Questions tagged [invocation]
Questions about the different options that vim can take from the shell and the different commands to start the editor.
54
questions
1
vote
1
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views
How do I open vim from the command-line at a particular tag?
I have set up ctags to generate a tags file for my code base. I can now jump to definitions of functions by running :tag FUNCTIONNAME or by pressing ctrl-] when my cursor is on the invocation of a ...
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0
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24
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calling vim with mpiexec says "Warning: Output is not to a terminal / Warning: Input is not from a terminal"
My question is a bit technical.
For specific reason, I need to call vim after mpiexec.
Example :
mpiexec -n 1 vim mytext.txt
But this gives the following warning message:
Vim: Warning: Output is not ...
4
votes
1
answer
46
views
Speedier indentation of many files
I recently needed to re-indent a large number of files. I used variations of:
find . -type f -exec vim -c "normal gg=GZZ" {} \;
Which worked well, but incredibly slowly (across several ...
- 141
0
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2
answers
128
views
project-based config: how to load plugins/colors from custom subdir of $PWD when doing `vim -u local/vimrc ...`?
The Need, the Goal...
By "project-based config" I mean a project contained in a git repo that contains all the vim configuration -- vimrc and plugins and colorschemes -- right there in the ...
- 755
1
vote
2
answers
54
views
how to load multiple files into separate buffers from zsh command line?
I have a list of files like step-1.py, step-2.py etc and if I try to open them with vim files-*.py then I get a list of buffers like:
:ls
1 %a "step-10.py"
2 "step-11.py"...
- 755
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0
answers
43
views
Ex - silent mode won't read commands from a file when stdin is redirected
I'm starting vim in Ex mode, silent mode, on Windows 10, in a standard command prompt window. I'm trying to re-direct stdin from a file. I'm using the terminal version of vim 8.2.2824. It doesn't ...
0
votes
0
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35
views
Check if any vi process is editing a file, or swapfile exists?
I'm writing a script to ensure that everything I work on on my system is committed, pushed to Git etc. I'd also like to check if there are any vim swapfiles active (either in a running Vim, or from ...
- 335
5
votes
1
answer
196
views
Start vim with ex-command and append it to vim's command history
When I start vim with an ex-command as command line parameter, it won't show up in vim's command history. Why? Can I tell vim to do so?
Minimal example:
vim -c 'execute "help -c"'
Why I'm ...
- 207
1
vote
1
answer
575
views
Load plugins in vim started with --noplugin
I have my $EDITOR set to vim --noplugin -n -i NONE +star, which is what I usually want when committing with git etc.
However, sometimes I decide I need those plugins (the builtin ~/.vim/pack kind, ...
- 335
1
vote
2
answers
109
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Open file, make changes, save it as a new one. In one step, using the Windows command prompt
I have a file foo.txt with just a one line ab. I want to launch Vim in such a way that it will open this file, swap characters using xp, and then save it as bar.txt.
Something like this:
gvim foo.txt ...
- 269
1
vote
1
answer
181
views
How to escape a single quote when passing an ex-mode command from the command line, back to the command line?
Here is the command I'm trying to escape a ' from bash, to vis' to ex-mode, and then back to bash so it can be read into the buffer again:
vi -c 'sp | enew | read ! echo "Use to jump between ...
- 3,303
2
votes
1
answer
241
views
Open or create a specific Vimwiki page from a command prompt
For opening the index page of my Vimwiki instance, I have the following alias in my ~/.bashrc:
alias vimwiki='vim -c VimwikiIndex'
But how to open a specific Vimwiki page right from a command prompt?
0
votes
2
answers
66
views
Open some files in split and some other in tab at the vim invocation
I have four files file1, file2, file3, & file4. So I want to open them with vim directly from command line and get the following structure:
Tabulation 1: file1 taking whole tab
Tabulation 2: ...
- 111
0
votes
1
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66
views
Command line argument for lengthy command
I keep a sys.md file where I record a dated entry of every modification I make to my system (mostly installations of software, sometimes configuration changes) and based on an old Hacker News link ...
- 515
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3
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3k
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How can I read a command-line argument in vimrc?
Here is a situation: I want to manage my working environment on multiple projects separately, and all of them should have its own session (Session.vim) to save and restore.
So I would like to launch ...
- 527
6
votes
1
answer
145
views
How can I make sure all buffers end up as tab or force remaining buffers into tabs?
I am using Vim 7.3 for no particularly compelling reason on an old system I am forced to work on. It's an internal system and it will eventually be replaced by a more modern version of the same distro....
