  | global | like tagprg, but auto-resets|
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

These options control how elvis performs tag lookup, as for the
<a href="elvisex.html#tag">:tag</a> ex command or the
<a href="elvisvi.html#^]">^]</a> visual command.
You should also check out the <a href="#previoustag">previoustag</a> and
<a href="#showtag">showtag</a> options.

<p><a name="taglength"></a>The <em>taglength</em> option defines how many
characters are significant in a tag name.
By default this option is set to 0, which is a special value indicating that
all characters are significant.
If you have a lot of long names, you might want to set this to some other
value so that you could type in abbreviated names.

<p><a name="tags"></a>The <em>tags</em> option stores a list of filenames
or directory names where tags are stored.
(For directory names, it looks for a file named "tags" in that directory.)
When performing tag lookup, elvis will begin by looking for it in the first
directory/file mentioned in the list; if it doesn't find it there, then it
moves on to the next one, and so on.
By default, it just looks in a file named "tags" in the current directory.

<p>In a path, names which start with "./" (or ".\" in MS-Windows) are assumed
to be relative to the directory of the current file.  This means that
"<code>:set tags=./tags:tags</code>" will cause elvis to first check the
"tags" file in the directory of the current text file,
and then the "tags" file in the current directory.

<p><strong>NOTE:</strong>
Traditionally, this elements in this path have been space-delimited.  Since
every other path in any other context is either colon-delimited (for Unix)
or semicolon-delimited (for Microsoft), and it is becoming more common for
filenames to contain spaces, elvis uses colons or semicolons for the tag path
too.  This makes elvis' "tags" settings incompatible with other versions of
vi, though.

<p><a name="tagstack"></a>If the <em>tagstack</em> option is true, 
then before switching to the file and location of a looked-up tag, elvis
will store the original file and position on a stack.
Later, you can use the <a href="elvisex.html#pop">:pop</a> or visual
<a href="elvisvi.html#">^T</a> commands to return to your original position.
If <code>tagstack</code> is false, then the tag stack is unaffected by tag look-up.
It is true by default.

<p><a name="tagprg"></a>If the <em>tagprg</em> option is set to any value
other than "", then whenever you try to do a tag search via
<a href="elvisex.html#tag">:tag</a> or
<a href="elvisex.html#browse">:browse</a>, elvis will execute
<code>tagprg</code>'s value as a shell command and interpret its stdout
as a list of matching tags.  Before the command is run, it is evaluated using
the <a href="elvisexp.html#SIMPLER">simpler expression syntax</a> with
<strong>$1</strong> indicating where the arguments should go.
The default value of <code>tagprg</code> is "" which causes elvis to use
the internal tag search algorithm.

<p><a name="tagprgonce"></a>The <em>tagprgonce</em> options acts just like
the <code>tagprg</code> option, except that <code>tagprgonce</code>
automatically reverts to "" the first time it is used.  If <code>tagprg</code>
and <code>tagprgonce</code> are both set, then <code>tagprgonce</code> is used.
It exists mostly so you can easily write
<a href="elvistip.html#ALIAS">aliases</a> which perform specialized searches,
without interfering with normal tag searches.  The following example creates
a new <code>:text</code> command which finds instances of a given text string
in any *.c or *.h files.
(Note that the "set tagprgonce..." command should be entered on one line;
it is shown here on two lines simply as a typographical convenience.)
<pre>
:alias text {
set tagprgonce="grep -nsw '(quote(\"'\",$1))' *.[ch] /dev/null \|
    sed 's/^\\\\\\(.*\\\\\\):\\\\\\(.*\\\\\\):.*/!^    \\1     \\2/'"
tag!? !*
}</pre>

<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> You might also consider using the
<a href="#ccprg">ccprg</a> option for this sort of thing, since the
<a href="elvisex.html#cc">:cc</a> command has a smarter line parser than the
<a href="elvisex.html#tag">:tag</a> command.

<h3><a name="DRAW"></a>6.1.13 Window update parameters</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#exrefresh">exrefresh, er</a>       | Boolean | global | redraw scrn after each line |
| <a href="#nearscroll">nearscroll, ns</a>      | Number  | global | scroll vs. jump&amp;center param|
| <a href="#wrap">wrap</a>                | Boolean | win    | how long lines are displayed|
| <a href="#sidescroll">sidescroll, ss</a>      | Number  | win    | sideways scrolling amount   |
| <a href="#optimize">optimize, op</a>        | Boolean | global | run faster                  |
| <a href="#animation">animation, anim</a>     | Number  | global | animation macro speed       |
| <a href="#window">window, wi</a>          | Number  | global | lines to show for :z command|
| <a href="#pollfrequency">pollfrequency, pf</a>   | Number  | global | rate of testing for ^C      |
| <a href="#maptrace">maptrace, mt</a>        | One of  | global | debugger: off, run, or step |
| <a href="#maplog">maplog, mlog</a>        | One of  | global | logging: off, reset, append |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="exrefresh"></a>The <em>exrefresh</em> option affects the frequency
of window updates when in EX mode.
It is normally false, which causes the window to be refreshed at the end of
each EX command.
If you set exrefresh to true, then elvis will update the window's image
every time an output line is generated; this makes the command run much
slower, but gives you more feedback.

<p><a name="nearscroll"></a>The <em>nearscroll</em> option controls elvis'
behavior when the cursor is moved off the top or bottom of the window.
If the new cursor position is within nearscroll lines of the window,
then the window is scrolled to bring the new line into view.
If the new cursor position is outside that range, then elvis uses
a "jump and center" approach, in which the window's image is drawn from
scratch with the new cursor line shown in the center of the window.
Its default value is 5.

<p><a name="wrap"></a>The <em>wrap</em> option determines how elvis will
display lines which are too long to fit on a single row of the display.
It is true by default, which causes long lines to be wrapped
onto multiple rows of the display. 
This is the traditional vi behavior.
Changing it to false will cause long lines to be partially displayed on
a single row of the display; you can scroll sideways to reveal the rest
of the line my moving the cursor onto it, and then off the edge.

<p><a name="sidescroll"></a>If the <a href="#wrap">wrap</a> option is false
(indicating that long lines should be displayed via side-scrolling) then the
<em>sidescroll</em> option controls the scrolling increment.
The default is 8, so the display will scroll sideways in chunks of 8
characters at a time.

<p><a name="optimize"></a>The <em>optimize</em> option affects the efficiency
of screen updates.
It is normally true, which tells elvis to update the screen image only
when it must wait for user input.
If you make it false, then elvis will update the screen after every command;
among other things, this allows you to see intermediate effects of macros.

