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Problem:

The changes I make in files before closing are not saved in .swp files As I understand it, the swap file should save any changes if they are at least 200 characters long or nothing has been typed for 4 seconds

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Create new file tmp.sql

  2. Write some text as a comment:

/* This is the comment I wrote. I did not save after I wrote it*/

  1. Close window after about 10 seconds have passed

  2. Restart Vim and open file using “:e”

  3. I get the usual .swp message from vim

  4. I type “r” to recover

Error Message:

Error: “Unable to read block 0 from /home/csarraille/docs/qua/tmp.sql

Maybe no changes were made or Vim did not update the swap file.

Environment:

  • My .swp files are stored in their own folder. I specify this in my .vimrc

    :set directory=$HOME/.vim/swapfiles//

  • I use Cygwin on a Windows machine to run Vim 8.0

Included Patches: 1-1567

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  • 2
    I doubt this is it (hence comment), but the 200 characters/4 seconds are defaults and it's possible you've overridden them in .vimrc (or elsewhere). You can confirm these values with :set updatecount and :set updatetime.
    – brhfl
    Oct 29, 2018 at 19:20
  • 1
    Thank you @brhfl. My default settings were OK, but I appreciate knowing about how to set them in the future.
    – eaux_bonnes
    Oct 29, 2018 at 23:12

1 Answer 1

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I'm not sure why, but rather than what I had in my .vimrc for .swp file management, which was:

set directory=$HOME/.vim/swapfiles//

...The error described below has resolved by using this, placed at the very end of my .vimrc:

set directory=/tmp//

For users of Cygwin, perhaps placing the swapfile directory within the .vim directory does not work.

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