Xref: utzoo unix-pc.bugs:37 comp.sys.att:4345 comp.unix.wizards:11364 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!labrea!agate!pasteur!ames!pacbell!att!ihnp4!ihlpe!woods From: woods@ihlpe.ATT.COM (Swan) Newsgroups: unix-pc.bugs,comp.sys.att,comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: Weird problem with vi... "Not that many lines in buffer" Keywords: vi, bug Message-ID: <3552@ihlpe.ATT.COM> Date: 26 Sep 88 22:44:34 GMT References: <508@icus.islp.ny.us> Reply-To: woods@ihlpe.UUCP (52462-Swan,W.D.) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois Lines: 44 In article <508@icus.islp.ny.us> lenny@icus.islp.ny.us (Lenny Tropiano) writes: >I just created this .signature file, and for some reason every time this >is in a file, and I do a "vi" of that file I get the following message... > >".signature" 4 lines of 300 characters Not that many lines in buffer > >I've tried all kinds of things to alliviate this, I retyped the file >(verbatim) and it still came back... I guess it doesn't like my .signature :-( >If you save this message (or try to reply to it) and vi is your editor, it >should crop up (at least on the UNIX PC). Is something wrong with my >editor, should I reinstall the ENHANCED EDITORS? > >-Lenny >-- >Lenny Tropiano ICUS Software Systems w: +1 (516) 582-5525 >lenny@icus.islp.ny.us Telex: 154232428 ICUS h: +1 (516) 968-8576 >{talcott,boulder,hombre,pacbell,sbcs}!icus!lenny attmail!icus!lenny > ICUS Software Systems -- PO Box 1; Islip Terrace, NY 11752 Yes, I got the same response too. The cause of it is an undocumented feature of ex/vi that you are inadvertantly using but didn't know you were. When vi starts to edit a file, it looks in the first 4 lines and the last 4 lines of that file for either vi: (that's vi followed by a colon), or ex: (I'm trying to be careful I don't do the same thing!). If later on the same line there is another colon (:), vi assumes that the stuff between the first part (ex colon or vi colon) and the later colon are some ex-mode commands to do some set up, such as "ex: set showmatching :", which, if it were in the first 4 lines or last 4 lines of this file, would automatically turn on the showmatching mode of vi. Now, go back and look at your signature line that starts: lenny@icus.islp... Your Telex number is trying to tell vi (due to the later h:) to go to line 154232428 (and perform the "ICUS h" command on it even)!! Whoops! Perhaps you could slip a . in after the Telex, as in: Telex.: 154... Hope this helps. Warren D. Swan (WooDS) Y n n ____ __ AT&T Bell Laboratories -(((((([__]_)__] Naperville, Illinois /o-O-O-O oo oo ihlpe!woods #####################