ELVIS(9)

Elvis is a full-screen editor closely modeled on the famous Berkeley
vi editor.
It provides essentially the same interface to the user as vi, but the
code is completely new, written from scratch.
This document provides a brief introduction to vi.
It is not intended as a tutorial for beginners.
Most books on
cover vi.

Like vi, elvis can operate as a screen editor
(vi mode) or as a line editor (ex) mode.
It can be called either as elvis vi,or as ex,
depending on which is desired.
They are all links to the same file.

  Vi Commands

Below is a list of the vi commands supported. The following symbols are used in the table:
count    Integer parameter telling how many or how much
key    One character parameter to the command
inp    Interactive input expected
mv    Indicates how much for commands like delete and change:
(    Previous sentence
)    Next sentence
{    Previous paragraph
}    Next paragraph (delimited by blank line, .PP, .LP, .IP etc.)
[    Previous section (delimited by .SH or .NH)
A repeated command character means the scope is this line
MOVE    Indicates commands that may also be used where mv is specified
EDIT    These commands affect text and may be repeated by the . command
In addition to the above notation, the caret (^) is used as an abbreviation for CTRL. For example, ^A means CTRL-A.
Count~~~~    Command    Description    Type
    ^A    (Not defined)
    ^B    Move toward the top of the file by 1 screenful
    ^C    (Not defined)
count    ^D    Scroll down count lines (default 1/2 screen)
count    ^E    Scroll up count lines
    ^F    Move toward the bottom of the file by 1 screenful
    ^G    Show file status, and the current line
count    ^H    Move left, like h    MOVE
    ^I    (Not defined)
count    ^J    Move down    MOVE
    ^K    (Not defined)
    ^l    Redraw the screen
count    ^M    Move to the front of the next line    MOVE
count    ^N    Move down    MOVE
    ^O    (Not defined)
count    ^P    Move up    MOVE
    ^Q    (Not defined)
    ^R    Redraw the screen
    ^S    (Not defined)
    ^T    (Not defined)
count    ^U    Scroll up count lines (default 1/2 screen)
    ^V    (Not defined)
    ^W    (Not defined)
    ^X    (Not defined)
count    ^Y    Scroll down count lines
    ^Z    (Not defined)
    ESC    (Not defined)
    ^\    (Not defined)
    ^]    If the cursor is on a tag name, go to that tag
    ^^    Save this file and edit the previous file
    ^_    (Not defined)
count    SPACE    Move right,like l    MOVE
    ! mv    Run the selected lines thru an external filter program
    " key    Select which cut buffer to use next
    #    (Not defined)
    $    Move to the rear of the current line    MOVE
    %    move to the matching (){}[] character    MOVE
    &    (Not defined)
    ' key    Move to a marked line    MOVE
count    (    Move backward count sentences    MOVE
count    )    Move forward count sentences    MOVE
    *    (Not defined)
count    +    Move to the front of the next line    MOVE
count    ,    Repeat the previous [fFtT] but the other way    MOVE
count    –    Move to the front of the preceding line    MOVE
    .    Repeat the previous edit command
     /    Text search forward for a given regular expr    MOVE
    0    If not part of count, move to 1st char of this line    MOVE
    1    Part of count
    2    Part of count
    3    Part of count
    4    Part of count
    5    Part of count
    6    Part of count
    7    Part of count
    8    Part of count
    9    Part of count
    :    Text. Run single ex cmd
count    ;    Repeat the previous [fFtT] cmd    MOVE
count    < mv    Shift text left    EDIT
    =    (Not defined)
count    > mv    Shift text right    EDIT
    ? text    Search backward for a given regular expression    MOVE
    @    (Not defined)
count    A inp    Append at end of the line    EDIT
count    B    Move back Word    MOVE
    C inp    Change text from cursor through end of line    EDIT
    D    Delete text from  cursor through end of line    EDIT
count    E    Move end of Word    MOVE
count    F key    Move leftward to a given character    MOVE
count    G    Move to line #count (default is the bottom line)    MOVE
count    H    Move to home row (the line at the top of the screen)
count    I inp    Insert at the front of the line (after indents)    EDIT
count    J    Join lines, to form one big line    EDIT
    K    Look up keyword
count    L    Move to last row (the line at the bottom of the screen)
    M    Move to middle row (the line in the middle)
    N    Repeat previous search, but the opposite way    MOVE
count    O inp    Open up a new line above the current line    EDIT
    P    Paste text before the cursor
    Q    Quit to EX mode
    R inp    Overtype    EDIT
count    S inp    Change lines, like countcc
count    T key    Move leftward almost to a given character    MOVE
    U    Undo all recent changes to the current line
    V    (Not defined)
count    W    Move forward count Words    MOVE
count    X    Delete the character(s) to the left of the cursor    EDIT
count    Y    Yank text line(s) (copy them into a cut buffer)
    Z Z    Save the file & exit
    [ [    Move back 1 section    MOVE
    \    (Not defined)
    ] ]    Move forward 1 section    MOVE
    ^    Move to the front of the current line (after indent)    MOVE
    _    (Not defined)
    ` key    Move to a marked character    MOVE
count    a inp    Insert text after the cursor    EDIT
count    b    Move back count words    MOVE
    c mv    Change text    EDIT
    d mv    Delete text    EDIT
count    e    Move forward to the end of the current word    MOVE
count    f key    Move rightward to a given character    MOVE
    g    (Not defined)
count    h    Move left    MOVE
count    i inp    Insert text at the cursor    EDIT
count    j    Move down    MOVE
count    k    Move up    MOVE
count    l    Move right    MOVE
    m key    Mark a line or character
    n    Repeat the previous search    MOVE
count    o inp    Open a new line below the current line    EDIT
    p    Paste text after the cursor
    q    (Not defined)
count    r key    Replace count chars by a given character    EDIT
count    s inp    Replace count chars with text from the user    EDIT
count    t key    Move rightward almost to a given character    MOVE
    u    Undo the previous edit command
    v    (Not defined)
count    w    Move forward count words    MOVE
count    x    Delete the character that the cursor's on    EDIT
    y mv    Yank text (copy it into a cut buffer)
    z key    Scroll current line to the screen's +=top -=bottom .=middle
count    {    Move back count paragraphs    MOVE
count    |    Move to column count (the leftmost column is 1)
count    }    Move forward count paragraphs    MOVE
count    ~    Switch a character between upper & lower case    EDIT
    DEL    (Not defined)

