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This is primarily low-hanging fruit; there are still many references to things such as MS-DOS throughout (see os_dos.txt).
272 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
272 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
*os_win32.txt* For Vim version 7.4. Last change: 2014 Sep 25
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VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by George Reilly
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*win32* *Win32* *MS-Windows*
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This file documents the idiosyncrasies of the Win32 version of Vim.
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The Win32 version of Vim works on Windows NT, XP, Vista and Windows 7.
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There are both console and GUI versions.
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The 32 bit version also runs on 64 bit MS-Windows systems.
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1. Known problems |win32-problems|
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2. Startup |win32-startup|
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3. Restore screen contents |win32-restore|
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4. Using the mouse |win32-mouse|
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5. Running under Windows 3.1 |win32-win3.1|
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6. Win32 mini FAQ |win32-faq|
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Additionally, there are a number of common Win32 and DOS items:
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File locations |dos-locations|
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Using backslashes |dos-backslash|
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Standard mappings |dos-standard-mappings|
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Screen output and colors |dos-colors|
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File formats |dos-file-formats|
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:cd command |dos-:cd|
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Interrupting |dos-CTRL-Break|
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Temp files |dos-temp-files|
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Shell option default |dos-shell|
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Win32 GUI |gui-w32|
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Credits:
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The Win32 version was written by George V. Reilly <george@reilly.org>.
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The original Windows NT port was done by Roger Knobbe <RogerK@wonderware.com>.
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The GUI version was made by George V. Reilly and Robert Webb.
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==============================================================================
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1. Known problems *win32-problems*
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When doing file name completion, Vim also finds matches for the short file
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name. But Vim will still find and use the corresponding long file name. For
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example, if you have the long file name "this_is_a_test" with the short file
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name "this_i~1", the command ":e *1" will start editing "this_is_a_test".
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==============================================================================
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2. Startup *win32-startup*
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Current directory *win32-curdir*
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If Vim is started with a single file name argument, and it has a full path
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(starts with "x:\"), Vim assumes it was started from the file explorer and
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will set the current directory to where that file is. To avoid this when
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typing a command to start Vim, use a forward slash instead of a backslash.
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Example: >
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vim c:\text\files\foo.txt
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Will change to the "C:\text\files" directory. >
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vim c:/text\files\foo.txt
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Will use the current directory.
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Term option *win32-term*
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The only kind of terminal type that the Win32 version of Vim understands is
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"win32", which is built-in. If you set 'term' to anything else, you will
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probably get very strange behavior from Vim. Therefore Vim does not obtain
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the default value of 'term' from the environment variable "TERM".
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$PATH *win32-PATH*
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The directory of the Vim executable is appended to $PATH. This is mostly to
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make "!xxd" work, as it is in the Tools menu. And it also means that when
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executable() returns 1 the executable can actually be executed.
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==============================================================================
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3. Restore screen contents *win32-restore*
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When 'restorescreen' is set (which is the default), Vim will restore the
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original contents of the console when exiting or when executing external
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commands. If you don't want this, use ":set nors". |'restorescreen'|
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==============================================================================
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4. Using the mouse *win32-mouse*
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The Win32 version of Vim supports using the mouse. If you have a two-button
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mouse, the middle button can be emulated by pressing both left and right
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buttons simultaneously - but note that in the Win32 GUI, if you have the right
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mouse button pop-up menu enabled (see 'mouse'), you should err on the side of
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pressing the left button first. |mouse-using|
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When the mouse doesn't work, try disabling the "Quick Edit Mode" feature of
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the console.
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==============================================================================
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5. Running under Windows 3.1 *win32-win3.1*
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*win32s* *windows-3.1*
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There is a special version of Gvim that runs under Windows 3.1 and 3.11. You
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need the gvim.exe that was compiled with Visual C++ 4.1.
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To run the Win32 version under Windows 3.1, you need to install Win32s. You
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might have it already from another Win32 application which you have installed.
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If Vim doesn't seem to be running properly, get the latest version: 1.30c.
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You can find it at:
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http://support.microsoft.com/download/support/mslfiles/pw1118.exe
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(Microsoft moved it again, we don't know where it is now :-( ).
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The reason for having two versions of gvim.exe is that the Win32s version was
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compiled with VC++ 4.1. This is the last version of VC++ that supports Win32s
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programs. VC++ 5.0 is better, so that one was used for the Win32 version.
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Apart from that, there is no difference between the programs. If you are in a
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mixed environment, you can use the gvim.exe for Win32s on both.
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The Win32s version works the same way as the Win32 version under 95/NT. When
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running under Win32s the following differences apply:
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- You cannot use long file names, because Windows 3.1 doesn't support them!
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- When executing an external command, it doesn't return an exit code. After
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doing ":make" you have to do ":cn" yourself.
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==============================================================================
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6. Win32 mini FAQ *win32-faq*
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Q. How do I change the font?
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A. In the GUI version, you can use the 'guifont' option. Example: >
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:set guifont=Lucida_Console:h15:cDEFAULT
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< In the console version, you need to set the font of the console itself.
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You cannot do this from within Vim.
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Q. How do I type dead keys on Windows NT?
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A. Dead keys work on NT 3.51. Just type them as you would in any other
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application.
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On NT 4.0, you need to make sure that the default locale (set in the
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Keyboard part of the Control Panel) is the same as the currently active
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locale. Otherwise the NT code will get confused and crash! This is a NT
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4.0 problem, not really a Vim problem.
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Q. I'm using Vim to edit a symbolically linked file on a Unix NFS file server.
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When I write the file, Vim does not "write through" the symlink. Instead,
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it deletes the symbolic link and creates a new file in its place. Why?
