Sometimes Vim plugins suggest a load order, but Vim nowaday natively supports loading plugins with no plugin manager. You just put a submodule in a folder such as ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start and it'll automatically load. So, my question is how do you ensure a load order similar to how people would previously. Older way of doing things example below:
Plug 'preservim/nerdtree' |
\ Plug 'Xuyuanp/nerdtree-git-plugin' |
\ Plug 'ryanoasis/vim-devicons'
Taken from https://github.com/Xuyuanp/nerdtree-git-plugin#faq.
Let's try a little experiment…
Create the following dummy files with their corresponding content:
Filepath
Content
pack/dummy/start/nerdtree/plugin/foo.vim
echom "nerdtree"
pack/dummy/start/nerdtree-git-plugin/plugin/bar.vim
echom "nerdtree-git-plugin"
pack/dummy/start/vim-devicons/plugin/baz.vim
echom "vim-devicons"
Start Vim and you should see something like the following:
$ vim
nerdtree
nerdtree-git-plugin
vim-devicons
Press ENTER or type command to continue
which is consistant with:
:filter dummy scriptnames
40: ~/.vim/pack/dummy/start/nerdtree/plugin/foo.vim
41: ~/.vim/pack/dummy/start/nerdtree-git-plugin/plugin/bar.vim
42: ~/.vim/pack/dummy/start/vim-devicons/plugin/baz.vim
Press ENTER or type command to continue
Based on this experiment, we can conclude that the built-in "package" feature will "load" plugins found in start/ in the filesystem order which happens to be the same as the prescribed order anyway. Of course, your filesystem may order directories differently than mine, so YMMV.
In theory, the :help :packadd command should allow you to "manage" your plugins from your vimrc, like you would with a plugin manager. Let's experiment with it…
Rename start/ to opt/:
pack/dummy/opt/nerdtree/
pack/dummy/opt/nerdtree-git-plugin/
pack/dummy/opt/vim-devicons/
Add the following lines to your vimrc after any syntax on or filetype on line:
packadd! nerdtree
packadd! nerdtree-git-plugin
packadd! vim-devicons
Start Vim:
$ vim
vim-devicons
nerdtree-git-plugin
nerdtree
Press ENTER or type command to continue
What?
Well… I guess you could experiment with ordering, here, until you get the desired order but that reverse order looks like a bug to me.
I'm trying to incorporate vim into my main workflow. A major sticking point for me has been interactively editing and running programs/scripts.
For example given that I'm currently vimmed into test.py
print('hello')
x = 5
y = x+2
print(y)
Without leaving vim how would I:
a) run the whole script without leaving vim
b) run just "print('hello')"
Commenters and the other answer have pointed out how to run a file from vim. But they glossed over some really powerful possibilities. I'd like to explain how some of those work in more detail.
The simplest possible way of running a python script in vim, is to just call the python interpreter on the file, e.g.
:!python %
or, as I prefer to do to make sure there are no unsaved changes,
:w | !python %
But it is not even necessary to have a file to run a python script in vim. The reason why is because :w != save! :w means write, and if no argument is provided, it happens to write to the file you are editing. However, you can write to STDOUT, to another file, or even to another program. So if you'd like to run your buffer as python code without having a file to save and run, you may simply do:
:w !python
This meanse write the current buffer into the external program "python". This literally just sends the contents of your buffer directly to python.
Now here's where it gets really cool. In vim, :w is an "ex command", e.g. a command that you run from the vim command line that originally came from ex, a very old line based unix text editor. The awesome thing about ex commands is that since they are all line based, you can directly state which lines you would like the command to apply to. For example:
:2w myfile.txt
will write only line two to the file "myfile.txt". You can even supply a range, e.g.
