most recent 30 from vi.stackexchange.com 2025-08-05T15:53:59Z https://vi.stackexchange.com/feeds/tag?tagnames=filesystem https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/rdf https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/37955 0 Yuanhao JIANG https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/41836 2025-08-05T19:22:19Z 2025-08-05T02:07:25Z

<p>I use <code>:mkview %.vimview</code> to create a view file under current directory, and in the file created there is a line of code like this:</p> <pre class="lang-vim prettyprint-override"><code>if bufexists(fnamemodify(&quot;~/PycharmProjects/rl/report/rl_qf_report.tex&quot;, &quot;:p&quot;)) | buffer ~/PycharmProjects/rl/report/rl_qf_report.tex | else | edit ~/PycharmProjects/rl/report/rl_qf_report.tex | endif </code></pre> <p>what does this do?</p> <p>(The file I want to save view has the path <code>~/PycharmProjects/rl/report/rl_qf_report.tex</code>, but it will be a different path if I clone the repository from GitHub to other directories. I want this view file also can be used in other location.)</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/28545 0 ChocolateOverflow https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/25859 2025-08-05T07:43:50Z 2025-08-05T12:09:15Z

<p>When I'm using Neovim in conjunction to <a href="https://github.com/glacambre/firenvim" rel="nofollow noreferrer">firenvim</a> to edit a text box in the browser, I typically have the need to open another file.</p> <p>I'd like to disable Neovim's ability to read from and write to other files besides the one in the current buffer.</p> <p>This is to be used in conjunction with some other settings and features of firenvim in order to lock down Neovim inside the browser for security.</p> <p>Is there a way to block Neovim from opening another file?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/14321 4 Greg Nisbet https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/6420 2025-08-05T16:43:48Z 2025-08-05T18:07:45Z

<p><code>:browse oldfiles&lt;cr&gt;</code> is useful for quickly navigating to a file I've worked on recently.</p> <p>Sometimes though, I want to suspend <code>vim</code> and do some <code>grep</code> or <code>ack</code> search and find a new file that I'm interested in (let's call it <code>sneaky.h</code>). If I open a fresh <code>vim</code> using <code>vim sneaky.h</code> and then close it immediately, <code>sneaky.h</code> will appear in the <code>oldfiles</code> list the next time I launch Vim.</p> <p>However, my original <code>vim</code> instance, the one I started before searching for <code>sneaky.h</code>, does not have the file in the <code>oldfiles</code> list.</p> <p>Is there a way to direct vim to refresh the <code>oldfiles</code> list and populate it again without restarting vim?</p> <p>Also, is there a more efficient way to get a file like <code>sneaky.h</code> into the <code>oldfiles</code> pool without opening it and closing it immediately?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/7958 5 cbaumhardt https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/3282 2025-08-05T18:19:38Z 2025-08-05T03:01:55Z

<p>I have a file, e.g. <code>~/abc def.mp3</code> that I want to open from within a Vim buffer that already contains these lines.</p> <p>If there were no whitespaces in the filename, I could simply open the file with the standard application for that file type by having the cursor on its name somewhere and pressing <code>gx</code>. How could I make this work with a file that includes whitespaces?</p> <p>I already tried to visually select it and press <code>gx</code> (with or withouth including a <code>\</code> before the whitespace, surrounding double quotes etc.) but can't figure it out.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/6254 24 user3813057 https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/1080 2025-08-05T00:36:08Z 2025-08-05T17:20:17Z

<p>The current working directory is <code>./A/B/</code>. An empty document is opened when I type <code>vim</code>, and the netrw is opened with command <code>:e.</code> The window is split by <code>vs.</code>, and I can navigate to the upper level directory, i.e., <code>./A/</code>. Now I'd like to copy a file <code>a_file.jpg</code> from <code>./A/B/</code> to <code>./A/</code>.</p> <p>I tried <code>yy</code> on the target file and <code>p</code> in the target window (directory), but it did not achieve my goal.</p> <p>Is there any way that can achieve the goal without installing extra plugins?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/13220 1 Ali https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/13751 2025-08-05T01:35:06Z 2025-08-05T10:07:01Z

