Dr Chip's Vim Page

Welcome to my Vim Page. Herein you'll find a number of scripts, some source code (needs compiling, but I do have pre-compiled executables for you PC types), and Vim syntax files. If you'd like to know more about Vim, check out Vim Online. For more about vi, click on the vi lovers home page. The syntax files below are often snapshots of my working copies, so sometimes they may be works-in-progress. Usually such files will say ASTRO-ONLY somewhere in the top four lines of the file. In any case, the scripts here will be more up-to-date than the versions, if any, that I put on vim.sf.net.

As a word of warning: Nasa Federal Credit Union has been taking out $5/month from my daughter's savings account. Since this account was a "kid's" account, it tends to be inactive. I admit that I don't look at the kids' statements every month; I generally do so once per year at tax time. They claim that they called my daughter, but as its a family phone with an answering machine, I can confidently say that there was no such phone call. So, I advise you not to set up "kid" savings accounts with NASA-FCU.

If you'd like to be on the cutting edge of Vim, may I suggest reading Getting the Vim source with Mercurial.

Nearly all scripts herein will be using the vimball archive format (*.vba files) which first became available with vim 7.0 -- it provides for better installation and automatic helptag generation. If there's a "vba" suffix, you'll need vim 7.0 or later! Vim 7.0 users, however, do need to get a new version of (vimball); vim 7.1 users already have a sufficiently up-to-date version of vimball.

Layout: This admittedly long page is organized into the following format: Contents, Subpages, and Links. Subpages, which cover specific topics, are separated by horizontal lines and have links to the Contents and Links at their bottom right. A few subpages also provide links to more complete webpages (ex. "Color Scheme"). Typically subpages will also provide a link to "Links" in or near their first sentence; this Link goes near where the associated script, code, etc is in the Links section.

Netscape Users: (on the PC) Some versions of Netscape on the PC have this unfortunate "feature" that causes files to be renamed which have more than one period in them (the periods become underscores). As a consequence, WinZip doesn't know what to do with the downloaded file. Just pay attention and fix up the name Netscape gives in its saving/downloading dialog box (ie. restore the name to what it was). WinZip should then be able to understand what to do with the files.

"Abbreviations" for C

There are also maps for E`, R`, and D` which generate DrChip's debugger calls.

This approach allows your cinoptions to be effective, so you get the indentation style you prefer (abbreviations prevent this). So, if you use my stubs file, you probably should set the cino option. That way the stub will be indented in your style. I've included a copy of my cinoptions below; feel free to incorporate them (my style is the best, of course!) and change them as you will (aw, shucks).

C/C++ Code Beautifier

ccb has been on my website since May 25, 2000 with no runtime bugs reported!

C/C++ Functions: prototypes, hints, etc.

Intro: Flist is a program which does a number of things with C/C++ source files' functions: use it to generate listings of functions, prototypes, calling trees, tags, and more ( get flist source here)! You may find the maps in flistmaps a help in using flist with the current file in Vim.

Hints: Flist's -h option makes <hints> files. After you've used flist to generate your hints file, just source it into your editing session or put the following code into your <.vimrc> for automatic sourcing of hints:

if filereadable(expand("hints")) au BufNewFile,BufReadPost *.c,*.C,*.cpp,*.CPP,*.cxx so hints<CR> endif

The result? Every time you type a function name, a prototype for it will appear on the information line. In order to see it, you should set your cmdheight to 2 or more (:set ch=2) and possibly have showmode off (:set nosmd).

Maps: Along with flist itself I've provided a small set of maps which use flist. The maps take the form \[px][pxgs]: prototype or extern, and prototype, extern, global, and static. The map invokes flist against the current file and inserts a list of (global/static/both) prototypes or extern-style function declarations. The \pc map inserts a list of prototypes suitable for inclusion in a comment.

Source Trees: Flist's -Tg option builds a tree-like graph of function use. Coupled with the Flist-based Tree plugin for vim 6.0 or later, one can browse the calling tree on the left hand side of the screen, select a function to edit by putting the cursor on its line, and hitting return. Put <FlistTree.vim> into your plugin directory; you may then use the command :Flist [filename(s)] to begin graph-tree editing. See the usage notes in <FlistTree.vim> for more commands! Click for a screenshot if you'd like to see it first.

Dummy Functions: Flist includes a -D option, which generates "dummy" function definitions. In order to make trees, flist makes a pass over all the source files to determine what functions are present, and then a second pass to determine what functions are called by what functions. Thus common functions (such as printf) are ignored, and the structure of your program is usually better revealed. However, if you want to know where such functions are called, or functions that were defined in your own personal library, you may wish to set up a <dummy.c> file containing a list of such functions with no body (or even arguments). That way flist will process the dummy file quickly. The -D option allows one to generate such a dummy file easily from real ones.

Color Scheme

I've included Vim-script which implements my choice for syntax highlighting. Please check out my page on DrChip's colorscheme for the colorscheme I use. I like keeping the same colorscheme for both gui (gvim) and console (vim); the latter restricts the number of colors available, so such dual-use colorschemes must needs be designed for the limitations of the console.

Columnizing

Ever wished to convert a list of words into a multi-column list (such as ls produces)? Mcol will do that for you (see below), and check out some of my mcol-using scripts.

+---------+------------------------------------------------------+
|Original |   Using ma on "one", moving to "six", and typing \mn3|
|List     |            map \mn3  0!'amcol -n3<CR>                |
+---------+------------------------------------------------------+
|one      |                                                      |
|two      |                                                      |
|three    |            one      three      five                  |
|four     |            two      four       six                   |
|five     |                                                      |
|six      |                                                      |
+---------+------------------------------------------------------+

DrChip's Links to Tips and Scripts

Patches

• getfsize patch This patch extends getfsize({fname}) to getfsize({fname}[,unitsize]). The optional second argument specifies the units that getfsize() will return the file size in. It's useful for handling file sizes that are over 2GB.
• helptags patch This patch extends the helptags command to construct personal help tags files with *.txt files in subdirectories. Looks like Bram has already included it with v7.3 patch 734!
• Lua patch This patch, by Luis Carvalho, provides internal vim support for Lua (akin to vim's support for perl, etc).