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A. On Unix, Vim is prepared for links (symbolic or hard). A backup copy of
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the original file is made and then the original file is overwritten. This
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assures that all properties of the file remain the same. On non-Unix
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systems, the original file is renamed and a new file is written. Only the
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protection bits are set like the original file. However, this doesn't work
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properly when working on an NFS-mounted file system where links and other
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things exist. The only way to fix this in the current version is not
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making a backup file, by ":set nobackup nowritebackup" |'writebackup'|
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Q. I'm using Vim to edit a file on a Unix file server through Samba. When I
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write the file, the owner of the file is changed. Why?
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A. When writing a file Vim renames the original file, this is a backup (in
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case writing the file fails halfway). Then the file is written as a new
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file. Samba then gives it the default owner for the file system, which may
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differ from the original owner.
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To avoid this set the 'backupcopy' option to "yes". Vim will then make a
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copy of the file for the backup, and overwrite the original file. The
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owner isn't changed then.
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Q. How do I get to see the output of ":make" while it's running?
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A. Basically what you need is to put a tee program that will copy its input
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(the output from make) to both stdout and to the errorfile. You can find a
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copy of tee (and a number of other GNU tools) at
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http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net or http://unxutils.sourceforge.net
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Alternatively, try the more recent Cygnus version of the GNU tools at
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http://www.cygwin.com Other Unix-style tools for Win32 are listed at
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http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Unix/Win32/
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When you do get a copy of tee, you'll need to add >
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:set shellpipe=\|\ tee
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< to your _vimrc.
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Q. I'm storing files on a remote machine that works with VisionFS, and files
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disappear!
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A. VisionFS can't handle certain dot (.) three letter extension file names.
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SCO declares this behavior required for backwards compatibility with 16bit
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DOS/Windows environments. The two commands below demonstrate the behavior:
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>
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echo Hello > file.bat~
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dir > file.bat
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<
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The result is that the "dir" command updates the "file.bat~" file, instead
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of creating a new "file.bat" file. This same behavior is exhibited in Vim
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when editing an existing file named "foo.bat" because the default behavior
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of Vim is to create a temporary file with a '~' character appended to the
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name. When the file is written, it winds up being deleted.
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Solution: Add this command to your _vimrc file: >
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:set backupext=.temporary
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Q. How do I change the blink rate of the cursor?
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A. You can't! This is a limitation of the NT console. NT 5.0 is reported to
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be able to set the blink rate for all console windows at the same time.
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*:!start*
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Q. How can I run an external command or program asynchronously?
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A. When using :! to run an external command, you can run it with "start": >
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:!start winfile.exe<CR>
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< Using "start" stops Vim switching to another screen, opening a new console,
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or waiting for the program to complete; it indicates that you are running a
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program that does not affect the files you are editing. Programs begun
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with :!start do not get passed Vim's open file handles, which means they do
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not have to be closed before Vim.
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To avoid this special treatment, use ":! start".
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There are two optional arguments (see the next Q):
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/min the window will be minimized
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/b no console window will be opened
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You can use only one of these flags at a time. A second one will be
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treated as the start of the command.
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Q. How do I avoid getting a window for programs that I run asynchronously?
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A. You have two possible solutions depending on what you want:
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1) You may use the /min flag in order to run program in a minimized state
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with no other changes. It will work equally for console and GUI
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applications.
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2) You can use the /b flag to run console applications without creating a
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console window for them (GUI applications are not affected). But you
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should use this flag only if the application you run doesn't require any
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input. Otherwise it will get an EOF error because its input stream
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(stdin) would be redirected to \\.\NUL (stdout and stderr too).
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Example for a console application, run Exuberant ctags: >
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:!start /min ctags -R .
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< When it has finished you should see file named "tags" in your current
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directory. You should notice the window title blinking on your taskbar.
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This is more noticeable for commands that take longer.
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Now delete the "tags" file and run this command: >
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:!start /b ctags -R .
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< You should have the same "tags" file, but this time there will be no
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blinking on the taskbar.
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Example for a GUI application: >
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:!start /min notepad
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:!start /b notepad
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< The first command runs notepad minimized and the second one runs it
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normally.
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Q. I'm using Win32s, and when I try to run an external command like "make",
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Vim doesn't wait for it to finish! Help!
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A. The problem is that a 32-bit application (Vim) can't get notification from
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Windows that a 16-bit application (your DOS session) has finished. Vim
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includes a work-around for this, but you must set up your DOS commands to
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run in a window, not full-screen. Unfortunately the default when you
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install Windows is full-screen. To change this:
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1) Start PIF editor (in the Main program group).
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2) Open the file "_DEFAULT.PIF" in your Windows directory.
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3) Changes the display option from "Full Screen" to "Windowed".
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4) Save and exit.
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To test, start Vim and type >
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:!dir C:\<CR>".
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< You should see a DOS box window appear briefly with the directory listing.
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Q. I use Vim under Win32s and NT. In NT, I can define the console to default to
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50 lines, so that I get a 80x50 shell when I ':sh'. Can I do the same in
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W3.1x, or am I stuck with 80x25?
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A. Edit SYSTEM.INI and add 'ScreenLines=50' to the [NonWindowsApp] section. DOS
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prompts and external DOS commands will now run in a 50-line window.
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*windows-icon*
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Q. I don't like the Vim icon, can I change it?
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A. Yes, place your favorite icon in bitmaps/vim.ico in a directory of
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'runtimepath'. For example ~/vimfiles/bitmaps/vim.ico.
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vim:tw=78:fo=tcq2:ts=8:ft=help:norl:
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