<p>TLDR: How can I open a file from the list of recent files without going to the end of the list to get to the prompt for file number?</p> <p>In order to open recent files, I do <code>:bro ol</code> and then when I see the file that I want to open, I have to press <kbd>Space</kbd> to get to the bottom of the list and to see the prompt for entering the file number. I was wondering if there is a faster way; possibly being able to get the prompt for file number on the first page of recent files, rather than pressing space until I get to the end of the page.</p> <p><b>bonus question:</b></p> <p>What does <code>:ol</code> do? Does it just list the recent files and a file cannot be opened from the list?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/26751 3 intmarinoreturn0 https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/18287 2025-08-05T18:50:11Z 2025-08-05T20:11:52Z

<p>I use a vim persistent undo setup as follows, which have worked all that way here.</p> <pre><code>set undofile set undodir=~/.vim/undodir </code></pre> <p>However now I'm facing a problem when the undofile became too long, notice that an undofile has a name in the form of absolute path like <code>%home%user%directory%...%directory%file</code> that means if your file has a big name, is under a big path directory or both, the chances for reaching the linux file name max length will be higher. In my case, when try to save the open file it raises the error:</p> <pre><code>E828: Cannot open undo file for writing: /home/user/.vim/undodir/%home%user%workspace%%app%javascript%packs%domains%components%grid%column_cell_factory%inspection_cell_factory.jsx </code></pre> <p>How can I manage in order to keep my persistent undo working even for these situations?</p> <p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p> <p>A satisfactory workaround could be a way for vim dynamically detect the error and then change the store path for a local aside the current file.</p> <p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p> <p>This is not my real filename, I removed username and others personal information intentionally, at the end they are not relevant and don't contain any special char. The file length is 160, and the whole path with the folder it should be stored is 189 length.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/23252 3 raoul59 https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/27489 2025-08-05T23:07:39Z 2025-08-05T12:27:08Z