:2,7w myfile.txt
will write lines 2-7 to "myfile.txt". This means that using your example, we can run
:1w !python
to run just
print('hello')
To make this more convenient, you can use visual mode to select every line you would like to run, which will automatically fill in the right range for you. This will look like
:'<,'>w !python
To make this more convenient, I would recommend adding something like
xnoremap <leader>p :w !python<cr>
to your .vimrc. Then you can visually select whatever you want and run it as python code by typing
\p
(replace \ with whatever you have set up as your leader). You could also do
nnoremap <leader>p :w !python<cr>
or
nnoremap <leader>p :w | !python %<cr>
depending on whether you want to save to a file or not.
Create a function for a range as discussed in this question:
fu PyRun() range
echo system('python -c ' . shellescape(join(getline(a:firstline, a:lastline), "\n")))
endf
Create a mapping for visual mode:
vmap <C-F6> :call PyRun()<CR>
Then you can select a range and press Control-F6. The range of lines will be executed by python. The result will be displayed in the command area.
You can run a program from vim using :!, i.e. :!python3 % to run your current script.
If you want to bind a key to it, another easy way would be to set makeprg to your python executable: :set makeprg=python3 and then bind a key to :make<cr>. In that case I would set up autocmds that switch the makeprg depending on the file type.
If you want to run a simple statement, you could either use Python's -c switch:
:!python3 -c 'print("Hello world")', or you could just run :!python3 without arguments to be dropped into a REPL without leaving Vim.
Say I'm editing my _vimrc file and I've just added a couple of lines, for instance a new key mapping. I don't want to reload the whole file (:so %) since that will reset a lot of temporary stuff I'm experimenting with. I just want to run the two lines that I'm currently working on.
I'm having no luck trying to copy/paste the lines into the command buffer, since I can't use the put command in there. Is there any way I could run the current line (or current selection) as EX commands?
Summary:
After Anton Kovalenko's answer and Peter Rincker's comment I ended up with these key maps, which either executes the current line, or the current selected lines if in visual mode:
" Execute current line or current selection as Vim EX commands.
nnoremap <F2> :exe getline(".")<CR>
vnoremap <F2> :<C-w>exe join(getline("'<","'>"),'<Bar>')<CR>
To execute the current line as an ex command, you may also use:
yy:#"
This will yank the current line to the "-register and execute it. I don't think it is too much typing.
Executing the line under cursor as an Ex command:
:execute getline(".")
Convenient enough for 2 lines. (I'd figure out something for doing it with regions, but I'm not a vim user). And for currently selected region, the following seems to do the job:
:execute getreg("*")
As commented by Peter Rincker, this mapping can be used for executing the currently selected lines:
:vnoremap <f2> :<c-u>exe join(getline("'<","'>"),'<bar>')<cr>
For that purpose, I have defined the following commands and mappings:
":[range]Execute Execute text lines as ex commands.
" Handles |line-continuation|.
" The same can be achieved via "zyy#z (or yy#" through the unnamed register);
" but there, the ex command must be preceded by a colon (i.e. :ex)
command! -bar -range Execute silent <line1>,<line2>yank z | let #z = substitute(#z, '\n\s*\\', '', 'g') | #z
" [count]<Leader>e Execute current [count] line(s) as ex commands, then
" {Visual}<Leader>e jump to the following line (to allow speedy sequential
" execution of multiple lines).
nnoremap <silent> <Leader>e :Execute<Bar>execute 'normal! ' . v:count1 . 'j'<CR>
xnoremap <silent> <Leader>e :Execute<Bar>execute 'normal! ' . v:count1 . 'j'<CR>
Just after posting this, I found a work-around. I can copy text into the clipboard using "*y, then put that text into the command buffer by using the middle mouse button. This works for me, but is hardly a convenient solution for people without clipboard support, mouse support or just an aversion to removing their hands from the Vim position.