<p><a name="animation"></a>The <em>animation</em> option is similar.
When the optimize option is true, elvis still refreshes the screen
periodically while executing a large macro so that animation macros
can be seen in all their glory.
Elvis attempts to figure out which macros are loops, and
when one of those macros is invoked elvis considers updating the screen.
If animation=1 then elvis updates the screen every time; when animation=2
it updates the screen an alternate invocations of those macros, and so on.
The default, chosen simply through experimentation, is 3.

<p>Sometimes elvis will choose the wrong macros to refresh.
If that happens, then try running the macro with optimize option turned off.
For example, the bouncing ball macros look better with optimize turned off.

<p><a name="window"></a>The <em>window</em> option stores the default number
of lines to be displayed by the <a href="elvisex.html#z">:z</a> command.
Historically it has also been used for forcing vi to update only a portion
of the screen, but elvis doesn't use it for that.

<p><a name="pollfrequency"></a>When elvis is performing some time-consuming
operations, such as a global substitution, it will periodically check to see
if the user is trying to cancel the operation.
For some user interfaces, this inspection takes a significant amount of time so
elvis allows the <em>pollfrequency</em> option to reduce the frequency of
these checks.
The default is 20.
Larger values of pollfrequency will make global substitutions run faster;
smaller values make elvis respond to <kbd>^C</kbd> sooner.

<p><a name="maptrace"></a>
The <em>maptrace</em> option controls elvis' built-in macro debugger.
It can be <strong>off, run</strong> or <strong>step.</strong>
The default is <strong>off,</strong> which causes macros to run normally.
If you change it to <strong>run</strong> then elvis will display the
contents of the mapping queue at the bottom of the screen while running
any macro.
The <strong>step</strong> value also displays the mapping queue, but then
waits for a keystroke before proceeding.
If the keystroke is <kbd>^C</kbd> then the macro is terminated.
If the keystroke is <kbd>r</kbd> then maptrace is set to <strong>run.</strong>
Any other keystroke causes elvis to pause again after processing the macro's
next character.
See section <a href="elvistip.html#DEBUG">16.3 How to debug macros</a> for more
suggestions for debugging macros.

<p><a name="maplog"></a>
The <em>maplog</em> option can be used to log the information displayed by
the <a href="#maptrace">maptrace</a> option.
It is <strong>off</strong> by default.
Setting it to <strong>append</strong> causes the map trace information to be
appended to an internal edit buffer named "Elvis map log".
Setting it to <strong>reset</strong> causes that buffer to be clobbered
before the next map trace; when that happens, maplog will be automatically
switched to <strong>append</strong>.
You can view the logged data via the command...
<pre>
:(Elvis map log)split</pre>

<h3><a name="CACHE"></a>6.1.14 Cache options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#blkcache">blkcache, cache</a>     | Number  | global | number of blocks in cache   |
| <a href="#blksize">blksize, bsz</a>        | Number  | global | size of cache block         |
| <a href="#blkfill">blkfill, bfill</a>      | Number  | global | initial chars per text block|
| <a href="#blkhash">blkhash, hash</a>       | Number  | global | size of cache hash table    |
| <a href="#blkgrow">blkgrow, bgr</a>        | Number  | global | allocation table parameter  |
| <a href="#blkhit">blkhit, bh</a>          | Number  | global | # of block requests in cache|
| <a href="#blkmiss">blkmiss, bm</a>         | Number  | global | # of block req. not in cache|
| <a href="#blkwrite">blkwrite, bw</a>        | Number  | global | # of blocks written         |
| <a href="#sync">sync</a>                | Boolean | global | force changes to disk       |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="blkcache"></a><a name="blksize"></a><a name="blkfill"></a>
<a name="blkhash"></a><a name="blkgrow"></a><a name="blkhit"></a>
<a name="blkmiss"></a>
You probably don't need to know about the "blk" options.
The <em>blkcache</em> option indicates how many blocks
from the session file elvis should keep in its own internal cache,
and <em>blkhit</em> and <em>blkmiss</em> can be used to gauge the efficiency
of the cache.
<em>blkwrite</em> indicates how many blocks have been written to the session
file.
The <em>blksize</em> option indicates the size of each block,
<em>blkfill</em> indicates how many characters should be stuffed into
each block initially (leaving room for more text that the user may insert
later), and
<em>blkhash</em> and <em>blkgrow</em> affect a couple of internal tables.

<p>Note that the value of <em>blksize</em> can only be set via the
<strong>-b</strong><var>blksize</var> command line flag, and its value must
be a power of 2 in the range [512, 8192].
You can't change <em>blksize</em> after elvis has started
(not even in configuration scripts), because by then the session file has
already been created with the other block size.

<p><a name="sync"></a>If the <em>sync</em> option is true, then elvis will
flush all dirty blocks from its cache at the end of each edit command.
Doing this will just about guarantee that you can recover your changes
after a crash, but it can slow down the computer tremendously.
The sync option is false by default, and on multi-user systems it should
be left that way.
On a single-user system, you might consider setting the sync option.

<h3><a name="SYSTEM"></a>6.1.15 Options that describe the system</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#version">version, ver</a>        | String  | global | elvis version number (2.1)  |
| <a href="#bitsperchar">bitsperchar, bits</a>   | Number  | global | character size (always 8)   |
| <a href="#gui">gui</a>                 | String  | global | name of user interface      |
| <a href="#os">os</a>                  | String  | global | name of operating system    |
| <a href="#program">program, argv0</a>      | String  | global | invocation name of elvis    |
| <a href="#session">session, ses</a>        | String  | global | name of session file        |
| <a href="#tempsession">tempsession, temp</a>   | Boolean | global | delete session file on exit |
| <a href="#newsession">newsession, newses</a>  | Boolean | global | session file is new         |
| <a href="#recovering">recovering, rflag</a>   | Boolean | global | recovering after a crash    |
| <a href="#exitcode">exitcode, exit</a>      | Number  | global | exit code of elvis process  |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="version"></a>
The <em>version</em> option stores the version number of elvis
-- currently "2.1".
If later versions of elvis have features which are incompatible with this
version, your script files can use this to check the version number,
and skip the uncompatible commands.

<p><a name="bitsperchar"></a>
The <em>bitsperchar</em> option indicates the size
of characters that elvis uses internally.
Currently this is always 8, but I expect to support 16-bit characters eventually.

<p><a name="gui"></a>
The <em>gui</em> option indicates which user interface is being used.
This can be handy in your initialization files.
For example, you might prefer white characters on a blue background when
using the "termcap" interface, and black characters on a white background
when using the "x11" interface.

<p><a name="os"></a>
The <em>os</em> option allows elvis' initialization files to act differently
on different operating systems.
Its value indicates the name of the local operating system.

