>Is it possible to start and use vim as an old exe file or com file? (don't >know if the terminolgy is ok) >What I mean is that old windows programs for windows 95 where just exe >files, and by copy them on a pc and starting them they just work.
Yeh, I getcha. And that's why God invented Portable Vim. Don't recall the site offhand, but when I wanted a copy I just goggled it and there it was. Hang on a sec... http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Office/Suites-editors/Win dows-Portable-Applications-GVim-Portable.shtml The site looks kind of familiar, so I'll say just follow the steps and grab a copy. >Nowadays you have to install them first before you can use them. >I recently switched jobs, and the company is fine, but they have an >IT-policy that users don't have administration rights. When I asked them to >install gvim, they said we use TextPad, company policy. It's the first >company that I ran into this, with a @[EMAIL PROTECTED] policy, but I have to >live with >it. They're idiots and assfaces. Tell them I said so, too. They'd rather have conformity over productivity. Thankfully, I installed Vim on this box with no problems, but still, certain operations were locked out (eg, the "Edit with Vim..." and such menu options when rightclicking on a file or group of files), so it's not *too* much of a setback, but once they decide to install <retch!> Vista here later on in the year, I don't know if I'll be able to install/use *any* apps anymore. And quite frankly, that's when I either *get* the apps installed with IT's blessing, clandestinely use it from flash, or update the resume and find someplace else to work. It's that simple. Word of advice, along Gene's "It doesn't hurt to ask..." line of thinking, is to just make a mild stink to your boss, and on up to the most approachable Big Cheese you can, right on up to the owner of the company if he's a reasonable guy. Tell him in no uncertain terms that you have an application which really makes you more productive, but the idiots in IT (no, don't phrase it like *that*...) won't let you install it. You'd *like* to use tools you're mo$t comfortable with and mo$t productive with, to help you do your job as quickly and efficiently as possible, but you're being hamstrung by some "policy" that insists on one and only one set of archaeic tools which is effectively crippling you and slowing you down. And if they insist on being idiots and assfaces, well, you can live with it or look elsewhere for yet another job where they're not as idiotic and assfaceish. There seems to be a spate of "portable" apps that are intended to get around just this kind of limitation. I got hold of Portable Firefox and it works a treat, so definitely look into "Portable XYZ" whenever you need/want a copy of XYZ that'll work w/o needing to be installed on any particular machine. PVim is definitely out there, like PFF, so look them up, get them, and have fun! Also keeps all your preferences (bookmarks, options, tweaks, settings, etc.) all in one place, on the flash-thingy, so absolutely, you can carry around the apps from one machine to another and have everything niiiiice and comfortable, just the way you like them. And iirr, portable apps can in fact be copied to your harddrive on another machine as well, but for safe keeping, and to shut 'em up in case they find your "contraband" on "their" machines, just keep everything on flash and make backups just in case.