The accepted answer doesn't handle continuation sections. Also, surprisingly, the bar isn't needed, newlines are fine. This will work, first yanking the text into register x:
vno <c-x> "xy:exe substitute(#x,"\n\\",'','g')<cr>
As someone has already mentioned, the only exception are commands that "eat up" newlines. Eg, executing the above mapping on:
:sign define piet text=>> texthl=Search
:exe ":sign place 2 line=23 name=piet file=" . expand("%:p")
will cause vim to to think that the user is trying to define textl as "Search\n:exe ":sign place... etc.
You could also try
:<C-R><C-L><CR>
Per the vim docs, the combination will plop the current line into the command line. From there, hitting enter should do the trick. I realize that this does not handle multiline cases, however it doesn't require a .vimrc and therefore works out of the box.
If you're doing a lot of experimenting (trying things out that you might want to add to your vimrc, I assume?) it might help to do so in a scratch file like experimental.vim so you aren't just relying on your history to know what you're trying out. Now that you have these great mappings, it will be easy to rerun things from experimental or vimrc without sourcing the whole file.
Also (sorry, I can't comment on answers yet, it seems), I tried this mapping of Peter's:
vnoremap <Leader>es :<c-u>exec join(getline("'<","'>"),'<BAR>')<CR>
This works in most cases, but it fails specifically on function definitions.
function! TestMe()
echo "Yay!"
endfunction
This mapping joins the lines into a single string, separated by <BAR> and then execs them.
I'm not entirely sure why, but if I try to do that with a function definition in normal mode:
:exec 'function! TestMe()| echo "Yay!"|endfunction'
-> E488: Trailing characters
After some testing, I've found that it will work with newline separators instead:
:exec "function! TestMe()\n echo 'Yay!'\nendfunction"
:call TestMe()
-> Yay!
So, I've changed my mapping to this:
vnoremap <Leader>es :<c-u>exec join(getline("'<","'>"),"\n")<CR>
I suppose there is a vim or ex reason why the <BAR> method doesn't work on functions (maybe even some setting I have on?), and I'm curious to hear what it is if someone knows.
I don't want to reload the whole file (:so %) since that will reset a lot of temporary stuff I'm experimenting. I just want to run the two lines that I'm currently working on.
If you want to execute a command because you want to refine it before committing it to _.vimrc, then you should launch a Command Line Window for Ex-mode commands with q:.
At launch the Command Line Window is buffered with the contents of the command line history. It is a normal Vim window the contents of which can be edited as any text buffer with the exception of pressing on any line which executes the command on that line. It is very useful when you want to slightly change a long, complex command you wrote earlier and re-run it.
To launch a 'Command Line Window' for search strings press q/.
!! (shorthand for :.!) executes the current line as input to a command, per POSIX ex & vi. You may need to append sh if it is a system command.
Executing !! on a blank line (and omitting sh) is a shortcut for reading a shell command straight into the buffer. By it's nature :.! overwrites the current line while :.r! inserts on the line below.
ls -A | head -n +4
~
~
!sh
Results:
.sh_history
.sh_logout
.kshrc
corelist.txt
~
~
4 lines added; 1 line deleted`
This means there is no need to redirect pipelines to a file and then examine the data to see if the contents are valid. Just execute commands in vi directly and undo if you make a mistake.
Alternately, yanking a line as a named buffer allows you to execute it as an ex command, almost like a macro. You can still edit and undo the line to get it correct instead of trying to edit the : line in command mode.
The functions recommended here are all POSIX and have been supported for over 40 years, so no special vim or other enhanced features are required.
:%s/meep/pEEp/ | g/foo/ s//BAR
foo
grok
meep
~
~
Yank the ex command (line 1, :%s...) into a named buffer / macro.
I just use the label m for "macro".
"myy
or
:1y m
Now execute the named buffer / macro, in command mode, using #:
#m
Results:
:%s/pEEp/pEEp/ | g/BAR / s//BAR
BAR
grok
pEEp
~
~
4 lines changed
But remember that "multiple undo" is not POSIX. undo is only a toggle between undo and redo in a "historically accurate & compliant" ex / vi implementation.
