Starting and Ending a Session

vi/ex start - end - switch
vi filename	open a file with name filename in vi mode
view filename	open a file with name filename readonly
ex filename	open a file with name filename in ex mode
ex -R filename	open a file with name filename readonly
vi -r filename	recover editor file after a system crash in vi mode
ex -r filename	recover editor file after a system crash in ex mode
~	indicate blank lines on screen (not a command)
ZZ :x :wq<ret>	write contents to file and exit; if file is readonly,
	command aborts, we can save file with new name
	or force write with w! using the force flag !
:q<ret> :q!<ret>	quit session without storing text
:w<ret>	save text without exiting
<ctrl>L	refresh screen
Q	switch to ex
:vi	switch to vi
n.b. - To force command execution append ! to command code
n.b. - Use ZZ with care when writing part of file with w

The vi calling sequence is:

vi [ -t tag ] [ +command ] [ -l ] [ -r ] [ -wn ] name...

The meaning of the options is:

-t tag	Specifies a list of tag files. The tag files are preceded by a
	backslash ( $\backslash$) and are separated by spaces. The tag option should
	always be the first entry.
+command	Tells the editor to begin by executing the specified command. A useful
	example would be +/pattern to search for a pattern.
	Command may consist of several commands seperated by | (vertical bar)
-l	Sets the showmatch and lisp options to edit LISP code.
-r name	Retrieves the last saved version of the named file in the event of
	an editor or system crash. If no file is specified, a list of saved
	files is produced.
-wn	Sets the default window size to n. This option is useful for starting
	in a small window on dialups.