<p><a name="program"></a>
The <em>program</em> option stores the name by which elvis was invoked;
i.e., the value of argv[0].
Typical values would be "elvis" under UNIX, "elvis.exe" under Win32, or
"C:\BIN\ELVIS.EXE" under MS-DOS.
The default <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a> file evaluates
<code>tolower(basename(program))</code> and compares the result to "ex" and "view",
to set the <a href="#initialstate">initialstate</a>
and <a href="#defaultreadonly">defaultreadonly</a> options, respectively.

<p><a name="session"></a>
The <em>session</em> option stores the name of
the current session file.
There is rarely any need to check this, but I had to store it someplace
and it might as well be accessible, I figured.

<p><a name="tempsession"></a><a name="newsession"></a><a name="recovering"></a>
The <em>tempsession, newsession,</em> and <em>recovering</em> options
describe different aspects of the session file.
If tempsession is true, then elvis will delete the session file when it exits.
If newsession is true, then elvis has just created the file so there may be
extra initialization that needs to take place in
<a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a> or someplace.
If recovering is true, then the session file may be damaged, so it may be
a good idea to skip some initialization steps, or automatically write out
all user buffers.

<p><a name="exitcode"></a>
The <em>exitcode</em> is the value that elvis
will return to its parent process when the elvis process exits.
Initially this is 0, which is the conventional indication of a normal,
successful exit.
You can explicitly set it to other values to indicate special situations.
Also, if elvis outputs an error message and exitcode has not been explicitly
set, then elvis changes exitcode to 1, so the parent process can know that
elvis had an error.

<h3><a name="EXTERNAL"></a>6.1.16 External programs</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#ccprg">ccprg, cp</a>           | String  | buf    | shell command for :cc       |
| <a href="#makeprg">makeprg, mp</a>         | String  | buf    | shell command for :make     |
| <a href="#anyerror">anyerror, ae</a>        | Boolean | global | allow :errlist if readonly  |
| <a href="#equalprg">equalprg, ep</a>        | String  | buf    | shell command for = operator|
| <a href="#keywordprg">keywordprg, kp</a>      | String  | buf    | shell command for K command |
| <a href="#shell">shell, sh</a>           | String  | global | name of shell program       |
| <a href="#warn">warn</a>                | Boolean | global | warn if file not saved      |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="ccprg"></a><a name="makeprg"></a>
The <em>ccprg</em> and <em>makeprg</em> are the programs used by the
<a href="elvisex.html#cc">:cc</a> and <a href="elvisex.html#make">:make</a>
commands.
Before the program strings are executed, they are subjected to the same
sort of expression evaluation as the <a href="elvisex.html#eval">:eval</a>
command, with $1 representing any extra arguments from the ex command line,
and $2 representing the name of the current file.
Their defaults are <code>cc="cc ($1?$1:$2)"</code> and <code>make="make $1".</code>

<p><a name="anyerror"></a>When searching for error messages after a
<a href="elvisex.html#cc">:cc</a> or <a href="elvisex.html#make">:make</a>
command, elvis will normally ignore errors about files that you don't
have write access to.
Usually this is convenient,
because it prevents elvis from reading header files that you've misused.
However, setting <em>anyerror</em> to true will make it read any file that
generates a complaint, even if you can't write to it.

<p><a name="equalprg"></a>The <em>equalprg</em> option stores the name
of a program to be executed for the visual <a href="elvisvi.html#=">=</a>
operator command.
Its default value is "fmt", which is a simple text formatting program.

<p><a name="keywordprg"></a>The <em>keywordprg</em> option stores the name
of the program used by the visual <a href="elvisvi.html#K">K</a> command.
This string is evaluated with $1 being replaced with the word
under the cursor at that time.
The default value is "ref $1"; the <em>ref</em> program looks up a tag and
displays it.

<p><a name="shell"></a>The <em>shell</em> option stores the name of the
system's command-line interpreter.
It is used when executing all of the above programs, as well as commands
entered for the EX <a href="elvisex.html#BANG">:!</a> and visual
<a href="elvisvi.html#bang">!</a> commands.
Its default value is system-dependent; typically it will be "/bin/sh"
for UNIX, and "C:\COMMAND.COM" for MS-DOS.

<p><a name="warn"></a>When any external program is executed, if the 
current buffer has been changed but not written out to the file, then
elvis will normally give a warning message.
Setting the <em>warn</em> option to false disables this message.

<h3><a name="DIR"></a>6.1.17 Directory names</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#home">home</a>                | String  | global | home directory              |
| <a href="#elvispath">elvispath, epath</a>    | String  | global | list of possible config dirs|
| <a href="#sessionpath">sessionpath, spath</a>  | String  | global | list of possible session dir|
| <a href="#directory">directory, dir</a>      | String  | global | where to store temp files   |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="home"></a>The <em>home</em> option is the name of your home directory.
The value of this option is used for replacing the ~ character at the start of
a full pathname.
If an environment variable named HOME exists, then home is initialized from
its value.
Otherwise, its default value is set as follows:
<dl>
<dt>For UNIX:
<dd>The default is "/".
<dt>For Win32:
<dd>The default is derived from environment variables named HOMEDRIVE and
HOMEPATH, which will normally always be defined.
Their default value is usually "C:\users\default".
If either of those environment variables is undefined, then elvis will
attempt to find the pathname of the program, and use its directory.
As a last resort, elvis will use "C:\" as the default home directory.
<dt>For OS/2:
<dd>The default home directory is the one containing ELVIS.EXE, or if that
can't be found then it will use "C:\" as the default home directory.
<dt>For MS-DOS:
<dd>The default home directory is the one containing ELVIS.EXE.
</dl>

<p><a name="elvispath"></a>The <em>elvispath</em> option stores a list of
directory names where elvis might find its configuration files.
If there is an ELVISPATH environment variable, then the elvispath option is
initialized from the value of ELVISPATH.
Otherwise it is set to a value such as "~/.elvislib:/usr/local/lib/elvis"
so that elvis will search first in a subdirectory
of the user's home directory, and then in the directory where the standard
versions of those files were installed.
A path like this allows users to override elvis' behavior if they want.
The default value depends the operating system, as follows:
<dl>
<dt>For UNIX:
<dd>The default contains <em>~/.elvislib</em> and the directory that you
specified as the data directory when you ran the <code>configure</code> script.
(E.g, "configure --datadir=/usr/lib/elvis")
The default data directory is <em>/usr/local/lib/elvis</em>, so usually
elvispath will default to "~/.elvislib:/usr/local/lib/elvis".
<dt>For Win32, OS/2, or MS-DOS:
<dd>The default contains <em>~\elvislib</em>, and the directory where
<em>elvis.exe</em> resides, and a subdirectory under that named "lib".
</dl>

<p><a name="sessionpath"></a>The <em>sessionpath</em> option gives elvis a
list of possible directories where <a href="elvisses.html#SESSION">session
files</a> might be placed.
Elvis uses the first writable directory in that list, and ignores
all of the others.
The default value depends on the operating system, and can be overridden
by the SESSIONPATH environment variable.
You can't change the sessionpath option after elvis has started, because
the session file has already been created by then.

