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Christian Brabandtb4ddc6c2024-01-02 16:51:11 +01001README.txt for version 9.1 of Vim: Vi IMproved.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +00002
3
Bram Moolenaarc92399f2015-10-25 13:55:00 +01004WHAT IS VIM?
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +00005
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +02006Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editor Vi. Many new
7features have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line
8history, on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations,
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +00009script language, etc. There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available.
10Still, Vi compatibility is maintained, those who have Vi "in the fingers" will
11feel at home. See "runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt" for differences with Vi.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000012
Bram Moolenaar755bd262010-08-14 17:46:20 +020013This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain text files.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000014All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type
15with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +020016mapped to commands by the user, and the mouse can be used.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000017
K.Takata27b53be2022-09-18 12:25:49 +010018Vim runs under MS-Windows (7, 8, 10, 11), macOS, Haiku, VMS and almost all
Bram Moolenaarf2a44e52020-01-16 19:40:38 +010019flavours of UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult.
K.Takata27b53be2022-09-18 12:25:49 +010020Older versions of Vim run on MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista,
21Amiga DOS, Atari MiNT, BeOS, RISC OS and OS/2. These are no longer maintained.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000022
23
24DISTRIBUTION
25
Bram Moolenaarc92399f2015-10-25 13:55:00 +010026You can often use your favorite package manager to install Vim. On Mac and
27Linux a small version of Vim is pre-installed, you still need to install Vim
28if you want more features.
29
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000030There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems.
31This README.txt file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the
32documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run
33Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive.
34Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you
Bram Moolenaar89a9c152021-08-29 21:55:35 +020035want or must compile it yourself. Check "https://www.vim.org/download.php" for
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000036an overview of currently available distributions.
37
Bram Moolenaar5d98c9d2016-04-15 20:54:52 +020038Some popular places to get the latest Vim:
39* Check out the git repository from github: https://github.com/vim/vim.
40* Get the source code as an archive: https://github.com/vim/vim/releases.
41* Get a Windows executable from the vim-win32-installer repository:
42 https://github.com/vim/vim-win32-installer/releases.
43
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000044
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +020045COMPILING
46
47If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If you
48obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the
49"src" directory. See src/INSTALL for instructions.
50
51
52INSTALLATION
53
54See one of these files for system-specific instructions. Either in the
55READMEdir directory (in the repository) or the top directory (if you unpack an
56archive):
57
58README_ami.txt Amiga
59README_unix.txt Unix
60README_dos.txt MS-DOS and MS-Windows
61README_mac.txt Macintosh
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +000062README_haiku.txt Haiku
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +020063README_vms.txt VMS
64
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +000065There are other README_*.txt files, depending on the distribution you used.
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +020066
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Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000068DOCUMENTATION
69
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +020070The Vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Often it can be
Bram Moolenaar755bd262010-08-14 17:46:20 +020071started as "vimtutor". See ":help tutor" for more information.
72
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000073The best is to use ":help" in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, read
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +000074"runtime/doc/help.txt". It contains pointers to the other documentation files.
75The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use Vim. See
76":help user-manual".
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000077
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000078
79COPYING
80
81Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are
Bram Moolenaar755bd262010-08-14 17:46:20 +020082encouraged to make a donation to help orphans in Uganda. Please read the file
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000083"runtime/doc/uganda.txt" for details (do ":help uganda" inside Vim).
84
85Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an
86unmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license
Bram Moolenaarf1dcd142022-12-31 15:30:45 +000087text must always be included. For modified versions, a few restrictions apply.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000088The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and
89distribute it.
90
91
92SPONSORING
93
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +000094Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To show
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +000095your appreciation for the work and motivate developers to continue working on
96Vim please send a donation.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000097
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +000098The money you donated will be mainly used to help children in Uganda. See
99"runtime/doc/uganda.txt". But at the same time donations increase the
100development team motivation to keep working on Vim!
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000101
102For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site:
Bram Moolenaar89a9c152021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200103 https://www.vim.org/sponsor/
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000104
105
Bram Moolenaard18cfb72016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200106CONTRIBUTING
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000107
Bram Moolenaarf1dcd142022-12-31 15:30:45 +0000108If you would like to help make Vim better, see the CONTRIBUTING.md file.
Bram Moolenaar755bd262010-08-14 17:46:20 +0200109
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000110
111INFORMATION
112
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000113If you are on macOS, you can use MacVim: https://macvim.org
114
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000115The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page:
Bram Moolenaar89a9c152021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200116 https://www.vim.org/
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000117
Bram Moolenaar86ae7202015-07-10 19:31:35 +0200118If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips:
Bram Moolenaar89a9c152021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200119 https://www.vim.org/docs.php
120 https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000121
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000122If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailing lists
123to discuss them with Vim users and developers:
Bram Moolenaar89a9c152021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200124 https://www.vim.org/maillist.php
Bram Moolenaar8d4eecc2012-11-20 17:19:01 +0100125
Christian Brabandte978b452023-08-13 10:33:05 +0200126If nothing else works, report bugs directly to the vim-dev mailing list:
127 <vim-dev@vim.org>
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000128
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000129
130MAIN AUTHOR
131
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000132Most of Vim was created by Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org>, ":help Bram-Moolenaar"
Christian Brabandt16889382023-08-13 17:53:07 +0200133
Restorerb75825f2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000134Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to the vim-dev
135mailing list: <vim-dev@vim.org>