ex editor
I guess that this email group may not be the group I need. Is there a useful specialised ex group, in particular is there a community of ex (or vi/vim +occasional ex) users on MAC OSX. What I consider to be highly undesirable new features make ex (and perhaps vi/vim) extremely awkward to use on MACs and I would dearly like to be able to replace ex by a more comfortable older version eg not wiping image of recent changes on screen on exit. undo to undo just the last change by default - not all changes since start of session. etc Any suggestions what to do or where to go for help would be gratefully received C. Moncrieff
Re: ex editor
I would dearly like to be able to replace ex by a more comfortable older version eg not wiping image of recent changes on screen on exit. I'm not 100% sure how to do this one. This is likely a terminal thing. Perhaps you can monkey with the settings as described in :help xterm-save-screen where it sounds like the NOTE 2 at the bottom of that section describes what you want: :set t_ti= t_te= I'm ambivalent about this option, as sometimes I want it, and sometimes I don't, and I don't think about it until I quit and find that it's not what I wanted. Some machines I use preserve the original screen (using the alternate screen for vim), and some don't. I've just learned to shrug that one off :) undo to undo just the last change by default - not all changes since start of session. Vim7's undo is mind-blowingly more powerful than any other software I've used (except maybe VCS software such as RCS/Subversion/Mercurial/etc). It shouldn't undo all changes since the start of the session (assuming by session, you mean since opening the file). Vim certainly allows you to return to the old-school way of doing things, as described at :help undo-two-ways and following section for how Vim treats undo blocks as well. etc Without more details on this etc, it's hard to point you in the right direction. However, this mailing list is a friendly place, so if you encounter more questions, feel free to ask them here and the list will try and help you out. I get accused of being the list's resident Ex junkie, so hopefully I can help. :) I'm likely one of the scant few who still wants Vim to support true open mode (:help :open). Not urgently, but there are times it would have been handy. Fortunately, I've got some older versions of vi that do support it for those scarse occasions I want it. -tim
Re: ex editor
C.Moncrieff wrote: I guess that this email group may not be the group I need. I'm afraid you're stuck, at least as far as official vim groups go. There's this one and vim-development, primarily. See http://vim.sourceforge.net/community.php for the complete list. What I consider to be highly undesirable new features make ex (and perhaps vi/vim) extremely awkward to use on MACs and I would dearly like to be able to replace ex by a more comfortable older version eg not wiping image of recent changes on screen on exit. set nors If that doesn't do the trick, try set t_ti= t_te= (but this will only help with console vim, not gvim) undo to undo just the last change by default - not all changes since start of session. See :help 'undolevels' etc Not clear about this one! Any suggestions what to do or where to go for help would be gratefully received Seems to me that this mailing list is best for what you're inquiring about. Regards, Chip Campbell
Re: ex editor
Tim Chase wrote: I'm likely one of the scant few who still wants Vim to support true open mode (:help :open). Not urgently, but there are times it would have been handy. Fortunately, I've got some older versions of vi that do support it for those scarse occasions I want it. Can you please expand on what :open does and what it's useful for? :help :open tells me nothing at all :-( Tobia
Re: ex editor
On 6/5/07, Tim Chase [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I would dearly like to be able to replace ex by a more comfortable older version eg not wiping image of recent changes on screen on exit. I'm not 100% sure how to do this one. This is likely a terminal thing. Perhaps you can monkey with the settings as described in :help xterm-save-screen where it sounds like the NOTE 2 at the bottom of that section describes what you want: :set t_ti= t_te= I'm ambivalent about this option, as sometimes I want it, and sometimes I don't, and I don't think about it until I quit and find that it's not what I wanted. Some machines I use preserve the original screen (using the alternate screen for vim), and some don't. I've just learned to shrug that one off :) undo to undo just the last change by default - not all changes since start of session. Vim7's undo is mind-blowingly more powerful than any other software I've used (except maybe VCS software such as RCS/Subversion/Mercurial/etc). It shouldn't undo all changes since the start of the session (assuming by session, you mean since opening the file). Vim certainly allows you to return to the old-school way of doing things, as described at :help undo-two-ways and following section for how Vim treats undo blocks as well. etc Without more details on this etc, it's hard to point you in the right direction. However, this mailing list is a friendly place, so if you encounter more questions, feel free to ask them here and the list will try and help you out. I get accused of being the list's resident Ex junkie, so hopefully I can help. :) I'm likely one of the scant few who still wants Vim to support true open mode (:help :open). Not urgently, but there are times it would have been handy. Fortunately, I've got some older versions of vi that do support it for those scarse occasions I want it. -tim Is :help undo where we can get information on Vim7's undo? I remember reading about how it was all awesome and stuff, but I haven't gotten a chance to actually try to use it yet. -- -fREW
Re: ex editor
Can you please expand on what :open does and what it's useful for? :help :open tells me nothing at all :-( Open-mode is a quasi-Ex and quasi-Vi mode, or could also be described as Vi mode on a glass/printing TTY. It doesn't redraw the screen. I found it useful when I had to use a printer as my output device: it offered the power of vi, but with the terminal-indifference of ed/ex. It's also helpful for doing what you describe, of having some of your shell session (prior to vi/ex invocation) available on the screen at the same time, yet still have the ability to navigate like in Vi. I believe both the nvi and stevie clones both implement open mode. -tim
Re: ex editor
Is :help undo where we can get information on Vim7's undo? I remember reading about how it was all awesome and stuff, but I haven't gotten a chance to actually try to use it yet. It's all contained in :help undo.txt The powerful additions to Vim7 are found at :help undo-branches I don't yet have g+ and g- hardwired into my fingers yet, but I do remember :earlier and :later for navigating forward and backwards in the undo tree. I don't use it often, but when I do, it's just what I need. And when I need this feature in other apps that don't provide it, I find myself wondering why can't $PROGRAM be more like Vim?! :) -tim