  Ex Commands

Below is a list of the ex commands supported. All can be abbreviated.

[line]	append
	args	[files]
	cd	[directory]
	chdir	[directory]
[line][,line]	change
[line][,line]	copy	line
[line][,line]	debug[!]
[line][,line]	Delete	[x]
	edit[!]	[file]
	ex[!]	[file]
	file
[line][,line]	global	/regexp/ command
[line]	Insert
[line][,line]	join
[line][,line]	list
	map[!]	key mapped_to
[line]	mark	x
	mkexrc
[line][,line]	Move	line
	next[!]	[files]
	Next[!]
	previous[!]
[line][,line]	print
[line]	put	[x]
	quit[!]
[line]	read	file
	rewind[!]
	set	[options]
[line][,line]	substitute	/regexp/replacement/[p][g]
	tag[!]	tagname
[line][,line]	to	line
	Undo
	unmap[!]	key
	validate[!]
	version
[line][,line]	vglobal	/regexp/ command
	visual
	wq
[line][,line]	write[!]	[[>>]file]
	xit[!]
[line][,line]	yank	[x]
[line][,line]	!	command
[line][,line]	<
[line][,line]	=
[line][,line]	>

[line]	append
[line][,line]	change [x]
[line]	Insert
The (a)ppend command inserts text after the specified line. The (i)nsert command inserts text before the specified line. The (c)hange command copies the range of lines into a cut buffer, deletes them, and inserts new text where the old text used to be. For all of these commands, you indicate the end of the text you're inserting by hitting ^D or by entering a line which contains only a period.