<p><a name="directory"></a>The <em>directory</em> option gives the name of
the directory where elvis will store its temporary files.
The default value is system-dependent.
Note that this is <em>not</em> where the session file is stored;
the <a href="#session">session</a> option gives the name of the session file.

<h3><a name="INIT"></a>6.1.18 Initialization options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#exrc">exrc, ex</a>            | Boolean | global | interpret ./.exrc file      |
| <a href="#modeline">modeline, ml</a>        | Boolean | global | interpret modelines         |
| <a href="#modelines">modelines, mls</a>      | Number  | global | positions of modelines      |
| <a href="#safer">safer, trapunsafe</a>   | Boolean | global | be paranoid                 |
| <a href="#initialstate">initialstate, is</a>    | One-Of  | global | command mode of new windows |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="exrc"></a>The <em>exrc</em> option has no built-in meaning to elvis,
however the default <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ini">elvis.ini</a> file uses this option to determine whether
it should look for a ".exrc" file in the current directory.

<p><a name="modeline"></a><a name="modelines"></a>
The <em>modeline</em> option controls whether
elvis will look for modelines in each buffer after it has been loaded from
a file.
If modelines is true, then elvis will search through the first and last 
<em>modelines</em> lines of the buffer for something that looks like
"<code>ex:</code><var>commands</var><code>:</code>" or
"<code>vi:</code><var>commands</var><code>:</code>" and
if found, it executes the <var>commands</var> as an ex command line.
This is typically used for changing tabstops and the like.
The modeline option is false by default, and modelines is 5.

<p><a name="safer"></a>The <em>safer</em> option closes some security holes.
It is intended to make modelines and a .exrc file in the current directory
safe to use, but I'm not making any promises.
When the "safer" option is true, certain commands are disabled, wildcard
expansion in filenames is disabled, and certain options are locked (including
the safer option itself).
Typically you will use the ex command <a href="elvisex.html#safer">:safer</a>
to execute an untrusted file, and <a href="elvisex.html#source">:source</a>
to execute a trusted one, rather than futz with the value of the safer option
directly.

<p><a name="initialstate"></a>The <em>initialstate</em> option determines
what command mode new windows will start in.
It can be one of <b>input, replace, vi,</b> or <b>ex.</b>
The default is <b>vi,</b> the visual command mode.

<h3><a name="MAP"></a>6.1.19 Keyboard map options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#remap">remap</a>               | Boolean | global | allow key maps to use maps  |
| <a href="#keytime">keytime, kt</a>         | Number  | global | timeout for function keys   |
| <a href="#usertime">usertime, ut</a>        | Number  | global | timeout for multi-key maps  |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

Elvis allows keystrokes to be mapped via the <a href="elvisex.html#map">:map</a>
command.
Once a map has been defined, these options control how and when those maps are
recognized.

<p><a name="remap"></a>The <em>remap</em> option controls how many times elvis
will attempt to reapply key maps.
If the remap option is true (the default), then elvis will repeatedly attempt
to reapply maps as long as there are any that match.
This means that maps can be written to use other maps, allowing some very
complex behavior.
If remap is false, then it will attempt to apply maps only once, so the
result of any map is not altered any further.
By default, remap is true.

<p><a name="keytime"></a><a name="usertime"></a>
The <em>keytime</em> and <em>usertime</em> options come into play when
characters are received which <em>partially</em> match one or more maps.
For example, suppose the arrow keys are mapped to <kbd>h, j, k,</kbd> and <kbd> l</kbd>,
those arrow keys send escape sequences when pressed,
and elvis has just received an escape character.
How can it tell whether the user hit the <kbd>Esc</kbd> key or an arrow key?

<p>In this situation, elvis must perform a read-keystrokes-with-timeout
operation to determine which map applies, if any.
If all of the partially matching maps are for special keys such as function
keys, then elvis will use the keytime value.
If at least one of them is for a user map, then elvis will use the usertime
value.
Either way, the values indicate the time, in tenths of a second, that
elvis should allow for the rest of the map characters to arrive.
If they don't arrive, then none of the partially matching maps is used.

<p>Typically, the usertime value will be much longer than the keytime value,
because the user must hit a series of keys for a user map.
For example, many people like to create maps consisting of a semicolon
and one or two following letters.
(If you're a touch typist, then your right-hand pinky normally rests on
the semicolon key, so this is convenient.)
By distinguishing between key maps and user maps, elvis can give quick
response to the <kbd>Esc</kbd> while still allowing users to key in their
own keymaps at a leisurely pace.
Their default values are <code>keytime=3</code> and <code>usertime=15.</code>

<h3><a name="LPR"></a>6.1.20 Printing options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#lptype">lptype, lpt</a>         | String  | lp     | printer type                |
| <a href="#lpconvert">lpconvert, lpcvt</a>    | Boolean | lp     | convert Latin-1 to PC-8     |
| <a href="#lpcrlf">lpcrlf, lpc</a>         | Boolean | lp     | printer needs CR-LF newline |
| <a href="#lpout">lpout, lpo</a>          | String  | lp     | printer file or filter      |
| <a href="#lpcolumns">lpcolumns, lpcols</a>   | Number  | lp     | width of printer page       |
| <a href="#lpwrap">lpwrap, lpw</a>         | Boolean | lp     | simulate line-wrap          |
| <a href="#lplines">lplines, lprows</a>     | Number  | lp     | length of printer page      |
| <a href="#lpnumber">lpnumber, lpn</a>       | Boolean | lp     | print line numbers in margin|
| <a href="#lpformfeed">lpformfeed, lpff</a>    | Boolean | lp     | send form-feed after last pg|
| <a href="#lppaper">lppaper, lpp</a>        | String  | lp     | paper size (letter, a4, ...)|
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

These options all affect hardcopy output, done via the
<a href="elvisex.html#lprt">:lpr</a> command.
Note that these options are in a separate group, so you can display all of
them by giving the command "<code>se lp?</code>". 

