| README.txt for version 7.3 of Vim: Vi IMproved. |
| |
| |
| WHAT IS VIM |
| |
| Vim is an almost compatible version of the 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, etc. |
| There is also a Graphical User Interface (GUI) available. 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 |
| defined by the user, and the mouse can be used. |
| |
| Vim runs under Amiga DOS, MS-DOS, MS-Windows (95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, |
| 7), Atari MiNT, Macintosh, BeOS, VMS, RISC OS, OS/2 and almost all flavours of |
| UNIX. Porting to other systems should not be very difficult. |
| |
| |
| DISTRIBUTION |
| |
| 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 "http://www.vim.org/download.php" for |
| an overview of currently available distributions. |
| |
| |
| DOCUMENTATION |
| |
| The vim tutor is a one hour training course for beginners. Mostly 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 Bram and others to continue |
| working on Vim please send a donation. |
| |
| Since Bram is back to a paid job the money will now be used to help children |
| in Uganda. See runtime/doc/uganda.txt. But at the same time donations |
| increase Bram's motivation to keep working on Vim! |
| |
| For the most recent information about sponsoring look on the Vim web site: |
| |
| http://www.vim.org/sponsor/ |
| |
| |
| 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: |
| README_ami.txt Amiga |
| README_unix.txt Unix |
| README_dos.txt MS-DOS and MS-Windows |
| README_os2.txt OS/2 |
| README_mac.txt Macintosh |
| README_vms.txt VMS |
| |
| There are more README_*.txt files, depending on the distribution you used. |
| |
| |
| INFORMATION |
| |
| The latest news about Vim can be found on the Vim home page: |
| http://www.vim.org/ |
| |
| If you have problems, have a look at the Vim FAQ: |
| http://vimdoc.sf.net/vimfaq.html |
| |
| If you still have problems or any other questions, use one of the mailing |
| lists to discuss them with Vim users and developers: |
| http://www.vim.org/maillist.php |
| |
| If nothing else works, report bugs directly: |
| Bram Moolenaar <Bram@vim.org> |
| |
| |
| MAIN AUTHOR |
| |
| Send any other comments, patches, flowers and suggestions to: |
| |
| Bram Moolenaar E-mail: Bram@vim.org |
| Finsterruetihof 1 |
| 8134 Adliswil |
| Switzerland |