PC: Pre-Compiled Executables

I've included some pre-compiled executables for the PC for which I used a Borland C/C++ compiler (under Miscellaneous in the Links). As a bonus, I've thrown in my calculator program, too. You should still get the source code distributions; if you have ansi escape sequences enabled for your MS-DOS windows, and have <rdcolor.dat>, prompts and help will come up in color. The copyright notices associated with the source distributions also still apply to the executables.

Short Vim Command List

If you've gotten here, I'm sure you realize that Vim has a large number of commands -- that is, commands that one can do while in normal mode. That's not counting the command mode commands! Check out the Real Short Vim Normal-Mode List of Commands.

Spelling Checker

The English spelling checker (under Scripts in the Links) uses Vim's native syntax highlighting ability to make misspelled (English) words show up as an "Error" (usually white on a red background). Vim 7.0 introduced a built-in spelling checker with many features based on those engspchk provided; however, engspchk is still good for those of you still using earlier versions of vim. The Vim-based English spell checker also supports entering words that the cursor is on into a temporary or permanent dictionary and allows one to skip to the previous or subsequent spelling error (if any). It co-exists quite well with TeX, LaTeX, Html, and other such specialized text, and can be used to check the spelling inside comments in various programming languages.

Getting Started:

The English spelling checker now comes as a "tarball": gunzip the file <engspchk.tar.gz> and tar -oxvf engspchk.tar in the .vim or _vimfiles directory.

The English spelling checker is a plugin; it does a quick load and makes a map for \ec (actually the \ is <Leader> which can be changed; see :he mapleader). The dictionary isn't loaded until one types \ec. It also creates a menu item to load the spelling checker for gvim (the gui).

The custom user dictionary and optional Webster's 1913 dictionary is stored using the path specified by the vim variable g:cvimsyn, settable in the <.vimrc>. If that variable isn't set, then the CVIMSYN environment variable, if it exists, is used.

If you want to use the environment variable approach:

Moving: For Vim versions 5.04 and later, the <engspchk.vim> file additionally provides two maps (\en and \ep) to move to the next and preceding spelling error, if any. I suggest you upgrade if you haven't already, because Vim's functions are powerful!

Custom Dictionary: Engspchk allows the user to temporarily save (\et) or to permanently save (\es) words the user uses but somehow isn't in Engspchk's dictionary. A temporary save only affects the current vim editing session; a permanent save writes the word to a custom user dictionary which is automatically loaded in the future.

Alternatives: For Vim version 6.0 and later, <engspchk.vim> provides the (\ea) map which brings up a one-line alternatives window for the word under the cursor. Move left and right with the full power of Vim, and when the cursor lies on the desired substitute word, a simple carriage return will cause replacement. You'll also need to have the agrep program to do this (there's a pre-compiled for Windows version available using this link). The first use of (\ea) takes longer than subsequent use because the script that gets invoked constructs a plain list of words from the engspchk file.

No Flashing: With Vim version 6.0y and later and starting with version 2.04 of engspchk no longer will Error highlighting flash on and off while you're typing. Thanks go to Chase Tingley (with emendations by Bram Moolenaar) who wrote the changes to Vim to make this possible.

More Words: Previously the <wb1913_engspchk.vim> file was provided separately, but it is now provided in the <engsphck.tar.gz> tarball. still optional if you'd rather not load it. Webster has provided an electronic copy of the words from its 1913 edition; those words that appear in that dictionary that don't appear in <engspchk.vim>'s dictionary itself are provided in the <wb1913_engsphck.vim> file. If the file appears in the directory specified by the g:cvimsyn variable (or by the CVIMSYN environment variable) then it is loaded automatically.

Languages other than English: There are now variants of <engspchk.vim> for Dutch, German, Hungarian, Polish, and Yiddish. Engspchk has been improved so that mostly all that's needed are the dictionaries themselves. I'd appreciate it if you could let me know where on the Web to find it so I can make a link on this page to it!

Thomas Köhler has made his create script which uses the Bourne shell; it merges a dictionary with engspchk.vim to create a spelling checker for another language.

Since vim 7.0 and later now includes embedded spell checking, I've removed most of the spelling dictionaries. If someone is still interested, please send me an email (NdrOchip@ScampbellPfamily.AbizM - NOSPAM) and I'll send you a copy. Unfortunately, I'm limited on my webspace, and I needed the space! I have dictionaries for Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.

To see a screenshot, please click on this.

Tag Generation

I have written my own tag generating program (get source for hdrtag here); although Exuberant Ctags is good, I know how to modify hdrtag to suit me. It contains tagging generation for C/C++, C/C++ header files, lex, yacc, TeX (cites and labels), vim scripts (functions and syntax), and Maple V.

Exuberant Ctags will no longer be distributed with vim as of v6.0i. I've provided a link to its home site here.

Text Alignment

The alignment scripts (<Align.vim> and <AlignMaps.vim>) now supplant the older external filter approach. The new scripts, which include help and plentiful examples, provide:

• cyclic left, right, and centering justification of fields
• cyclic or equivalent regular-expression separators
• cyclic left, right, and centering of multi-length separators
• improved initial white space control: retain, eliminate, re-use first
• specifiable separator padding
• visual range specified alignment, including via visual-block
• multiple maps in <AlignMaps.vim> which tackle complex alignment problems, such as aligning C/C++ declarations, function argument lists, etc.

See my DrChip's Alignment Tool for Vim page for links and examples. An alternative aligner is available from Gergely Kontra (Johannes Zellner used to have one available, but apparently his site has disappeared).

