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Problem: In rare cases diffing 4 buffers is not enough.
Solution: Raise the limit to 8. (closes vim/vim#1000)
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434 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
434 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
*diff.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2016 Aug 24
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VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
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*diff* *diff-mode*
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This file describes the |+diff| feature: Showing differences between two to
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eight versions of the same file.
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The basics are explained in section |08.7| of the user manual.
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1. Starting diff mode |diff-mode|
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2. Viewing diffs |view-diffs|
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3. Jumping to diffs |jumpto-diffs|
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4. Copying diffs |copy-diffs|
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5. Diff options |diff-options|
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==============================================================================
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1. Starting diff mode
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To start editing in diff mode, run "nvim -d". This starts Nvim as usual, and
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additionally sets up for viewing the differences between the arguments. >
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nvim -d file1 file2 [file3 [file4]]
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In addition to the |-d| argument, |-Z| and |-R| may be used for restricted
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mode and readonly mode respectively.
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The second and following arguments may also be a directory name. Vim will
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then append the file name of the first argument to the directory name to find
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the file.
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This only works when a standard "diff" command is available. See 'diffexpr'.
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Diffs are local to the current tab page |tab-page|. You can't see diffs with
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a window in another tab page. This does make it possible to have several
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diffs at the same time, each in their own tab page.
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What happens is that Nvim opens a window for each of the files. This is like
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using the |-O| argument. This uses vertical splits, but if you prefer
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horizontal splits use the |-o| argument instead: >
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nvim -d -o file1 file2 [file3 [file4]]
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If you always prefer horizontal splits include "horizontal" in 'diffopt'.
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In each of the edited files these options are set:
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'diff' on
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'scrollbind' on
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'cursorbind' on
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'scrollopt' includes "hor"
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'wrap' off
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'foldmethod' "diff"
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'foldcolumn' value from 'diffopt', default is 2
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These options are set local to the window. When editing another file they are
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reset to the global value.
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The options can still be overruled from a modeline when re-editing the file.
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However, 'foldmethod' and 'wrap' won't be set from a modeline when 'diff' is
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set.
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The differences shown are actually the differences in the buffer. Thus if you
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make changes after loading a file, these will be included in the displayed
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diffs. You might have to do ":diffupdate" now and then, not all changes are
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immediately taken into account.
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In your vimrc file you could do something special when Vim was started in
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diff mode. You could use a construct like this: >
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if &diff
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setup for diff mode
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else
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setup for non-diff mode
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endif
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While already in Vim you can start diff mode in three ways.
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*E98*
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:diffs[plit] {filename} *:diffs* *:diffsplit*
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Open a new window on the file {filename}. The options are set
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as for "nvim -d" for the current and the newly opened window.
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Also see 'diffexpr'.
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*:difft* *:diffthis*
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:difft[his] Make the current window part of the diff windows. This sets
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the options as for "nvim -d".
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:diffp[atch] {patchfile} *E816* *:diffp* *:diffpatch*
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Use the current buffer, patch it with the diff found in
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{patchfile} and open a buffer on the result. This sets the
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options as for "nvim -d".
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{patchfile} can be in any format that the "patch" program
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understands or 'patchexpr' can handle.
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Note that {patchfile} should only contain a diff for one file,
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the current file. If {patchfile} contains diffs for other
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files as well, the results are unpredictable. Vim changes
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directory to /tmp to avoid files in the current directory
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accidentally being patched. But it may still result in
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various ".rej" files to be created. And when absolute path
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names are present these files may get patched anyway.
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To make these commands use a vertical split, prepend |:vertical|. Examples: >
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:vert diffsplit main.c~
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:vert diffpatch /tmp/diff
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If you always prefer a vertical split include "vertical" in 'diffopt'.
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*E96*
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There can be up to eight buffers with 'diff' set.
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Since the option values are remembered with the buffer, you can edit another
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file for a moment and come back to the same file and be in diff mode again.
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*:diffo* *:diffoff*
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:diffo[ff] Switch off diff mode for the current window. Resets related
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options also when 'diff' was not set.
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:diffo[ff]! Switch off diff mode for the current window and in all windows
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in the current tab page where 'diff' is set. Resetting
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related options only happens in a window that has 'diff' set,
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if the current window does not have 'diff' set then no options
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in it are changed.
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The `:diffoff` command resets the relevant options to the values they had when
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using `:diffsplit`, `:diffpatch` , `:diffthis`. or starting Vim in diff mode.
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When using `:diffoff` twice the last saved values are restored.
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Otherwise they are set to their default value:
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'diff' off
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'scrollbind' off
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'cursorbind' off
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'scrollopt' without "hor"
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'wrap' on
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'foldmethod' "manual"
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'foldcolumn' 0
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==============================================================================
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2. Viewing diffs *view-diffs*
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The effect is that the diff windows show the same text, with the differences
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highlighted. When scrolling the text, the 'scrollbind' option will make the
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text in other windows to be scrolled as well. With vertical splits the text
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should be aligned properly.