<p><a name="lptype"></a>The <em>lptype</em> option lets elvis know what type of
printer you're using, so it can use the correct escape codes (or whatever)
to switch fonts.
The default is "dumb" because it is the most conservative value, but it is
also the least expressive.
(Exception: When using the Win32 user interface, the default is "windows".)
You should set lptype to one of the following values:
<pre graphic>
	.---------.---------------------------------------------.
	|  VALUE  | PRINTER DESCRIPTION                         |
	|---------|---------------------------------------------|
	|   ps    | PostScript, one logical page per sheet      |
	|   ps2   | PostScript, two logical pages per sheet     |
	|  epson  | Most dot-matrix printers, no graphic chars  |
	|  pana   | Panasonic dot-matrix printers               |
	|   ibm   | Dot-matrix printers with IBM graphic chars  |
	|   hp    | HP printers, and most non-PostScript lasers |
	|   cr    | Line printers, overtypes via carriage-return|
	|   bs    | Overtypes via backspace, like nroff         |
	|  dumb   | Plain ASCII, no font control                |
	|-- --- --|-- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --|
	| windows | The Win32 print facility (in WinElvis only) |
	^---------^---------------------------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="lpconvert"></a>
The <em>lpconvert</em> option, when set, causes some printer types to convert
non-ASCII Latin-1 characters to PC-8 characters.
Most computers use Latin-1 internally for storing text, but many
printers use PC-8; hence the need for conversion.
This option has no effect on ASCII characters because
they never need conversion.
This option is ignored if your computer doesn't appear to be using Latin-1
(or, more precisely, if there is no digraph which maps AE to 0xc6, the
Latin-1 code for the &AElig; ligature.)
This option is false by default.

<blockquote>NOTE: Not all printer types obey the <b>lpconvert</b> option.
Postscript printers don't do conversion because they use Latin-1 themselves.
The "cr", "bs", and "dumb" printer types ignore it simply because they
are typically used for writing to files, not actual printers, and as long
as the text remains in the computer no conversion is necessary.
Only the "epson", "pana", "ibm", and "hp" printers will obey the
<b>lpconvert</b> option.
</blockquote>

<p><a name="lpcrlf"></a>
The <em>lpcrlf</em> option forces elvis to convert
each newline character to a CR/LF pair.  Some printers, on some systems,
require this.
Most don't, so this option is false by default.
If you attempt to print something and only the
first line is visible, or the text is badly jumbled, then try
"<code>:set lpcrlf</code>" and maybe that'll fix it.

<p><a name="lpout"></a>
The <em>lpout</em> option should be either the name
of a file or device (such as "prn" or "/dev/lp0") to which the printer output
should be sent, or ! character followed by a shell command (such as "!lp -s")
which reads printer text from stdin and submits it to the printer spooler.
The default is system dependent.

<p><a name="lpcolumns"></a>
The <em>lpcolumns</em> option tells elvis how wide the printer page is.
The default is 80 columns.
If you have a wide-carriage printer, you may wish to set lpcolumns=132.
If you have a postscript printer and set lpcolumns to a value greater than 80,
elvis will compress the characters to make the longer lines fit.

<p><a name="lpwrap"></a>The <em>lpwrap</em> option tells elvis how to
handle lines that are wider than lpcolumns.
If this options is true (the default) then long lines will wrap onto
multiple printed lines.
If lpwrap is false, then it will clip long lines.

<p><a name="lplines"></a>
The <em>lplines</em> option tells elvis how long the usable portion of each
page is; i.e., how many lines it should print on each page.
The default is 60.
Some display modes ("html" and "man") print headers at the top of each page;
those lines are included in the lplines count.
Setting lplines=0 causes elvis to assume that pages are infinitely long,
which sounds about right for fan-fold printer paper.
If you have a PostScript printer and set lplines to a value greater than 60,
then the page will be compressed vertically to make it fit.

<p><a name="lpnumber"></a>
The <em>lpnumber</em> option does to printouts what the
<a href="#number">number</a> option does for a window -- it causes the line
number to be output in the left margin.
If the buffer's <a href="#bufdisplay">bufdisplay</a> option is "normal" or
"syntax", then it also causes a header to be printed at the top of each page,
showing the file name, page number, and date/time when the printout was
created.

<p><a name="lpformfeed"></a>
The <em>lpformfeed</em> option controls whether elvis will send a form-feed
control character after the last page of any print job.
This should generally be false if you're printing through a print spooler
program, because print spoolers usually add the final formfeed themselves.
Under MS-DOS, elvis is normally configured to send the text directly to the
printer device, <strong>prn,</strong> and you may wish to set the lpformfeed
option there.

<p><a name="lppaper"></a>
The <em>lppaper</em> option is only significant for PostScript printers.
The value of lppaper is inserted into the PostScript output before
the contents of the <a href="elvisses.html#elvis.ps">elvis.ps</a> file.
<code>elvis.ps</code> contains code which scales the output to fit on the paper.
The default version supports <strong>letter, legal, executive, a4</strong>
and <strong>a3</strong> paper sizes.
Adding new paper sizes to that file is fairly easy.
You should be careful when setting lppaper because elvis won't prevent you
from setting it to an unsupported value.
The default value is <strong>letter.</strong>

<h3><a name="PREVIOUS"></a>6.1.21 Previous arguments</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#previousdir">previousdir, pdir</a>   | String  | global | previous directory name     |
| <a href="#previousfile">previousfile</a>        | String  | global | name of alternate file      |
| <a href="#previousfileline">previousfileline</a>    | Number  | global | line# from previousfile     |
| <a href="#previouscommand">previouscommand</a>     | String  | global | previous shell command line |
| <a href="#previoustag">previoustag, ptag</a>   | String  | global | previous search tag         |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

These options all store the previous value of some type of input, so that
the same value can be used again later.
You can set these options, but there really isn't much point to it, usually.

<p><a name="previousdir"></a>
The <em>previousdir</em> option stores the name of the previous working
directory.  Initially it is set from the value of the <code>$OLDPWD</code>
environment variable.  After that, each <a href="elvisex.html#cd">:cd</a>
command will store the old current working directory into this option before
switching to the new working directory.  If you give elvis a file name which
begins with "~-", elvis will replace the "~-" with the value of this option.

<p><a name="previousfile"></a><a name="previousfileline"></a>
The <em>previousfile</em> option stores the name of an alternate file.
Usually this is the name of the last file you mentioned, other than that of
the current file.
When you switch from one file to another, the name of the previous file
is stored here, along with the line number (in <em>previousfileline</em>),
so you can easily bounce between this file and the previous one.
Whenever you type in a filename as an argument to an ex command,
any instances of the # character are replaced by the value of previousfile.
 
<p><a name="previouscommand"></a>The <em>previouscommand</em> option stores
the last shell command you typed in.
When you enter the next shell command line, any instances of the ! character
will be replaced by the value of previouscommand.

<p><a name="previoustag"></a>The <em>previoustag</em> option stores the
name of the last tag you looked up.  This value is also stored on the tagstack
in the hope that it may help you remember where you were when you performed
all of your recent tag lookups.

