# Vim documentation: usr_23

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    *usr_23.txt*	For Vim version 9.2.  Last change: 2026 Feb 14

    		     VIM USER MANUAL	by Bram Moolenaar

    			     Editing other files

    This chapter is about editing files that are not ordinary files.  With Vim you
    can edit files that are compressed or encrypted.  Some files need to be
    accessed over the internet.  With some restrictions, binary files can be
    edited as well.

    |23.1|	DOS, Mac and Unix files
    |23.2|	Files on the internet
    |23.3|	Encryption
    |23.4|	Binary files
    |23.5|	Compressed files

         Next chapter: |usr_24.txt|  Inserting quickly
     Previous chapter: |usr_22.txt|  Finding the file to edit
    Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt|

    ==============================================================================

    *23.1*	DOS, Mac and Unix files

    Back in the early days, the old Teletype machines used two characters to
    start a new line.  One to move the carriage back to the first position
    (carriage return, <CR>), another to move the paper up (line feed, <LF>).
       When computers came out, storage was expensive.  Some people decided that
    they did not need two characters for end-of-line.  The UNIX people decided
    they could use <New Line> or <NL> only for end-of-line.  The Apple people
    standardized on <CR>.  The Microsoft Windows folks decided to keep the old
    <CR><NL> (we use <NL> for line feed in the help text).
       This means that if you try to move a file from one system to another, you
    have line-break problems.  The Vim editor automatically recognizes the
    different file formats and handles things properly behind your back.
       The option 'fileformats' contains the various formats that will be tried
    when a new file is edited.  The following command, for example, tells Vim to
    try UNIX format first and MS-DOS format second:

    	:set fileformats=unix,dos

    You will notice the format in the message you get when editing a file.  You
    don't see anything if you edit a native file format.  Thus editing a Unix file
    on Unix won't result in a remark.  But when you edit a dos file, Vim will
    notify you of this:

    	"/tmp/test" [dos] 3L, 71C

    For a Mac file you would see "[mac]".
       The detected file format is stored in the 'fileformat' option.  To see
    which format you have, execute the following command:

    	:set fileformat?

    The three names that Vim uses are:

    	unix		<NL>
    	dos		<CR><NL>
    	mac		<CR>

    USING THE MAC FORMAT

    On Unix, <NL> is used to break a line.  It's not unusual to have a <CR>
    character halfway a line.  Incidentally, this happens quite often in Vi (and
    Vim) scripts.
       On the Macintosh, where <CR> is the line break character, it's possible to
    have a <NL> character halfway a line.
       The result is that it's not possible to be 100% sure whether a file
    containing both <CR> and <NL> characters is a Mac or a Unix file.  Therefore,
    Vim assumes that on Unix you probably won't edit a Mac file, and doesn't check
    for this type of file.  To check for this format anyway, add "mac" to
    'fileformats':

    	:set fileformats+=mac

    Then Vim will take a guess at the file format.  Watch out for situations where
    Vim guesses wrong.

    OVERRULING THE FORMAT

    If you use the good old Vi and try to edit an MS-DOS format file, you will
    find that each line ends with a ^M character.  (^M is <CR>).  The automatic
    detection avoids this.  Suppose you do want to edit the file that way?  Then
    you need to overrule the format:

    	:edit ++ff=unix file.txt

    The "++" string is an item that tells Vim that an option name follows, which
    overrules the default for this single command.  "++ff" is used for
    'fileformat'.  You could also use "++ff=mac" or "++ff=dos".
       This doesn't work for any option, only "++ff" and "++enc" are currently
    implemented.  The full names "++fileformat" and "++encoding" also work.

    CONVERSION

    You can use the 'fileformat' option to convert from one file format to
    another.  Suppose, for example, that you have an MS-DOS file named README.TXT
    that you want to convert to UNIX format.  Start by editing the MS-DOS format
    file:
    	vim README.TXT

    Vim will recognize this as a dos format file.  Now change the file format to
    UNIX:

    	:set fileformat=unix
    	:write

    The file is written in Unix format.

