Introduction 

This article presents a sample .exrc file that can be used 
by users of the vi editor.  The .exrc file, located in your 
home directory, is the startup (or configuration) file for 
the vi editor. 

The intent of this brief article is to show some of the 
ways you can modify the configuration of the vi editor



Please note that the .exrc file contains commands that Vi 
reads when you first run it. The default directory that Vi 
looks in for the .exrc file is your home directory. 
However, if you run Vi from another directory containing 
a .exrc file, Vi will use the .exrc in that directory and 
bypass the home directory .exrc. You must precede control 
characters (like ^[ or ^M) with CONTROL-V. For example to 
enter ^M, type CONTROL-V CONTROL-M. 

 
Some important points for .exrc files: 

Do not allow any blank lines in the file or processing will 
stop on that line. 
Comments are introduced by starting a line with a double 
quote: " 
All directives, whether options, abbreviations, or key 
macros must all be typed on a single line. The listing 
below has had the lines broken up for the sake of 
readability. 
Control characters like [tab],[linefeed],[escape] can be 
inserted by first typing ^V (hold down Ctrl, and press V), 
followed by the character. For instance, for [tab], hold 
Ctrl and press V, release Ctrl, hit [tab]. You'll see ^I. 
This is evident in the listing below. 
For VIM the corresponsing file is .vimrc (_vimrc in case of 
windows).
***********************************************************
            Nipesh janghel
Nippucompu Dictionary developed