<p>I was playing with netrw and was amazed by the possibility. </p> <p>I'd like to mark some files with 'mf' and move it to a folder using 'mt'. However, when I press 't', vim seems to interprets it as "open a tab', because it open another instance of netrw in a splitted window. How can I do to mark it as target ? </p> <p>My problem seems to be with the "t" shortcut in NETRW</p> <pre><code>t Enter the file/directory under the cursor in a new tab|netrw-t| </code></pre> <p>Thanks for your help !</p> <p><strong>Vim version : 8.1</strong></p> <p><strong>Plugins</strong> :</p> <pre><code> 2: /usr/share/vim/vim81/debian.vim 3: /usr/share/vim/vim81/syntax/syntax.vim 4: /usr/share/vim/vim81/syntax/synload.vim 5: /usr/share/vim/vim81/syntax/syncolor.vim 6: /usr/share/vim/vim81/filetype.vim 7: ~/.vim/ftdetect/solidity.vim 8: ~/.vim/ftdetect/typescript.vim 9: ~/.vimrc 10: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/getscriptPlugin.vim 11: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/gzip.vim 12: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/logiPat.vim 13: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/manpager.vim 14: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/matchparen.vim 15: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/netrwPlugin.vim 16: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/rrhelper.vim 17: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/spellfile.vim 18: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/tarPlugin.vim 19: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/tohtml.vim 20: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/vimballPlugin.vim 21: /usr/share/vim/vim81/plugin/zipPlugin.vim 22: /usr/share/vim/vim81/autoload/netrw.vim 23: ~/.vim/.netrwhist 24: /usr/share/vim/vim81/scripts.vim 25: /usr/share/vim/vim81/syntax/netrw.vim </code></pre> <p>Here my .vimrc : set splitright</p> <pre><code>" NETRW " open file explorer at startup autocmd VimEnter * Vexplore . " Resize file explorer autocmd VimEnter * vertical resize 50 autocmd VimEnter * wincmd w " NETRW : set view type as TREE let g:netrw_liststyle=3 " Disable header : I let g:netrw_banner=0 " Open file in previous split let g:netrw_browse_split=4 " hide vim swap files let g:netrw_list_hide='.*\.swp$' " To insert space characters whenever the tab key is pressed, set the 'expandtab' option: :set tabstop=4 :set shiftwidth=4 set expandtab " fold indented text automatically at opening. " to disable/toggle folding : zi " za : toggle current indented block setlocal foldmethod=indent </code></pre> <hr> <p><strong>UPDATE 1</strong></p> <p>In netrw, :verbose map command return :</p> <pre><code>:verbose map t n t *@:call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwSplit(4)&lt;CR&gt; Modifié la dernière fois dans /usr/share/vim/vim81/autoload/netrw.vim :verbose map mt n mt *@:&lt;C-U&gt;call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwMarkFileTgt(1)&lt;CR&gt; Modifié la dernière fois dans /usr/share/vim/vim81/autoload/netrw.vim </code></pre> <hr> <p>mf command is working great. I see difference when file is marked : Items marked become bold. I think this should be the same for 'mt'. However a tab is opened when I press 't' immediately after 'm'. Name of the folder doesn't become "bold" (marked).</p> <hr> <p><strong>UPDATE 2</strong> </p> <pre><code>:set showcmd </code></pre> <p>'m' is correctly displayed at the bottom of the screen. 'm' disappear just after pressing 't' key.</p> <p>Below logs from debug mode (9) : (translate from french)</p> <pre><code>Error detected while processing function &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwMarkFileTgt[63]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_LocalBrowseRefresh[57]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwRefresh[16]..netrw#LocalBrowseCheck[23]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwBrowse[237]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_PerformListing[231]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwWideListing : line 67 : E31: No such mapping Error detected while processing function &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwMarkFileTgt[63]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_LocalBrowseRefresh[57]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwRefresh[16]..netrw#LocalBrowseCheck[23]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwBrowse[237]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_PerformListing[231]..&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwWideListing : line 70 : E31: No such mapping No such mapping: @$ </code></pre> <p>Line 67 and 70 in function :</p> <p><strong>/usr/share/vim/vim81/autoload/netrw.vim</strong></p> <pre><code>NetrwWideListing ... if hasmapto("w","n") line 67 -&gt; sil! nunmap &lt;buffer&gt; w endif if hasmapto("b","n") line 70 -&gt; sil! nunmap &lt;buffer&gt; b </code></pre> <p>but I don't know if this is really the function that is the root cause of vim prefering to apply the other 't' shortcut.</p> <p>if I do "nmap", I don't see "w" nor "b" mapping :</p> <pre><code>n a *@:&lt;C-U&gt;call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwHide(1)&lt;CR&gt; n c *@:&lt;C-U&gt;call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwLcd(b:netrw_curdir)&lt;CR&gt; n d *@:call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwMakeDir("")&lt;CR&gt; .... n v *@:call &lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwSplit(5)&lt;CR&gt; n x *@:&lt;C-U&gt;call netrw#BrowseX(&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwBrowseChgDir(1,&lt;SNR&gt;22_NetrwGetWord(),0),0)"&lt;CR&gt; n &lt;F1&gt; *@:he netrw-quickhelp&lt;CR&gt; </code></pre> <p>strange...</p> <hr> <p><strong>UPDATE 3</strong></p> <p>I set up debug loglevel to 14. It seems to be a bug. When I press 't' just after 'm' ('mt' command to mark as target), a process/command SynSet seem to be launched in infinite loop (CPU fan begin to work harder). Log file contains same text in loop. Please find below link to pastebin that contain log file part that is repeated infinitely. (Sorry but log are in french...)</p> <p><a href="https://pastebin.com/aKJyiTgg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://pastebin.com/aKJyiTgg</a></p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/41495 0 nevann copeland https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/46826 2025-08-05T23:29:32Z 2025-08-05T06:31:42Z

<p>My question is regarding how to save files to certain folders, or locations</p> <p>For example I want to save a file called <code>c++ learning</code> to a folder on my desktop called <code>c++</code></p> <p>So after typing <code>:w</code> what do I follow it with to send that file into that folder?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/5723 73 wefwefa3 https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/3032 2025-08-05T23:14:15Z 2025-08-05T03:11:43Z