Useful Maps

• Date maps (year-month-day, month-day-year, etc)
      imap <Leader>ymd   <C-R>=strftime("%y%m%d")<CR>
      imap <Leader>mdy   <C-R>=strftime("%m/%d/%y")<CR>
      imap <Leader>ndy   <C-R>=strftime("%b %d, %Y")<CR>
      imap <Leader>hms   <C-R>=strftime("%T")<CR>
      imap <Leader>ynd   <C-R>=strftime("%Y %b %d")<CR>
      com! YMD :norm! i<C-R>=strftime("%y%m%d")<CR>
      com! MDY :norm! i<C-R>=strftime("%m/%d/%y")<CR>
      com! NDY :norm! i<C-R>=strftime("%b %d, %Y")<CR>
      com! HMS :norm! i<C-R>=strftime("%T")<CR>
  
  
• Determining the highlight group that the word under the cursor belongs to
  nmap <silent> <F10>   :echo "hi<" . synIDattr(synID(line("."),col("."),1),"name") . '> trans<' . synIDattr(synID(line("."),col("."),0),"name") . "> lo<" . synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."),col("."),1)),"name") . ">"<CR>
  
  
• Mirrors and Reversals:
  nno  <silent> <Leader>fr   :set lz<cr>'aO<esc>ma'':'a+1,.g/^/m 'a<cr>kdd:set lz!<cr>
  vno  <silent> <Leader>fr   :<c-u>set lz<CR>O<esc>V'>:g/^/m '<<cr>'<dd:set lz!<cr>
  nmap <silent> <Leader>fR   V'a\fR
  vno  <silent> <Leader>fR   c<C-O>:set ri lz<cr><C-R>"<esc>:norm! dd`<<cr>:set ri! lz!<cr>
  
  
• Insertion mode Completion Function Key Maps (press <F12> while in insert mode to see list)
  " <F1>   <c-x><c-L> completion: whole line
  " <F2>   <c-x><c-N> completion: keywords using current file
  " <F3>   <c-x><c-K> completion: keywords using dictionary
  " <F4>   <c-x><c-T> completion: keywords using thesaurus
  " <F5>   <c-x><c-I> completion: keywords in current and included files
  " <F6>   <c-x><c-]> completion: tags
  " <F7>   <c-x><c-F> completion: file names
  " <F8>   <c-x><c-D> completion: definitions or macros
  " <F9>   <c-x><c-V> completion: vim command line
  " <F10>  <c-x><c-O> completion: omni completion
  ino <silent> <F1>      <c-x><c-L>
  ino <silent> <F2>      <c-x><c-N>
  ino <silent> <F3>      <c-x><c-K>
  ino <silent> <F4>      <c-x><c-T>
  ino <silent> <F5>      <c-x><c-I>
  ino <silent> <F6>      <c-x><c-]>
  ino <silent> <F7>      <c-x><c-F>
  ino <silent> <F8>      <c-x><c-D>
  ino <silent> <F9>      <c-x><c-V>
  ino <silent> <F10>     <c-x><c-O>
  ino <silent> <F11>     <C-O>ma<C-O>yiw<C-O>:ptag <C-R>"<CR><C-O>`a
  ino <silent> <s-left>  <c-x><c-p>
  ino <silent> <s-right> <c-x><c-n>
  ino <silent> <F12>     <c-o>:echo 'completes[ F1:line F2:keywrd F3:dict F4:thes - F5:fromfile F6:tags F7:fname F8:defns - F9:vimcmd F10:omni ] F11:ptag-iw F12:funkey help'<CR>
  
  
• Moving up/down by function, unfolding current function but folding all else
  noremap [[  [[zMzvz.
  noremap ]]  ]]zMzvz.
  
  
• Some typical settings for viminfo that I use:
   set viminfo=!,'10,\"100,:20,%,nc:\\cec\\_viminfo
   set viminfo=!,'25,\"100,:20,%,n~/.viminfo
  
  
• Transferring blocks of text between vim sessions
  nmap <Leader>xr   :r $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  nmap <Leader>xw   :'a,.w! $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  vmap <Leader>xw   :w! $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  nmap <Leader>xa   :'a,.w>> $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  vmap <Leader>xa   :w>> $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  nmap <Leader>xS   :so $HOME/.vimxfer<CR>
  nmap <Leader>xy   :'a,.y *<CR>
  vmap <Leader>xy   :y *<CR>
  

Vim Functions, Plugs, and Stubs

Various functions, plug-ins, and quick-insertion stubs follow alphabetically. There are several plugins that I post both here and at vim.sf.net. Scripts here are my most up-to-date ones and may be considered as alpha/beta releases; I tend to put the ones I'm updating/fixing here. After a bit of feedback, and a variable length of time (ie. whenever I get around to it), I will also post the scripts on vim.sf.net.

Most plugins here are provided in the vimball format; simply use vim name_of_plugin.vba.gz and follow the directions. Windows users may not have a gunzip utility; if you're a Windows user, you'll need to get one if you don't have one already.

Then type :so %; this runs the vimball utility and distributes the components of the plugins where they belong. It also enables help via vim's help facility for the plugin (ex. :help netrw).

I use three release states with my plugins:

• NOT RELEASED -- my latest version (labelled v[0-9]*[a-z], ex. v3b). These versions may be handed out to individuals while I'm attempting to debug some problem they're having. The version number will remain fixed while the plugin is in this state. These versions of my plugins shouldn't get generally released, but accidents happen.

• ASTRO-ONLY -- a somewhat experimental version of a plugin, like "NOT RELEASED" versions, also labelled with a trailing letter such as v[0-9]*[a-z] (ex. v3b). These versions do have their trailing letter changed as they get updated. These versions appear on this website.

• (nothing) -- the plugin has been released on vim.sf.net and concurrently on this website. These versions also drop the trailing letter, having the format v[0-9]* (ex. v3). Those plugins which Bram has picked up for distribution with Vim have also been forwarded to Bram.

If you have some feedback (problems or kudos!), please send an email to NdrOchip@ScampbellPfamily.AbizM (remove the embedded NOSPAM therein first, of course).

• After/Syntax Directories

  Updated Apr 07, 2005 (v2a)

  (this plugin is superceded by vim 7.x, which looks into after/syntax subdirectories on its own)
  Several directories, such as .vim/after/syntax, allows multiple files therein but vim does not look into sudirectories therein. By copying this file to such a directory, and renaming it using the subdirectory name + ".vim", the subdirectory name will be scanned for any and all *.vim files and such files will be loaded. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• DrChip's Astronaut Colorscheme

  Updated Apr 01, 2013 (v8f)

  IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT VIM AND GVIM USING THE SAME COLORS, THIS COLORSCHEME IS NOT FOR YOU!!! (guess I'm tired of those who complain about the use of only 8 colors...)

