All Questions
13,697
questions
48
votes
4
answers
30k
views
What is the difference between the vim snippets plugins?
There is a great number of snippets plugins for vim: ultisnips, snipmate, xptemplate, neosnippet and a lot more.
They all have pros and cons and more or less dependencies. So far I've been using ...
- 48.5k
48
votes
3
answers
76k
views
How to get intelligent C++ auto-completion?
Some editors (such as Visual Studio on windows) do C++ autocompletion which understand C++. For example, given:
#include <vector>
int main(void) {
std::vector<int> v;
v.i
In Visual ...
- 611
48
votes
1
answer
27k
views
Use conditional operators AND or OR in an IF statement?
This is probably an incredibly simple question, but I did not find any answer so far (I must lack the right sources, and I don't know where to search in vim's help).
I have a condition and I would ...
- 1,739
46
votes
8
answers
18k
views
Why is using arrow keys in normal mode considered bad practice?
I have read it in many articles (e.g.) that it's a bad practice to use arrow keys in normal mode. Could somebody explain why is it considered a wrong practice, if at all?
- 780
45
votes
6
answers
21k
views
Can I justify text in Vim?
The only reason why I'd ever edit a text file in Pico or Nano, and not in Vim was its "Justify" command ^J. It would reformat a paragraph of text, creating line breaks at word breaks so that the text ...
- 1,999
45
votes
7
answers
17k
views
Re-indenting badly indented code
I like the smart-indent feature of Vim, it allows me to create well-indented code blocks.
I regularly copy/paste code in to buffers, but that code is often poorly formatted.
What would be ideal is ...
- 677
45
votes
5
answers
19k
views
How to replace only within visual selection?
How does one get vim to replace a character within the visual selection only and not elsewhere on the line? Example:
Line: int arr[] = { 00 01 02 03 04 05 05 /* ... lots more like this*/};
Visual ...
- 1,063
45
votes
2
answers
11k
views
How can I add line numbers to Vim?
I'd like to see line numbers, starting with 1 at the top, on the left side of Vim. Ideally it would look like this:
1 | foo = Foo.new
2 | bar = Bar.new
3 | baz = foo.baz(bar)
...
10| test = ...
- 2,521
45
votes
10
answers
19k
views
Is it possible to make Vim auto-save files?
Some word processors and text editors auto-save the files we're editing from time to time, which is very convenient for surviving from nasty crashes, etc.
Is there a way to make Vim auto-save our ...
- 16.5k
45
votes
2
answers
22k
views
Can I open a new vim split from an existing buffer?
I know it's possible to open a new file in a split, with :split or :vsplit, but is it possible to open a new split with an existing buffer, potentially leveraging autocomplete?
- 775
44
votes
7
answers
11k
views
What is the easiest way to insert en dash in Vim?
To insert an en dash, I use ^v u 2014 which is seven keypresses. Is there an easier way? (I was looking at digraphs and didn't find en dash there.)
- 545
44
votes
4
answers
16k
views
How can I change the default indentation based on filetype?
I'd like to have different indentations based on the type of file I am working on. For example, working on a .c file I'd like my indentation be 4 spaces. In .html files I'd like to (have to) work with ...
- 1,095
44
votes
1
answer
12k
views
How can I move the cursor to the top or bottom of the screen?
I know that gg and G can move the cursor to the top and bottom of the file. But is there a way to jump to the top or bottom of the visible window?
- 16.5k
44
votes
1
answer
28k
views
Call a Vim function silently
I wrote a little Vim function that moves the cursor to the first character of the current line. If the cursor was already on the first character, then the cursor is moved to the first column instead.
...
- 555
44
votes
1
answer
25k
views
Why do I need both a vimrc and a gvimrc?
There seems to be two ways to store preferences specific to gvim:
Keep an .vimrc file for vim and a .gvimrc file for gvim specific additions.
Keep all settings in .vimrc and wrap gvim specific ...
- 2,215
43
votes
4
answers
20k
views
How can I easily create and maintain tables?
Here is (part of) a table I use in some documentation:
+---------------+------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| TASK NAME | WHEN | DESCRIPTION ...