<p>Vi and Vim, as all of you know, have many synonyms. There are three ways I know of to save the file and exit Vim and Vi. These are <em>:wq</em> <strong>&lt;cr&gt;</strong>, <em>:x</em> <strong>&lt;cr&gt;</strong> and <em>ZZ</em>. I have heard that these are different in some way.</p> <p>Are there any practical differences between using:</p> <p><kbd>:</kbd><kbd>x</kbd><kbd>&lt;cr&gt;</kbd></p> <p><kbd>:</kbd><kbd>w</kbd><kbd>q</kbd><kbd>&lt;cr&gt;</kbd></p> <p>or</p> <p><kbd>Z</kbd><kbd>Z</kbd></p> <p>to save file and exit Vim and Vi?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/39352 1 weberjn https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/44520 2025-08-05T11:46:24Z 2025-08-05T12:25:43Z

<p><a href="https://superuser.com/questions/1724254/in-windows-file-explorer-how-to-quickly-jump-to-file-based-on-more-than-one-let">In windows file explorer, if you hit a letter like R, you get to a file/folder beginning with R.</a></p> <p>Especially in directories with many files this is super convenient.</p> <p>Does one of the Vim file explorers support this? Out of the box or with heavy configuring?</p> <p>Any other Unix console mode file browser?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/28509 1 eyal karni https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/18375 2025-08-05T00:00:30Z 2025-08-05T09:26:49Z

<p>I work with vim netranger for file management. The version I use doesn't have a bookmark feature for files. That means to be able to quickly navigate to a common files by a defined keyboard shortcut.</p> <p>Do you know of an external plugin that does?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/2772 6 René Nyffenegger https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/985 2025-08-05T18:14:03Z 2025-08-05T19:54:30Z

<p>In gVim, I want to open a file that starts with an exclamationmark, say, for example, <code>!this_is_my_file_whose_name_is_rather_long.txt</code>.</p> <p>So, I type <code>:e !this</code> followed by pressing the tabulator.</p> <p>gVim expands the filename, but also prepends it with a backslash, so that the command line reads</p> <pre><code>:e \!this_is_my_file_whose_name_is_rather_long.txt </code></pre> <p>When I now press enter, thinking this will open my desired file, gVim will instead create a new buffer whose name also has the backslash.</p> <p>This is of course not what I want. So after pressing the tabulator, I move the cursor to the backslash and delete it. Then, gVim will open the file that I want.</p> <p>I <em>assume</em> that behaviour is ms-Windows related. Currently, I cannot go to a Unix machine to verify if I'd encounter this problem on Unix as well.</p> <p>So, is there a way to turn this behaviour off?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/2880 2 Marcus Gomes https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/1685 2025-08-05T14:01:10Z 2025-08-05T06:19:25Z

<p>I installed spf13-vim on OS X and when I started do edit a file I get the following errors:</p> <pre><code>Error detected while processing function neosnippet#init#_initialize Cannot create directory: /Users/.../.cache/neosnippet </code></pre> <p>I suspect that the error is raised because neosnippet plugin does not have permissions to write in the <code>.cache</code> directory. </p> <p>Anybody can help me to fix that?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/38909 3 Julius Hamilton https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/37865 2025-08-05T08:52:59Z 2025-08-05T08:52:59Z

<p>It seems like Neovim has files in many places.</p> <p>The binary is in <code>/usr/bin/nvim</code>.</p> <p>Inside <code>~/.config/nvim</code> is <code>init.vim</code>, for declaring plugins, and also directories in <code>~/.config</code> for storing Neovim plugins, such as <code>coc</code>.</p> <p>There is also an nvim directory in <code>~/.local/share</code>, including directories like <code>site/autoload</code>, for apparently “scripts you source before anything else which you can use in your .vimrc”.</p> <p>It also seems like Neovim allows you to have a <code>.vimrc</code> file in your home directory.</p> <p>What is every directory in your system that Neovim uses or creates, and what is its function?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/2702 38 falstro https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/1489 2025-08-05T15:34:47Z 2025-08-05T15:14:03Z