  This colorscheme is a dark-background style colorscheme with the advantage that it works with console/terminal vim in the same way that it works with GUI vim. Thus it is restricted to using just the basic eight colors that many xterms are limited to. The file gives you the dark background colorscheme I prefer and use. If you'd like to see a preview, check this out, and see check out DrChip's colorscheme.

• Alignment

  Updated Apr 16, 2013 (v38)

  Manual

  Aligns text based on patterns (see this page for more!). The vimball for this plugin contains both Align and AlignMaps; the latter is for most users' convenience. If you're one who wishes not to have AlignMaps, the :AlignMapsClean command will remove the AlignMaps plugin from your installation.

  NOTICE: The latest version of Align and AlignMaps given here need vim 7.0aa. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Alignment Maps

  Updated Jun 10, 2011 (v42m)

  Manual

  Provides numerous maps to facilitate text alignment (see page for more!) Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Ansi Highlighting

  Updated Dec 06, 2012 (v13d)

  Manual

  This plugin follows Ansi-escape sequences to colorize subsequent text using vim's syntax highlighting engine.

  The AnsiEsc plugin provides a single command: :AnsiEsc , which will toggle Ansi-escape sequence processing. When enabled, AnsiEsc will handle <esc>[FGm, <esc>[ATTR;FGm, and <esc>[FG;BGm sequences; subsequent text will then be colored appropriately.

  With vim 7.2 and earlier, the escape sequence itself will take space but will be suppressed using "Ignore" highlighting. Vim 7.3 comes with Vince Negri's conceal/ownsyntax capabilities built-in. With it, Ansi-escape sequences will have their colorizing effects but will themselves be concealed (again, when AnsiEsc is enabled and one has used set conceallevel=[2 or 3]). Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• AsNeeded

  Updated Feb 25, 2013 (v17l)

  Manual

  Supports automatic sourcing (loading) of functions as needed. AsNeeded.vim is a plugin that sources other scripts in the .vim/AsNeeded directory when a function is called that is needed. One may use :AsNeeded command or :AN command. AsNeeded actually supports as-needed sourcing for functions, maps, and commands.

• AutoAlign suite

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v14k)

  Manual

  Uses the Align.vba.gz package to facilitate aligning equations, etc, as you type them. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Blockhl: Nesting Level Based Highlighting For C

  Updated Sep 22, 2011 (v6e)

  Manual

  Blockhl controls the highlighting of leading tabs based on the nesting level of {}s for the C and C++ languages by providing a sequence of graylevels. The file should be put into the .../after/syntax/c directory.

• Calendar Utilities

  Updated Oct 08, 2008 (v3b)

  Manual

  Used by visincr.vim (which is described below), <calutil.vim> provides three calendar-related functions: DayOfWeek(y,m,d), Cal2Jul(y,m,d), and Jul2Cal(julday). DayOfWeek() converts a date to a day of week name, and the other two convert between dates and the Julian day.

• Cecmatrix: Matrix Handling

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v1d)

  Manual

  Using this plugin is a snap! Just...
  • Visual-block select a region of text containing a matrix of numbers, and type :MatSet MatrixName (ex. :MatSet A)
  • :Mat matrix-expression (for example, :Mat D=(A+B)/C, or :Mat 1/E)
  • :MatWrite matrix-expression (ex. :MatWrite D which will write the D matrix after the current line in the text)
  Uses the Align and cecutil plugins; Align isn't strictly necessary, although cecmatrix will produce nicer output with it; cecutil is provided along with cecmatrix.
  

• Cscope Interface

  Updated Apr 27, 2012 (v5h)

  Manual

  (vim v7.0 only) Cscope interface to find functions which call functions, are called by functions, etc. Put in your .vim/plugin directory, and try :CSh for help. There's optional local quickfix windows, vertical or horizontal window with cscope output, menus, etc.

• DrC's Utilities contains various functions and some maps:

  Updated Apr 03, 2010 (v18h)

  Manual

  Marks: SaveMark(markname) RestoreMark(markname) DestroyMark(markname)
  Pos'n: SaveWinPosn() RestoreWinPosn() \swp \rwp (actually uses <Leader>)
  

• C Function Menu Generator Marcel van der Laan wrote a function :call C_ListFuncs() which uses flist to generate a menu of functions in the current file.

• C Compiler Commands

  Updated Jan 05, 2006 (v1)

  Manual

  The compiling.vim plugin provides error format files for several C compilers, plus a :Chk command to show one window with source with lines with errors and warnings given Error highlighting and a quickfix window showing the associated messages.

• CtagExpl: Ctags Explorer

  Updated Feb 22, 2011 (v1k)

  Manual

  An explorer for tags files generated by exuberant ctags; much like Lakshmanan's taglist explorer. However, CtagExpl cooperates with gdbmgr, providing it with a tags-based explorer.

• CVS Conflict File Handler

  Updated Sep 27, 2011 (v2h)

  Manual

  When one does "cvs update", one may get files marked with "C" for conflict. Cvs was unable to automatically merge one's local version with the repository, and merging requires human intervention. The :CVSconflict command takes the current conflict file, splits it into two separate files, and enables vimdiff-style editing and viewing.

• Decho: DrC's Vim Debugger

  Updated May 07, 2013 (v21o)

  Manual

  The Decho.vim plugin provides debugging messages in a separate window. One puts
  Decho "some message here"
  -or-
  call Decho("another message")
  and Decho will split the screen with a five line debugging window on the bottom of the display where the messages will appear. Allows one to inspect multiple error messages with the usual vim editing commands!

  Decho can optionally redirect its messages to a separate dedicated tab, to Vim's messages list, or to a "remote" vim.

  More help and commands are available - see their descriptions Decho's manual.