<h3><a name="UNSUP"></a>6.1.22 Unsupported options</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#hardtabs">hardtabs, ht</a>        | Number  | global | width of terminal's tabs    |
| <a href="#mesg">mesg</a>                | Boolean | global | disable SysAdmin messages   |
| <a href="#more">more, mo</a>            | Boolean | global | allow "Hit &lt;Enter&gt;" prompt  |
| <a href="#novice">novice</a>              | Boolean | global | beginner mode               |
| <a href="#redraw">redraw</a>              | Boolean | global | redraw screen during input  |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="hardtabs"></a>
<a name="mesg"></a>
<a name="more"></a>
<a name="novice"></a>
<a name="redraw"></a>
The <em>hardtabs, mesg, more, novice,</em> and <em>redraw</em> options exist in
elvis, but they don't do anything.
Perhaps some day...

<h3><a name="USER"></a>6.1.23 User variables</h3>
<pre graphic>.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#a">a</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#b">b</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#c">c</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#d">d</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#e">e</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#f">f</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#g">g</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#h">h</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#i">i</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#j">j</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#k">k</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#l">l</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#m">m</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#n">n</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#o">o</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#p">p</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#q">q</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#r">r</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#s">s</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#t">t</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#u">u</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#v">v</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#w">w</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#x">x</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#y">y</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#z">z</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

<a name="a"></a>
<a name="b"></a>
<a name="c"></a>
<a name="d"></a>
<a name="e"></a>
<a name="f"></a>
<a name="g"></a>
<a name="h"></a>
<a name="i"></a>
<a name="j"></a>
<a name="k"></a>
<a name="l"></a>
<a name="m"></a>
<a name="n"></a>
<a name="o"></a>
<a name="p"></a>
<a name="q"></a>
<a name="r"></a>
<a name="s"></a>
<a name="t"></a>
<a name="u"></a>
<a name="v"></a>
<a name="w"></a>
<a name="x"></a>
<a name="y"></a>
<a name="z"></a>These one-letter options have no preset purpose.
They are useful for holding temporary values which you expect to use
in an expression later.
These are all string values, but because the expression evaluator doesn't
distinguish between a number and a string which happens to look like number,
you can also use these as numbers.
For example, the command...
<pre>:let i=i+1</pre>
...does exactly what you would expect.