    ==============================================================================

    *23.2*	Files on the internet

    Someone sends you an e-mail message, which refers to a file by its URL.  For
    example:

    	You can find the information here:
    		https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/README

    You could start a program to download the file, save it on your local disk and
    then start Vim to edit it.
       There is a much simpler way.  Move the cursor to any character of the URL.
    Then use this command:

    	gf

    With a bit of luck, Vim will figure out which program to use for downloading
    the file, download it and edit the copy.  To open the file in a new window use
    CTRL-W f.
       If something goes wrong you will get an error message.  It's possible that
    the URL is wrong, you don't have permission to read it, the network connection
    is down, etc.  Unfortunately, it's hard to tell the cause of the error.  You
    might want to try the manual way of downloading the file.

    Accessing files over the internet works with the netrw plugin.  Currently URLs
    with these formats are recognized:

     `ftp://` uses ftp
    	`rcp://`	uses rcp
    	`scp://`	uses scp
     `http://` uses wget reading only

    Vim doesn't do the communication itself, it relies on the mentioned programs
    to be available on your computer.  On most Unix systems "ftp" and "rcp" will
    be present.  "scp" and "wget" might need to be installed.

    Vim detects these URLs for each command that starts editing a new file, also
    with ":edit" and ":split", for example.  Write commands also work, except for
     `http://`.

    For more information, also about passwords, see |netrw|.

    ==============================================================================

    *23.3*	Encryption

    Some information you prefer to keep to yourself.  For example, when writing
    a test on a computer that students also use.  You don't want clever students
    to figure out a way to read the questions before the exam starts.  Vim can
    encrypt the file for you, which gives you some protection.
       To start editing a new file with encryption, use the "-x" argument to start
    Vim.  Example:

    	vim -x exam.txt

    Vim prompts you for a key used for encrypting and decrypting the file:

    	Enter encryption key:

    Carefully type the secret key now.  You cannot see the characters you type,
    they will be replaced by stars.  To avoid the situation that a typing mistake
    will cause trouble, Vim asks you to enter the key again:

    	Enter same key again:

    You can now edit this file normally and put in all your secrets.  When you
    finish editing the file and tell Vim to exit, the file is encrypted and
    written.
       When you edit the file with Vim, it will ask you to enter the same key
    again.  You don't need to use the "-x" argument.  You can also use the normal
    ":edit" command.  Vim adds a magic string to the file by which it recognizes
    that the file was encrypted.
       If you try to view this file using another program, all you get is garbage.
    Also, if you edit the file with Vim and enter the wrong key, you get garbage.
    Vim does not have a mechanism to check if the key is the right one (this makes
    it much harder to break the key).

    SWITCHING ENCRYPTION ON AND OFF

    To disable the encryption of a file, set the 'key' option to an empty string:

    	:set key=

    The next time you write the file this will be done without encryption.
       Setting the 'key' option to enable encryption is not a good idea, because
    the password appears in the clear.  Anyone shoulder-surfing can read your
    password.
       To avoid this problem, the ":X" command was created.  It asks you for an
    encryption key, just like the "-x" argument did:

    	:X
    	Enter encryption key: ******
    	Enter same key again: ******

    LIMITS ON ENCRYPTION

    The encryption algorithm used by Vim is not very strong.  It is good enough to
    keep out the casual prowler, but not good enough to keep out a cryptology
    expert with lots of time on his hands.  The text in the swap file and the undo
    file is also encrypted.  However, this is done block-by-block and may reduce
    the time needed to crack a password.  You can disable the swap file, but then
    a crash will cause you to lose your work, since Vim keeps all the text in
    memory only.  The undo file can be disabled with the only disadvantage that
    you can't undo after unloading the buffer.
       To avoid using a swap file, supply the -n argument on the command line.
    For example, to edit the encrypted file "file.txt" without a swap file use the
    following command:

    	vim -x -n file.txt

    When already editing a file, the swapfile can be disabled with:

    	:setlocal noswapfile

    Since there is no swapfile, recovery will be impossible.  Save the file a bit
    more often to avoid the risk of losing your changes.