• DotFill

  Updated Aug 25, 2011 (v1b)

  Manual

  Facilitates setting up aligned columns with user-specified fill-characters. Often used with contents pages. Example of usage: :[range]DotFill . (to fill with dots)

• DrawIt

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v13a)

  Manual

  A plugin for drawing vertical, horizontal, and slanted lines using text. With DrawIt, one may use the number pad to leave a trail of dashes, bars, etc behind. Furthermore, it also supports using visual-block specified regions to draw boxes, ellipses, arrowheads, lines, and to specify floods.

  New: DrawIt has two new commands, :DIsngl and :DIdbl, that tell DrawIt to draw boxes using utf-8 box characters (single-bar, double-bar). Your current file needs to be using the utf-8 encoding for this to work.

  Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it. The version here requires vim 7.0!!!

• Stubs

  Updated Jun 19, 2010 (v4a)

  Manual

  Supports quick entry of language constructs for C, sh/ksh/bash, LaTeX, and vim. Ie. while in insert mode and using C, a if` will result in a if(){} construct entered into your code with the cursor appropriately positioned for further insertion. When done with entering the test expression, hitting <esc> will place your cursor (in insert mode) after the "{". (also see Abbreviations for C)

• EasyAccents

  Updated Aug 30, 2010 (v10c)

  Manual

  A plug-in that makes using accented characters easier Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it. (Version 8)

• Engspchk (spelling checker)

  Updated Feb 22, 2011 (v65f)

  Manual

  A multiple-human-language spell checking tool! Supports on-the-fly spell-checking, spelling suggestions, the mouse (when available), and menus (gvim).

• FlistTree

  Updated May 08, 2013 (v9c)

  Manual

  Shows a graphical function-usage tree. See FlistTree.vim itself for instructions. (uses flist, a program)

• Highlight

  Updated Sep 21, 2011 (v1i)

  Manual

  Highlights patterns (like :match, :2match, etc, except any number of such highlights may be used).

• Indent Files by DrC

  Updated May 03, 2005 (v1)

  The drc_indent.vim package of indent files provides DrC's indent files and customizations for sh, vim, tex, and maple.

• foldcol

  Updated Aug 17, 2010 (v3f)

  Manual

  The foldcol plugin, when used with vim 7.3, makes it possible to fold columns of text from view (using the conceal feature). Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• funcsrch

  Updated Jan 25, 2006 (v2a)

  Manual

  Permits searches to be taken only within a function, as defined by [[ (for start of function) and ][ (for end of function). These normal commands may, of course, be defined as maps in the ftplugin directory to customize them for specific languages.

• Gdbgmgr: Gnu Debugger Manager for Vim

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v2b)

  Manual

  Requirements: linux and a "huge" vim
  Gdbmgr has two main components: a plugin portion, which provides an interface for the user, and the second component, written in C, which provides communications between vim and gdb. Gdbmgr works with core dumps, utilizes hovering-cursor balloons to reveal variables' values, and provides a runtime interface to your program via gdb and vim. It doesn't touch vim's source code (no patches!) or need external interpreters, unlike several other ways to get vim and gdb to work together.
  • GdbMgr provides an interface between vim and gdb: no patches!
  • No external interpreters are used (ie. no perl, no python, no ruby, ...)
  • GdbMgr requires a "huge" vim (configure --with-features=huge) with one or more of the following choices:
    • configure: --enable-perlinterp
    • configure: --enable-pythoninterp
    • have in Makefile: EXTRA_LIBS=-lutil
  • Integrated multi-window displays available include: Assembly, Breakpoints, Expressions, Function Stack, Messages, Source, Threads, and Watchpoints; it also supports in an integrated fashion "foreign apps": Netrw, CtagExpl, HdrTag, and bufexplorer (thanks go to Jeff Lanzarotta for the last!).

  • Customizable display (one may pick any subset of the integrated windows available and specify how they're to be displayed and/or stacked).
  • Snapshot 1
    This snapshot shows GdbMgr with a breakpoint and a temporary breakpoint in prog7's Func2() function.

  • Snapshot 2 This snapshot shows GdbMgr with the Command window having had a dialog with the user (ie. "Enter something:", user entered "OK<cr>", etc. The program has run to completion.

  • Its distributed as a gzipped tarball instead of the vimball format usually used here as it contains some binaries (the two xpm files for the breakpoint signs)
  • Currently tested only under Linux; it definitely does need a Unix-like environment. I need a mac person to tell me how to get a shared library working on the Mac. I've included a first cut at it with Makefile.mac (under .vim/gdbmgr/src)
  • Integration with vim and gdb is provided by the plugin itself via vim's libcall() function and a small shared library written in C (code provided)
  • At the current time, gdbmgr has moved from alpha to beta (ie. majoring in bug removal, minoring in new features; its been working well lately). Please let me know if you experience problems (my email address is at the top of gdbmgr.vim).

• GetScript

  Updated Apr 22, 2013 (v36a)

  Manual

  This plugin's :GetLatestVimScripts command (or :GLVS for short) will automate grabbing the latest version of the plugins and scripts that you express an interest in by putting a line into the GetScript/GetScript.dat file. With cooperating plugins, GetScript can build the data file itself, too. Unfortunately, there was a bug that makes the getscript.vim version that was distributed with vim v7.0 cause difficulties with a vimball-installation of a new getscript.vim. So, you'll need to remove the older version of getscript.vim:
  • Change directory to the directory holding the vim 7.0 distribution's plugin/ and autoload/ directories.
  • /bin/rm plugin/getscript*.vim autoload/getscript*.vim doc/pi_getscript.txt

• gvcolors

  Updated Apr 16, 2013 (v7)

  Manual

  Gvim colors -- displays a list of named colors that gvim has available with X; each color shows up in its own color! One can toggle between dark and bright backgrounds by using a rightmouse click. A leftmouse click on a color brings it to the top line of the display. The colors at the top of the display have their red-green-blue values, in decimal, on the bottom of the screen.

• Hdrtag Explorer

  Updated May 07, 2013 (v1u)

  Manual

  Explore tags in a left-hand window with the :Hdrtag command. Intended to support the hdrtag program by providing a taglist-like interface for it.

• More Help Syntax Highlighting

  Updated Nov 23, 2009 (v1e)

  This script will add extra highlighting and syntax-based folding to the vim help pages.