[line][,line]	Delete [x]
[line][,line]	yank [x]
[line]	put[!] [x]
[line][,line]	copy line
[line][,line]	to line
[line][,line]	Move line
The (d)elete command copies the specified range of lines into a cut buffer, and then deletes them. The (y)ank command copies the specified range of lines into a cut buffer, but does not delete them. The (pu)t command inserts text from a cut buffer after the specified line—or before it if the ! is present. The (co)py and (t)o commands yank the specified range of lines and then immediately paste them after some other line. The (m)ove command deletes the specified range of lines and then immediately pastes them after some other line. If the destination line comes after the deleted text, then it will be adjusted automatically to account for the deleted lines.

[line][,line]	print
[line][,line]	list
The (p)rint command displays the specified range of lines. The (l)ist command also displays them, but it is careful to make control characters visible.

[line][,line]	global /regexp/ command
[line][,line]	vglobal /regexp/ command
The (g)lobal command searches through the lines of the specified range (or through the whole file if no range is specified) for lines that contain a given regular expression. It then moves the cursor to each of these lines and runs some other command on them. The (v)global command is similar, but it searches for lines that do not contain the regular expression.

[line][,line]	join
[line][,line]	! program
[line][,line]	<
[line][,line]	>
[line][,line]	substitute /regexp/replacement/[p][g]
The (j)oin command concatenates all lines in the specified range together to form one big line. If only a single line is specified, then the following line is catenated onto it. The ! command runs an external filter program, and feeds the specified range of lines to it's stdin. The lines are then replaced by the output of the filter. A typical example would be :'a,'z!sort -n to sort the lines 'a,'z according to their numeric values. The < and > commands shift the specified range of lines left or right, normally by the width of 1 tab character. The shiftwidth option determines the shifting amount. The (s)ubstitute command finds the regular expression in each line, and replaces it with the replacement text. The p option causes the altered lines to be printed, and the g option permits all instances of the regular expression to be found & replaced. (Without g, only the first occurrence is replaced.)

	undo
The (u)ndo command restores the file to the state it was in before your most recent command which changed text.

	map[!] [key mapped_to]
	unmap[!] key
	set [options]
	mkexrc
[line]	mark x
	visual
	version
[line][,line]	=
	file
The (ma)p command allows you to configure elvis to recognize your function keys, and treat them as though they transmitted some other sequence of characters. Normally this mapping is done only when in
the visual command mode, but with the [!]    present it will map keys
under all contexts. When this command is given with no arguments, it prints a table showing all mappings currently in effect. When called with two arguments, the first is the sequence that your function key really sends, and the second is the sequence that you want elvis to treat it as having sent. The (unm)ap command removes key definitions that were made via the map command. The (se)t command allows you examine or set various options. With no arguments, it displays the values of options that have been changed. With the single argument all it displays the values of all options, regardless of whether they've been explicitly set or not. Otherwise, the arguments are treated as options to be set. The (mk)exrc command saves the current configuration to a file called .exrc in the current directory. The mar(k) command defines a named mark to refer to a specific place in the file. This mark may be used later to specify lines for other commands. The (vi)sual command puts the editor into visual mode. Instead of emulating ex, elvis will start emulating vi. The (ve)rsion command tells you that what version of elvis this is. The = command tells you what line you specified, or, if you specified a range of lines, it will tell you both endpoints and the number of lines included in the range. The file command tells you the name of the file, whether it has been modified, the number of lines in the file, and the current line number.

	args [files]
	next[!] [files]
	Next[!]
	previous[!]
	rewind[!]
When you invoke elvis from your shell's command line, any filenames that you give to elvis as arguments are stored in the args list. The (ar)gs command will display this list, or define a new one. The (n)ext command switches from the current file to the next one in the args list. You may specify a new args list here, too. The (N)ext and (pre)vious commands (they're really aliases for the same command) switch from the current file to the preceding file in the args list. The (rew)ind command switches from the current file to the first file in the args list.

	edit[!] [file]
	tag[!] tagname
The (e)dit command allows to switch from the current file to some other file. This has nothing to do with the args list, by the way. The (ta)g command looks up a given tagname in a file called tags". This tells it which file the tag is in, and how to find it in that file. Elvis then switches to the tag's file and finds the tag.

	quit[!]
	wq
	xit
The (q)uit command exits from the editor without saving your file. The (wq) and (x)it commands (really two names for the same command) both write the file before exiting.

