How do I get gvim to start maximised in Windows?

Question

I'd like to have my editors give me as much screen real estate as possible since it increases my ability to see most of the code at once.

The problem is that gvim seems to give me either an 80x25 window or remember the last non-maximised size, depending on how I invoke it.

So, how can I force it to be as large as possible, irrespective of any remembered state?

Answer 1

You can put this line:

autocmd GUIEnter * simalt ~x

at the end of your gvimrc file.

This method uses the autocmd feature to weave its magic. The command autocmd GUIEnter * specifies a command to run after successfully starting the GUI for a file pattern of * (any file).

The command it will execute, simalt ~x (in Windows variants of vim only), will simulate the keystroke Alt Spacebarx, which are the keystrokes that will maximise the window.

You can also use the shortened version:

au GUIEnter * sim ~x

but I prefer fully expanded commands myself, especially since it's the sort of thing you set and forget, only entering once when installing vim onto a Windows system.

---

Keep in mind that this is simulating keystrokes in order to achieve its ends. On English versions, it will work fine since Alt-SpaceX is how you maximise a window.

If that doesn't work for you, you should investigate the keystrokes in whatever locale you're using. For example, the French version will use Agrandir (enlarge) with the n as the control keystroke, so the command you would need there is:

autocmd GUIEnter * simalt ~n

(which would actually minimise your window in English).

If you're some other (non-English, non-French) variant, just press Alt-Space on a window to bring up the system menu, and find out what key should be used (it should be underlined).

---

To find your gvimrc file for adding whatever command you need, you can enter:

:version
:echo $VIM
:echo $HOME

and you should get a list of startup files and variables like:

system gvimrc file = "$VIM/gvimrc"
  user gvimrc file = "$HOME/_gvimrc"

C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim
C:\Users\Pax\Documents

Answer 2

In alternative to the maximized window, why do not gain more space for a full vim multiwindows editing experience with an autostart FULL SCREEN mode? ;-)

FULL SCREEN screenshot of the final result (= ALL THE VIDEO pixels capacity):

In my opinion that's better than a windows maximize: a complete FULL SCREEN (as I used to do with puTTY with ALT-Enter when editing on remote unix terminal...)

I explain how to:

Step 1

Install the excellent beautiful utility to allow full screen use in gvim on Windows:

https://github.com/derekmcloughlin/gvimfullscreen_win32/tree/master

You have to download DLL file gvimfullscreen.dll and put it in the same directory where gvim.exe is ($VIM/vim74 with gVim release 7.4). To download the DLL (without using git):

https://github.com/derekmcloughlin/gvimfullscreen_win32/raw/master/gvimfullscreen.dll

Step 2

Edit .vimrc file (inside vim: :e $HOME/.vimrc), inserting these commands to autostart full screen and allowing a F11 function key to toggle modes among 3 states: full screen, window maximized, original/default windows size:

"run the command immediately when starting vim
autocmd VimEnter * call libcallnr("gvimfullscreen.dll", "ToggleFullScreen", 0)

" activate/deactivate full screen with function key <F11>  
map <F11> <Esc>:call libcallnr("gvimfullscreen.dll", "ToggleFullScreen", 0)<CR>

Step 3

Edit .gvimrc file (inside vim: :split $HOME/.gvimrc) inserting these commands to avoid menu bar and useless stuff:

set guioptions-=m  "remove menu bar
set guioptions-=T  "remove toolbar
set guioptions-=r  "remove right-hand scroll bar
set guioptions-=L  "remove left-hand scroll bar

Answer 3

From :help 'lines':

Number of lines of the Vim window.
[...]
When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this option will cause the window size to be changed.
[..]
You can use this command to get the tallest window possible:
:set lines=999

The columns option does the same, except for the width (in characters).

So you could, for example, put this in your vimrc file:

set lines=55
set columns=120

This is not the same as being maximized (even if you use the 999 value as described above), since "being maximized" is a special flag put on the window, and subtly changes some operations (like moving), but it should solve your problem of having a small 80x25 window size by default.

Answer 4

In addition to the gVim-specific commands in the other answers, there are a couple standard Windows features to launch any application maximized.

If you are staring gVim from a shortcut, such as from the Start Menu or Desktop, you can change the shortcut properties to start Vim maximized. Right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, and select Maximized from the Run drop-down list. However, this will only affect that shortcut, so gVim will still open in a small window if launched from another shortcut, the Run dialog box, or the command line.

If you are starting gVim from the command line or a batch file, you can use CMD’s start command: start "" /max "C:\Program Files (x86)\Vim\vim73\gvim.exe". (The "" is required if the path to gvim.exe is quoted. If you use an unquoted path without spaces, you can omit it: start /max C:\Progra~2\Vim\vim73\gvim.exe.)