<h2><a name="INDEX"></a>6.2 Alphabetical list of options</h2>
<pre graphic>
.---------------------.---------.--------.-----------------------------.
| OPTION NAMES        | TYPE    | GROUP  | DESCRIPTION                 |
|---------------------|---------|--------|-----------------------------|
| <a href="#a">a</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#altkey">altkey, metakey</a>     | One of  | x11    | effect of the Alt key       |
| <a href="#animation">animation, anim</a>     | Number  | global | animation macro speed       |
| <a href="#anyerror">anyerror, ae</a>        | Boolean | global | allow :errlist if readonly  |
| <a href="#autoiconify">autoiconify, aic</a>    | Boolean | x11    | iconify old window          |
| <a href="#autoindent">autoindent, ai</a>      | Boolean | buf    | auto-indent new text        |
| <a href="#autoprint">autoprint, ap</a>       | Boolean | global | print current line in ex    |
| <a href="#autoselect">autoselect, as</a>      | Boolean | global | visibly mark searched text  |
| <a href="#autotab">autotab, at</a>         | Boolean | buf    | allow autoindent to use '\t'|
| <a href="#autowrite">autowrite, aw</a>       | Boolean | global | save file before switching  |
| <a href="#b">b</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#backup">backup, bk</a>          | Boolean | global | make *.bak file before write|
| <a href="#beautify">beautify, bf</a>        | Boolean | global | strip ctrl chars from files |
| <a href="#bitsperchar">bitsperchar, bits</a>   | Number  | global | character size (always 8)   |
| <a href="#blkcache">blkcache, cache</a>     | Number  | global | number of blocks in cache   |
| <a href="#blkfill">blkfill, bfill</a>      | Number  | global | initial chars per text block|
| <a href="#blkgrow">blkgrow, bgr</a>        | Number  | global | allocation table parameter  |
| <a href="#blkhash">blkhash, hash</a>       | Number  | global | size of cache hash table    |
| <a href="#blkhit">blkhit, bh</a>          | Number  | global | # of block requests in cache|
| <a href="#blkmiss">blkmiss, bm</a>         | Number  | global | # of block req. not in cache|
| <a href="#blksize">blksize, bsz</a>        | Number  | global | size of cache block         |
| <a href="#boldstyle">boldstyle, bfn</a>      | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#boldfont">boldfont, xfb</a>       | String  | x11    | name of bold font           |
| <a href="#bufchars">bufchars, bc</a>        | Number  | buf    | number of characters        |
| <a href="#bufdisplay">bufdisplay, bd</a>      | String  | buf    | default display mode        |
| <a href="#bufid">bufid, bufferid</a>     | Number  | buf    | ID number of user buffer    |
| <a href="#buflines">buflines, bl</a>        | Number  | buf    | number of lines             |
| <a href="#bufname">bufname, buffer</a>     | String  | buf    | name of buffer              |
| <a href="#c">c</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#ccprg">ccprg, cp</a>           | String  | buf    | shell command for :cc       |
| <a href="#codepage">codepage, cpg</a>       | Number  | win32  | console character set       |
| <a href="#columns">columns, cols</a>       | Number  | win    | width of window             |
| <a href="#commentfont">commentfont, cfont</a>  | One-Of  | syntax | font used for comments      |
| <a href="#d">d</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#dblclicktime">dblclicktime, xdct</a>  | Number  | x11    | double-click milliseconds   |
| <a href="#defaultreadonly">defaultreadonly, dro</a>| Boolean | global | assume all files readonly   |
| <a href="#digraph">digraph, dig</a>        | Boolean | global | allow X-backspace-Y entry   |
| <a href="#directory">directory, dir</a>      | String  | global | where to store temp files   |
| <a href="#display">display, mode</a>       | String  | win    | name of current display mode|
| <a href="#e">e</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#edcompatible">edcompatible, ed</a>    | Boolean | global | remember regsub flags       |
| <a href="#edited">edited, samename</a>    | Boolean | buf    | buffer loaded from filename |
| <a href="#elvispath">elvispath, epath</a>    | String  | global | list of possible config dirs|
| <a href="#emphasizedstyle">emphasizedstyle, efn</a>| String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#equalprg">equalprg, ep</a>        | String  | buf    | shell command for = operator|
| <a href="#errlines">errlines</a>            | Number  | buf    | buflines when :make was run |
| <a href="#errorbells">errorbells, eb</a>      | Boolean | global | ring bell for error message |
| <a href="#exitcode">exitcode, exit</a>      | Number  | global | exit code of elvis process  |
| <a href="#exrc">exrc, ex</a>            | Boolean | global | interpret ./.exrc file      |
| <a href="#exrefresh">exrefresh, er</a>       | Boolean | global | redraw scrn after each line |
| <a href="#f">f</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#filename">filename, file</a>      | String  | buf    | name of file in buffer      |
| <a href="#firstx">firstx, xpos</a>        | Number  | x11    | horiz. position of first win|
| <a href="#firsty">firsty, ypos</a>        | Number  | x11    | vert. position of first win |
| <a href="#fixedstyle>fixedstyle, ffn</a>     | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#flash">flash, vbell</a>        | Boolean | global | substitute flash for bell   |
| <a href="#focusnew">focusnew, fn</a>        | Boolean | x11    | force focus into new window |
| <a href="#font">font, fnt</a>           | String  | windows| base font                   |
| <a href="#functionfont">functionfont, ffont</a> | One-Of  | syntax | font used for function names|
| <a href="#g">g</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#gdefault">gdefault, gd</a>        | Boolean | global | default change all instances|
| <a href="#gui">gui</a>                 | String  | global | name of user interface      |
| <a href="#h">h</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#hardtabs">hardtabs, ht</a>        | Number  | global | width of terminal's tabs    |
| <a href="#home">home</a>                | String  | global | home directory              |
| <a href="#i">i</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#icon">icon</a>                | Boolean | x11    | use the built-in icon?      |
| <a href="#ignorecase">ignorecase, ic</a>      | Boolean | global | regexp uppercase=lowercase  |
| <a href="#initialstate">initialstate, is</a>    | One-Of  | global | command mode of new windows |
| <a href="#inputtab">inputtab, itab</a>      | One-Of  | buf    | input mode's (Tab) key      |
| <a href="#internal">internal</a>            | Boolean | buf    | elvis requires this buffer  |
| <a href="#italicstyle>italicstyle, ifn</a>    | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#italicfont">italicfont, xfi</a>     | String  | x11    | name of italic font         |
| <a href="#j">j</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#k">k</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#keytime">keytime, kt</a>         | Number  | global | timeout for function keys   |
| <a href="#keywordfont">keywordfont, kfont</a>  | One-Of  | syntax | font used for reserved words|
| <a href="#keywordprg">keywordprg, kp</a>      | String  | buf    | shell command for K command |
| <a href="#l">l</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#lines">lines, rows</a>         | Number  | win    | height of window            |
| <a href="#list">list, li</a>            | Boolean | win    | show markups, newlines, etc.|
| <a href="#locked">locked, lock</a>        | Boolean | win    | prevent any alterations     |
| <a href="#lpcolumns">lpcolumns, lpcols</a>   | Number  | lp     | width of printer page       |
| <a href="#lpcrlf">lpcrlf, lpc</a>         | Boolean | lp     | printer needs CR-LF newline |
| <a href="#lpformfeed">lpformfeed, lpff</a>    | Boolean | lp     | send form-feed after last pg|
| <a href="#lplines">lplines, lprows</a>     | Number  | lp     | length of printer page      |
| <a href="#lpnumber">lpnumber, lpn</a>       | Boolean | lp     | print line numbers in margin|
| <a href="#lpout">lpout, lpo</a>          | String  | lp     | printer file or filter      |
| <a href="#lppaper">lppaper, lpp</a>        | String  | lp     | paper size (letter, a4, ...)|
| <a href="#lptype">lptype, lpt</a>         | String  | lp     | printer type                |
| <a href="#lpwrap">lpwrap, lpw</a>         | Boolean | lp     | simulate line-wrap          |
| <a href="#m">m</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#magic">magic, ma</a>           | Boolean | global | use normal regexp syntax    |
| <a href="#makeprg">makeprg, mp</a>         | String  | buf    | shell command for :make     |
| <a href="#maplog">maplog, mlog</a>        | One of  | global | logging: off, reset, append |
| <a href="#maptrace">maptrace, mt</a>        | One of  | global | debugger: off, run, or step |
| <a href="#mesg">mesg</a>                | Boolean | global | disable SysAdmin messages   |
| <a href="#modeline">modeline, ml</a>        | Boolean | global | interpret modelines         |
| <a href="#modelines">modelines, mls</a>      | Number  | global | positions of modelines      |
| <a href="#modified">modified, mod</a>       | Boolean | buf    | buffer differs from file    |
| <a href="#n">n</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#nearscroll">nearscroll, ns</a>      | Number  | global | scroll vs. jump&amp;center param|