[line]	read file
[line][,line]	write[!][[>>]file]
The (r)ead command gets text from another file and inserts it after the specified line.
The (w)rite command writes the whole file, or just part of it, to some other file. The !, if present, will permit the lines to be written even if you've set the readonly option. If you precede the filename by >> then the lies will be appended to the file.

	cd [directory]
	chdir [directory]
	shell
The (cd) and (chd)ir commands (really two names for one command) switch the current working directory. The (sh)ell command starts an interactive shell.

[line][,line]	debug[!]
	validate[!]
These commands are only available if you compile elvis with the -DDEBUG flag. The de(b)ug command lists stats for the blocks which contain the specified range of lines. If the ! is present, then the contents of those blocks is displayed, too. The (va)lidate command checks certain variables for internal consistency. Normally it does not output anything unless it detects a problem. With the !, though, it will always produce *some* output.

  Extensions
In addition to the standard commands, a variety of extra features are present in elvis that are not present in vi. They are described below.
.exrc
Elvis first runs a .exrc file (if there is one) from your $HOME directory. After that, it runs a .exrc (if there is one) from the current directory. The one in the current directory may override settings made by the one in the $HOME directory.
:mkexrc
:mk
This EX command saves the current :set and :map configurations in the .exrc file in your current directory.
:args
:ar
You can use the :args command to define a new args list, as in:
    :args *.h After you have defined a new args list, the next time you issue a :next command elvis will switch to the first file of the new list.
:Next
:previous
:N
:pre
These commands move backwards through the args list.
zz
In VI, the (lowercase) zz command will center the current line on the screen, like z="
.
The default count value for . is the same as the previous command which . is meant to repeat. However, you can supply a new count if you wish. For example, after 3dw, . will delete 3 words, but 5. will delete 5 words.
"
The text which was most recently input (via a cw command, or something similar) is saved in a cut buffer called ". (which is a pretty hard name to write in an English sentence). You can use this with the p or P commands thusly:
    ".p
K
You can move the cursor onto a word and press shift-K to have elvis run a reference program to look that word up. This command alone is worth the price of admission! See the ctags and ref programs.
input
You can backspace back past the beginning of the line. If you type CTRL-A, then the text that you input last time is inserted. You will remain in input mode, so you can backspace over part of it, or add more to it. (This is sort of like CTRL-@ on the real vi, except that CTRL-A really works.) Real vi can only remember up to 128 characters of input, but elvis can remember any amount.
:set charattr
:se ca
Elvis can display backslash-f style character attributes on the screen as you edit. The following example shows the recognized attributes:
    normal boldface italics NOTE: you must compile elvis without the –DSET_NOCHARATTR flag for this to work.

  Omissions

A few vi features are missing. The replace mode is a hack. It does not save the text that it overwrites.

Long lines are displayed differently—where the real vi would wrap a long line onto several rows of the screen, elvis simply displays part of the line, and allows you to scroll the screen sideways to see the rest of it.

The :preserve and :recover commands are missing, as is the –r flag. :Preserve" is practically never used and since use of :recover\*(CQ is so rare, it was decided to implement it as a separate program. There's no need to load the recovery code into memory every time you edit a file.

LISP support is missing. The @ and :@ commands are missing. You cannot APPEND to a cut buffer.