- 60.2k
42
votes
4
answers
27k
views
How can I work with splits in Vim without Ctrl-W?
My terminal doesn't allow me to type Ctrl+W, because that's a shortcut for closing a terminal tab.
I like working with splits, but I can't find any way to do so without using C-W. This forced me to ...
- 523
42
votes
5
answers
9k
views
How do you “chomp” a string in Vim?
Suppose you run the following piece of vimscript:
let @z = system("date")
This will put a string version of the current date into the z register, but the string will end with a newline that I don’t ...
- 2,803
42
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?
- 3,335
42
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Can I use a non-monospaced font in either Vim or gVim?
Is there any way to use a non-monospace font in either vim or gvim?
I tried changing the font for gVim with:
:set guifont=Dejavu\ Serif\ 12
But this gives me some rather ugly results:
I get the ...
- 60.2k
42
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Why is Y a synonym for yy instead of y$?
Is there a specific historical reason for this?
Background — (you can skip this part if you already understand the question.)
As intermediate/advanced vi users will know, y is the "yank" command—it ...
- 4,305
41
votes
14
answers
6k
views
How can I inspire others to use vi/Vim? [closed]
I was extremely impressed with the power of vi from the first half hour that I used it. I then found out that in some work environments, there are many people (technicians, and even system ...
- 4,305
41
votes
12
answers
7k
views
How to comment out a set of lines which are selected in visual mode?
How do I comment out multiple in visual mode selected lines? How do I make it language specific?
For example, if the first 4 lines are selected:
def foo(a,b):
for each in (a,b):
print ...
- 745
41
votes
3
answers
21k
views
How do I get the name and extension of the current file?
Is there a way to get the name and extension of a file using vimscript?
If so I would like the name and extension separately.
- 1,569
40
votes
5
answers
7k
views
How can I generate a list of sequential numbers, one per line?
Starting from a blank slate, how can I obtain a document that contains
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
…
100
To be clear, I don't want these numbers displayed in the margin; I want them inserted into the ...
- 9,209
40
votes
8
answers
30k
views
How to disable arrow keys in vim?
I want to teach myself to prefer hjkl more over the arrow keys in order to stay on the home row. (I am very aware that one should not use hjkl as the main navigation keys as there are more powerful ...
- 2,857
40
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Renumbering buffer list
After I've been working on a project for a while, I start to see large gaps between consecutive buffer numbers. This is because the buffers in between them were wiped out for various reasons. ...
- 565
40
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Terminal borked after invoking Vim with xargs
I've sometimes tried invoking Vim using xargs, like this:
find . -name '*.java' | xargs vim
… which kind of works:
As Vim launches, I see the following warning flash briefly:
Vim: Warning: Input ...
- 9,209
40
votes
1
answer
24k
views
How can I jump to the next "paragraph"?
Right now I'm working with some blocks of text that are over 1000 lines long. Is there a simple way to move to the beginning of the next paragraph?
My workaround for now is searching for two ...
- 3,632
40
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Applying settings to a directory tree only
At my work we use a standard ts of 2; my personal preference is 4, which is what I use for my hobby projects, and this other project we inherited has the convention of ts=8.
There are also some other ...
- 60.2k
40
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What is <Leader>?
I see <Leader> quite often in other people's vimrc files.
Like this one.
What is it?
What does it do?
- 1,158
40
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Can I see the history of key presses in normal mode?
I know that Vim keeps history for ex commands, searches, jump locations, changes, and possibly others.
With showcmd set, Vim also shows you what keys you have entered so far for a normal mode command,...
- 8,342
39
votes
2
answers
42k
views
How to block replace code in visual mode?
I have a list of items where I want to replace the first two characters:
a) item 1
b) item 2
c) item 3
What is the fastest way to make this:
* item 1
* item 2
* item 3
I have an approach with ...
- 493
39
votes
2
answers
13k
views
What's the difference between let and set?
I don't know much of the theory behind Vim. It looks as if we set some variables, and let other variables. What's the difference, and when is one required over the other?
Also, the solarized vim ...
- 501
39
votes
2
answers
14k
views
Extract the result of a shell command to a variable in a .vimrc file?