• HelpExtractor

  Updated May 25, 2005 (v3)

  Manual

  This script can be used to make .vim scripts automatically install help. Also available at vim.sf.net

• Highlight Colors Help and Editor

  Updated Mar 26, 2012 (v9m)

  Manual

  Shows highlighting colors in their own colors, plus a colorscheme editor!

• Highlight Current Line

  Updated Apr 05, 2010 (v8d)

  Manual

  With this plugin the current line will be highlighted Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Highlight Marks

  Updated Mar 20, 2008 (v2c)

  Highlights marks by using the signs feature (your vim needs to be compiled for big/huge). Required: Kruize and Gedde's ShowMarks.vim plugin, which does most of the work. Its at vim.sf.net .

• Hints for Library Functions (gsl based)

  Updated Apr 04, 2012 (v1b)

  Shows prototype hints as one types a function (for GSL 1.14)

• Hints for Library Functions (man2 based)

  Updated Jan 12, 2012 (v2b)

  Shows prototype hints as one types a function (man page 2 based)

• Hints for Library Functions (man3 based)

  Updated Jan 12, 2012 (v2b)

  Shows prototype hints as one types a function (man page 3 based), and, for C and C++, will show prototypes in a balloon if your vim supports balloon evaluation (and the mouse is hovering over an appropriate word that happens to also be in your tags file).

• HiLinkTrace

  Updated Apr 03, 2013 (v4l)

  Manual

  A plugin which traces the highlighting linkages; ie. just what highlighting groups associated with the word under the cursor? (hilinks.vim, implements a map "\hlt")

• Highlighting Matching Brackets

  Updated Feb 22, 2011 (v23k)

  Manual

  A Vim 6.0 plugin that highlights a matching bracket when the cursor moves on it: (){}[] (actually the |'matchpairs'| option is used).

  The matching bracket is highlighted when the cursor is moved on top of the bracket. It does so by making a fair number of maps that intercept the requested motion, perform the requested motion, then also call the HiMatchBracket() function which does the work to highlight any matching bracket. Basically it does a "%" to find the matching bracket (if any) and then constructs and executes an appropriate ":match" command.

  Version 12 supports overloading of 0, too (if you have vim6.2 and patch 405 or later).

  Because vim is rich with commands that can move the cursor, the script also uses the CursorHold event (see help for cursorhold and updatetime) to highlight matching brackets after the cursor is left still for awhile.

• IndGuide

  Updated Feb 22, 2012 (v1b)

  Manual

  Uses vim's signs support to signify indentation level, akin to Notepad++. Really easy to use: :IndGuide to enable, and :IndGuide! to disable. However, your vim does need to support the signs feature (:version should show +signs); try compiling vim for the "huge" feature.

• LaTeX Maps

  Updated Jan 24, 2012 (v2h)

  Supports quick entry of LaTeX constructs (ie. ".." becomes ``..'', enum` gets expanded to \begin{enumerate}, etc).

• LaTeX Menus

  Updated Nov 16, 2011 (v1b)

  Sets up a "DrChip.TexSymbols" menu full of various symbols that LaTeX supports; it works in insert mode, and when selected, inserts the appropriate LaTeX code to produce the selected symbol.

• LargeFile

  Updated Apr 24, 2013 (v5j)

  Manual

  Allows much quicker editing of large files (default: 100MB+ are "large"), at the price of turning off events, undo, syntax highlighting, etc. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Library Viewer

  Updated May 23, 2011 (v1i)

  Manual

  This plugin uses the "nm" utility to present an overview of the contents of archive and object files. Its based on autocmds, and so to use it all one needs do is to open an archive (*.a), an object (*.o) file, or a shared library (*.so) by attempting to edit it. (formerly known as the archive/object visualizer)

• LogiPat

  Updated Mar 13, 2013 (v3)

  Manual

  Provides a :LogiPat {boolean-logic pattern} and forms a search. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Maintainer

  Updated Mar 27, 2006 (v2a)

  Use ":echo Maintainer" to find out who the maintainer is of the syntax file you're currently using; ":echo Maintainer("language")" to determine the Maintainer of a specific language (ie. c, vim, tex, jsp, etc).

• Man Page Viewer

  Updated Apr 08, 2013 (v25l)

  Manual

  A plugin which facilitates the viewing of man pages under Unix systems; supports :Man topic, :Man topic booknumber, :Man booknumber topic, and :Man topic(booknumber). While in a man page the K key will invoke manpaging on the word under the cursor. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it. Supports perl (*.pl, *.upl) and info (*.i), too.

• Maple Syrup

  Updated Jan 25, 2006 (v3b)

  This tarball contains multiple files to support MapleSoft's Maple programming language for symbolic algebra. Included: indent, auto-align, and matchit support.

• Math Keymap

  Updated Apr 16, 2013 (v4)

  Manual

  Contains a keymap supporting math under utf-8. Install in the regular vimball way; to use it, ":set kmp=math" when in vim. See this screenshot for an example (a portion of a comment in a C program is shown using font Luxi Mono, Regular, size 10pts).

• Mines

  Updated Apr 16, 2013 (v20)

  Manual

  A game for vim implementing the world famous game of Mines! Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Multi-Column Listing

  Updated Aug 26, 2010 (v1c)

  Manual

  The mcol.vim plugin converts a list of words into a multi-column listing, much as "ls" does with a list of files. It uses the mcol program; see mcol to get a copy of the source.

• MultiPage

  Updated Apr 24, 2013 (v1)

  Manual

  The mpage.vim plugin supports using multiple windows as separate pages to view a buffer (ie. file), with each window under mpage control sequentially showing lines of text.