<p>I'm using VIm for all kinds of things (or gVim in this case), including monitoring output written to a file; I use <code>autoread</code> to make Vim reread the file, which it does whenever I switch the keyboard focus to it.</p> <p>Is there any way to make Vim update the buffer even if I don't switch the keyboard focus? I've tried setting <code>checktime</code> but it doesn't appear to have any effect while keyboard focus is elsewhere.</p> <p>The output I'm monitoring is replacing the output file completely; and I'm not looking to <code>tail -f</code> it. There are other options, like piping into a new instance every time, or piping into <code>less</code> or something, but it'd be cool if it could be done with VIm.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/28534 4 ChocolateOverflow https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/25859 2025-08-05T12:13:08Z 2025-08-05T17:40:30Z

<p>Sometimes I <code>gf</code> to a file in a totally different directory and want to check out that new directory. Is there a way to quickly exit vim <em>and</em> <code>cd</code> into the directory containing the current buffer?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/34574 1 ThunderDream https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/38051 2025-08-05T05:01:33Z 2025-08-05T20:25:55Z

<p>After going through the renaming guides from the doc folder in vim I found a way to replace text with the input <code>:%s/frompattern/topattern/g</code>. Reaching the renaming files with the file browser tutorial/guide I managed to learn the MR and R method stated in the netrw-R help file.</p> <p>Then I tried to use the text replacing method on multiple files like so:</p> <pre><code>:set ma :%s/frompattern/topattern/g </code></pre> <p>All the files changed after backspacing the <code>:</code> requested from the notification</p> <pre><code>&quot;Press Enter or Type Command To Continue&quot;. </code></pre> <p>All files changed unfortunately those changes have only been made inside vim , no files have been altered.</p> <p>Is there a way to apply the changes after renaming them that way or is that input strictly for text inside a file/document ?</p> <p>Trying to exit vim through <code>:x</code> assuming it would apply changes gives me:</p> <pre><code>E45: 'readonly' option is set (add ! to override) Press Enter or Type Command To Continue </code></pre> <p>Trying to exit with <code>:x!</code> gives me:</p> <pre><code>&quot;/home/user/VimLearning/&quot; E502: &quot;/home/user/VimLearning/&quot; is a directory Press ENTER or type command to continue </code></pre> <p>I can only exit with <code>:qa!</code></p> <p><a href="https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/21146/is-it-possible-to-edit-the-name-of-files-by-opening-their-root-folder-on-vim">This post</a> explains the same technique as the NetRw-R help file but better in my opinion.</p> <p>But the question remains as to renaming multiple files via <code>:%s/frompattern/topattern/g</code> and applying those changes. Would it be possible ?</p> <p>Thanks for all the answers , I am really enjoying learning Vim and the QMV suggestion that was posted here. In the NetRw-R help file there is this info:</p> <p>The g:netrw_rename_cmd variable is used to implement remote renaming. By default its value is:</p> <pre><code>ssh HOSTNAME mv </code></pre> <p>One may rename a block of files and directories by selecting them with V (linewise-visual) when using thin style.</p> <p>The latter is what I am interested in. Renaming a block of files and directories. There are no examples. Would anyone be kind enough to point me towards one ? Or has that feature been removed or it is only for the renaming of remote files and folders as the text above it would mention ? Would that work the same as QMV ? Thank you guys , this community has been very helpful.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/11824 14 DJMcMayhem https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/2920 2025-08-05T17:50:17Z 2025-08-05T17:19:37Z

<p>I use the <code>oldfiles</code> and <code>browse oldfiles</code> commands all the time. I find them extremely useful, because it's easier to hit my leader mapping, scan through the files really quickly, and hit</p> <pre><code>q&lt;number&gt;&lt;enter&gt; </code></pre> <p>rather than typing out a really long directory path to a specific file. (Especially since sometimes I don't remember which directory it's in)</p> <p>However, there's only one downside. Since I use vim so frequently, sometimes the file I'm looking for is dozens and dozens of rows down, so it takes a really long time to find. Is there any way I could filter the list of files given by <code>oldfiles</code> to show only a certain extension?</p> <p>For example, a command like:</p> <pre><code>browse oldfiles *.py </code></pre> <p>that shows a list of <code>.py</code> files I've recently opened, prompts for a number, and then opens that file.</p> <p>If there's no way to do this, are there plugins with similar functionality?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/8237 2 Niraj Gupta https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/8013 2025-08-05T05:11:48Z 2025-08-05T06:35:11Z