In my .vimrc file, I would like to store in a variable the result of an external command, in my case:
$ echo $LANG
So that my .vimrc file would have :
let language = output(!echo $LANG)
if language ==...
- 1,739
39
votes
3
answers
19k
views
When to use the after/ directory?
I understand it's the place to put things that should have the final say and not be overridden by another source, but I'm unclear on how to decide when to put something in, say, ~/.vim/after/ftplugin/ ...
- 1,410
39
votes
1
answer
14k
views
What are the differences between the map, noremap, abbrev and noreabbrev commands?
These commands transform one set of keystrokes to another in some way, but I am somewhat fuzzy on which one is most appropriate for some situation. In addition, there are the ! variants of them as ...
- 24.5k
39
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How to undo/revert making current window the only window (":only" / "<C-W> o")?
Consider a case with multiple splits in a window. vim allows quickly "maximizing" the current split to take up the whole window via <C-W> o.
Is there a way get vim to "remember&...
- 1,063
38
votes
10
answers
100k
views
How to enable +python feature in vim
I want to install a vim plugin, this plugin needs a +python feature, so when I open vim and type :version it displays -python. How can I make it enable?.
Thanks.
- 483
38
votes
1
answer
18k
views
Is there any way to change the popup menu color?
Is there any way to change the background color of the popup menu in gvim? The default background color is pink, which is a little weird to me.
- 483
38
votes
4
answers
40k
views
What is `softtabstop` used for?
I've been aware of these tab related settings in Vim:
ts
sw
expandtab
smarttab
sts
My normal setting is set ts=4 sw=4 expandtab smarttab.
But according to sts documentation, if expandtab is not ...
- 553
38
votes
4
answers
13k
views
Is it possible and useful to split vimrc?
As per the title, is it possible to split the vimrc file in several sub-files? Keep separate files for groups of settings that concern one thing? This thing might be anything, any kind of user-...
- 483
38
votes
4
answers
8k
views
How can I make Vim autoread a file while it doesn't have focus?
I'm using VIm for all kinds of things (or gVim in this case), including monitoring output written to a file; I use autoread to make Vim reread the file, which it does whenever I switch the keyboard ...
- 483
38
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How to disable horizontal scrolling?
I have some concealed characters in the buffer and horizontal scrolling kills the alignment big time.
Is there any way how to disable it? I could not find any relevant options.
Edit: Demo added. You ...
- 481
37
votes
1
answer
12k
views
What are the new "popup windows" in Vim 8.2?
The latest version of Vim, 8.2, has a new feature called "popups" or "popup windows". They sound interesting but I'm not quite sure what they're good for. Can you enlighten me...preferably with some ...
- 19.1k
36
votes
12
answers
31k
views
How to automatically turn off "hlsearch" after I'm done searching?
I love the "hlsearch" setting, but after I'm done searching, I find it obnoxious. Especially if I search for something that has a lot of matches. I know that I can turn this off with
:set nohlsearch
...
- 17.2k
36
votes
9
answers
17k
views
How do I prevent vim from hiding symbols in markdown and json?
This drives me crazy, I do
:set ft=text
To see something, otherwise all the links disappear in markdown and quotes in JSON.
How do disable this once and for all?
- 2,312
36
votes
3
answers
22k
views
In Vimdiff, how do I switch the left and right panes?
When I do vimdiff file2 file1, file2 naturally goes on the left and file1 on the right.
Sometimes I find that I put them the wrong way round, so I'd like to be able to switch them round without ...
- 475
36
votes
3
answers
18k
views
How do I tell vim that some file extensions are synonymous?
I edit C++ code in .cpp files, while template code goes into .tcc files. When I open such a file, no syntax highlighting is available. I tried set syntax=cpp in a a tpp.vim file in ~/.vim/ftplugin/, ...
- 1,207
36
votes
3
answers
77k
views
How do I stop recording while in command line?
When I am recording a macro with q and I am done, I can type:
q to stop recording if I am in normal or visual mode.
<c-o>q to stop recording if I am in insert mode.
..
How do I stop recording ...
- 1,102