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How do I get vim to stop pestering me with syntax and other annoying highlighting?
You want to turn off the following highlighting features:
Syntax Highlighting
Search Highlighting
Matching Parentheses, Brackets, Etc. Highlighting
You can do the following from within vim:
:set syntax=off
:set nohlsearch
:NoMatchParen
Or, if you'd rather do it permanently, you can add the following to
your .vimrc file:
syntax off
set nohlsearch
:let loaded_matchparen = 1
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How do I stop the annoying auto-comment and auto-indenting when I paste into vim?
From within vim, you can do:
:set noai
Another way to do it is, just before you do the paste, do a:
:set paste
Then immediately afterword do a:
:set nopaste
An alternative method would be to do a:
:r! cat /dev/tty
[paste here]
^D
But, keep in mind that /dev/tty must be your current tty device.
(In other words, it works on Linux, your mileage may vary. :)
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How do I change the EOL file format characters used in vim?
From within vim, do the following:
:set fileformat=XYZ
Where XYZ is one of "unix", "dos", "mac".
Unix EOL = LF (linefeed, newline, \n)
DOS EOL = CRLF (carriage-return+linefeed, return+newline, \r\n)
Mac EOL = CR (carriage-return, return, \r)
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In a windowing environment, how can I cut/copy from vim so that I can paste in other windows?
Of course, you can use the mouse. But if you're a touch-typist who prefers
using the keyboard like I do, you can still do it.
In command mode, an uppercase V will start the visual highlighting mode, which
allows you to highlight one or more lines, using command mode movement keys.
Once highlighted, you can yank them into the clipboard using:
"+y
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How do I make vi do the right thing with tabs?
The short answer is: You can't.
This excerpt from O'Reilly's "Learning the vi Editor" points out the grim
reality of tab stops in vi:
vi attempts to be smart when doing indenting. Usually, when you see text
indented by eight spaces at a time, vi will actually insert tab characters into
the file, since tabs usually expand to eight spaces. This is the UNIX default;
it is most noticable when you type a tab during normal input, and when files
are sent to a printer -- UNIX expands them with a tab stop of eight spaces.
If you wish, you can change how vi represents tabs on your screen, by changing
the tabstop option. For example, if you have something that is deeply indented,
you might wish to have use a tab stop setting of every four characters, so that
the lines will not wrap. The following command will make this change:
:set tabstop=4
NOTE: Changing your tab stops is not recommended. Although vi will display
the file using an arbitrary tabstop setting, the tab characters in your files
will still be expanded using an eight-character tab stop by every other UNIX
program. Eight-character tab stops are one of the facts of life on UNIX, and
you should just get used to them.
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How do I make vim do the right thing with tabs?
From the vim doc:
*'tabstop'* *'ts'*
'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
|:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
(or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing Tab and BS will
behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
|modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
works when using Vim to edit the file.
4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
changed.
*'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
<Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
local to buffer
Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
|'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
*'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
global
{not in Vi}
When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' is used in other places. A <BS> will delete
a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the line.
When off a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop'.
'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or right
|shift-left-right|.
What gets inserted (a Tab or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
number of spaces minimized by using <Tab>s.
NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
*'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
local to buffer
{not in Vi}
Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
<Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
set.
NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
My NOTE: When you set expandtab, all tabs entered will be converted to the
number of spaces tabstop is set to. However any tabs entered prior to setting
expandtab will be left as tab characters unless you use the :retab command.
Also, to enter a true tab character, you will have to use ^V (Ctrl-V).
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What can I put in my .vimrc to make python coding easier?
autocmd FileType * set tabstop=2|set shiftwidth=2|set noexpandtab
autocmd FileType python set tabstop=4|set shiftwidth=4|set expandtab
set softtabstop=4 " makes the spaces feel like real tabs
OR
autocmd BufEnter *.py set ai sw=4 ts=4 sta et fo=croql
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What are modelines?
Modelines are a potentially dangerous feature that allows vi/vim settings to be
listed inside a text file by putting them within the first or last five lines
of the text.
From the vim doc:
*modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:* *E520*
There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
[text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
[text] any text or empty
{white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
{vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
{options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
command
Example:
vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6
The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
[text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
[text] any text or empty
{white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
{vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
[white] optional white space
se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space)
{options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
argument for a ":set" command
: a colon
[text] any text or empty
Example:
/* vim: set ai tw=75: */
The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
"vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
short for "example:").
My NOTE: Bear in mind that to enable modeline support in vim, you must use 'set
modeline' (or ml for short) in your vimrc or from within a vim session.
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How do I figure out what a vim command does?
:help holy-grail