  Options

A variety of options can be set as described below:
Name	Abbr	Type	Default	Description
autoindent	as	Bool	FALSE	autoindent during input?
autowrite	aw	Bool	FALSE	write file for :n command?
charattr	ca	Bool	FALSE	display bold & underline chars?
columns	co	Number	80	width of screen, in characters
directory	dir	String	/usr/tmp	where tmp files are kept
errorbells	eb	Bool	TRUE	ring bell on error?
exrefresh	er	Bool	TRUE	EX mode calls write() often?
ignorecase	ic	Bool	FALSE	searches: upper/lowercase OK?
keytime	kt	Number	1	allow slow receipt of ESC seq?
keywordprg	kp	String	/usr/bin/ref	program to run for shift-K
lines	ln	Number	25	height of screen, in lines
list	li	Bool	FALSE	show tabs as ^I?
magic	ma	Bool	TRUE	searches: allow metacharacters?
paragraphs	pa	String	PPppPApa	paragraphs start with .PP, etc.
readonly	ro	Bool	FALSE	no file should be written back?
report	re	Number	5	report changes to X lines?
scroll	sc	Number	12	default #lines for ^U and ^D
sections	se	String	SEseSHsh	sections start with .SE, etc.
shell	sh	String	/bin/sh	shell program, from environment
shiftwidth	sw	Number	8	width of < or > commands
sidescroll	ss	Number	8	#chars to scroll sideways by
sync	sy	Bool	FALSE	call sync() after each change?
tabstop	ts	Number	8	width of a tab character
term	te	String	"?"	terminal type, from environment
vbell	vb	Bool	TRUE	use visible bell if possible?
warn	wa	Bool	TRUE	warn if file not saved for :!cmd
wrapmargin	wm	Number	0	Insert newline after which col?
wrapscan	ws	Bool	TRUE	searches: wrap at EOF?
autoindent
During input mode, the autoindent option will cause each added line to begin with the same amount of leading whitespace as the line above it. Without autoindent, added lines are initially empty.
autowrite
When you're editing one file and decide to switch to another—via the :tag command, or :next command, perhaps—if your current file has been modified, then elvis will normally print an error message and refuse to switch. However, if the autowrite option is on, then elvis will write the modified version of the current file and successfully switch to the new file.
charattr
Many text formatting programs allow you to designate portions of your text to be underlined, italicized, or boldface by embedding the special strings \fU, \fI, and \fB in your text. The special string \fR marks the end of underlined or boldface text. Elvis normally treats those special strings just like any other text. However, if the charattr option is on, then elvis will interpret those special strings correctly, to display underlined or boldface text on the screen. (This only works, of course, if your terminal can display underlined and boldface, and if the TERMCAP entry says how to do it.)
columns
This is a read only option. You cannot change its value, but you can have elvis print it. It shows how wide your screen is.
directory
Elvis uses temporary files to store changed text. This option allows you to control where those temporary files will be. Ideally, you should store them on in fast non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk. This option can only be set in the ".exrc" file.
errorbells
Normally, elvis will ring your terminal's bell if you make an error. However, in noerrorbells mode, your terminal will remain silent.
exrefresh
The EX mode of elvis writes many lines to the screen. You can make elvis either write each line to the screen separately, or save up many lines and write them all at once. The exrefresh option is normally on, so each line is written to the screen separately. You may wish to turn the exrefresh option off (:se noer) if the write system call is costly on your machine, or if you're using a windowing environment. (Windowing environments scroll text a lot faster when you write many lines at once.) This option has no effect in vi mode.
ignorecase
Normally, when elvis searches for text, it treats uppercase letters as being different for lowercase letters. When the ignorecase option is on, uppercase and lowercase are treated as equal.
keytime
The arrow keys of most terminals send a multi-character sequence. It takes a measurable amount of time for these sequences to be transmitted. The keytime option allows you to control the maximum amount of time to allow for an arrow key (or other mapped key) to be received in full. The default keytime value is 2. Because of the way timekeeping works, the actual amount of time allowed will vary slightly, but it will always be between 1 and 2 seconds. If you set keytime to 1, then the actual amount of time allowed will be between 0 and 1 second. This will generally make the keyboard's response be a little faster (mostly for the ESC key), but on those occasions where the time allowed happens to be closer to 0 than 1 second, elvis may fail to allow enough time for an arrow key's sequence to be received fully. Ugh. As a special case, you can set keytime to 0 to disable this time limit stuff altogether. The big problem here is: If your arrow keys' sequences start with an ESC, then every time you hit your ESC key elvis will wait... and wait... to see if maybe that ESC was part of an arrow key's sequence. NOTE: this option is a generalization of the timeout option of the real vi.
keywordprg
Elvis has a special keyword lookup feature. You move the cursor onto a word, and hit shift-K, and elvis uses another program to look up the word and display information about it. This option says which program gets run. It should contain the full pathname of the program; your whole execution path is not checked. The default value of this option is /usr/bin/ref, which is a program that looks up the definition of a function in C. It looks up the function name in a file called refs which is created by ctags. You can substitute other programs, such as an English dictionary program or the online manual. elvis runs the program, using the keyword as its only argument. The program should write information to stdout. The program's exit status should be 0, unless you want elvis to print <<< failed >>>".