<p>Is it possible to copy the absolute filepath of the file under the cursor in Netrw?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/33034 1 Kes https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/27300 2025-08-05T12:28:55Z 2025-08-05T13:39:24Z

<p>I'm using arch linux and nvim. Everything is up to date.</p> <p>I have a dir path <code>/home/user/name@web_address.com/144_p/data-dir-2/data_structure_here</code></p> <p><code>gf</code> does not open the dir structure becasue <code>@</code> is present.</p> <p>So instead in <code>.vimrc</code> I tried this<br /> <code>:nnoremap gO :!xdg-open &lt;cfile&gt;&lt;CR&gt;</code><br /> it works with files without <code>@</code> in the path, opening them with the default associated application, but the same hurdle exists, it does not open files with <code>@</code> in the path.<br /> It only captures the bit of the path after <code>@</code> if the cursor is placed after the <code>@</code>,<br /> and only captures the bit of the path before the <code>@</code> if the cursor is placed before the <code>@</code>.</p> <p>I also tried<br /> <code>let cfile=expand('&lt;cfile&gt;') | normal! gf cfile</code><br /> but that also does not work and captures only path parts as described in the remap above.</p> <p>I have also tried using this command (see <code>:tab help isfname</code>) to include the <code>@</code> in the included character set as follows<br /> <code>set isfname+=&quot;@&quot;</code> and this one<br /> <code>set isfname+=&quot;@-@&quot;</code><br /> to set things up before using the above commands, to make sure <code>@</code> is included as an available expression.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/778 54 kenorb https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/467 2025-08-05T21:39:20Z 2025-08-05T03:01:43Z

<p>I know that <a href="https://vi.stackexchange.com/questions/625/how-do-i-use-vim-as-a-diff-tool">Vim's diff mode</a> (<code>vimdiff</code>) allows us to compare the contents of two (or more) files.</p> <p>But it is possible to compare content of multiple files across directories in order to merge two directories recursively (like DiffMerge and similar tools)?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/31317 -1 john-jones https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/605 2025-08-05T18:49:27Z 2025-08-05T15:50:37Z

<p>Such as in the following code:</p> <pre><code>let cpath = getcwd() let cfile = expand('%') function Run_file_hopper(cpath, cfile) silent exec &quot;! . ~/path/somescript.sh&quot; a:cpath a:cfile redraw! endfunction nnoremap gh :call Run_file_hopper(cpath, cfile)&lt;CR&gt; </code></pre> <p>We can run a bash script from vim, with a shortcut. By runnin exec. Exec runs the shell script, and once it closes, returns back to the original script.</p> <p>But what I am wanting, is to replace the current process, with the process that exec is executing. Kinda like c's fork.</p> <p>Is that possible?</p> <hr /> <p>From the comments:</p> <p>I am trying to run a bash script from vim. I need to send to this bash script the file and path I am in at the point of execution. The bash script needs to do some logistics, and after that, run vim again. I am making a hopping mechanism, where I can click for instance, <code>hh</code>. I will hop to another file. Which file is determined by which file I clicked <code>hh</code> from. This way I can hop between files that are coupled very quickly. I have it logged in a file, which pathfiles should go to which pathfiles. The bash script accesses that file to determine where to open vim next.</p> <p>Right now it kinda works but after hopping, if I quit vim, I am now in a vim instance which is a subprocess of the previous vim. So I enter the parent vim process upon quitting vim. I would have wanted to hop over to that other pathfile, using the logistics determined in the bash file and continue unabated.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/31126 3 E. Anikin https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/34841 2025-08-05T06:50:29Z 2025-08-05T10:56:49Z