• Network Oriented Reading, Writing, and Browsing

  Updated Jun 05, 2013 (v150a)

  Manual

  Supports network-oriented editing with urls. One may read and write files using one of several supported protocols (ex: ftp, scp) and browse directories, both remotely and locally. This version requires vim 7.0. Be sure to remove any older versions of netrw before attempting to install this version. In version v142b of netrw, g:netrw_winsize's meaning has been changed. Previously, it was the number of rows or lines to be used for new windows spawned off of netrw (ex. when using v or o). The new method uses g:netrw_winsize as a percentage of the netrw's window size in the appropriate direction (ie. winheight or winwidth). The percentage is an integer (by default, it is 50). Unfortunately, there was a bug that makes the netrw version that was distributed with vim v7.0 cause difficulties with a vimball-installation of a new netrw. So, for vim v7.0, you'll need to remove the older version of netrw:
  • Change directory to the directory holding the vim 7.0 distribution's plugin/ and autoload/ directories.
  • /bin/rm plugin/netrw*.vim autoload/netrw*.vim doc/pi_netrw.txt
  Beginning with v108b of netrw: sourcing remote files is supported.
  Here's a list of some netrw options that I myself use:
  let g:netrw_altv          = 1
  let g:netrw_fastbrowse    = 2
  let g:netrw_keepdir       = 0
  let g:netrw_liststyle     = 2
  let g:netrw_retmap        = 1
  let g:netrw_silent        = 1
  let g:netrw_special_syntax= 1
  

• Netrw Clean

  Updated Oct 07, 2008 (v1b)

  The netrwclean.vim plugin will attempt to remove the netrw plugin: with :NetrwClean, only the personal directory copy will be cleaned. With :NetrwClean!, this plugin will attempt to remove netrw from both your personal directory and the system directory. You need permission to remove such files, of course. This plugin may be helpful for those who've previously gotten an up-to-date version of netrw but then update their vim later via ftp, cvs, etc with an even more recent version of netrw (in that case, use :NetrwClean).

• PassWGen: Password Generator

  Updated Dec 16, 2011 (v1a)

  Manual

  The PassWGen.vim plugin generates a password given the desired password length and a string containing the desired alphabet from which to choose symbols:
  :echo PassWGen(len,symbols)

• Plugin Killer!

  Updated Apr 15, 2010 (v4c)

  Manual

  Plugin writers: have you ever wished you could find what option settings will interfere with your plugin before your users do? The pluginkiller helps automate finding such troublesome settings.

• Rainbow

  Updated Oct 19, 2012 (v2q)

  Manual

  C and C++: this plugin provides a rainbow of colors for matching brackets ( [] () {} ) depending on their nesting level. One may choose any subset of these brackets for highlighting.
  Lisp: The syntax file distributed with Vim for Lisp already supports rainbow highlighting of ()s; bring up vim and type ":help ft-lisp-syntax".
  Matlab: this plugin provides rainbow highlighting for if for switch while, again, depending on their nesting level. One may choose any subset of these regions for highlighting, too.
  LaTeX: this plugin provides rainbow highlighting depending on brace depth "{}()[]", begin-end depth, and dollar depth. This mode is somewhat ugly, but I've found it very useful for finding problems in LaTeX scripts.

• RltvNmbr

  Updated Mar 22, 2010 (v4a)

  Manual

  Shows relative numbering signs (ie. relative to the cursor's current position). Really easy to use: :RltvNmbr to enable, and :RltvNmbr! to disable. However, your vim does need to support the signs feature (:version should show +signs); try compiling vim for the "huge" feature.

• Rndm

  Updated Aug 12, 2008 (v4f)

  Manual

  Returns random variates
  • Rndm() returns uniformly distributed variates on [0, 100,000,000)
  • Urndm(a,b) returns uniformly distributed variates on [a,b])
  • Dice(qty,sides) rolls qty of sides-sided dice and adds them up

• RunView

  Updated Nov 08, 2011 (v3g)

  Manual

  :[range]RunView[!] filtercmd
  {visual line selection}\rh
  {visual line selection}\rv
  RunView passes user-selected lines through a filter (default filter specified by g:runview_filtcmd); output from the filter is placed into a separate window. Multiple runs of the filter are clearly separated in the filter output window. Great for debugging scripts!

• SeeTab

  Updated Jun 05, 2008 (v4b)

  Manual

  Makes leading tabs more visible

• Showing Current Function Name in Status Line

  Updated Sep 24, 2012 (v2q)

  Manual

  This package of a plugin and ftplugins manipulates the status line to show the name of the current function that the cursor is in. Currently supported: C, C++, DrChip's debugger output, Maple V, Matlab, Perl, Shell (Korn, Bash), Tex, and Vim.

• Sum

  Updated Apr 22, 2013 (v1b)

  Manual

  Computes the sum of a visual-block selected column of (optionally floating point) numbers

• Swapping Two Strings

  Updated Jan 21, 2009 (v1h)

  Manual

  Use this plugin to easily swap strings!
  

    :[range]SwapStrings string1 string2
  

• Syntax Checker

  Updated Jun 05, 2013 (v1d)

  Manual

  The synchk.vim plugin helps syntax highlighting plugin writers to maintain their syntax highlighting plugin. Typical use involves manually inspecting a test file to insure that its being highlighted correctly; once that is so, run |:MakeSynChk| on it. This operation will save information on the current syntax highlighting; subsequently, one may run |:SynChk| to verify that the highlighting has not changed.
  

    :[range]SwapStrings string1 string2
  

• Tar Handler

  Updated Apr 17, 2013 (v29)

  Manual

  Michael Toren wrote a nice plugin to handle tar files. I've written a related one that also handles writing changed files back into the tarball. Unfortunately, there was a bug that makes the zip.vim version that was distributed with vim v7.0 cause difficulties with a vimball-installation of a new zip.vim. So, you'll need to remove the older version of zip.vim:
  • Change directory to the directory holding the vim 7.0 distribution's plugin/ and autoload/ directories.
  • /bin/rm plugin/zip*.vim autoload/zip*.vim doc/pi_zip.txt

• Toggle Window Layout

  Updated Nov 02, 2012 (v1b)

  Toggle the window layout from all-horizontal to all-vertical.

• Vim Error Finder

  Updated Apr 17, 2012 (v2i)

  When vim gives an error message while running a plugin, it gives a function name and a line number which is relative to the function's beginning. This plugin provides ":VEF funcname rel_line_num", which preferentially jumps to the function in the current buffer (but will use tags to find the function's source file otherwise).