- 237
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
Launching Vim with a file as argument does not work, if my .vimrc contains a `:cd` command
UPDATE:
after playing around with my vimrc file I discovered this
this won't work
cd c:\myUsualFolder
set encoding=utf-8
but this will:
set encoding=utf-8
cd c:\myUsualFolder
If I launch Vim ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
228
views
bash script to open file and translate text
I have followed your post and used :%s/\\u\(\x\{4\}\)/\=nr2char('0x'.submatch(1),1)/g to translate unicode escape sequences.
However I have to open the file and need to press escape and paste your ...
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3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Call vim command from shell, and suppress output while it operates
I'm setting up a vim environment install script. I'm using vim-plug for plugin management.
What I'd like to do is, from the install.sh, run vim and call PlugInstall to
trigger plugin download and ...
- 253
1
vote
0
answers
57
views
indenting with ':g' command not working from the command line
When I need to work with some scrambled javascript/json code, one of my first steps is to introduce proper line breaks, followed by proper brace based indentation. For the later, I found the following ...
3
votes
1
answer
597
views
Read from standard input and close if empty
I'm not sure it's even possible, but I'd like to force vim to quit if reading from stdin gave empty data (0 bytes).
The reason is when I'm running commands that may output something containing ...
1
vote
2
answers
634
views
How to combine reading from stdin (- invocation argument) with ++opt
I'm trying to combine two features of vim, but it doesn't seem to be possible.
1: vim -
The first feature is invoking vim with a single-dash argument, which causes vim to read stdin and use the ...
- 163
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votes
1
answer
2k
views
Using the ex mode command line (-c), how would I insert text?
I am interested in mastering the art of using ex from the command line (vi -esc <commands> / ex -sc <commands>). I got the basics worked out, but one thing eludes me:
How do I add text ...
- 779
5
votes
2
answers
703
views
How to detect whether Vim has been invoked by another shell command?
I would like to modify the behavior of one of my mapping but only when Vim is reading data which were piped to it by $ vipe.
The mapping closes/quits the current window/session depending on certain ...
- 6,038
3
votes
1
answer
307
views
How to comment a line directly from bash using vim?
What I usually do from bash/vim ... is
open file with vim
go to line to comment
comment a line
save and quit
My file is /usr/local/etc/php/7.0/conf.d/ext-xdebug.ini and the initial content is
[...
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6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How to use a specific vimrc file and still load the usual files?
I'd like to automatically set my Vim preferences on the root account, when I use it (throught a sudo bash or sudo su-like command), without changing the default configuration of the root account (...
- 63
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votes
2
answers
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views
Vim not sourcing files on startup
I am root on the machine, and have my .vimrc at /root/.vimrc. Vim ignores this, even though
# echo $HOME
/root
If I do
# vim -u /root/.vimrc some-file-to-edit
vim still ignores it. Setting ...
- 199
3
votes
1
answer
160
views
How can I select a syntax highlighting at the (shell-) command line?
Usually, vim will get the highlighting right from the file extension, but this obviously doesn't work when I'm displaying content read from standard input.
cat File.hs | some | processing | pipeline |...
- 273
11
votes
1
answer
342
views
Experimenting with vim/gvim in "virgin" mode
Sometimes, I would like to try a trick I find in the internet. It is often helpful to try this in vim (gvim if it is a gui trick), in virgin mode, i.e., without loading all my ~/.vimrc stuff.
Do you ...
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5
answers
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views
Is it possible to pipe vim commands to vim?
I want to run the following shell.
wea-this is the end of the second word | vim j
exit 0
Which I had hoped would pipe the key strokes w (move forward a word) then e (end of the word) then a (append) ...
- 919
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votes
2
answers
4k
views
Why won't vim source my .vimrc file
Today, I found my .vimrc didn't take effect. It was ok just hours ago.
When I launched vim with $vim --plugin, :scriptnames echoed nothing: .vimrc file was not sourced. (Note: /etc/vimrc was removed ...
- 659
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3
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253
views
How do I introduce a "light mode", in which not all plugins are loaded?
My Vim config includes plugins that try to handle current project, build tags, etc. This is quite useful for my daily programming in Vim, but it's just annoying when I use Vim for some quick edits, ...
- 183
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votes
1
answer
4k
views
How to redirect the output of a command as the quickfix list to a vim server / function?
When I click on a link in thunderbird and firefox is already running, it doesn't open a new window, just a new tab.