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The alignment of text will go wrong when:
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- 'wrap' is on, some lines will be wrapped and occupy two or more screen
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lines
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- folds are open in one window but not another
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- 'scrollbind' is off
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- changes have been made to the text
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- "filler" is not present in 'diffopt', deleted/inserted lines makes the
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alignment go wrong
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All the buffers edited in a window where the 'diff' option is set will join in
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the diff. This is also possible for hidden buffers. They must have been
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edited in a window first for this to be possible.
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*:DiffOrig* *diff-original-file*
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Since 'diff' is a window-local option, it's possible to view the same buffer
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in diff mode in one window and "normal" in another window. It is also
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possible to view the changes you have made to a buffer since the file was
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loaded. Since Vim doesn't allow having two buffers for the same file, you
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need another buffer. This command is useful: >
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command DiffOrig vert new | set buftype=nofile | read ++edit # | 0d_
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\ | diffthis | wincmd p | diffthis
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(this is in |vimrc_example.vim|). Use ":DiffOrig" to see the differences
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between the current buffer and the file it was loaded from.
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A buffer that is unloaded cannot be used for the diff. But it does work for
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hidden buffers. You can use ":hide" to close a window without unloading the
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buffer. If you don't want a buffer to remain used for the diff do ":set
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nodiff" before hiding it.
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*:dif* *:diffupdate*
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:dif[fupdate][!] Update the diff highlighting and folds.
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Vim attempts to keep the differences updated when you make changes to the
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text. This mostly takes care of inserted and deleted lines. Changes within a
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line and more complicated changes do not cause the differences to be updated.
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To force the differences to be updated use: >
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:diffupdate
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If the ! is included Vim will check if the file was changed externally and
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needs to be reloaded. It will prompt for each changed file, like `:checktime`
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was used.
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Vim will show filler lines for lines that are missing in one window but are
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present in another. These lines were inserted in another file or deleted in
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this file. Removing "filler" from the 'diffopt' option will make Vim not
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display these filler lines.
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Folds are used to hide the text that wasn't changed. See |folding| for all
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the commands that can be used with folds.
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The context of lines above a difference that are not included in the fold can
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be set with the 'diffopt' option. For example, to set the context to three
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lines: >
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:set diffopt=filler,context:3
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The diffs are highlighted with these groups:
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|hl-DiffAdd| DiffAdd Added (inserted) lines. These lines exist in
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this buffer but not in another.
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|hl-DiffChange| DiffChange Changed lines.
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|hl-DiffText| DiffText Changed text inside a Changed line. Vim
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finds the first character that is different,
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and the last character that is different
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(searching from the end of the line). The
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text in between is highlighted. This means
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that parts in the middle that are still the
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same are highlighted anyway. Only "iwhite" of
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'diffopt' is used here.
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|hl-DiffDelete| DiffDelete Deleted lines. Also called filler lines,
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because they don't really exist in this
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buffer.
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==============================================================================
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3. Jumping to diffs *jumpto-diffs*
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Two commands can be used to jump to diffs:
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*[c*
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[c Jump backwards to the previous start of a change.
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When a count is used, do it that many times.
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*]c*
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]c Jump forwards to the next start of a change.
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When a count is used, do it that many times.
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It is an error if there is no change for the cursor to move to.
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==============================================================================
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4. Diff copying *copy-diffs* *E99* *E100* *E101* *E102* *E103*
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*merge*
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There are two commands to copy text from one buffer to another. The result is
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that the buffers will be equal within the specified range.
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*:diffg* *:diffget*
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:[range]diffg[et] [bufspec]
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Modify the current buffer to undo difference with another
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buffer. If [bufspec] is given, that buffer is used. If
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[bufspec] refers to the current buffer then nothing happens.
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Otherwise this only works if there is one other buffer in diff
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mode.
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See below for [range].
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*:diffpu* *:diffput* *E793*
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:[range]diffpu[t] [bufspec]
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Modify another buffer to undo difference with the current
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buffer. Just like ":diffget" but the other buffer is modified
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instead of the current one.
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When [bufspec] is omitted and there is more than one other
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buffer in diff mode where 'modifiable' is set this fails.
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See below for [range].
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*do*
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[count]do Same as ":diffget" without range. The "o" stands for "obtain"
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("dg" can't be used, it could be the start of "dgg"!). Note:
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this doesn't work in Visual mode.
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If you give a [count], it is used as the [bufspec] argument
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for ":diffget".
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*dp*
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[count]dp Same as ":diffput" without range. Note: this doesn't work in
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Visual mode.
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If you give a [count], it is used as the [bufspec] argument
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for ":diffput".
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When no [range] is given, the diff at the cursor position or just above it is
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affected. When [range] is used, Vim tries to only put or get the specified
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lines. When there are deleted lines, this may not always be possible.
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There can be deleted lines below the last line of the buffer. When the cursor
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is on the last line in the buffer and there is no diff above this line, the
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":diffget" and "do" commands will obtain lines from the other buffer.