lines
This read only option shows how many lines you screen has.
list
Normally (in nolist" mode) elvis will expand tabs to the proper number of spaces on the screen, so that the file appears the same would it would be if you printed it or looked at it with more. Sometimes, though, it can be handy to have the tabs displayed as ^I". In list" mode, elvis does this, and also displays a $" after the end of the line.
magic
The search mechanism in elvis can accept regular expressions—strings in which certain characters have special meaning. The magic option is normally on, which causes these characters to be treated specially. If you turn the magic option off (:se noma), then all characters except ^ and $ are treated literally. ^ and $ retain their special meanings regardless of the setting of magic.
paragraphs
The { and } commands move the cursor forward or backward in increments of one paragraph. Paragraphs may be separated by blank lines, or by a dot command of a text formatter. Different text formatters use different dot commands. This option allows you to configure elvis to work with your text formatter. It is assumed that your formatter uses commands that start with a ". character at the front of a line, and then have a one- or two-character command name. The value of the paragraphs option is a string in which each pair of characters is one possible form of your text formatter's paragraph command.
readonly
Normally, elvis will let you write back any file to which you have write permission. If you do not have write permission, then you can only write the changed version of the file to a different file. If you set the readonly option, then elvis will pretend you do not have write permission to any file you edit. It is useful when you really only mean to use elvis to look at a file, not to change it. This way you cannot change it accidentally. This option is normally off, unless you use the view alias of elvis. View is like vi except that the readonly option is on.
report
Commands in elvis may affect many lines. For commands that affect a lot of lines, elvis will output a message saying what was done and how many lines were affected. This option allows you to define what a lot of lines means. The default is 5, so any command which affects 5 or more lines will cause a message to be shown.
scroll
The CTRL-U and CTRL-D keys normally scroll backward or forward by half a screenful, but this is adjustable. The value of this option says how many lines those keys should scroll by.
sections
The [[ and ]] commands move the cursor backward or forward in increment of 1 section. Sections may be delimited by a { character in column 1 (which is useful for C source code) or by means of a text formatter's dot commands. This option allows you to configure elvis to work with your text formatter's section command, in exactly the same way that the paragraphs option makes it work with the formatter's paragraphs" command.
shell
When elvis forks a shell (perhaps for the :! or :shell commands) this is the program that is uses as a shell. This is /bin/sh by default, unless you have set the SHELL environment variable, it which case the default value is copied from the environment.
shiftwidth
The < and > commands shift text left or right by some uniform number of columns. The shiftwidth option defines that uniform number. The default is 8.
sidescroll
For long lines, elvis scrolls sideways. (This is different from the real vi, which wraps a single long line onto several rows of the screen.) To minimize the number of scrolls needed, elvis moves the screen sideways by several characters at a time. The value of this option says how many characters' widths to scroll at a time. Generally, the faster your screen can be redrawn, the lower the value you will want in this option.
sync
If the system crashes during an edit session, then most of your work can be recovered from the temporary file that elvis uses to store changes. However, sometimes will not copy changes to the hard disk immediately, so recovery might not be possible. The [no]sync option lets you control this. In nosync mode (which is the default), elvis lets the operating system control when data is written to the disk. This is generally faster. In sync mode, elvis forces all changes out to disk every time you make a change. This is generally safer, but slower.
tabstop
Tab characters are normally 8 characters wide, but you can change their widths by means of this option.
term
This read only option shows the name of the termcap entry that elvis is using for your terminal.
vbell
If your termcap entry describes a visible alternative to ringing your terminal's bell, then this option will say whether the visible version gets used or not. Normally it will be. If your termcap does NOT include a visible bell capability, then the vbell option will be off, and you cannot turn it on.
warn
Elvis will normally warn you if you run a shell command without saving your changed version of a file. The nowarn" option prevents this warning.
wrapmargin
Normally (with wrapmargin=0) elvis will let you type in extremely long lines, if you wish. However, with wrapmargin set to something other that 0 (wrapmargin=65 is nice), elvis will automatically cause long lines to be wrapped" on a word break for lines longer than wrapmargin's setting.
wrapscan
Normally, when you search for something, elvis will find it no matter where it is in the file. elvis starts at the cursor position, and searches forward. If elvis hits EOF without finding what you're looking for, then it wraps around to continue searching from line 1. If you turn off the wrapscan option (:se nows), then when elvis hits EOF during a search, it will stop and say so.