<p>In netrw, I want to copy a file <code>/dir/subdir1/file.txt</code> to <code>/dir/subdir2</code>. For that, I do the following:</p> <ol> <li>I mark the file <code>/dir/subdir1/file.txt</code></li> <li>I navigate up directory and mark <code>/dir/subdir2/</code> as target</li> <li>While being in <code>/dir/</code>, I press <code>mc</code> and get the error: <code>(netrw) there are no marked files in this window (:help netrw-mf)</code></li> </ol> <p>However, If I navigate back to <code>/dir/subdir1/</code>, everything works fine. It seems like <code>mc</code> applies only to the files which are marked in the current directory. I find it inconvenient, and I would like to copy the files which are marked not in the current directory. Is it possible?</p> <p>UPDATE (30 April): I found out that the same behavior holds (unsurprisingly) for <code>mx</code> and <code>mz</code>.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/3825 -2 Jason Basanese https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/2695 2025-08-05T23:45:41Z 2025-08-05T18:35:53Z

<p>Currently all I have to do is type <code>vim file_name</code> and it will make that file in the current directory (usually user because that is where the command line start at if you don't use the cd command). It would annoy me tremendously to have to move to the documents folder every time I want to open a vim file. Would there be a way to do this automatically? Maybe using aliases? </p> <p>My vim version info: VIM - Vi IMproved 7.4 Huge version with GTK2 GUI</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/28835 7 scy won't contribute anymore https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/33217 2025-08-05T19:37:00Z 2025-08-05T12:44:20Z

<h2>Context</h2> <p>I’m working on an <code>'omnifunc'</code> function for Markdown editing. It’s supposed to help me link to other Markdown files while I’m typing a link – based on file content though, not file name.</p> <p>Suppose I’m typing a link like <code>[favorite editor](Vim|</code> (where <code>|</code> marks my cursor). Once I hit <code>^X^O</code>, my <code>omnifunc</code> grabs everything after the opening bracket (i.e. <code>Vim</code>) and basically runs <code>:lvimgrep /\VVim/j **/*.md</code> in order to find all Markdown files below the current directory (e.g. the project root) that contain the string <code>Vim</code>.</p> <p>Then, I’m iterating over <code>getloclist('.')</code> to get the names of all matching files. The location list doesn’t contain file names though, it contains buffer numbers. However, they can easily be resolved to file names using <code>getbufinfo()</code>.</p> <p>This is how it looks like at the moment:</p> <pre><code>exec 'lvimgrep /\V' . escape(a:base, '/\') . '/j **/*.md' let l:results = [] for l:match in getloclist('.') let l:fpath = getbufinfo(l:match['bufnr'])[0]['name'] </code></pre> <h2>Problem</h2> <p><code>l:fpath</code> is an <em>absolute</em> path though. However, the link obviously should be <em>relative to the file that contains it</em>, which might very well be in a subdirectory of the current working directory (CWD). (It could also be <em>outside</em> of it, which is another can of worms entirely.)</p> <p>I know that I can use <code>fnamemodify(l:fpath, ':.')</code> to convert the path to one relative to the CWD (if the path is inside of the CWD), but I need a path relative to the file I’m <em>editing</em>.</p> <h2>Rejected approaches and ideas</h2> <h3><code>:cd</code> to the file’s directory</h3> <p>I could try <code>:lcd</code>'ing to the file I’m editing while my <code>omnifunc</code> is running, but the warnings at <code>:h current-directory</code> makes me concerned about whether that’s a smart approach:</p> <blockquote> <p>Changing directory fails when the current buffer is modified, the <code>'.'</code> flag is present in <code>'cpoptions'</code> and <code>&quot;!&quot;</code> is not used in the command.</p> <p>[…]</p> <p>After using <code>:cd</code> the full path name will be used for reading and writing files. On some networked file systems this may cause problems.</p> </blockquote> <p>It simply smells like there could be unexpected side effects of changing the CWD. Also, even if there weren’t, this still will not result in relative links going <em>upwards</em>, i.e. something like <code>../../editors.md</code>.</p> <p>Also, I know about <code>'autochdir'</code>. It has all of the disadvantages mentioned in the previous paragraphs and thus doesn’t help either.</p> <h3>Using <code>:grep</code> instead</h3> <p>I’ve attempted to use <code>:lgrep</code> instead of <code>:lvimgrep</code>. In addition to being less cross-platform compatible, it also doesn’t improve the output format: It still contains buffer IDs, which still resolve to absolute paths.</p> <h2>Questions</h2> <ul> <li>Is there a builtin function that will help me convert the path to a relative one, including <code>../</code> components, and I’ve simply missed it?</li> <li>Is there an external tool that could do the conversion, and that can be expected to be preinstalled on modern Unixes (possibly even POSIX)?</li> <li>Do you know of any other Vim scripts that either <ul> <li>do what I’m trying to do (auto-complete a Markdown link based on a string to search for)</li> <li>or at least contain a path conversion function like the one I’m afraid I have to write myself?</li> </ul> </li> <li>Would <code>fzf</code> be able to help me here? I’ve seen it being mentioned all over the place, but have never used it.</li> <li>Any other helpful remarks?</li> </ul> <p>Thanks in advance for your time.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/27713 5 ColinKennedy https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/16073 2025-08-05T18:56:50Z 2025-08-05T19:24:16Z