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To be able to get those lines from another buffer in a [range] it's allowed to
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use the last line number plus one. This command gets all diffs from the other
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buffer: >
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:1,$+1diffget
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Note that deleted lines are displayed, but not counted as text lines. You
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can't move the cursor into them. To fill the deleted lines with the lines
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from another buffer use ":diffget" on the line below them.
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*E787*
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When the buffer that is about to be modified is read-only and the autocommand
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that is triggered by |FileChangedRO| changes buffers the command will fail.
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The autocommand must not change buffers.
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The [bufspec] argument above can be a buffer number, a pattern for a buffer
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name or a part of a buffer name. Examples:
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:diffget Use the other buffer which is in diff mode
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:diffget 3 Use buffer 3
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:diffget v2 Use the buffer which matches "v2" and is in
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diff mode (e.g., "file.c.v2")
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==============================================================================
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5. Diff options *diff-options*
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Also see |'diffopt'| and the "diff" item of |'fillchars'|.
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*diff-slow* *diff_translations*
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For very long lines, the diff syntax highlighting might be slow, especially
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since it tries to match all different kind of localisations. To disable
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localisations and speed up the syntax highlighting, set the global variable
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g:diff_translations to zero: >
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let g:diff_translations = 0
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<
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After setting this variable, Reload the syntax script: >
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set syntax=diff
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<
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FINDING THE DIFFERENCES *diff-diffexpr*
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The 'diffexpr' option can be set to use something else than the standard
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"diff" program to compare two files and find the differences.
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When 'diffexpr' is empty, Vim uses this command to find the differences
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between file1 and file2: >
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diff file1 file2 > outfile
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The ">" is replaced with the value of 'shellredir'.
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The output of "diff" must be a normal "ed" style diff. Do NOT use a context
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diff. This example explains the format that Vim expects: >
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1a2
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> bbb
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4d4
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< 111
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7c7
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< GGG
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---
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> ggg
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The "1a2" item appends the line "bbb".
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The "4d4" item deletes the line "111".
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The "7c7" item replaces the line "GGG" with "ggg".
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When 'diffexpr' is not empty, Vim evaluates it to obtain a diff file in the
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format mentioned. These variables are set to the file names used:
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v:fname_in original file
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v:fname_new new version of the same file
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v:fname_out resulting diff file
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Additionally, 'diffexpr' should take care of "icase" and "iwhite" in the
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'diffopt' option. 'diffexpr' cannot change the value of 'lines' and
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'columns'.
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Example (this does almost the same as 'diffexpr' being empty): >
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set diffexpr=MyDiff()
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function MyDiff()
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let opt = ""
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if &diffopt =~ "icase"
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let opt = opt . "-i "
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endif
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if &diffopt =~ "iwhite"
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let opt = opt . "-b "
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endif
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silent execute "!diff -a --binary " . opt . v:fname_in . " " . v:fname_new .
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\ " > " . v:fname_out
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endfunction
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The "-a" argument is used to force comparing the files as text, comparing as
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binaries isn't useful. The "--binary" argument makes the files read in binary
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mode, so that a CTRL-Z doesn't end the text on DOS.
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*E810* *E97*
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Vim will do a test if the diff output looks alright. If it doesn't, you will
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get an error message. Possible causes:
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- The "diff" program cannot be executed.
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- The "diff" program doesn't produce normal "ed" style diffs (see above).
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- The 'shell' and associated options are not set correctly. Try if filtering
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works with a command like ":!sort".
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- You are using 'diffexpr' and it doesn't work.
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If it's not clear what the problem is set the 'verbose' option to one or more
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to see more messages.
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The self-installing Vim for MS-Windows includes a diff program. If you don't
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have it you might want to download a diff.exe. For example from
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http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/diffutils.htm.
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USING PATCHES *diff-patchexpr*
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The 'patchexpr' option can be set to use something else than the standard
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"patch" program.
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When 'patchexpr' is empty, Vim will call the "patch" program like this: >
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patch -o outfile origfile < patchfile
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This should work fine with most versions of the "patch" program. Note that a
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CR in the middle of a line may cause problems, it is seen as a line break.
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If the default doesn't work for you, set the 'patchexpr' to an expression that
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will have the same effect. These variables are set to the file names used:
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v:fname_in original file
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v:fname_diff patch file
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v:fname_out resulting patched file
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Example (this does the same as 'patchexpr' being empty): >
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set patchexpr=MyPatch()
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function MyPatch()
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:call system("patch -o " . v:fname_out . " " . v:fname_in .
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\ " < " . v:fname_diff)
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endfunction
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Make sure that using the "patch" program doesn't have unwanted side effects.
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For example, watch out for additionally generated files, which should be
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deleted. It should just patch the file and nothing else.
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Vim will change directory to "/tmp" or another temp directory before
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evaluating 'patchexpr'. This hopefully avoids that files in the current
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directory are accidentally patched. Vim will also delete files starting with
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v:fname_in and ending in ".rej" and ".orig".
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vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
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