I want the same thing for vim: no matter where I am and how I send a bunch of files ...
- 6,586
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
How can I suppress feedback when calling vim with certain commands?
I'm trying to automatically delete useless headers when calling vim from mutt. I've tried running vim with the following command.
vim +'0,/^$/g/^\(Cc\|Bcc\|Reply-To\): $/d' /tmp/test
However, I get ...
- 560
2
votes
2
answers
442
views
How do I open multiple files from find each in a separate tab in vim?
I would like to find multiple files and open them all in tabs within the same vim instance.
- 205
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votes
7
answers
2k
views
Is there a vim command line option to edit last edited file?
Is there a way to run vim from command line to edit the last edited file?
Let say I first edit file giorgio.sh:
$ vi giorgio.sh
Afterwards, I exit back to terminal
$ do something...
$ do something ...
- 1,833
7
votes
3
answers
979
views
How to specify the content of a new buffer from command line?
Is there a way to call Vim in such a way that it opens a buffer with some content specified on the terminal, i.e. not saved in a file?
For example, I would like to run vim and have it open a buffer ...
- 1,931
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1
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300
views
How to open multiple files except some files?
Suppose we have several files f11.txt f21.txt f31.txt f01.txt f02.txt f03.txt
Is there any Vim option such that I can open all files except for f0*.txt?
Something like gvim -O * --exclude=*0*? (-O ...
- 1,361
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votes
1
answer
195
views
Cannot open an url (empty buffer)
I have some strange troubles with opening an url in vim. Judging from this answer, this should be pretty easy, but when I'm doing this:
$ vim http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc7386.txt
I getting a message
...
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14
votes
3
answers
14k
views
How do I tell if Vi or Vim is installed on my Linux distribution?
I use Kubuntu 14.04 with its default installation (bash, Konsole). I want to learn a powerful, all-keyboard, text editor, and settled on one of these: Vi, Vim, Emacs, (and I'll learn Nano since it's ...
- 347
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votes
1
answer
13k
views
Setting a vim option from the command line?
How does one set a vim option when launching from bash or another shell?
- 3,303
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votes
2
answers
146
views
How to add a string to cursor point of gvim through a shell script
When gvim is opened it saves the cursor position whether it is minimized or not. So I'm curious whether it is possible to add a string starting from the cursor blinking position by running a shell ...
- 23
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4
answers
1k
views
Can :Explore be started from the terminal?
When using Vim you can use :Explore to browser through files and folders.
Is there a simple way to start Vim in "Explore mode" from the terminal? Can I do this by just giving Vim some argument?
- 1,931
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votes
1
answer
125
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How to search the help docs from a command prompt?
I find my self often, especially after this site was created, opening Vim just to type :h ... or :helpgrep ....
What I would like to do is to run Vim and immediately open the help topic that I want. ...
- 2,409
-3
votes
1
answer
602
views
How to associate gvim with extensionless files on Windows? [closed]
I would like to set gvim as the default program for opening files which do not have an extension (e.g. no .txt, .php, .js, .css, .html etc...) suffix as part of the file name.
e.g.: README or INSTALL.
...
- 597
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Switching to the local directory after loading a file?
When running gvim by double clicking with a file in a graphical file manager, like nautilus, the vim instance is called with a strange current directory (seems root sometime, but I am not sure). This ...
- 748
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votes
2
answers
849
views
How can I automatically execute normal mode keystrokes with a terminal command when opening Vim?
How do I run vim with file.txt and screen center at line 100?
Basically I would like to use zz mapping when starting Vim.
This does not work: vim -c "zz" file.txt +100
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votes
3
answers
5k
views
How can I start vim and then execute a particular command that includes a \, from the command line?
In my ~/.vimrc, I have a command defined approximately like this:
nnoremap <expr> <Leader>n ':new ~/Notes/' . strftime('%F') . '-'
It is designed for creating notes files that contain ...
- 6,475
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votes
2
answers
4k
views
How to write whole buffer to standard output from the command line?
I would like to write whole buffer into standard output (/dev/stdout) instead of the file and the following command works as expected while editing the file:
:w >> /dev/stdout
Hint: Press ...
- 17.6k
27
votes
1
answer
13k
views
How to edit files non-interactively (e.g. in pipeline)?
I would like to edit files passed in pipeline input using vim in non-interactive way or edit files in-place (similar to sed).
Few examples using sed:
$ sed -i'.bak' s/foo/test/g file # Edit file ...
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