• Vimball Archiver

  Updated Apr 17, 2013 (v36)

  Manual

  Archive and de-archive vim plugins. To install: well, I've decided that the vimball plugin itself should not expect that vimball is available to extract itself. Hence, it is now being distributed as vimball.tar.gz. To unravel and install it:
  • Change directory to the directory holding the plugin/ and autoload/ directories where you want to install vimball. It is probably best to install the new vimball in the distribution directory. If you choose not to overwrite the version that came with the plugin, but to put the new vimball in your personal directories, you must remove or otherwise deactivate the original version that came with vim 7.0.
  • gunzip vimball.tar.gz
  • tar -oxvf vimball.tar
  • (unix) chmod a+r autoload/vimball.vim doc/pi_vimball.txt plugin/vimballPlugin.vim
  If you'd like to use a C program (you'll need a C compiler) that will create vimballs: mkvimball.
  For beginners, may I suggest:
  • You should have a .vim/ or vimfiles\ in your home directory. Bring up vim, then type :echo &rtp. The first directory on that comma separated list is where vim expects to find your .vim/ (or vimfiles\) directory.
  • You should have, as a minimum, the following two lines in your <.vimrc> to enable plugins:

     
    set nocp
    filetype plugin on
                                                       

• Visual Block Commands

  Updated Apr 02, 2013 (v21b)

  Manual

  Performs an Ex command on a ctrl-v highlighted block. I often use it to target substitutes onto just a visual-block selection. The original <vis.vim> was by Stefan Roemer, but this one has been radically modified to support embedded tabs. It appears to operate considerably faster, and has no side effects on register usage, etc. It requires DrC's Utilities as it also retains the original cursor/window positioning using functions from that package.

• Visual C Declarations

  Oct 26, 2006 (v1a)

  Manual

  Use the shift-F1 key on a declaration in a C file, and a comment explaining the declaration will be appended. Needs the cdecl program!

• Visual Block Sorting

  Updated Apr 16, 2013 (v4)

  Manual

  Sorts the lines based on a ctrl-v block selected portion thereof. Works with Visual Incrementing, too, to just sort the selected block. Vissort also provides BlockSort() which enables sorting blocks of text based on a tag found in each block.

• Visual Incrementing

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v21a)

  Manual

  Transforms a ctrl-v selected visual-block of numbers into an incremented list of numbers. The first line's number initializes the incrementation. The updated <visincr.vim> now uses virtual column information to allow leading tabs, handles ragged right visual blocks, will insert spaces as needed if the count's string-length exceeds the visual-block's constraints, and also accepts an optional incrementation argument (I [incr]) (which can be negative). By default incr is 1. If the initial number is zero-padded on the left (ie. 001), then the column of numbers will also be zero-padded as needed. For the maps which handle dates, you'll also need to have calutil.vba.gz.
  • I [incr] - create an ascending or descending column of numbers, right padded
  • II [incr [zfill]] - create an ascending or descending column of numbers, left padded
  • IA [incr] - create an ascending or descending alphabetic column
  • ID [incr] - create an ascending or descending column of daynames
  • IYMD [incr] - create an ascending or descending column of year/month/day dates
  • IMDY [incr] - create an ascending or descending column of month/day/year dates
  • IDMY [incr] - create an ascending or descending column of day/month/year dates
  The :R... versions (:RI :RII :RIYMD etc) restrict the renumbering/relabelling to those lines which have an appropriate pattern (numbers for :RI and :RII, daynames for :RID, etc). Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

• Visual Mode Based Swapping

  Updated Mar 18, 2013 (v4f)

  Manual

  Swap text using visual modes!
  • Select first region using a visual mode (V, v, or ctrl-v), then press <ctrl-y> ("yank").
  • Select second region using a visual mode (V, v, or ctrl-v), then press <ctrl-x> ("exchange").
  HelpExtractor technology is used to automatically install help for vswap. There's also a tip about more swapping at Tip#329 In addition, one may replace columns of text with a selection:
  • Select source region using visual-block (ctrl-v) selection plus motion.
  • Hit <escape>
  • Move cursor to where the upper left corner of the column replacement should be; hit \vr (the backslash is actually <Leader>)

• WhereFrom

  Updated Aug 16, 2005 (v3a)

  Manual

  Ever wonder where a function, script, or command was defined, or where a setting was last set? WhereFrom helps answer the question. :WhereFrom[!] {function|map|setting|command} (or :WF[!] {function|map|setting|command} for a shorter command) will search the runtimepath to determine where the item was defined. The optional "!" will make WhereFrom continue looking for more than one instance -- the last one found is likely to be the one you have currently loaded.

• Window Kill Ring

  Updated Oct 08, 2008 (v1c)

  Manual

  Implements a "kill ring" for a vim window: :[N]R[!] [files]
  To see a window's kill ring contents, use :RShow.

• Zip Handler

  Updated Jun 10, 2013 (v27b)

  Manual

  Zip Handler handles zip files; it resembles Tar Handler in look and feel. It handles browsing, reading, and writing files. Unfortunately, there was a bug that makes the zip.vim version that was distributed with vim v7.0 cause difficulties with a vimball-installation of a new zip.vim. So, you'll need to remove the older version of zip.vim:
  • Change directory to the directory holding the vim 7.0 distribution's plugin/ and autoload/ directories.
  • /bin/rm plugin/zip*.vim autoload/zip*.vim doc/pi_zip.txt

• Z Maps

  Updated Sep 21, 2011 (v1b)

  Helpful z maps
  • z< shift text on screen left
  • z> shift text on screen right
  • z, put cursor in middle of screen
  • z0 put cursor on left-hand-side of screen
  • z$ put cursor on right-hand-side of screen
  • zp put text (like "p") but keep cursor in same column
  • zP Put text (like "P") but keep cursor in same column

• ZoomWin

  Updated Mar 13, 2013 (v25g)

  Manual

  Provides the ability to zoom into/out-of a window (by Ron Aaron and C Campbell), similar to what the editor Brief provided. Version 14 was both about 2/3 the size and faster, and the latest handles quickfix windows, too. Also available at vim.sf.net where you may rank it.

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