  Cflags

Elvis uses many preprocessor symbols to control compilation. Most of these flags allow you to disable small sets of features. MINIX-ST users will probably want all features enabled, but MINIX-PC users will have to disable one or two feature sets because otherwise elvis would be too large to compile and run. These symbols can be defined via flags passed to the compiler. The best way to do this is to edit the Makefile, and append the flag to the CFLAGS= line. After you do that, you must recompile elvis completely by saying
–DM_SYSV
This flag causes elvis to use System-V ioctl() calls for controlling your terminal; normally it uses v7/BSD/MINIX ioctl() calls.
–DDATE
The symbol DATE should be defined to look like a string constant, giving the date when elvis was compiled. This date is reported by the :version command. You can also leave DATE undefined, in which case :version will not report the compilation date.
–DCRUNCH
This flag causes several large often-used macros to be replaced by equivalent functions. This saves about 4K of space in the .text segment, and it does not cost you any features.
–DDEBUG
This adds many internal consistency checks and the :debug and :validate commands. It increases the size of text by about 5K bytes.
–DNO_CHARATTR
This permanenently disables the charattr option. It reduces the size of .text by about 850 bytes.
–DNO_RECYCLE
Normally, elvis will recycle space in the temporary file which contains totally obsolete text. The –DNO_RECYCLE option disables this, making your .text segment smaller by about 1K but also permitting the temporary file to grow very quickly. If you have less than two megabytes of free space on your disk, then do not even consider using this flag.
–DNO_SENTENCE
This leaves out the ( and ) visual commands, and removes the code that allows the [[, ]], {, and } commands to recognize nroff macros. The [[ and ]] commands will still move to the start of the previous/next C function source code, though, and { and } will move to the previous/next blank line. This saves about 650 bytes from the .text segment.
–DNO_CHARSEARCH
This leaves out the visual commands which locate a given character in the current line: f, t, F, T, ;, and ,. This saves about 900 bytes.
–DNO_EXTENSIONS
This leaves out the :mkexrc command, and the K and # visual commands. Other extensions are either inherent in the design of elvis, or are too tiny to be worth removing. This saves about 500 bytes.
–DNO_MAGIC
This permanently disables the magic option, so that most meta-characters in a regular expression are not recognized. This saves about 3K bytes from the .text segment.

  Termcap
Elvis can use standard termcap entries, but it also recognizes and uses several extra capabilities, if you give them. All of these are optional.
Capability	Description
:PU=:	sequence received from the <PgUp> key
:PD=:	sequence received from the <PgDn> key
:HM=:	sequence received from the <Home> key
:EN=:	sequence received from the <End> key
:VB=:	sequence sent to start bold printing
:Vb=:	sequence sent to end bold printing

  Author

Elvis was written by Steve Kirkendall. He can be reached by email at: kirkenda@cs.pdx.edu for comments regarding elvis.