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I use Vim for writing C++, and I have quite a few #include<> statements, comments, etc. that I must include in each new file I create. I've added

autocmd BufNewFile *.cpp r C:\(full file path of skeleton text file) 

to my vimrc, because I heard this creates a buffer with the text I need in it. How do I go about adding this text to a new file? Is there an easy way to do this from the buffer, or is there another easy way to go about doing this? I've also heard a little about template plugins. Is there a very simple one that could do this for me?

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  • 1
    Did you try out editing a new C++ file after adding this autocmd, and creating the skeleton file?
    – muru
    Feb 4, 2016 at 1:00
  • 1
    I tried creating a new file with a .cpp file extension and editing it with Vim. Upon opening it for editing, it was still blank is there another step I need to do? Feb 4, 2016 at 1:12
  • 2
    No, you should have seen the contents of the skeleton file already included. What if you manually run :r C:\(full file path of skeleton text file)? Do you get any errors?
    – muru
    Feb 4, 2016 at 1:14
  • 3
    @electriccello Ah, :enew won't work, but :e newfile.cpp should work if newfile.cpp didn't already exist (even if empty).
    – muru
    Feb 4, 2016 at 1:28
  • 5
    The reason :enew wont work is because you're editing a new, unnamed buffer, and then saving it as a .cpp file. BufNewFile only triggers if you're editing a new file with the target filename. Feb 4, 2016 at 1:40

3 Answers 3

7

Skeleton text from an existing file can be added to a new file by inserting the line

autocmd BufNewFile *.cpp r C:\(full file path of skeleton text file)

into the vimrc. The BufNewFile event does not work if the new file is created in two steps using :enew then :sav filename. Instead, creating a new file using :e filename triggers the BufNewFile event's autocommand in the vimrc, adding the contents of the skeleton text file to the newly created file.

3
  • 2
    Also see :help template. Aug 23, 2018 at 12:04
  • To prevent my .vimrc from being congested, is there any other location in the ~/.vim/ hierarchy I can put it into? Jun 7, 2019 at 20:45
  • This also adds an additional blank line on the top in the new file. Jun 8, 2019 at 4:32
5

Indeed, template expander plugins will help you in this task. :read is the step 0 of template expander plugins.

For instance, mu-template will try to include foo.h from foo.cpp if foo.h is detected. It'll also permit to expand headers with dynamic data within them (date, author, license/copyright, etc).

1

To setup default skeleton for all filetypes and customize it for specific project:

function! s:load_skeleton(type)
  " do nothing if no filetype
  if empty(a:type) | return | endif

  " glob every directory of rtp to search for skeleton/filetype
  let skeletons = globpath(&rtp, 'skeleton/' . a:type, 0, 1)
  if empty(skeletons) | return | endif

  " read last skeleton into 1st line.
  exe '0read ' . skeletons[-1]
endfunction

augroup aug_skeleton
  au!

  " BufNewFile event is trigged when you edit a new file.
  autocmd BufNewFile * call s:load_skeleton(&filetype)
augroup end

Put default skeletons under ~/.vim/skeleton, eg: ~/.vim/skeleton/vim, ~/.vim/skeleton/sh.

Put project specific skeleton under balabala/project/.vim/skeleton. As long as ~/.vim appears before balabala/project/.vim in :h rtp, balabala/project/skeleton/ will be used as skeleton directory.

1
  • What's the reason for the first two lines of the augroup?
    – bongbang
    Apr 30, 2022 at 20:51

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