| <a href="#newfile">newfile, new</a>        | Boolean | buf    | filename doesn't exist yet  |
| <a href="#newsession">newsession, newses</a>  | Boolean | global | session file is new         |
| <a href="#nonascii">nonascii, asc</a>       | One-Of  | global | how to display non-ascii    |
| <a href="#normalstyle">normalstyle, nfn</a>    | String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#normalfont">normalfont, xfn</a>     | String  | x11    | name of normal font         |
| <a href="#novice">novice</a>              | Boolean | global | beginner mode               |
| <a href="#number">number, nu</a>          | Boolean | win    | display line numbers        |
| <a href="#o">o</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#optimize">optimize, opt</a>       | Boolean | global | run faster                  |
| <a href="#os">os</a>                  | String  | global | name of operating system    |
| <a href="#otherfont">otherfont, ofont</a>    | One-Of  | syntax | font used for other symbols |
| <a href="#outlinemono">outlinemono, om</a>     | Number  | x11    | char outlining for X11-mono |
| <a href="#p">p</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#paragraphs">paragraphs, para</a>    | String  | buf    | nroff paragraph commands    |
| <a href="#pollfrequency">pollfrequency, pf</a>   | Number  | global | rate of testing for ^C      |
| <a href="#prepfont">prepfont, pfont</a>     | One-Of  | syntax | font used for preprocessor  |
| <a href="#previouscommand">previouscommand</a>     | String  | global | previous shell command line |
| <a href="#previousdir">previousdir, pdir</a>   | String  | global | previous directory name     |
| <a href="#previousfile">previousfile</a>        | String  | global | name of alternate file      |
| <a href="#previousfileline">previousfileline</a>    | Number  | global | line# from previousfile     |
| <a href="#previoustag">previoustag, ptag</a>   | String  | global | previous search tag         |
| <a href="#program">program, argv0</a>      | String  | global | invocation name of elvis    |
| <a href="#prompt">prompt</a>              | Boolean | global | issue ":" prompt in ex mode |
| <a href="#q">q</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#r">r</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#readeol">readeol, reol</a>       | One of  | buf    | newline mode when reading   |
| <a href="#readonly">readonly, ro</a>        | Boolean | buf    | don't overwrite filename    |
| <a href="#recovering">recovering, rflag</a>   | Boolean | global | recovering after a crash    |
| <a href="#redraw">redraw</a>              | Boolean | global | redraw screen during input  |
| <a href="#remap">remap</a>               | Boolean | global | allow key maps to use maps  |
| <a href="#report">report</a>              | Number  | global | minimum # lines to report   |
| <a href="#retain">retain, ret</a>         | Boolean | buf    | keep buffer in session file |
| <a href="#ruler">ruler, ru</a>           | Boolean | win    | display cursor's line/column|
| <a href="#s">s</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#safer">safer, trapunsafe</a>   | Boolean | global | be paranoid                 |
| <a href="#saveregexp">saveregexp, sre</a>     | Boolean | global | remember regexp to use as //|
| <a href="#scroll">scroll, scr</a>         | Number  | win    | scroll amount for ^D/^U     |
| <a href="#scrollbar">scrollbar, sb</a>       | Boolean | windows| enable the scrollbar        |
| <a href="#scrollbartime">scrollbartime, xst</a>  | Number  | x11    | delay for scrollbar repeat  |
| <a href="#scrollbarwidth">scrollbarwidth, xsw</a> | Number  | x11    | size of scrollbar, in pixels|
| <a href="#sections">sections, sect</a>      | String  | buf    | nroff section commands      |
| <a href="#sentenceend">sentenceend, se</a>     | String  | global | punct at end of sentence    |
| <a href="#sentencegap">sentencegap, sg</a>     | Number  | global | spaces required after sq    |
| <a href="#sentencequote">sentencequote, sq</a>   | String  | global | punct allowed after se      |
| <a href="#session">session, ses</a>        | String  | global | name of session file        |
| <a href="#sessionpath">sessionpath, spath</a>  | String  | global | list of possible session dir|
| <a href="#shell">shell, sh</a>           | String  | global | name of shell program       |
| <a href="#shiftwidth">shiftwidth, sw</a>      | Number  | buf    | width used by &lt; and &gt;       |
| <a href="#showcmd">showcmd, sc</a>         | Boolean | win    | display command characters  |
| <a href="#showmarkups">showmarkups, smu</a>    | Boolean | global | show markup at cursor       |
| <a href="#showmatch">showmatch, sm</a>       | Boolean | win    | highlight matching parens   |
| <a href="#showmode">showmode, smd</a>       | Boolean | win    | display the command state   |
| <a href="#showname">showname, snm</a>       | Boolean | global | display the buffer name     |
| <a href="#showstack">showstack, sstk</a>     | Boolean | win    | display some debugging info |
| <a href="#showtag">showtag, st</a>         | Boolean | global | display tag on status line  |
| <a href="#sidescroll">sidescroll, ss</a>      | Number  | win    | sideways scrolling amount   |
| <a href="#stagger">stagger</a>             | Number  | x11    | offset for next new window  |
| <a href="#statusbar">statusbar, xstat</a>    | Boolean | x11    | enables the statusbar       |
| <a href="#stringfont">stringfont, sfont</a>   | One-Of  | syntax | font used for strings       |
| <a href="#sync">sync</a>                | Boolean | global | force changes to disk       |
| <a href="#t">t</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#tabstop">tabstop, ts</a>         | Number  | buf    | width of tabstop columns    |
| <a href="#taglength">taglength, tl</a>       | Number  | global | significant length of tags  |
| <a href="#tagprg">tagprg, tp</a>          | String  | global | external tag search program |
| <a href="#tagprgonce">tagprgonce, tpo</a>     | String  | global | like tagprg, but auto-resets|
| <a href="#tags">tags, tagpath</a>       | String  | global | list of possible tag files  |
| <a href="#tagstack">tagstack, tsk</a>       | Boolean | global | remember origin of tag srch |
| <a href="#tempsession">tempsession, temp</a>   | Boolean | global | delete session file on exit |
| <a href="#term">term, ttytype</a>       | String  | tcap   | terminal's termcap entry    |
| <a href="#terse">terse, te</a>           | Boolean | global | don't translate messages    |
| <a href="#textcursor">textcursor, tc</a>      | Number  | x11    | one of hollow, opaque, xor  |
| <a href="#textwidth">textwidth, tw</a>       | Number  | buf    | width for word-wrap, or 0   |
| <a href="#toolbar">toolbar, tb</a>         | Boolean | windows| enable the toolbar          |
| <a href="#ttycolumns">ttycolumns, ttycols</a> | Number  | tcap   | width of screen             |
| <a href="#ttyrows">ttyrows, ttylines</a>   | Number  | tcap   | height of screen            |
| <a href="#ttyunderline">ttyunderline, ttyu</a>  | Boolean | tcap   | okay to mix color &amp; underln |
| <a href="#u">u</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#underline">underline, uln</a>      | Boolean | x11    | enables underlining         |
| <a href="#underlinedstyle">underlinedstyle, nfn</a>| String  | windows| n or combination of b/i/u   |
| <a href="#undolevels">undolevels, ul</a>      | Number  | buf    | number of undoable commands |
| <a href="#usertime">usertime, ut</a>        | Number  | global | timeout for multi-key maps  |
| <a href="#v">v</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#variablefont">variablefont, vfont</a> | One-Of  | syntax | font used for variables     |
| <a href="#verbose">verbose</a>             | Boolean | global | give more status messages   |
| <a href="#w">w</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#warn">warn</a>                | Boolean | global | warn if file not saved      |
| <a href="#warningbells">warningbells, wb</a>    | Boolean | global | ring bell for warning msg   |
| <a href="#warpback">warpback, xwb</a>       | Boolean | x11    | upon exit, point to xterm   |
| <a href="#warpto">warpto, wt</a>          | One of  | x11    | ^W^W forces pointer movement|
| <a href="#window">window, wi</a>          | Number  | global | lines to show for :z command|
| <a href="#windowid">windowid, id</a>        | Number  | win    | ID number of current window |
| <a href="#wrap">wrap</a>                | Boolean | win    | how long lines are displayed|
| <a href="#wrapmargin">wrapmargin, wm</a>      | Boolean | win    | set textwidth from right    |
| <a href="#wrapscan">wrapscan, ws</a>        | Boolean | global | searching wraps at EOF&lt;-&gt;BOF|
| <a href="#writeany">writeany, wa</a>        | Boolean | global | don't warn of existing file |
| <a href="#writeeol">writeeol, weol</a>      | One of  | buf    | newline mode when writing   |
| <a href="#x">x</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#xcolumns">xcolumns, xcols</a>     | Number  | x11    | width of new windows        |
| <a href="#xrows">xrows, xlines</a>       | Number  | x11    | height of new windows       |
| <a href="#xscrollbar">xscrollbar, xsb</a>     | One of  | x11    | enable scrollbar on side    |
| <a href="#y">y</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
| <a href="#z">z</a>                   | String  | user   | user variable               |
^---------------------^---------^--------^-----------------------------^
</pre>

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