vi (the real vi, not the clones) is configured in the file ~/.exrc. vim will use that file too if it is present.

vim has a configuration file of its own too, it is located in ~/.vimrc. I don't know what happens if you have both, so i suggest you use only one of them. Both files work the same and use the same configuration syntax.

Traditional configuration in vi is done in two ways: there are on/off options like switch line-numbers on or off. The "off" is done by prepending "no" in front of the option name, for example, said line numbers:

Code:

set lines
set nolines

These options can also be issued from the command prompt in vi so you can test them before putting them into the rc-file.

Other options take a value, like "shiftwidth", "sw" for short. These are set this way:

Code:

set sw=5

Here is a sample, my configuration, which resembles the real vi as much as possible:

Code:

" my .exrc file
" every line introduced with a double quote is a comment
set terse
set noshowmode
set noshowmatch
set nonovice
set noruler
set nohlsearch
set nomodeline
set noflash
set sw=5
set ai

To enable the display of the current mode the editor is in use:

Code:

set showmode

I hope this helps.

bakunin