The work-around is to save to a temporary (or valid) file name before executing a questionable edit:
:w $$.tmp
Then just :e! to "reset and reload" if needed.
You can also use :pre (preserve) to make a special temporary backup file prior to making multiple changes.
Then use :reco! % (recover this!) to restore back to that point.
Realize that :preserve creates a snapshot-like file which is deleted as soon as it is rolled back to. It does not matter if you save the edit(s) or not.
Therefore writing your own file (:w ...) and restoring with :e! may still have value because the system will not automatically delete it.
:pre is perfect when you should have ran sudo vi ... or otherwise do not have the necessary permissions - but you only realized the mistake after making several changes. i.e. vi /etc/sudoers instead of sudo vi /etc/sudoers.
^^ NEVER DO THIS! ONLY AN EXAMPLE! USE sudo visudo INSTEAD!
You can get a list of existing recovery files with vi -r and recover one directly with vi -r filename as needed, optionally with something like sudo vi -r filename.
The distinction here is that even though the ":preserved file" has it's own "special" name and path internally, it will :write to the original, intended location when ":recovered ==> /etc/sudoers
Just be sure to use :wq! and not something like ZZ when done with your "recovery" or you will still lose the edits which you tried to save.
By the way, ^R is expected to redraw or repaint the display per POSIX; it is not "undo" in any compliant vi implementation.
Here I got simple task for skilled vimmers. I need to reformat my css file. There are commands to do this:
%s/}/&\r/g
%s/ / /g
retab!
echo "You done did it!"
But I don't want to type these commands every time I need to format my css file (I get it after convert less file by WinLess program). Now I put these commands into cssformat.vim file, and put this file into vim runtime folder. In my vimrc I set:
autocmd Filetype css nmap :so $VIM/vim73/cssformat.vim
It's works, of course. But I wonder how can I do this task better? In the begginig I want to put these commands in my vimrc (to create a simple function), but I don't know how to do this correctly.
p.s. Sorry for my bad English.
Just put the commands from your script into a function:
function! ReformatCss()
" Place your commands here.
endfunction
And move the stuff into your .vimrc. Now you can invoke this via :call ReformatCss().
To top it off and make it even simpler, define your own command:
command! ReformatCss call ReformatCss()
Now you can invoke via :ReformatCss. Voila!
You can learn more at :help usr_40.txt and :help :command. For example, if you only need this for CSS files, you can turn this into a buffer-local command through command -buffer and moving the function and command definition to ~/.vim/ftplugin/css_reformat.vim
I'm currently developing a webapp that need a "compilation" phase to be tested. For this, I have a simple shell script, which is designed to run from a precise directory.
So in Vim, when I enter command mode and issue this, it works:
:lcd /my/script/directory
:!./build debug
My build script writes some logs in the command window, everything is fine, and tells me to press return to go back editing my stuff. Fine.
Now I'd like to bind this to F5 to speed things up. In my ~/.vimrc, I have added this:
map <F5> :lcd /my/script/directory<CR>! ./build debug<CR>
But after source'ing my ~/.vimrc, when I press F5, my script runs correctly... but strangely Vim replaces the current line I'm on with the output of the script. The same if I do map <silent> <F5> …
If i change ./build debug with a simple ls, the problem arises too. The output of the ls is inserted in my current document, overwriting the current line.
Does anybody know where the problem comes from? I really need to see the output of my build script, so there's no way I could just add a "undo" command after my bind, that would simply erase the inserted output of my command.
FWIW, I'm running MacVim snapshot 63 on OSX 10.7.2, but it also occurs when I use the plain old command-line vim (v7.3) from iTerm2 (1.0.0.20111020).
Try
map <silent> <F5> :lcd /my/script/directory \| !./build debug<CR>
The escaped pipe is here to chain commands.
Use a colon before !, like:
map <F5> :lcd /my/script/directory<CR>:! ./build debug<CR>