Christian Brabandt | b4ddc6c | 2024-01-02 16:51:11 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | README.txt for version 9.1 of Vim: Vi IMproved. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 2 | |
| 3 | |
Bram Moolenaar | c92399f | 2015-10-25 13:55:00 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 4 | WHAT IS VIM? |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 5 | |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 6 | Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editor Vi. Many new |
| 7 | features have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line |
| 8 | history, on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations, |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 9 | script language, etc. There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available. |
| 10 | Still, Vi compatibility is maintained, those who have Vi "in the fingers" will |
| 11 | feel at home. See "runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt" for differences with Vi. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 12 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 755bd26 | 2010-08-14 17:46:20 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 13 | This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain text files. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 14 | All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type |
| 15 | with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 16 | mapped to commands by the user, and the mouse can be used. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 17 | |
K.Takata | 27b53be | 2022-09-18 12:25:49 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 18 | Vim runs under MS-Windows (7, 8, 10, 11), macOS, Haiku, VMS and almost all |
Bram Moolenaar | f2a44e5 | 2020-01-16 19:40:38 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 19 | flavours of UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult. |
K.Takata | 27b53be | 2022-09-18 12:25:49 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 20 | Older versions of Vim run on MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista, |
| 21 | Amiga DOS, Atari MiNT, BeOS, RISC OS and OS/2. These are no longer maintained. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 22 | |
| 23 | |
| 24 | DISTRIBUTION |
| 25 | |
Bram Moolenaar | c92399f | 2015-10-25 13:55:00 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 26 | You can often use your favorite package manager to install Vim. On Mac and |
| 27 | Linux a small version of Vim is pre-installed, you still need to install Vim |
| 28 | if you want more features. |
| 29 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 30 | There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems. |
| 31 | This README.txt file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the |
| 32 | documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run |
| 33 | Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive. |
| 34 | Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you |
Bram Moolenaar | 89a9c15 | 2021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 35 | want or must compile it yourself. Check "https://www.vim.org/download.php" for |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 36 | an overview of currently available distributions. |
| 37 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 5d98c9d | 2016-04-15 20:54:52 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 38 | Some 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 Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 44 | |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 45 | COMPILING |
| 46 | |
| 47 | If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If you |
| 48 | obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the |
| 49 | "src" directory. See src/INSTALL for instructions. |
| 50 | |
| 51 | |
| 52 | INSTALLATION |
| 53 | |
| 54 | See one of these files for system-specific instructions. Either in the |
| 55 | READMEdir directory (in the repository) or the top directory (if you unpack an |
| 56 | archive): |
| 57 | |
| 58 | README_ami.txt Amiga |
| 59 | README_unix.txt Unix |
| 60 | README_dos.txt MS-DOS and MS-Windows |
| 61 | README_mac.txt Macintosh |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 62 | README_haiku.txt Haiku |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 63 | README_vms.txt VMS |
| 64 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 65 | There are other README_*.txt files, depending on the distribution you used. |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 66 | |
| 67 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 68 | DOCUMENTATION |
| 69 | |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 70 | The Vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Often it can be |
Bram Moolenaar | 755bd26 | 2010-08-14 17:46:20 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 71 | started as "vimtutor". See ":help tutor" for more information. |
| 72 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 73 | The best is to use ":help" in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, read |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 74 | "runtime/doc/help.txt". It contains pointers to the other documentation files. |
| 75 | The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use Vim. See |
| 76 | ":help user-manual". |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 77 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 78 | |
| 79 | COPYING |
| 80 | |
| 81 | Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are |
Bram Moolenaar | 755bd26 | 2010-08-14 17:46:20 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 82 | encouraged to make a donation to help orphans in Uganda. Please read the file |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 83 | "runtime/doc/uganda.txt" for details (do ":help uganda" inside Vim). |
| 84 | |
| 85 | Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an |
| 86 | unmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license |
Bram Moolenaar | f1dcd14 | 2022-12-31 15:30:45 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 87 | text must always be included. For modified versions, a few restrictions apply. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 88 | The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and |
| 89 | distribute it. |
| 90 | |
| 91 | |
| 92 | SPONSORING |
| 93 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 4c3f536 | 2006-04-11 21:38:50 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 94 | Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To show |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 95 | your appreciation for the work and motivate developers to continue working on |
| 96 | Vim please send a donation. |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 97 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 98 | The 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 |
| 100 | development team motivation to keep working on Vim! |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 101 | |
| 102 | For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site: |
Bram Moolenaar | 89a9c15 | 2021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 103 | https://www.vim.org/sponsor/ |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 104 | |
| 105 | |
Bram Moolenaar | d18cfb7 | 2016-03-29 22:29:18 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 106 | CONTRIBUTING |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 107 | |
Bram Moolenaar | f1dcd14 | 2022-12-31 15:30:45 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 108 | If you would like to help make Vim better, see the CONTRIBUTING.md file. |
Bram Moolenaar | 755bd26 | 2010-08-14 17:46:20 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 109 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 110 | |
| 111 | INFORMATION |
| 112 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 113 | If you are on macOS, you can use MacVim: https://macvim.org |
| 114 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 115 | The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page: |
Bram Moolenaar | 89a9c15 | 2021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 116 | https://www.vim.org/ |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 117 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 86ae720 | 2015-07-10 19:31:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 118 | If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips: |
Bram Moolenaar | 89a9c15 | 2021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 119 | https://www.vim.org/docs.php |
| 120 | https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 121 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 122 | If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailing lists |
| 123 | to discuss them with Vim users and developers: |
Bram Moolenaar | 89a9c15 | 2021-08-29 21:55:35 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 124 | https://www.vim.org/maillist.php |
Bram Moolenaar | 8d4eecc | 2012-11-20 17:19:01 +0100 | [diff] [blame] | 125 | |
Christian Brabandt | e978b45 | 2023-08-13 10:33:05 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 126 | If nothing else works, report bugs directly to the vim-dev mailing list: |
| 127 | <vim-dev@vim.org> |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 128 | |
Bram Moolenaar | 0c628d1 | 2004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 129 | |
| 130 | MAIN AUTHOR |
| 131 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 132 | Most of Vim was created by Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org>, ":help Bram-Moolenaar" |
Christian Brabandt | 1688938 | 2023-08-13 17:53:07 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 133 | |
Restorer | b75825f | 2024-03-28 09:14:47 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 134 | Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to the vim-dev |
| 135 | mailing list: <vim-dev@vim.org> |