<p>How do I rewrite this line of code</p> <pre><code>call system(&quot;cp /tmp/foo.txt /tmp/bar.txt&quot;) </code></pre> <p>into a vim command which is more portable and OS-independent?</p> <p>I've been looking around but checking for &quot;vimscript copy file / folder&quot; surprisingly doesn't show any results.</p> <p><strong>Important</strong>: I need to also know how to copy folders using vimscript, too. Not make a new folder, but copy one which already exists.</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/27498 2 Gérard Depardieu https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/31528 2025-08-05T20:57:35Z 2025-08-05T20:57:35Z

<p>I have a workflow where I edit a .org file using jceb/vim-orgmode which is located in my iCloud directory. I then have an app on my phone which also syncs and uses the same .org file. The problem is that iCloud will only sync the file when there are no open file handles referencing that file, so in order to sync I have to:</p> <ol> <li>edit</li> <li>:w</li> <li>:q</li> <li>wait for icloud to sync</li> <li>reopen the file</li> </ol> <p>It would be great if there was a way for vim to only hold an open file for the duration of &quot;:w&quot;, is this possible?</p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/24390 0 bitmask https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/852 2025-08-05T21:41:44Z 2025-08-05T23:00:55Z

<p>When <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/q/60818926/430766">searching</a> for a command to enable me to open multiple tabs in normal mode, I <a href="https://vi.stackexchange.com/a/2110/852">found</a> a custom command to do this:</p> <pre><code>" Open multiple tabs at once fun! OpenMultipleTabs(pattern_list) for p in a:pattern_list for c in glob(l:p, 0, 1) execute 'tabedit ' . l:c endfor endfor endfun command! -bar -bang -nargs=+ -complete=file Tabedit call OpenMultipleTabs([&lt;f-args&gt;]) " less typing: map &lt;C-n&gt; :Multitab </code></pre> <p><strong>However</strong>, this doesn't work when trying to open a path that doesn't exist yet. So one cannot use this to create new files. Example:</p> <pre><code>:Tabedit *.c " works: opens all matching .c files :!touch existing-file.txt :Tabedit existing-file.txt " works: opens the existing file :Tabedit new-file.txt " doesn't do anything at all </code></pre> <p><strong>So what I want is for strings that don't require expansion, to open the same as with <code>:tabedit</code>.</strong></p>

https://vi.stackexchange.com/q/3033 6 muru https://vi.stackexchange.com/users/205 2025-08-05T17:38:06Z 2025-08-05T17:31:45Z

<p>Occasionally, when writing shell scripts and such, I have entries of the form:</p> <pre><code>foo=/bar/baz </code></pre> <p>To get filename completion (<code>&lt;C-x&gt; &lt;C-f&gt;</code>) to work, I have to put a space after the <code>=</code>, and then remove it after completion. I don't have any filenames which contain <code>=</code>, so I don't care about it being part of the completion. How do I get it to work with the <code>=</code>? I use Linux primarily, but Windows on occasion too.</p>

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