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Bram Moolenaar4421d6a2010-08-14 13:33:56 +02001README.txt for version 7.3g of Vim: Vi IMproved.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +00002
3
4WHAT IS VIM
5
6Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi. Many new features
7have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line history,
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +00008on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations, etc.
9There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available. See
10"runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt" for differences with Vi.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000011
12This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain ASCII files.
13All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type
14with ten fingers can work very fast. Additionally, function keys can be
15defined by the user, and the mouse can be used.
16
Bram Moolenaar5aae4192010-08-03 23:00:38 +020017Vim currently runs under Amiga DOS, MS-DOS, MS-Windows (95, 98, Me, NT, 2000,
18XP, Vista, 7), Atari MiNT, Macintosh, BeOS, VMS, RISC OS, OS/2 and almost all
19flavours of UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000020
21
22DISTRIBUTION
23
24There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems.
25This README.txt file comes with the runtime archive. It includes the
26documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime. To run
27Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive.
28Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you
29want or must compile it yourself. Check "http://www.vim.org/download.php" for
30an overview of currently available distributions.
31
32
33DOCUMENTATION
34
35The best is to use ":help" in Vim. If you don't have an executable yet, read
36"runtime/doc/help.txt". It contains pointers to the other documentation
37files. The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use
38Vim. See ":help user-manual".
39
40The vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Mostly it can be
41started as "vimtutor". See ":help tutor" for more information.
42
43
44COPYING
45
46Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are
47encouraged to make a donation to orphans in Uganda. Please read the file
48"runtime/doc/uganda.txt" for details (do ":help uganda" inside Vim).
49
50Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an
51unmodified copy of Vim. Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license
52text must always be included. For modified versions a few restrictions apply.
53The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and
54distribute it.
55
56
57SPONSORING
58
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +000059Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort. To show
60your appreciation for the work and motivate Bram and others to continue
61working on Vim please send a donation.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000062
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +000063Since Bram is back to a paid job the money will now be used to help children
64in Uganda. See runtime/doc/uganda.txt. But at the same time donations
65increase Bram's motivation to keep working on Vim!
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000066
67For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site:
Bram Moolenaar4c3f5362006-04-11 21:38:50 +000068
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +000069 http://www.vim.org/sponsor/
70
71
72COMPILING
73
74If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim. If you
75obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the
76"src" directory. See src/INSTALL for instructions.
77
78
79INSTALLATION
80
81See one of these files for system-specific instructions:
82README_ami.txt Amiga
83README_unix.txt Unix
84README_dos.txt MS-DOS and MS-Windows
85README_os2.txt OS/2
86README_mac.txt Macintosh
87README_vms.txt VMS
88
89
90INFORMATION
91
92The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page:
93 http://www.vim.org/
94
95If you have problems, have a look at the Vim FAQ:
96 http://vimdoc.sf.net/vimfaq.html
97
98Send bug reports to:
99 Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org>
100
Bram Moolenaar5aae4192010-08-03 23:00:38 +0200101There are several mailing lists for Vim, see http://www.vim.org/maillist.php.
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000102
103
104MAIN AUTHOR
105
Bram Moolenaar33aea182010-08-07 13:19:27 +0200106Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to:
Bram Moolenaar0c628d12004-06-13 12:29:53 +0000107
108 Bram Moolenaar E-mail: Bram@vim.org
Bram Moolenaaraba88572008-06-25 20:13:35 +0000109 Finsterruetihof 1
110 8134 Adliswil
111 Switzerland