    While the file is in memory, it is in plain text.  Anyone with privilege can
    look in the editor's memory and discover the contents of the file.
       If you use a viminfo file, be aware that the contents of text registers are
    written out in the clear as well.
       If you really want to secure the contents of a file, edit it only on a
    portable computer not connected to a network, use good encryption tools, and
    keep the computer locked up in a big safe when not in use.

    ==============================================================================

    *23.4*	Binary files

    You can edit binary files with Vim.  Vim wasn't really made for this, thus
    there are a few restrictions.  But you can read a file, change a character and
    write it back, with the result that only that one character was changed and
    the file is identical otherwise.
       To make sure that Vim does not use its clever tricks in the wrong way, add
    the "-b" argument when starting Vim:

    	vim -b datafile

    This sets the 'binary' option.  The effect of this is that unexpected side
    effects are turned off.  For example, 'textwidth' is set to zero, to avoid
    automatic formatting of lines.  And files are always read in Unix file format.

    Binary mode can be used to change a message in a program.  Be careful not to
    insert or delete any characters, it would stop the program from working.  Use
    "R" to enter replace mode.

    Many characters in the file will be unprintable.  To see them in Hex format:

    	:set display=uhex

    Otherwise, the "ga" command can be used to see the value of the character
    under the cursor.  The output, when the cursor is on an <Esc>, looks like
    this:

    	<^[>  27,  Hex 1b,  Octal 033

    There might not be many line breaks in the file.  To get some overview switch
    the 'wrap' option off:

    	:set nowrap

    BYTE POSITION

    To see on which byte you are in the file use this command:

    	g CTRL-G

    The output is verbose:

        Col 9-16 of 9-16; Line 277 of 330; Word 1806 of 2058; Byte 10580 of 12206

    The last two numbers are the byte position in the file and the total number of
    bytes.  This takes into account how 'fileformat' changes the number of bytes
    that a line break uses.
        To move to a specific byte in the file, use the "go" command.  For
    example, to move to byte 2345:

    	2345go

    USING XXD

    A real binary editor shows the text in two ways: as it is and in hex format.
    You can do this in Vim by first converting the file with the "xxd" program.
    This comes with Vim.
       First edit the file in binary mode:

    	vim -b datafile

    Now convert the file to a hex dump with xxd:

    	:%!xxd

    The text will look like this:

    	0000000: 1f8b 0808 39d7 173b 0203 7474 002b 4e49  ....9..;..tt.+NI
    	0000010: 4b2c 8660 eb9c ecac c462 eb94 345e 2e30  K,.`.....b..4^.0
    	0000020: 373b 2731 0b22 0ca6 c1a2 d669 1035 39d9  7;'1.".....i.59.

    You can now view and edit the text as you like.  Vim treats the information as
    ordinary text.  Changing the hex does not cause the printable character to be
    changed, or the other way around.
       Finally convert it back with:

    	:%!xxd -r

    Only changes in the hex part are used.  Changes in the printable text part on
    the right are ignored.

    See the manual page of xxd for more information.

    ==============================================================================

    *23.5*	Compressed files

    This is easy: You can edit a compressed file just like any other file.  The
    "gzip" plugin takes care of decompressing the file when you edit it.  And
    compressing it again when you write it.
       These compression methods are currently supported:

    	.Z	compress
    	.gz	gzip
    	.bz2	bzip2

    Vim uses the mentioned programs to do the actual compression and
    decompression.  You might need to install the programs first.

    ==============================================================================

    Next chapter: |usr_24.txt|  Inserting quickly

    Copyright: see |manual-copyright|  vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:
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