README.txt

README.txt for version 9.1 of Vim: Vi IMproved.


WHAT IS VIM?

Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editor Vi.  Many new
features have been added: multi-level undo, syntax highlighting, command line
history, on-line help, spell checking, filename completion, block operations,
script language, etc.  There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available.
Still, Vi compatibility is maintained, those who have Vi "in the fingers" will
feel at home.  See "runtime/doc/vi_diff.txt" for differences with Vi.

This editor is very useful for editing programs and other plain text files.
All commands are given with normal keyboard characters, so those who can type
with ten fingers can work very fast.  Additionally, function keys can be
mapped to commands by the user, and the mouse can be used.

Vim also aims to provide a (mostly) POSIX-compatible vi implementation, when
compiled with a minimal feature set (typically called vim.tiny), which is used
by many Linux distributions as the default vi editor.

Vim runs under MS-Windows (7, 8, 10, 11), macOS, Haiku, VMS and almost all
flavours of UNIX.  Porting to other systems should not be very difficult.
Older versions of Vim run on MS-DOS, MS-Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista,
Amiga DOS, Atari MiNT, BeOS, RISC OS and OS/2.  These are no longer maintained.


DISTRIBUTION

You can often use your favorite package manager to install Vim.  On Mac and
Linux a small version of Vim is pre-installed, you still need to install Vim
if you want more features.

There are separate distributions for Unix, PC, Amiga and some other systems.
This README.txt file comes with the runtime archive.  It includes the
documentation, syntax files and other files that are used at runtime.  To run
Vim you must get either one of the binary archives or a source archive.
Which one you need depends on the system you want to run it on and whether you
want or must compile it yourself.  Check "https://www.vim.org/download.php" for
an overview of currently available distributions.

Some popular places to get the latest Vim:
* Check out the git repository from github: https://github.com/vim/vim.
* Get the source code as an archive: https://github.com/vim/vim/tags.
* Get a Windows executable from the vim-win32-installer repository:
  https://github.com/vim/vim-win32-installer/releases.


COMPILING

If you obtained a binary distribution you don't need to compile Vim.  If you
obtained a source distribution, all the stuff for compiling Vim is in the
"src" directory.  See src/INSTALL for instructions.


INSTALLATION

See one of these files for system-specific instructions.  Either in the
READMEdir directory (in the repository) or the top directory (if you unpack an
archive):

README_ami.txt		Amiga
README_unix.txt		Unix
README_dos.txt		MS-DOS and MS-Windows
README_mac.txt		Macintosh
README_haiku.txt	Haiku
README_vms.txt		VMS

There are other README_*.txt files, depending on the distribution you used.


DOCUMENTATION

The Vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners.  Often it can be
started as "vimtutor".  See ":help tutor" for more information.

The best is to use ":help" in Vim.  If you don't have an executable yet, read
"runtime/doc/help.txt".  It contains pointers to the other documentation files.
The User Manual reads like a book and is recommended to learn to use Vim.  See
":help user-manual".


COPYING

Vim is Charityware.  You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are
encouraged to make a donation to help orphans in Uganda.  Please read the file
"runtime/doc/uganda.txt" for details (do ":help uganda" inside Vim).

Summary of the license: There are no restrictions on using or distributing an
unmodified copy of Vim.  Parts of Vim may also be distributed, but the license
text must always be included.  For modified versions, a few restrictions apply.
The license is GPL compatible, you may compile Vim with GPL libraries and
distribute it.


SPONSORING

Fixing bugs and adding new features takes a lot of time and effort.  To show
your appreciation for the work and motivate developers to continue working on
Vim please send a donation.

The money you donated will be mainly used to help children in Uganda.  See
"runtime/doc/uganda.txt".  But at the same time donations increase the
development team motivation to keep working on Vim!

For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site:
	https://www.vim.org/sponsor/


CONTRIBUTING

If you would like to help make Vim better, see the CONTRIBUTING.md file.


INFORMATION

If you are on macOS, you can use MacVim: https://macvim.org

The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page:
	https://www.vim.org/

If you have problems, have a look at the Vim documentation or tips:
	https://www.vim.org/docs.php
	https://vim.fandom.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki

If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailing lists
to discuss them with Vim users and developers:
	https://www.vim.org/maillist.php

If nothing else works, report bugs directly to the vim-dev mailing list:
	<vim-dev@vim.org>


MAIN AUTHOR

Most of Vim was created by Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org>, ":help Bram-Moolenaar"

Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to the vim-dev
mailing list: <vim-dev@vim.org>